Chapter 289 Purpose
The reason why Adam and Lisa felt guilty about the death of Galriel was because they both blamed themselves for it.
Lisa believed that she could have saved the elf from the troll had she been stronger. Adam, on the other hand, blamed himself for robbing Galriel of the chance of going to the afterlife.
Now he didn't know if the white lotus had destroyed the elf's conscience and absorbed only the pure spiritual power. He knew nothing about the concept of the afterlife, nor did he know anything about the soul. He didn't even know everything about the lotus yet.
But not knowing is what made it countless times worse for the youth.
Lisa glanced at him and spoke with tearful eyes, "You're saying accepting Galriel's death will help me find peace."
Adam simply nodded.
"But how can I accept it so easily?" Lisa lowered her head, pearls of tears falling from her eyes and dropping to the ground. "It was I who was responsible for her death, after all. I will never be able to forgive myself."
"Listen to me," Adam gently said. "You mustn't bear this burden alone. Galriel's journey has ended, but it wasn't your doing. Blaming yourself serves no purpose."
The youth spoke sincerely. Perhaps he was also talking to himself as he comforted Lisa. "Allow yourself to grieve, but don't let guilt consume you."
He paused for a moment before adding, "Galriel... she wouldn't want that."
Lisa stayed silent for a long time. Then, she wiped her tears and asked her friend, "That thing you said about acceptance of the natural order of things…
"Have you accepted Galriel's death yet?"
Adam smiled bitterly, "No, I haven't. But I'm trying."
Afterward, silence fell over them as they gazed into the distance, each wrestling with their own thoughts. Suddenly, Lisa spoke wryly, "I used to always think that having great talent would make me a great Magus, but over time I've realized that wasn't true."
Adam glanced at her silently, patiently waiting for her to continue.
"Despite having an A-grade aptitude for spell-casting, why is it that I feel so useless?" Lisa added as she tightly clenched her fists. "In our past missions, I was always the one holding you and Eddie down… and then this thing that happened with Galriel…"
She started crying once again and buried her face in her palms. "I just don't know what to do anymore!"
Seeing her struggling so hard with her own shortcomings, Adam felt helpless. He didn't know how to console her. He would always leave such matters to Edward. But seeing that his friend wasn't there, he had to do it himself.
He stretched his hand, wanting to gently pat Lisa, but he suddenly paused and withdrew his hand.
No, she's a headstrong girl. She'd only feel that I'm patronizing her. Damn it, what do I do?
"Even back in Stardale," Lisa began, "while you both were valiantly fighting enemies outside, I was cowering within the walls. I'm just sick and tired of always feeling weak and helpless!"
Adam sighed deeply, shaking his head, "Yes, you were inside the city walls, but you weren't cowering in fear. In fact, one could argue that what you did was more important than what we did outside the walls. And that is saving the innocent people of the city."
He could understand why she would feel so weak and helpless.
He could completely understand it.
It was because she had always been in the company of two monstrous talents.
Adam had the advantage of having memories and experiences of the Magi that could be considered as top powerhouses even in the entire universe.
This made him take fewer detours in his path as a Magus. Not to mention, one of the two abilities that he had received from Valerian had increased his mana reserves significantly, technically making his aptitude not any different from Lisa's.
As for Edward, he was a being that was loved by mana. Nothing else needed to be said.
So how could Lisa not feel useless when she was always around these two?
This was one of the reasons why Adam had given her a fairly superior mana extraction technique. In some ways, it was even greater than the one he had given to Edward.
"Do you remember the mana extraction technique I gave you?" He asked
"Hmm?" Lisa glanced at her with red eyes. She wiped her tears and asked back, "You mean the Woodland Convergence?"
Adam nodded, "You're still practicing it, yes?"
"Mm." Lisa nodded. She had realized the immense value of this mana extraction technique. She would be a fool to not practice it.
The youth had always wondered just where Adam had gotten his hands on such an impeccable technique, despite the latter saying that he had gotten it from the Soaring River Secret plane.
She didn't wish to pry into her friend's secrets, so she never asked further about it. She was simply grateful for having received such a technique. Nothing else mattered to her.
"Why do you ask?"
"You must have already realized that the Woodland Convergence specializes in wood and poison, right?" Adam asked.
Lisa simply nodded. This technique was quite suitable for her who had a natural disposition toward the element of wood. Moreover, the element of poison also fell under this category.
"Good," Adam replied with a confident smile. "As long as you continue to diligently practice the Woodland Convergence, you will grow up to become a terrifyingly powerful Magus. It is a slow process, but it will take you far down your path as a Magus."
Adam recalled the memories of that expert from whom he had gotten this technique.
This Woodland Convergence is a top-tier technique that makes the user nigh-invincible. They have such great regenerative skills that they're almost impossible to kill. Morover, this technique also grants its user a long lifespan!
However, he didn't mention this to Lisa, thinking she would get even more suspicious about the origins of this technique.
Lisa remained silent for a long time. In the end, she glanced at Adam and spoke with a genuine smile, "Thanks for hearing me out."
"Don't mention it," Adam smiled back. "That's what friends are for."
…
A few days later, within a large tent that belonged to the members of the Gracie Family, Morden and Kevin were sitting on comfortable chairs and glancing at three Magi who were kneeling before them.
Morden looked at the young man in the middle and asked with an amused smirk, "You said your name was Alex?"
Alex raised his head and respectfully replied, "Yes, Lord Gracie."
"Hmm…" Morden stroked his chin with a playful smile. "My men tell me that your group had an altercation with Adam. Is that correct?"
Alex hesitated to speak, "No, it wasn't an altercation, my lord, it was just—"
"I'll cut to the chase," Morden interrupted him. The next moment, his eyes narrowed and he muttered coldly, "I want you and your team to kill Adam."
Alex's eyes widened in disbelief, "M-My lord, what do you—"
This time it was Kevin who interrupted him. He spoke with sheer hatred, "Kill Adam and his whole team. We will reward you with whatever you desire - potions, artifacts, spells, you name it. Everything will be yours if you finish the job."
Alex as well as Ivan and Kelley were overcome by greed at the mention of resources that would help them in their paths as Magi.
Suddenly, Alex thought of something and asked nervously, "But, all missions are released from the headquarters. What are the chances of my team and Adam's…"
He didn't finish his sentence, but Morden and Kevin understood the underlying meaning. The former chuckled coldly, "Let me worry about that, and as for you lot..."
Morden's eyes gleamed with a cold light, a terrifying killing intent gushing out from him.
"Bring me Adam's head."
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