Life didn't get easier, even in another world.

Chapter 144 - Mana Depletion

Swosh Swosh

The cold wind caressed their cheeks as it passed through the snowy land.

The group of four stood motionlessly in front of a pile of snow.

"M-my hose..."

One of them stepped forward while mumbling under his lips. He walked past the huge piles of snow and got closer to the crumbled walls.

"Those bastards! They've destroyed my house!"

Alan clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. 

"How dare they!"

He was really angry. He looked like he was about to explode from anger at any moment.

BAMM

He angrily kicked a broken piece of something. The thing flew away and fell on a pile of snow, getting completely buried under the snow. 

"Bastards!"

BAMM BAMM BAMM

He kicked anything that was in his way, shooting broken furniture into the air. The snow that was settled on the ground rose to the air and some pieces of ice shattered by the impact.

The other three people walked away from him out of reflex and did their best to ignore him. They stared at the air, ignoring the man who had gone rampage. 

'I guess there are things you cannot do even if you can turn back the time...'

Kairen moved his tired body and walked further away. He was out of mana and he was exhausted. He wanted to go back home and sleep for three days, but he couldn't do so. Looking at Alan, Kairen felt a little bit bad. He would be able to protect his house if he was here when the Philomns people broke in, but he was far away, helping them out in their mission. 

Even if he could turn time back, he couldn't just magically arrive at his house when he was in the middle of a fight when this was happening.

"I want revenge! Revenge for my house!"

Team leader Dains glanced at Alan for one last time before turning to Kairen.

"So, we are close to him now. Can you locate the target?"

Kairen knew that the team leader was talking about that sild dude. Kairen closed his eyes as soon as he heard that and inserted mana into the spell.

He could feel his already heavy body itch all over as soon as his mana left his body, but he didn't mind and just activated the spell.

"...."

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes again. Tapping his heavy chest, Kairen explained the situation to the others.

"It's as the deputy team leader said. They have arrived at the Frozen Ocean."

Team leader Dains noded. He thought about something for a moment before asking another thing.

"Can you use Trace?"

"Trace?"

The team leader pointed at Alan's destroyed house.

"Use Trace in that place. See if you can locate the intruders."

"Ah... yes."

Once again, Kairen closed his eyes and cast a spell. He used the last drops of his mana to cast Trace magic. Now with an even heavier body, he looked at the remnants of Alan's house.

"There were five people. It seems like they came and left through teleportation as I can sense mana around."

Kairen pointed at one spot with his slightly shaking finger.

"They... appeared right there..."

Feeling out of breath, he paused and took a deep breath.

"There... they entered the... huff... house... huff"

Kairen paused again and pressed his chest that was filly too heavy.

"Kairen?"

Sensing that something was off, Reyan marched towards Kairen. Team leader Dains also frowned and Alan turned to look at them.

Kairen opened his mouth to tell the rest of the things he had seen.

"In... that... spot, and-gasp!"

But he couldn't finish his words. 

Kairen suddenly gasped, grabbed his head, and staggered.

'Huh'

The sudden piercing pain in his head was so intense that he even felt his sight go bluer. 

"Gasp!"

Losing the strength in his feet, his body weakly drooped down. 

He had never experienced such pain before. It was as if he was getting stabbed with a knife in his temple.

"H-hey!"

"Kairen!"

Someone caught his falling body and helped him sit down on the ground. He would normally nag about how cold the ground, which was covered with ice and snow, is, but he didn't care about that this time. Kairen grabbed his throbbing head with both hands and clenched his eyes shut.

"Gasp! Gasp! Huff!"

In addition to his splitting headache, it was getting difficult to breathe properly. His body felt weak and it throb all over.

He could feel someone slightly shake his body.

"Hey! Are you fine? Hey!"

"Gasp!"

Even though the shakings were gentle, they were making him dizzy. Kairen really wanted to curse the person who was shaking his body, that was probably Reyan.

"Stop it!"

Fortunately, Reyan was stopped by team leader Dains at that moment.

SHHP SHHP

Plop

Team leader Dains walked closer and crouched down near Kairen. He examined Kairen's situation and frowned his brows.

"Mana depletion?"

Kairen slightly opened his eyes. 

Was it mana depletion?

Kairen had experienced the lack of mana before, but he had never felt like this. The only thing that would happen to him was him feeling tired and out of energy.

Once he opened his eyes could see Reyan supporting his body and Team leader Dains examining his condition. Alan was also slowly walking towards them while still cursing under his lips.

"You were out of mana after the mission as well, right?"

"Y- Argh... Yes."

"Did you consume mana potions after that?"

Nod Nod 

"So this is the second time that you are out of mana today?"

Nod Nod

"Sigh!"

Team leader Dains sighed while staring at Kairen, he seemed a little bit irritated. 

"I am not surprised by your current situation then."

'What? Why?'

Team leader Dains looked around and kept talking as if he had just read Kairen's thoughts.

"Two mana depletions in half a day is quite dangerous for your health. Especially now that you've consumed mana potions. It's like slashing a wound that was not yet healed."

'Why?'

"Continuously consuming mana and using it until you are out of it causes something like continues abrasion, but not in the body but in the soil."

'Really?'

"Argh!"

Kairen clenched his eyes shut as he felt an even intenser pain in his temple. 

"Gasp! Gasp!"

Kairen's body shuddered as the pain got worse and worse. For a moment, he couldn't even hear the sounds around him. The temperature was subzero but his back was wet with sweat. 

'Why hadn't I heard about this before?... Nah, it's not surprising anymore.'

Kairen 1 would know about it, but he wasn't Kairen 1. What surprised him was the fact that team leader Dains explained something that he, as a mage, must have known without questioning him why he didn't know about it. 

'Does he know that I've lost my memories?'

"Argh!"

Nah! It wasn't the time to think about such things.

"What is wrong with that boy?"

Alan looked at the boy with a strange gaze and turned to team leader Dains.

"He is in a state of mana depletion."

He looked back at Reyan who was hurriedly taking out a mana potion and grabbed his arm.

"Stop it."

"W-why?"

Reyan looked between Kairen and the team leader with an extremely worried face, not understanding why he was stopped.

"It will only make matters worse. The mana potions only force the soil to create more mana. He is in this condition because he had forced his soul more than its limit."

"Ah..."

Reyan hurriedly let go of the potion.

"W-what should we do then? Isn't it dangerous? Should we teleport back?"

"And who is going to activate the teleportation gadget?"

"Ah..."

Team leader Dains looked around the snowy field. 

"Let's go to the city near this place. He'll be fine after a little bit of rest."

Hearing that, Kairen raised his head and slightly opened his eyes again.

"W-what about... the... Mmg... the mission..."

Team leader Dains shook his head. 

"That is not important now. We can't do anything at that moment with you like this."

He paused for a moment.

"Not that we could do much anyway."

His voice trailed off as if he was ashamed of what he was saying.

He wasn't wrong though.

The house was already destroyed and the man was in the Frozen Ocean. All they could do was to keep track of that man and check the situation.

"Kairen, can you get up?"

'No. I can't!'

Kairen didn't need to say that out loud for the others to understand. 

"Here. I'll help you."

"Boy, you look like shit!"

Kairen glared at Alan while standing up with Reyan's help. 

"Ok Ok. I'll shut up!"

Alan waved his hands and walked towards the remnants of his house again.

"There are some things that I must pick from here... That's if they are not destroyed yet. You guys go ahead."

"Kairen, do you want me to carry you on my back?"

'No, fuck! Just help me not fall down.'

"Okay!"

Surprisingly, everyone could read Kairen's mind today. 

The group of three left Alan behind and walked towards the closest city.