Trust

When he saw Iz again, the man no longer radiated that almost visible, overwhelming malice.

Kumiloni had also picked the right moment.

She gently explained at once, "What Iz used on you back then was probably Malice Aura."

"This spell gives off intense malice, immediately making any nearby target wary, hateful, or even afraid of the caster."

"Malice can drive away timid monsters, and it can also be used... to put people through trials."

"Many academies use Malice Aura to make training trials feel more dangerous."

"But if someone knows about it in advance, Malice Aura's effects are greatly diminished. After all, if you already know the other person isn't really trying to hurt you, it won't affect you as much."

Now that Lu Cang was looking at Izpalut again, he really did feel less hatred toward him than before.

There was still a trace of guilt on Iz's face. "Sorry. Given the circumstances, I couldn't explain too much to you back then. It would've ruined the effect."

"One of the conditions for learning Void Magic is to exhaust all your mana while facing a threat to your life."

"On top of that, I had to personally set up a corresponding ritual."

Lu Cang felt a little more at ease.

He was still on guard, but judging from the current situation,

there was a good chance they were telling the truth.

He had been unconscious for so long...

Iz had had plenty of chances to kill him.

Even if he hadn't killed him,

after what had happened, he shouldn't have brought him back at all.

Should he trust him?

Lu Cang was deeply conflicted.

It felt far too generous to act as though nothing had happened when he'd nearly died.

But as he sensed the "Void Magic" within him,

he could tell that he had indeed broken through the limits of his mana, just as Iz had said.

And he really had learned "Void Magic."

If Iz was telling the truth, would it be too heartless to just give him the cold shoulder and walk away?

But if he trusted him again so easily... would that mean he was far too trusting in this other world?

Trusting someone who had put him on the brink of death?

Right and wrong warred within Lu Cang.

He thought of how warmly the adventurers treated Iz, of the apprentices who earnestly and eagerly sought Iz's help with magic problems, and of how urgently Kumiloni had come to rescue him in the dungeon.

Her concern and tenderness...

Could all of that have been an act, too?

He was still alive, and they had rescued him... That was real, too. Even though the shadow of death flickered in his memories, Lu Cang made his decision.

At last, Lu Cang let out a soft sigh.

"Iz, I trust you," he said quietly.

Iz was far stronger than Lu Cang.

But when he heard those words, Iz seemed relieved, his smile returning.

Iz smiled. "Thank you."

Iz didn't know how difficult it had been for Lu Cang to decide to trust him.

Lu Cang had never heard of Izpalut's reputation in this world.

He hadn't heard any famous legends about him, either.

He had been in this world for less than three days and knew almost nothing about it.

All he knew was that someone he had trusted had left him in a deadly predicament.

And now,

Lu Cang had to trust again someone he had known for less than three days—a man who had nearly gotten him killed.

It was far more difficult for him than it would have been for those who knew the legends of Izpalut.

Once Lu Cang had calmed down, he listened as Izpalut explained what had happened from beginning to end.

Iz had already planned the night before how to put him in a life-or-death situation that day.

The only change was that they had switched the dungeon from the second-tier Dark Jungle to the second-tier Shadow Cave.

But the outcome would have been the same in either dungeon.

Iz would personally control the strength of the final dungeon lord.

He would use the "Demonic Beast Control" spell to make monsters attack when needed.

Then he would use "Demonic Beast Frenzy" to make them stronger than they normally were.

The result was

that Lu Cang had faced one hair-raising threat to his life after another.

But the danger had never actually been real.

Iz had orchestrated it all.

If Lu Cang couldn't dodge an attack, Iz would find a way to stop it.

But as long as Lu Cang could dodge, Iz would create a hairbreadth escape that seemed to end in disaster.

As Lu Cang listened to Iz describe his entire plan,

his expression grew complicated.

Iz cradled a cup of hot tea. "Your performance was truly amazing."

"Even after the Dark Serpent went berserk, you were able to suppress it. You nearly killed it, too."

Lu Cang recalled what had happened and lowered his head. "At the time, all I could think about was how to stay alive."

Iz's expression darkened a little, too. "Sorry..."

"Maybe I should've used a gentler approach."

Lu Cang shook his head. "No... Iz."

"I said I trust you."

"At least this time, I'll trust you. After all, you and the others were the ones who got me out of that place."

He still felt shaken, and the resentment wouldn't disappear so easily.

But at least Lu Cang had chosen to trust this mage again.

It wasn't that Lu Cang didn't value his life. It was because of Iz's character, everything he had shown him, and the companions by his side...

And because the "Void Magic" within him was still working.

All of it convinced Lu Cang that Iz deserved a second chance at his trust.

"Tell me about Void Magic, Iz." Lu Cang grinned.

Izpalut smiled with relief. "Sure."

"Void Magic (LV: 100) (Forbidden) — eternal operation, mana drawn from the void, all-attribute mana, mana absorption resistance, extremely fast mana recovery, continuous mana growth"

Iz began, "Only two people in the world have mastered Void Magic."

"I'm one of them."

Lu Cang said, "The other one is me."

Iz nodded gently.

Lu Cang asked, "Then, the way to break through..."

Iz answered, "It exists only in theory, but I'm ninety-nine percent certain the theory is sound."

Lu Cang's mouth twitched.

So he was the first person to try it.

Iz, I just started trusting you again.

Thinking that, Lu Cang tilted his head and asked, "Then why hasn't anyone besides you mastered it?"

"You said there were two other people who learned Magic Tide." Lu Cang sounded curious.

Iz replied, "It's a matter of level."

"They had both advanced to first-level mages."

"To break through the mana limit and master Void Magic, you have to be a first-level mage."

"There's another condition: Magic Tide must reach its proficiency limit."

The limit.

Did that mean level 100?

One of the effects of "Divine Proficiency Evolution" let him see his proficiency progress.

Which meant ordinary people couldn't see how far along they were in their proficiency.

They could only feel that they'd improved to some extent.

But there should be ways to measure it, Lu Cang guessed.

"Mm."

"After you learned Magic Tide, I could already tell. With your talent, it won't take long for you to master it completely."

"You're the mage I've met who is most likely to master Void Magic besides me."

"If you don't learn Void Magic while you're still at level one, you'll never have another chance."

Lu Cang nodded gently.

Now that he knew the full story, he could accept the "trial" Iz had put him through.

Even if it had left him with a deep psychological scar.

"Void Magic doesn't just increase your maximum mana capacity."

"It also lets you recover mana in any environment."

Iz gently raised a hand.

A hum—

That familiar sensation returned. The free-floating elements within a one-kilometer radius of Lu Cang vanished in an instant.

The area became a place where he couldn't recover mana... a mana-free zone.

Iz said, "Try using some mana."

Lu Cang raised his hand, and an Ice Spike formed beside him.

He increased the amount of mana he put into it.

He used up 0.2% of his mana.

That 0.2% was equivalent to 14% of what he'd had when fighting the giant snake.

Yet the moment he spent the mana,

the amount he'd used was replenished at once.

The recovery of his mana wasn't affected by the elements outside at all.

If anything...

his mana didn't come from the elements around him.

It came from the void within his body.