Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

Zaroth's consciousness was slipping away, he felt like he didn't have the strength to move a muscle.

That was before something wet brushed across his face.

"Huh?" he muttered, his eyes opening slowly. The first thing his gaze fell upon was Silverfang, the wolf was looking at him with his tongue out, breathing exactly while wiggling his tail.

"You up?"

Before he could look around, a familiar pleasant voice reached out to him,

"Luna?" his eyesight stopped on her figure,

"Am I in my mana core again?" he muttered, eyes starting to scan the surroundings, just like before he was standing on a green, calm ocean.

Letting out a sigh, Luna extended her arm towards him for support.

Zaroth accepted it, getting on his feet.

After confirming that he had indeed found a way back into his mana core, he was about to ask Luna what was so significant about this place. She had spoken many times about how magical it was to be here.

"Look there," she gestured, extending her finger to the sky.

With a raised eyebrow, Zaroth followed her gesture, his eyes widened in pure awe.

Stars, there were countless stars that were up in the sky. It wasn't like when he was in the material world where sometimes clouds could obstruct one's view, no, these stars were clearly visible.

"There are so many…" he tried to count them one by one, but failed miserably, it seemed the more he focused on one point, more and more would appear.

A few moments passed in silence staring at the sky until realization hit him.

"These look familiar… wait, are they by any chance?" his gaze shifted momentarily to Luna, who simply nodded in agreement,

"These are the sparks that you have been connecting to your mana core when you were meditating," she explained.

Truthfully speaking, Zaroth should have realized this sooner, but this was the first time he was physically seeing a spark rather than feeling it in his body. The resemblance to stars was evident,

"...Wait, stars?"

His eyes widened even further, taking a few steps forward. His mana core had been stuck on the Rare tier for some time now, and he had yet to find a way to reach the next tier, having trouble connecting more sparks to his core.

But what if he had been looking at it from the wrong side all this time?

The stars, after all, were able to connect to one another, creating constellations, so why hadn't he tried to do the same?

He didn't really have much to do anyway, so he sat on the ground, cross-legged, and closed his eyes.

A smug appeared on Luna's face, as she laid her body beside him, about to enjoy the show,

'This one,'

Zaroth, familiarized with the sparks that were connected to his core, shifted the connection to another spark.

The moment the two sparks connected, a beautiful line appeared in the sky of his mana core as he took a gasp.

"Power!" he realized, clenching his palm into a fist,

Just now, by connecting these two sparks to one another, he felt like he had connected several to his mana core, it was a significant boost.

Instantly, he knew that he was on the right track, so he closed his eyes once again, starting to connect more sparks to one another.

Luna's smug expression disappeared as she saw more and more sparks connected in the sky, starting to form a familiar silhouette.

"..." it had been some time since she had felt these kinds of emotions… no, considering that feeling anything at all could cause Zaroth's mana core to explode, killing him, she had suppressed them.

But at this second, she felt truly touched, for the sparks in the sky had formed into a constellation of her dragon form,

"Thank you," before she could react, Zaroth spoke lying beside her, observing his work in the sky. There was a bead of sweat going across his forehead, for now, he had reached his limit. If he wanted to create more constellations, he would have to do so, at a later date.

"For what?" Luna questioned, her gaze never shifting from the sky,

"For always being there for me," he answered honestly.

"Zaroth, I…" Luna's words got caught in her throat, her heartbeat starting to accelerate.

Slowly, she moved, changing her position, sitting on Zaroth as she gazed upon him.

Both of them stared at one another for a few moments,

She moved her hands to his head, leaning down, brushing her lips against his.

"Did you feel pain?" she asked, remembering the last time they had kissed, Zaroth had almost gotten a heart attack,

"...No," Zaroth answered, his arms wrapping around her waist,

'Is it finally time?' he thought, his heartbeat escalating. From the very beginning he had wanted to spend a night with Luna, yet due to his weak core, he had never been able to do it,

Unknown to him, after creating the constellation in the sky, he had evolved his mana core to the Epic-tier.

"Then… once we are out of here, we can do it?" a sly smile formed on Luna's lips, her body lowering to his.

"Make it out?" he questioned, he thought that he was already dead and just wanted to be with Luna for his final moments,

Luna chuckled at the confusion on his face.

"Then once you are back in shape, we can do it," she said, putting her finger on his heart.

Before Zaroth could respond, his eyes suddenly opened.

A dim light reached his vision while the scent of blood and fire lingered in the air.

"You up?" a pleasant male voice called out to him.

Still a bit disoriented, Zaroth sat, resting his back against the rock next to him, as he focused on the voice,

A few seconds later he saw, the silhouette of an individual dressed in black robes and mask observing him with interest.

"David!" realizing that his friend was sure to be hurt, his eyes searched for him,

A sigh of relief escaped from his mouth once his eyes stopped on him, he was laying on the ground with a frown on his face but was alive,

"Are you a healer?" Zaroth asked, gazing at the mysterious figure.

The man shook his head, "No,"

"Then how did you heal us?" Zaroth questioned, feeling that his injuries were no more.

"Because it is what differentiates us elves from you humans."

Zaroth's eyes shot up on the mentioning of the elf, the person before him was apparently from another race. But more than the identity, what grabbed his attention was the power this stranger referred to.

"What's the difference between us?" he asked.

"Our powers," the elf replied. "You humans rely on mana and divine blessings. We, on the other hand, draw strength from the will of the world. A skilled elf can do anything they wish—once they learn how to connect with it. But your powers… are limited."

Zaroth's theory was confirmed. Elves didn't rely on mana—they used something else entirely. That explained why they never taught humans how to read or use their runes.

Zaroth was prepared to ask more questions, but the figure raised a hand, signaling to stop.

"I have saved you and your friend from death, so I am the one that needs to have his questions answered." he spoke, pointing to Zaroth's odachi.

"First off, tell me, how did you get your hands on such powerful enchantments?"