Chapter 43 : Mana Crystal

Mana Crystal

Hearing Serea's voice, the two who were bowing stood up straight. Lola smiled and said,

"As the Queen of the Darkmoon clan, you naturally should have attendants to care for your daily needs. I was worried others might not take proper care of you, so from now on, Vina and I will serve as your attendants."

Upon hearing Lola's explanation, Serea carefully sized the two up.

She noticed that Lola had already changed out of the crown and formal robes symbolizing royal authority, and Vina had also taken off her usual light armor. Now, both of them looked just like the elven maids Serea had seen yesterday, simply dressed in plain white gowns.

Although having two such beautiful attendants was certainly pleasing to the eye, Serea had grown used to being on her own. Suddenly having people care for her felt a little awkward.

"Attendants really aren't necessary..."

"As the Queen of the Elves, you must have attendants accompany you. It's not only to look after your daily life—if you ever face danger, we can also protect you. After all, you are the pillar of our entire clan; your wellbeing and safety take precedence above all else."

"Uh... is it really that serious?"

Lola nodded.

Seeing she could not politely refuse, Serea could only accept. On further reflection, having two free bodyguards actually seemed pretty nice.

Hmm, how appealing!

"Well, why don't you both wait outside for me? Once I'm dressed, you can come back in."

At Serea's words, Lola and Vina did not immediately leave.

"Is your Majesty preparing to change clothes?"

"Ah... yes."

Upon hearing this, Lola and Vina exchanged a glance, then walked over to the bed.

"W-What are you doing?"

Before she could react, Vina yanked away her blanket, while Lola deftly helped her into a white robe.

"Your Majesty, please come this way."

"Eh?"

Pulled by Lola, Serea tightened her robe as the three of them made their way to a wooden chair.

Under Lola's guidance, Serea sat down. On the low table in front of the chair sat a wooden basin filled with warm water.

Seeing each of them pick up an elven cloth, Serea already guessed what they planned to do. She tried to take one of the cloths.

"I can do it myself."

But Lola and Vina didn't agree. They gently pressed Serea's head down and began washing her hair.

Forced—er, rather, thoroughly enjoying the treatment—Serea soon found it over, and then Lola began chanting a spell.

"Spirit of the Wind, heed my call!"

A gentle breeze blew in, and Serea's hair was quickly dried. Unable to help herself, Serea remarked,

"Is that really how nature magic is meant to be used..."

After that came face-washing, hair-braiding, and she was assisted into her customary black ceremonial dress. With that, their tasks were complete.

Next, Lola produced a crown woven of vines. After placing it on Serea's head, she spoke respectfully.

"This is the crown symbolizing the royal authority of the Darkmoon clan. From now on, you are the one true queen of the Darkmoon clan."

The crown was set into her freshly braided twin locks, and Serea felt her mind clear, as if the crown held some magical power.

System: Equipment obtained—Elven Crown of the Darkmoon Clan (Purple).

Elven Crown of the Darkmoon Clan (Purple): Grants level +2 to all Elven subordinates. Increases wearer's spiritual power by 20%.

"A purple item? And it boosts spiritual power, too?"

Suddenly receiving such equipment, Serea was a little pleasantly surprised.

System: Spiritual power increased, allowing control of more undead units. You can now control two additional undead.

"This is great!"

Serea silently praised it, not expecting that increased spiritual power would let her control more undead.

"Not bad."

Serea praised aloud, with Lola and Vina nodding slightly in acknowledgment.

In the midst of her delight, Serea remembered another important matter.

"Right, have the materials for the Blood Well been gathered?"

"The Blood Well is very similar to our clan's altar, needing only slight modifications."

"So it'll be finished soon, then!"

"Mm, in a sense, it's already completed now. Your Majesty can inspect it anytime."

"Nice! Then hurry and take me to see it!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, please follow me."

With that, Lola and Vina led the way, with an excited Serea following behind. She hadn't expected the Blood Well to be completed so quickly, and the thought of unlocking the Bloodline technology filled her with bright hopes for the future.

Exiting the Queen's wooden residence, Serea, now wearing her crown, walked through the village as elves greeted her.

"Your Majesty."

Whenever an elf spotted her, each would greet her with a slight bow, and Serea responded with a wave.

"Yes, good morning."

Thus, making her way across the small elven village, Serea arrived at the altar behind the settlement.

"This is the altar you mentioned?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

At Lola's answer, Serea looked at the three-tiered spring surrounded by stones set on the open ground. At the same time, she received the altar's information.

Building: Elven Altar (Blue, Under Modification)

Level: 15

Sturdiness: C

Durability: C

Mana: B+

Description: An altar modeled after the ancient Moonwell, able to gather the power of nature and generate and store mana.

Seeing this straightforward summary, Serea understood the altar's specific role, but what she really cared about was whether this altar could unlock the Blood Well.

Before she could try, Lola spoke up.

"This was converted from our clan's altar, but for it to become a 'Blood Well' on par with the High Elves' Moonwell, there's one critical step left."

"A critical step? What is it?"

"We need to replace the mana crystal."

Lola looked toward the center of the spring, where a pale blue stone sat at the bottom—the so-called 'mana crystal'.

Focusing on the crystal, Serea got its details.

Mana Crystal (Tier 1): A magical mineral capable of storing large amounts of mana. Can also serve as a conduit for mana.

After reading the crystal's info, Serea asked Lola,

"Is that mana crystal not good enough?"

"No."

Lola shook her head, then explained,

"Previously, our altar didn't produce much mana, so a tier 1 mana crystal was sufficient. But according to your Majesty's blueprints, the Blood Well will generate much more mana than this crystal can store, so we must replace it with at least a tier 3 mana crystal."

"At least tier three..."

Serea rubbed her chin in thought. Hearing 'mana crystal', she immediately thought of the tier 2 mana crystal among her dowry in her spatial ring, but that probably wouldn't be enough.

(To be continued...)

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

That tier 2 mana crystal should be a good temporary fix...