Another world, Celeste

Chapter Twenty Four, pt 2

After turning off mana signature, guess I used it for too long that my eyes strained. That's the second time today. Overlapping two skills that utilise the sense of sight is too strenuous so it's a good thing that I set heat sensor; an extension of 'Presence Detection', on the translucent screen at the last second. The problem with that is nobody except me can see the translucent screen. Unfortunately, it doesn't work the seem way as revealing status through a crystal orb or chanting the word itself. Maybe I should try making specialised glasses that can interface between these skills and my smartphone or a mainframe device like a tablet. Yeah, let's discuss this later with Chief. If I succeed with the glasses and the tablet than it would make things easier for me to share information. Also, it would reduce the chances of me getting caught using several skills when I'm travelling in the human territories later on.

In the midst of monitoring the elusive black smoke's movement on the translucent screen, Roy returns crawling through the rabbit hole I purposefully made for the only entrance to the dome.

"Impressive wall, Iris."

Earlier, I would gladly accept that compliment but now brushing it aside, I react seriously while not looking away from the translucent screen. "Any later, I would start the extraction without you."

Unfazed by my response, Roy asks. "Anything happened while I was gone?"

"I found it, the black mana. Making use of mana signature just as you proposed worked."

With my back facing Roy, I relay my findings along with the current update on the white lion's condition.

"Since we're dealing with the black mana's intangible form, I don't know how long the tracking magic will last and it's been circling at the spot where the brightest hue is detected through heat sensor and upon closer look, it's inching deeper to the middle of it. This is only speculation but that might be where the core is."

Since the translucent screen is not visible to anyone else but me, Roy checks the spot I pointed between the white lion's forelegs and shares his thoughts with certainty. "No, you might be right. Where else could the core be then closely placed to the beating heart."

That sounds reasonable. While I do possess an affinity with regular animals and docile monsters, I'm not a vet and since body parts belonging to monsters and magical beasts in this fantasy world is abnormal, my general understanding of that matter is not reliable. However, Roy is an actual specialist when it comes to the anatomy of such creatures. I can't complain how distracting it is whenever he randomly spout facts about a monster's vital spot when we encounter one in the forest because it has been helpful to me thus far and also because that may be the only time he's acting sensibly when a fight ensues. Roy shaves the white lion's mane between its front forelegs after 'Serenity' is dispelled, only the part where it is needed with a dagger while I retrieve the wand I made together with Jilko's assist from storage to use it as a pointer since the extraction procedure requires careful precision. Then, Roy brief me on what I'm supposed to do next.

"You need to precisely aim light magic at the shaved part here and prick through the flesh carefully like you would handle a thin needle."