And Benjamin? He did not allow himself to dwell long in his emotions.
It was not that he was that mentally strong. Rather, there was this continuous throbbing headache that took him away from reminiscing in sorrow.
After understanding his current predicament, he quickly returned to his Space of Consciousness to tackle the issue that caused this headache.
Obviously, if he were to leave this tear alone, it will not heal itself. As long as the tear remained, Benjamin would have to continue to bear this pain, undermining his ability to cast spells.
A mage who could not cast spells would be like one that has dissipated.
— He has to do something about it.
He bore the pain and concentrated to try and mobilize the water particles in his Space of Consciousness. The water particles condensed into a huge water ball. Although the water particles in the space has lessened, they heeded Benjamin’s orders and started to move.
What came after was a more excruciating headache.
Benjamin had to halt his actions that instance. He took a break and continued mobilizing the water particles to form against the tear.
This was what he has thought of.
In order to fix the tear, something has got to give to patch it up. Even Nuwa (a goddess in ancient Chinese mythology) patched holes in the sky with stone blocks. If he wished to repair his Space of Consciousness, he had to find his ‘five colored stone blocks’.
Luckily, his Space of Consciousness was not made of complicated elements - apart from his Spiritual Energy, it was the water particles. His Spiritual energy took a hit, so he would not be able to use his Spiritual Energy to heal his Spiritual Energy. If that was the case, he could take his bet on the water particles.
Under Benjamin’s directions, the water particles closed in on the tear and attached onto it.
He felt a wave of refreshing breath going through his head.
When Benjamin came to, he realized that his headache had lessen a little.
Although the response and change was minimal and unidentifiable with the naked eye towards such a huge rupture, it did seem inclined to healing.
Benjamin finally felt a slight relief.
Thank goodness it was not complicated to fix his Space of Consciousness or he really did not know what else he could do.
The water particles in the Space of Consciousness was really a cure-all. It could strengthen magical runes, cast spells and even repair cuts. Benjamin suddenly felt a little regretful that he did not have an extra Water Particle crystal to hurl at the tear and speed up the recovery process.
Of course, that would be wishful thinking.
He was rescued from the cross. He had nothing on him. Disregarding the Water Particle Crystal, the magical instruments and Light Particle Crystal should be hidden somewhere in the Lithur’s manor. If the Church were to investigate, they might come across them.
That being said, even if the Church was unable to uncover them, he would not stand a chance in retrieving them.
Such a waste...
He felt all his efforts were in vain. These few months of accumulated wealth, ruined in just one moment. He thought that he would at least had something to lie back on but now he has nothing.
Well, at least he was alive...
He understood that all these items were of extrinsic value. As long as he was still alive, repaired his Space of Consciousness and recovered his strength, he would have access to better opportunities.
Having thought of that, he did not feel very discouraged with his situation. He was ready to put this behind him and begin his journey of rehabilitation of his Space of Consciousness.
The amount of water particles required to reconstruct the tear was not going to be little.
Michelle has just returned from gathering intelligence when Benjamin was still within his Space of Consciousness, mending the awful tear.
"Sir Lithur, have you not cried enough? Please wipe your tears so we can get down to business." Michelle’s unfriendly tone interrupted Benjamin in his road of recovery and forced him back into reality.
Benjamin was not the least bit offended when he opened his eyes and got up from bed.
The arduous repair did lessen his headache and Benjamin appeared more vitalized. He took a glance at Michelle and his usual nosiness returned. He was suddenly perplexed.
Mmm... That was not right.
Why was Michelle here?
"Weren't you preoccupied on finding some mage’s hidden treasure? Why are you back in the City? Oh, and did you manage to open the treasury? Were there any traps?" Benjamin was hammering her with questions.
Truth be told, the very fact that Michelle was in the Capital was an extremely odd thing.
Michelle paused for a moment before replying, "There weren’t any traps in the treasury, I managed to obtain the treasure map and the hidden treasure, "Soul’s Fire". On the day I was returning to the Capital, I bumped into your Water Ball. Next thing I know, the Capital was under lock down and I couldn’t get out. That’s why I came searching for you so that we may team up to get out of here."
She paused again and eyed Benjamin, "That being said, the impact of casting the magic must have caused your inability to cast any spells currently. I don’t think you’ll be able to assist me."
Benjamin felt that the statement was weird.
Michelle was going to look for him to team up? Was this for real?
It was not that Benjamin did not trust Michelle, but there were gaps in her story. Firstly, why did Michelle returned to the Capital and even if the Capital was under lockdown and Michelle could not get out, she probably would not look for Benjamin to team up, right?
It did not sound like something Michelle would do.
"So you see now that I am of no use. Why did you return?" Benjamin studied Michelle’s expression, as if looking to see through her. "If the capital is blocked off, you could simply hand me over to the Church. Once the Church has their man, the lockdown would be no more."
He just could not overlook Michelle’s version of explanation.
Mmm... something was amiss.
And he was right. Michelle pressed her lips together and could not utter a word.
Benjamin took a deep breath to mentally prepare himself of what was to come.
"Actually, I wanted to make a deal with you," just as Benjamin held his breath, Michelle changed her expression and explained. "If you could unleash such magic, it means that you’re well above me. Even if you are suffering from the impact of your magic and your power has deteriorated, you will soar to higher grounds. By then, I would require your assistance."
Benjamin’s brows wrinkled.
For real?
He was still having doubts of this new version of explanation.
It could not be that casting a huge Water Ball has caused Michelle to be convinced that he had great potential and decided to lend her hand.
What nonsense!
Seeing how Michelle was using ‘I saved you first and you have to return the favor in the future’ stance, he felt there was a trap awaiting him to leap into.
It was not like he did not know Michelle, she did not have a kindred spirit.
Benjamin did not want to beat around the bush any longer and decided to go straight to the point, "You should know that I find it hard to believe on what you’re saying. What don’t you just come clean? It’s not as though I could stop you or fight back."
Michelle let out a sneer.
"Sure, you’re defenseless," she nodded, revealing a sneaky smile. "You have lost your combat abilities and there are troops out there looking for you. It’s not like you have a choice, apart from depending on me. If that’s the case, I’m not obligated to tell you my plans."
"..."
Benjamin rendered speechless.
... You win.
Benjamin suddenly realized that it was as though he regressed to the situation where he first time traveled. The only difference was that he knew what Michelle wanted in the beginning but now, he no longer knew.