Chapter 3449 Stubborn Pride (Part 2) Leria had consumed much more mana than Aran on his first day and was now paying the price. Every spell she practiced gave her head a pang and made her eyes water. She finished everything only thanks to sheer willpower and stubborn pride. "I'm done." She clenched her head, feeling like it would explode if she let it go. "Give me a minute to rest my eyes." "Sure thing" Abominus went to pick a blanket and when he returned, Leria had fallen asleep on her desk. He dropped the blanket and tuckered her in her bed. "Sweetie, wake up. It's time for dinner." Rena's loving voice sounded like a death knell to Leria's ears. "I'm coming, Mom." The moment Abominus stepped out of the bed, she flopped on his back. "Carry me, please. I don't have the strength to walk!" "Man, Leria looks terrible." She would have liked to glare at Aran and give him a piece of her mind but she was too hungry and tired for that. "Was I like that too?" "Not on your first day, son." Raaz replied. "But more often than you think." Leria mumbled one-word answers from time to time, eating like the food was her lifeline. "Here. Have my ice cream." Aran passed his dessert. "You need energy. I remember how I felt when I was trying to Awaken." Leria had a Lith-moment, feeling like a jerk for thinking ill of her uncle for no good reason. "Thank you, Uncle Aran." She gave him the best hugs the little strength she had left afforded her. "No problem." Aran blushed in awkwardness. Leria had never called him uncle and he didn't know how to react. He felt proud of himself but at the same time, he realized the responsibility the title entailed. 'I don't like this.' He swallowed. I don't want to be the bigger person. Being a rival is much easier than being an uncle.' Leria went to sleep right after dinner and slept like a log until the next day. 'Let's do this. She thought after Salaark Hushed her at the start of the training session. By the end of the second day, Leria completed the simplest and weakest tier one light spell she could devise. It had no practical use, but it was a true spell. 'What is this? What's happening?' With her eyes closed, Leria had gotten used to being surrounded by darkness. Now, however, there were two lights. A very small one in the distance and another just as small originating from inside herself. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦 Why does my stomach hurt? I had just tea and biscuits for a snack, like always! She ignored her questions and powered up her spell with mana. It filled her body to the brim with silver light, but created no mana flow nor did it Awaken her. 'Why don't I feel any different? Sure, it's just one element but using true magic is supposed to stimulate my mana core or at least guide me toward the next step.'Too tired to think, she went for lunch and tried again the next day with a fresh mind. 'Gods, I was so tired yesterday that my brain failed me.' She thought while examining her condition. I didn't stimulate my core and got no inspiration because I just filled my body with static light element.' Yet while studying the two lights, Leria noticed that her mana perception had improved from the previous day. 'I still have the fire element to try. With my newfound knowledge and natural affinity, it should be easier this time.' In fact, by the end of the third day, she had created a useless true magic tier one fire spell but was too tired to put it into practice. On the fourth day, Leria filled her body with fire element, powering it with her mana and forcing it to circulate along her skin. It resulted in another failure but the distant light had moved closer and the one in her abdomen had become a bit brighter. "This doesn't make sense.' She thought while conjuring and moving both spells she had created through her body. I can now clearly feel my mana and make it flow. The thing in front of me must be Grandma Salaark. Why have I yet to Awaken?' She had gotten it all wrong. Leria could barely feel her own mana, there was no flow, and what she saw was the world energy converging around the Guardian, not the Guardian herself. Leria spent the rest of the fourth day trying to come up with a tier one true magic darkness spell but failed to complete half of it. 'Dammit! Without the corresponding elemental affinity creating a new spell from scratch is damn hard.' She thought on the fifth day. At this rate, maybe I can create a tier one spell for each element in fourteen days, but that doesn't mean I'll Awaken. 'What am I doing wrong?" Leria spent the rest of the day pondering the question and studying the two lights. She made little progress, but having consumed little mana she had more strength left than usual. She finished her homework and then revised her notes and Silverwing's book, the Basics of Magic, searching for inspiration. Leria found no answer, but the more she read the more she had a nagging feeling in the back of her head. Not knowing how to move forward, on the sixth day Leria went over Lith's lessons, her newly created spells, and then the two lights. They hadn't grown after the third day but she somehow knew they were important. 'Mana is more than just elemental power. To create a mana flow, I must be able to affect my life force as well but how do I do that?' By snack time she found no solution so she resumed working on her darkness spell. She only finished it on the seventh day but when she did, another change happened. The burning in her abdomen worsened, the distant light came closer, and the close light became brighter. 'What's wrong with me? She thought as the pangs slowly spread to the rest of her body. 'More importantly, what did I do right and what are these things?" Fear and pain clouded Leria's mind too much to continue practicing. She let go of the accumulated mana and slowly came out of her meditative trance. "Grandma, can I ask you something?" Leria said without leaving the Hush Zone. She knew that it was impossible for Salaark not to perceive her from so up close. "Of course, my Featherling" The Guardian replied. "What's the matter?" "I'm in pain." Leria massaged her stomach. "I'm not asking you why, I just want to know if I'm endangering myself." "Consider me offended, young lady." Salaark raised an eyebrow and her voice turned stern. "Do you think I would let something bad happen to you in my house? If you were doing something stupid, I would have stopped you." "Thank, you Grandma." Leria sighed in relief, hugging the Guardian. "I trust you but I'm scared. I've never suffered so much. What's going on with me?" "Apology accepted, Featherling." Salaark softened hearing the honest panic in the girl's voice. "I'm sorry, I can't answer your question. All I can say is there's nothing dangerous in your training method."