"What’s going on?"

Cael looked around, his voice sharp with confusion.

He was not aware of the three students’ experience, and naturally, he wasn’t informed about the unknown energy.

But now, seeing everyone laugh while crying at the same time, he felt something cold settle in his chest.

The laughter itself was wrong. It was not joy. It was not sorrow. It was something in between, something that should not exist.

’Something was wrong. Why was I not affected?’

Even Seraphina was not in a good state.

Although she was not laughing or crying, her expression was stiff. Her jaw was clenched.

Her hands were curled into fists at her sides. She was forcefully suppressing something, and it was taking all of her concentration.

’What to do? What could I do?’

Cael heard Seraphina mutter "unknown energy" earlier.

’Was this some kind of skill? If it was, then there was a way to counter it.’

Thinking quickly, Cael released wind elemental mana, covering Seraphina and the doctors behind her in a thin, protective layer of wind.

Then he activated ’Calm Mind’ and used mana nullification with wind as a medium.

If this were truly a skill made of mana, then he was certain it would be nullified.

But nothing happened.

The laughter continued. The tears kept falling. The people around him kept shaking.

Cael’s eyes widened as he realized the truth.

This was not mana at all. It was a completely different source of power.

It was not miasma either. He did not feel any hostility.

As a mana being, humans instinctively felt hostile toward miasma and miasma beings.

But right now, Cael felt nothing. No disgust. No revulsion. No urge to destroy.

So, he concluded this incident had nothing to do with miasma.

’Was there a third kind of power source?’ 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

’There was not even a mention of such a thing in the novel.’

’No, damn it. This was not a novel anymore. I need to stop thinking like that.’

Cael took a deep breath. His eyes sharpened as his gaze landed on Seraphina.

’What if it were mana, but the effect was happening inside their bodies?’

’What if the energy had already integrated itself into these people before I arrived?’

’Maybe that’s why I wasn’t affected?’

Seraphina turned her head, locking her eyes with Cael’s. She felt something had changed in Cael, though she could not name what.

Cael took a step forward and reached for Seraphina’s hand.

"Circulate your mana."

Seraphina was confused, but she did as he asked.

Mana flowed through her channels, smooth and controlled. Cael sensed it carefully.

There was nothing wrong with her mana. No blockages or any foreign energy.

’Then what was the cause?’

As Cael stood there, his mind racing through possibilities, a bold idea struck him.

Should he try... copying it?

Up until now, he had never attempted to copy skills beyond the realm of mana.

He had never even thought about it. But right now, he had no leads at all.

’No time to hesitate.’

Even though he could not sense this unknown energy, even though he could not see through this skill or power, he had to try.

And that was what he would do.

Cael started to calculate, searching for any clue or lead that might help him copy or nullify this energy.

These people were forced to laugh and cry.

’Laugh and cry.’

’Was this just the result of people’s emotions and their state of mind being manipulated?’

Once that thought crossed his mind, Cael took immediate action. He muttered softly,

"I want this."

What he did was simple. He imposed his will on his skill, temporarily overwriting its limitations.

Right now, he could copy whatever he wanted, at least in theory.

It was the second time he had attempted this.

The first time was with the mana barrier in the Rainfall Forest, but for reasons unknown, he had failed.

But unlike last time, Cael was desperate. Unlike last time, where he had just wanted the skill, this time he needed it.

-CRACK -CRACK

Cael’s hand, the one holding Seraphina’s arm, began to crack as if he were a statue.

But the problem was that statues did not bleed as he did.

Blood seeped through the fractures, running down his fingers and dripping onto the floor.

Seraphina looked at his arm and asked hastily,

"An unmastered skill? What are you doing?"

Cael locked his eyes with hers. He wanted to say something, but he could not.

His jaw was clenched. His teeth were grinding. His throat was tight as if something was stopping him from opening his mouth.

But still...

Cael forced his mouth open and cursed out,

"WORK, FUCKING, DAMN IT."

Blood dripped from his mouth, and from his cracked hand onto the white floor, each drop landing with a soft, wet sound.

The laughter outside continued, but in that moment, the room felt completely silent, Cael started to lose his sense of hearing.

In that moment, Seraphina saw Cael’s violet eyes turn cosmic purple.

She forgot how to breathe.

Looking into those eyes, she felt as though she was staring at the universe itself.

Stars swirled in the depths of his irises. Galaxies spun and collapsed. Light and darkness intertwined in patterns that should not exist.

It was beautiful. It was terrifying. It was something no human should ever see.

As soon as Cael cursed those words, he started coughing blood. His vision grew dizzy.

The edges of the room blurred and smeared like flowing water.

A small smile formed on the edges of his lips. He knew this sinking feeling very well.

’I had resonated again. Wasn’t I’

But no. He did not know when he would wake up again.

So, he could not lose consciousness here. He did not want to resonate, not now.

And especially not when the current situation was this chaotic.

He needed to stay awake. He wanted to stop this resonance.

But it was a futile attempt. His vision darkened. The last thing he saw was Seraphina’s astonished eyes.

She was dazed while looking at him. Her usual composure was gone.

Her sharp amber eyes were wide, unfocused.

’What did she see? What was so surprising?’

Cael muttered one word before he finally lost consciousness.

"Why?"