Cassis only dozed through the night. Every time he slipped into sleep, he woke again—always from the same nightmare: being alone. Seeing Arianna seize up, completely helpless in his arms, had scared him more than he'd thought possible.

Monsters, he could fight. But that kind of thing? Mana experiments? That was so far out of his realm that it had left him paralyzed. That couldn't happen again.

When morning came, Arianna was still curled up next to him, peaceful and warm. Part of him wanted nothing more than to hold her close and forget about the day. But the other part—the louder, more urgent one—refused to let him stay still, to enjoy this stolen happiness. Once she knew the truth, if she still wanted him, he could stay, but not now.

Instead, he got up quietly and made breakfast.

Some time later, Arianna joined him in the kitchen, looking rested and, annoyingly, completely normal.

"Are you okay?" he asked, placing a steaming mug in front of her. "Any lingering injuries from yesterday?"

She rolled her eyes like he was being ridiculous. "No. I told you. There was some pain at first, but I healed it. The seizures were the worst, but they passed quickly."

Cassis clenched his jaw. "Still. That shouldn't happen. It scared the hell out of me."

She gave him a soft look, almost amused. "Cas, we need to know what that was. You don't have to like it, but it doesn't change the facts. This could be dangerous in the wrong hands."

Her words were calm, reasonable, but in his head, he saw her convulsing again, saw her eyes rolled back, her body twitching on the ground. Reason didn't help with that.

But then something clicked.

"What if… you didn't pull someone's mana into yourself?" he said slowly. "What if you pushed your mana into them instead? Same principle, right? But reversed."

Her expression shifted instantly into her stubborn look: eyes scrunched, forehead frowning. "I won't hurt someone else just to test a theory."

"It wouldn't be just anyone," he said firmly. "Test it on me."

She stared at him like he'd lost his mind.

"I'm serious. If the pain really isn't that bad, then I'll stop worrying. But if it is—then you'll stop with these experiments. Deal?"

Her jaw tensed. She hated the idea, but she didn't dismiss it outright.

Cassis knew it might not be the smartest move to provoke the only healer he had access to or his girlfriend. But he also knew Arianna. She'd never hurt him intentionally. And this was the only way he could get through to her, by putting himself on the line. Just like she always did.

Arianna grudgingly agreed. "For safety purposes," she said, gesturing toward the floor, "you're lying down. Just in case."

Cassis didn't argue. If he wanted her to test this on him, she was going to call the shots. Otherwise, he knew she would refuse. He lay back on the floor, hands relaxed at his sides, trying to ignore how nervous she looked.

"Are you sure?" she asked quietly, her hand hovering over his. He nodded. He had never been surer of anything. She'd do this with or without him, and he'd rather she try it out on him than have her do these experiments on her own and ending up in another terrifying situation like yesterday.

Arianna took a deep breath, her hand tightening slightly around his, and let out the tiniest thread of her water mana into his system.

It felt like sticking his finger in an outlet—sharp, sudden, and hot. He jerked, but it didn't last long, and there was no seizure, no uncontrollable pain. When it ended, he let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding.

Arianna looked visibly relieved.

"I only used a very, very small amount of mana," she explained. "What did it feel like?"

"Like you shocked me. Not horrible, but definitely not pleasant," he said, grimacing slightly. "A little healing wouldn't hurt."

She immediately healed him, and the discomfort faded.

"If it's like this," he said as he sat up, "then I guess it's ok. But only if I'm there. In case something happens."

She tilted her head at him, clearly annoyed, but didn't argue. She had to know just how serious he was.

"You should also give me some potions to keep in my inventory. You've probably got enough CP to afford a small stock now—say, ten? We probably won't need to buy anything from the shop in the foreseeable future."

"Okay, I can work with that," she said, already pulling them out of thin air. She handed him ten small healing potions, which he stored away.

Before they could continue the conversation, the doorbell rang. Outside stood Joseph and Benny.

"Hey, you two," Joseph said. "We just wanted to check on Arianna, make sure everything's alright."

Arianna smiled at him, radiant and relaxed. "Thanks. I appreciate that."

Cassis appreciated it too. Though, watching Joseph who was old but still handsome smile back at her, he felt a tiny, unpleasant stab of jealousy. He wasn't stupid enough to say anything about it. He wasn't a complete idiot. And he knew his feelings were slightly unhinged. Joseph was old enough to be Arianna's father. She wouldn't consider him as a romantic partner. And Joseph was also by all accounts still deeply in love with his deceased wife. Cassis never claimed that his emotions were logical.

He plastered on a smile and waved them in.

While Arianna brought them up to speed on what she thought happened yesterday, Cassis listened quietly. Her theory made sense: people had different mana affinities, and trying to force an incompatible mana into someone's stream caused physical rejection—pain, seizures, worse. But more data was needed.

"Benny," Arianna said suddenly, "would you let me test my theory using your mana? Yours is wind, right? Joseph has earth, Cassis fire, and I'm water. All different."

Before Benny could answer, her eyes lit up with a new idea. She pulled out her phone.

"I'm texting Luke. He has water mana too. If he agrees, I can test compatibility between two matching affinities."

The phone barely left her hand before it vibrated with a call. She answered quickly.

"Hi, Luke."

"What's this about a mana experiment?" he asked.

"Just a small one. It's not dangerous anymore—well, maybe just a bit painful. But it could be important."

Apparently, they'd caught him just as he was leaving for work. After a short pause, he promised to stop by.

While they waited, Arianna and Benny sat on the couch. She took his hand and carefully drew out a tiny thread of his wind mana into her own mana stream. Her mouth tightened, but she stayed upright. A heal spell shimmered briefly around her.

"Yeah, that's painful," she muttered. "But manageable. I'm curious how Luke's will react."

Luke arrived not long after. After a brief explanation, he joined her on the couch, letting her take his hand. Arianna pulled his water mana into her system.

Nothing happened.

"That was… anticlimactic," she said.

"No reaction?" Cassis asked.

She shook her head, frowning thoughtfully. "I now have a little bit more mana. But the amount was tiny. It seems that elemental mana can be integrated without side effects if the recipient also has the same affinity. That opens possibilities. Like mana sharing. You could lend mana to someone low on it—though only if your affinities match. And maybe this could help people achieve a higher mana saturation."

She was already mumbling, deep in thought, nearly forgetting their guests.

Luke chuckled and gently interrupted her, "Can I feel what it's like to receive mana instead?"

"Sure," Arianna said, distracted. She pushed a small amount of her water mana into his stream.

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Luke jumped up almost immediately.

"What's wrong?" Arianna asked, suddenly alarmed.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" Luke said, practically bouncing in place like his five-year-old son would. "I feel like I just downed three energy drinks. I can't sit still. Your mana is the best energy drink ever."

He looked slightly dazed, jittery, almost drunk on adrenaline. Cassis took a step closer, wary but there didn't seem to be any danger.

Arianna just stared. "Okay… so giving mana can have side effects, too. Useful ones… maybe. But we'll need to test more to know for sure."

Luke ran around the room, spouting nonsense about calling his wife, running a marathon, or maybe just running all the way to work and leaving his car parked outside their house. He couldn't sit still for even a second, and Cassis did his best to tune him out. Benny and Joseph, however, were staring at Arianna.

"What?" she asked, frowning slightly.

Benny tilted his head. "Well… you didn't feel anything, but Luke here's like an energiser bunny. Maybe your mana is just more powerful or something? Would explain how you're so good at healing and all that."

Arianna opened her mouth to reject the idea automatically—then stopped. Her hand reached for her necklace without thinking, clutching it lightly between her fingers. None of the others noticed the significance, but Cassis did. She was wondering if her necklace had done something… changed her mana? Purified it? Or was it her higher mana saturation?

It was too early to say for sure.

Trying to steer the conversation back, Cassis offered a different theory. "Maybe Luke's just really sensitive to mana changes?"

"Ha!" Luke laughed, still bouncing in place. "That's the first time anyone's called me sensitive. Nadine always says I couldn't find my emotions if they hit me in the face!"

He cackled again, manically pacing the room. Cassis started to worry. Benny and Joseph both looked vaguely alarmed. Arianna bit her lip.

"Maybe I should call Nadine?" she asked. Cassis nodded.

Arianna dialled quickly and explained the situation. Less than five minutes later, Nadine arrived at their doorstep—only to find Luke gleefully jumping in place, breathlessly recounting embarrassing stories from college, vacation, and last Tuesday.

She took in the scene with the practiced patience of a long-suffering wife and asked just one question: "Why is my husband drunk?"

"Is that how he acts when he's drunk?" Cassis asked, curious.

"Yes," Nadine sighed. "It's why he's not allowed to drink unless I'm there."

That sounded like a well-worn argument.

Luke's face lit up when he saw her. "My wife! I just had the best drink ever! Well, not a drink. A mana transfusion! Arianna's mana is like three energy drinks in one! I haven't felt this good in weeks!"

He barely paused to breathe, speaking in a fast stream of enthusiasm. Arianna looked somewhere between delighted and horrified. Cassis had to admit: it was kind of hilarious to see Luke, normally so serious, this completely unhinged.

Still, he hoped the effect wouldn't last too long.

Nadine stepped forward and took her husband gently by the arm. "Come on, handsome. Let's get you back home and call in sick for the day."

"But I feel great!" he protested.

"Sure. And now imagine trying to sit through a meeting like this."

Luke paused. "…Fair point."

As Nadine led him to the door, she turned back to the group. Her expression was stern but not angry. "I get it, guys. I really do. But no more mana experiments on my husband. Are we clear?"

Arianna looked stricken with guilt. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Nadine softened, giving her a small smile. "You couldn't have known. I don't blame you. Just… be more careful next time, okay?"

Arianna nodded, eyes solemn. "Yeah. Sorry again. If he gets a hangover later, I can stop by and heal him?"

Nadine gave her a grateful look and nodded once before guiding her husband out, who was now humming what might've been a techno remix of the national anthem.

After the door closed, Benny and Joseph both exhaled, then chuckled, clearly amused despite the warning.

"Now that was interesting," Joseph said. He turned to Arianna, curious. "You really seem to have a knack for this mana stuff. What's your theory right now?"

Arianna hesitated, then shook her head. "It's too soon to be certain. I'd need to test it more. But I don't actually know anyone else with water mana. What we do know is that different affinities reject each other."

Cassis was watching her closely now. That look in her eyes… she did have a theory.

"Tell us, please," he said gently.

She sighed, reluctant. "Okay. But I could be wrong. Still, here's what I think."

She looked up, eyes serious. "I think mana affinities act like blood types. There are different types—fire, water, wind, earth. If you try to inject the wrong type into someone, their body or rather their mana stream, rejects it. Like in blood transfusions, where mismatched types cause clumping or even clotting. Pain, seizures… that's just the visible part of a violent internal rejection. But non-elemental mana is different, it's like the universal donor. It has no strong affinity, so it doesn't trigger a rejection. That's why we use it for healing."

Joseph's eyebrows rose. Benny looked fascinated.

Cassis found this theory interesting, but something bugged him. "That could be true. But why doesn't this happen when I attack someone with a skill or spell? The wounds are deeper because mana, and often elemental mana, is used."

Arianna was chewing on her lip, thinking about it. Then she said, "Well, that's because those attacks are physical, even spells are. Our mana streams mimic the blood circulation inside our bodies, but they're not physically present. There is also a strong mana barrier around our streams that lets mana in and out, but very slowly. It's why we need to concentrate so hard during meditation, to open the barrier but still keep our stream safe. And every time I use my non-elemental mana to reach into someone else's stream, this barrier stops me briefly. I think the recipient needs to agree to the disruption, even though it's unconscious. A heal spell is never stopped because it affects the body physically. Hm, I didn't notice it before, but there is a distinct difference between how easy it is for me to reach into Cas and everybody else. It's probably because you're so used to it now since you've been my guinea pig since the beginning."

She smiled at him, then got serious again. Cassis nodded. Though he had never noticed this barrier before, it did make sense. He really needed to work on his mana abilities.

"And think about the seeds," she continued, her voice gaining energy. "When I tried to feed a seed only water or only earth mana, it broke. But plant mana is a mix of the two. So maybe it doesn't need to be fed one type—it needs both, combined. That might be why nothing worked before."

She looked frustrated but thoughtful. "What I don't know is whether I need to feed both mana types at once, or if the seed needs to receive already-mixed mana like its own. That's what we'll have to test next."

Cassis watched her as she spoke, her eyes lit with determination. He hadn't heard of any of this in the other timeline, but then again… no one back then had been this interested or this reckless. Or this brilliant.

Arianna turned to Joseph. "We need to try working with the seeds again. Maybe we'll get more clues that way—without hurting anyone or getting someone drunk."

She cringed slightly at her own words. The guilt still lingered on her face.

Joseph nodded. "Great. That was the other reason we came over. Nothing's visible yet, but I feel something from the seeds I planted yesterday. I'd like you to take a look."

Arianna was already getting up, curiosity written all over her. "Let's go."

In Joseph's garden, she crouched down near the freshly planted soil. Her eyes scrunched together adorably as she concentrated.

"The concentration of plant mana has grown stronger compared to yesterday," she said thoughtfully.

Then she turned her head, frowning at another patch of earth where the grass looked less vibrant. "But this area has lost some plant mana. That's why the grass is struggling. Interesting… it looks like the plant mana moved toward the seeds. Maybe because the seeds already contain plant mana?"

Joseph nodded, rubbing his chin. "Then let's plant a few normal seeds and see if the same thing happens."

Arianna agreed, and together they began placing ordinary seeds in the soil.

Cassis stood nearby, watching them work. Benny had gone into the house to do something different, but Cassis was just watching them. As entertaining as all this was, he couldn't shake a growing feeling of uselessness. He wasn't a mage. He couldn't sense mana like Arianna could. His fire affinity was not good with plants, not like Joseph's. And yet, he knew if he tried to focus on something else, he'd just end up worrying about her anyway.

He sighed softly. His obsession with her wasn't healthy. He knew that. He really needed to talk to his therapist. Their first meeting was coming up in a few days. Hopefully, that would help untangle some of this. She didn't deserve an emotionally unstable man, if she still wanted him after knowing the truth.

His thoughts were interrupted by Arianna's cheerful voice.

"Let's try imbuing the seeds with mana again."

Joseph, still cautious after the chaos of the previous day, nodded slowly. But the excitement in his eyes gave him away. Farming had always been his passion, Cassis remembered, especially after his wife had died. Maybe for him finding out about mana and farming was his way of taking back control of his life.

This time, Arianna held the seed in one hand and guided Joseph's hand over her own. She concentrated, her brows furrowed, then let out a sudden excited shout. Then frowned. Again. And again. No matter what they tried, the mana wouldn't mix properly.

Finally, she sighed in frustration. "It's because I'm not proficient enough in mana manipulation. I can't hold the two types long enough for them to merge."

Joseph looked at her, surprisingly calm. "Then let's both work on our mana control and try again in a few days. I think it would be easier for you if I were able to control my mana better. Then you wouldn't have to do all the heavy lifting."

Arianna looked up at him and smiled. "Don't talk like that. You're doing better at pushing your mana out than yesterday. But yeah. You're right. Let's do some more training before trying this again."

They returned home not long after—and just in time. The doorbell rang before they'd even been inside ten minutes.

"Hi Mr. Walker. Hi Arianna," Janice greeted cheerfully.

Cassis raised an eyebrow. Mr. Walker? But Arianna was on a first-name basis?

"You can call me Cassis now," he said with a warm smile. "I'm not your teacher anymore, and if we're going to be working together, it'd be strange to keep it so formal."

Janice giggled. "It's still weird to call a former teacher by his first name. But I'll try."

Cassis nodded, understanding. He wouldn't call his old teachers by their first names either. Some habits were just too deeply ingrained.

"Alright. Then let's start planning these online sessions."

As they got to work, Cassis quickly realized Janice had more experience than he'd expected.

When he asked her about it, she flushed slightly but explained, "I used to join online courses to prepare for college. There was usually a professor giving a lecture and a moderator who watched the chat and asked the questions out loud. That way, it didn't get too chaotic. You could also submit questions before the session, and the moderator would compile them and pass them to the professor to help shape the lecture."

Arianna beamed. Cassis was impressed. She was only seventeen, but clearly competent and thoughtful. Although she hadn't applied these skills to her actual schoolwork. Typical teenager. They were smart and had diverse interests but could never seem to apply their intelligence to school subjects.

"Good work, Janice. And you're sure you'd like to be our moderator? We'll pay you, of course."

He pulled out a bill and handed it to her. "What do you think? This is for today's prep. Each session would be another twenty, five days a week—so one hundred total."

Janice stared at the money, looking surprised. She hesitated, then accepted it with a small, choked-up laugh.

"Yes. That would be great."

But something in her voice made Cassis pause. Relief. Maybe even desperation. He exchanged a glance with Arianna—she'd noticed too.

Something was going on. Janice should have money since she and her siblings would have gotten their parents' inheritance. Though her uncle would be the trustee until the siblings came of age. Last, he'd seen of the family, the uncle had seemed nice and willing to take care of the children. What was going on?

He didn't ask her yet since he knew teenagers didn't volunteer that kind of information right away. They'd need to be sneaky and piece together what was going on over time. But now they'd be seeing Janice every day. They'd figure it out eventually. Together.

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