Chapter 263: The Modreta Gu.

Time passed, and before anyone realized it, two days had already gone by in the blink of an eye. Within those two days, Kael and Lyra had properly settled into their new home, and Kael had to admit that the place was quite impressive.

The house itself occupied roughly four thousand three hundred square feet of living space and sat on a piece of land measuring close to nine hundred square meters. The surrounding grounds had been carefully landscaped, with rows of well-trimmed flowers decorating the yard alongside several magical flowers planted throughout the property.

They weren’t there purely for aesthetics either. Some of the magical plants naturally purified the surrounding air, while others released faint, pleasant scents that made the entire property feel fresh and comfortable.

There was even a swimming pool built into one corner of the grounds. Its interior was lined with a strange marble-like material that shimmered beneath the sunlight like polished jade, while at night, the surface seemed to glow with multiple dreamy, star-like colors. It was beautiful enough that even Kael found himself stopping to look at it more than once.

The interior of the house was no less impressive. The furniture and decorations were clearly of high quality, while every room was spacious enough that neither Kael nor Lyra had to worry about feeling cramped. Everything had been prepared down to the smallest details, making it obvious that the Association hadn’t simply handed them an empty house and called it a day.

But none of that was what Kael liked most about their new home.

That honor belonged to the underground facility.

Beneath the house was a massive underground hall built specifically for activities that required privacy and durability. The entire facility was reinforced with a special metal alloy that covered the walls, ceiling, and floor, making the place extraordinarily difficult to damage. In fact, Kael had already tested it.

It was even more durable than the training facility at the Association branch where he had fought the Scarlet Fist.

When Kael had tested its durability by unleashing everything he had, the most he’d managed to accomplish was leaving a relatively small dent in the wall. Even more impressive was the alloy’s regenerative property, the dent had gradually repaired itself until the surface returned to its original condition.

For Kael, that made the underground facility far more valuable than the luxurious house above it.

He could train here.

He could test his abilities here.

He could even use the space for other things that would be inconvenient or dangerous to do anywhere else.

The first thing Kael did was order Varek to open a portal in one corner of the underground facility. Once that was done, he no longer needed to search for a secluded location whenever he wanted to enter the instance.

Varek had complained in the past that constantly opening and closing portals drained the limited energy remaining within the instance core. Maintaining a stable portal would be far more efficient than repeatedly creating temporary ones, so it made sense to set up a permanent one in a fixed location.

It also made transporting Ezra over much easier.

The convenience alone made the decision worthwhile.

During those two days, Varek had also gone to the hospital and discharged their mother before bringing her unconscious body back to their new home. Now that she was here, Varek could properly monitor her condition himself rather than relying entirely on the hospital’s facilities.

And that was exactly what he was doing now.

Inside one of the rooms in their new home, Varek and Kael stood beside a bed.

Their mother lay quietly beneath the sheets.

Under Duns’s constant care, some color had slowly begun returning to her face. Her condition was still far from good, however. Her skin remained wrinkled and dry, making her look much older and more fragile than she should have been.

Kael stood beside the bed while Varek examined her.

Varek placed a finger against their mother’s forehead and closed his eyes. A faint fluctuation of energy spread through his body as he began scanning her condition, carefully examining what was happening inside her body.

Kael remained silent while he watched.

His gaze eventually settled on the necklace around his mother’s neck.

He had seen it countless times before.

The necklace itself looked ordinary at first glance, and their mother had worn it for as long as Kael could remember. Even after she became sick, they had never removed it. It seemed to hold some sentimental value to her, enough that Lyra and Kael had simply allowed her to keep wearing it.

But apparently, the necklace was far more special than they had realized.

According to Varek, it was some kind of special treasure capable of concealing the fate of its wearer. Anyone attempting to investigate the person wearing it, whether through divination or any similar ability, would have their results obscured.

That immediately explained why the Eye of Judgement hadn’t worked properly on his mother.

His brows slowly furrowed as his gaze remained fixed on the necklace. What kind of enemies did they have to be facing for them to go this far?

Those questions had no answers yet. But the more Kael learned, the more determined he became to grow strong enough to defend those he loved, if push ever came to shove.

After several moments, Varek finally opened his eyes.

There was a complicated mixture of emotions on his face as he turned toward Kael.

Kael immediately noticed.

"So?" he asked. "Did you figure it out?"

Varek nodded.

"I did."

His expression remained serious.

"However, it’s more complicated than I initially expected."

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"It’s not just a normal curse."

Varek paused for a moment before continuing.

"Your mother has been infected with something called the Modreta Gu."

"Modreta Gu?"

Kael repeated the unfamiliar name.

Varek nodded and began explaining.

The Modreta Gu, also known as the Mana Heart Gu, was a special type of Gu created by a dark mage known as Modreta. That was where the Gu had obtained its name.

Once the Gu was introduced into someone’s body, it wouldn’t simply remain in one place. It would burrow deep into the person’s flesh before following their mana stream through their body, slowly making its way toward their mana core.

And once it reached the mana core, that was when the real problem began.

The Gu would begin consuming the refined mana stored within the person’s core.

But that wasn’t even the most troublesome part.

After consuming the person’s mana, the Gu would immediately assume the same aura and energy signature as its host.

That made it extremely difficult to detect.

Even powerful detection abilities could easily overlook it because, after taking root, the Gu’s energy signature would be almost indistinguishable from the victim’s own mana.

Had Varek not possessed extensive experience dealing with this particular type of Gu, even he might not have been able to identify it.

The ability to assume a victim’s mana signature alone was troublesome, but it wasn’t what concerned him most.

It was what came after all that which made Kael’s expression grow increasingly serious.