The draconian princess crossed her arms, her gaze fixed on Liam. "I never thought that you were the self-sacrificing kind." "Am I?" Liam slightly smiled. The draconian princess raised an eyebrow, getting more and more annoyed. "Heh. You are acting arrogant now? You dare to act arrogant even after this? Or do you still not know the cost of this battle? Look into yourself! Then you will know!" Liam remained silent. "Half your mana pathways should already be gone! Are you even able to sense that? Or has your mind degraded too?" Liam clenched his fists but did not respond. The woman was not wrong. Half of his mana pathways have indeed been burnt and corrupted. The blue meridians were now pitch black. Where once mana flowed like a brook, nether now flowed like a gushing waterfall, the turbulent waves slowly nourishing him but at the same time also changing him. Liam could feel it. He was changing. Even though the same thing was probably happening before all of this, it was at an almost insignificant pace but now he had opened a door that he would never be able to close. Just like the priestess wanted, he took the bait. He had to do it. "Fetch the mana cores." Liam did not dwell on the matter anymore. What was done was done. Now he had to prepare for what was coming next. The draconian princess saw that once again she was being ignored and she sighed helplessly. "Alright. You now dealt with three of the guardian beasts. What are you going to do when the others come for you?" Liam wordlessly looked at the three undeads lumbering in front of him without any specific aim. The draconian princess's gaze scanned them for a second before she scoffed in annoyance. "Like hell these are going to help." She then saw the sizable mana cores that the wyvern dropped near Liam. She could clearly see where Liam was going to go with this. "They are also not going to help." She added and once again she was ignored. "Arrghhhh! Do you really not understand or are you acting as if you do not know? Half of your pathways are gone! They are no longer there! You will not be able to channel the same amount of mana anymore." "In this condition… if you absorb more and make your mana core stronger then manipulating it will become even more difficult. The imbalance would become too great!" "I understand." Liam nodded. "Damn it all! You insolent brat!" The draconian princess completely lost her cool. Liam's expression remained calm, his eyes meeting hers with a steely determination. "I am well aware of the risks, but I still have to do it." Without hesitation, he then started slowly absorbing the mana core. "You are doing it right now? At least recuperate a bit first. You need to recover your mental strength." This time Liam no longer answered her patiently. "I do not have the time for it." His voice thundered, silencing the woman. The draconian princess could see that he was not going to trust her anymore. The human had made a decision and he was going to stick by it. No matter what she says it was only going to fall on deaf ears. "At the least go to the magic shop first and see if a portal could be arranged or not. Your fairy should have some answer for you by now." She then quietly went and stood on the side. Liam gave her a glance and nodded. He also intended to do the same but first, he wanted to try and use the mana cores to absorb mana for a bit. He wanted to know the full extent of the backlash he had suffered. He spent the next few minutes getting familiar with the new, smaller mana pathways in his body and the fact that his cleansed physical body was now all sorts of mangled from the inside. He hadn't expected things to progress to such an extent in just a single battle but now there was no going back. He meditated for a few minutes before placing the three mana cores of the guardian beasts inside his spatial artifact. He then proceeded to leave the battleground to return to the magic shop back in the guild base. Along with him, the draconian princess, and the three new additions to his undead army, the different kind of undead also returned. While he had lost a lot in this battle, Liam had also gained some things from this fight. He had defeated the three guardian beasts and was using them thoroughly, starting from their souls, their bodies, and even their mana cores. He had also gained 10 entire levels from the fight. Liam did not understand this part. He hadn't gained as much when he fought against the isons and even the ison king but now he received a lump sum of experience points. The draconian princess said something about his soul being downgraded to first order or perhaps even zero order because of his injury. Liam took this information only with a grain of salt. But whatever the reason might be he was happy about this gain. Now if only the portal to the other world could work out… Liam hurriedly stepped out of the teleportation room and headed to the main floor where Tilia was present. His three undead monstrosities also stepped out with him, making the fairies in the shop flinch. However, Liam did not bother with them. He directly went inside searching for the store manager. The fact that she wasn't eagerly waiting to greet him already made him worry. He had a bad feeling. And just like he feared… "I am sorry, Liam. I am afraid I have bad news for you." Tilia gulped and shook her head. "I really did try my best but this is something that I simply do not have the power or authority to accomplish. I am just not that strong." "I understand." Liam's gaze hardened but before he could say anything, the fairy interrupted him. "Wait. Hear me out. I have an alternate suggestion for you."