I tell Enki to move to a border, and take a break in its arms like the girls.
“Ahh…”
“Shouta?”
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Maki, lend me your lap as a pillow.”
“Ah, yes, here you go.”
Despite me coming down and saying that all of a sudden, Maki doesn’t hesitate. Ahh, it’s just for when I’m not feeling well.
“Darling, there’s a hugging pillow here!”
“Hn.”
“Hehehe.”
Ayane jumps at me with her arms wide open. Feeling her reminds me I’m not wearing armor. Well, I don’t intend to fight rare monsters just yet. Ah, no good, my head hurts.
As I try to distract myself by hugging Ayane, my eyes meet Aki’s, who looks like she feels she’s too late.
“Hnn, you look weirdly spent today. Are you okay?”
“It looked like you were struggling when you were meditating on Enki’s head.”
“There was a little issue…”
I tell them about the magic energy consumption.
“I see. So basically, you feel sick because you have never experienced such continuous consumption of magic energy, master.”
“Well… I guess that’s it.”
“Hm. Maybe this is a harmful effect brought about by the rapid growth of sensitivity and your senses brought about by your Luck and Perception Strengthening. But… That hasn’t happened, before, right?”
“No. Then again, I haven’t really had an opportunity to use Hawk Eye.”
Hawk Eye takes away a lot of magic energy all of a sudden if I move the point of view, and it makes me want to throw up, but even if I keep it still, it saps my magic energy. This has never happened before, so I assume it’s because Hawk Eye went up to II, but…
“But you don’t feel that way when you use things like combat skills, right? Would you feel that way if you fired an arrow?”
“…Let me try.”
I put Ayane down, and get my Kaiser Vein from Aira. An arrow costs one point of magic energy, so I should feel nothing… Let’s fire ten around that tree.
“…I don’t really feel anything.”
“I see, so you feel nothing when the consumption is fixed. Master, can you use status buffing skills next?”
“Okay. I’ll use the same as always, Great Strength III, Super Strength IV, Asura… Hn?”
Immediately after using the skills, I feel a scratching feeling in my head that slowly grows. This is definitely what I feel when Hawk Eye is sapping my magic energy. It’s a trifle amount, but the feeling is the same.
But I use this combo all the time. I used it yesterday, and I didn’t feel like this. I try Asura. Then Super Strength IV, but I get this feeling even when I use Great Strength alone.
I can’t really believe it, and tell the others.
“I have a few theories. First, you feel it instantly because your stats are higher. This is most likely not right, because it happens too fast, and the timing is unnatural.”
“True.”
“Then let us consider any changes that happened from yesterday to today. Did you do anything, master?”
“Not really…”
I move my eyes, and see Aki and Maki looking on, concerned.
“It can’t be because you’re here, right?”
“Could it…?”
“But the timing…”
“Let’s think about this. The only thing your presence changes in me is having two more Command. So don’t worry about it.”
“Hearing it put like that hurts too.”
“Ah, sorry. Well, you make me feel better too.”
“Fufu, I was joking.”
“Ah, it would make sense if the effect of the love necklaces only worked in proximity, but… That isn’t right either.”
I request Maki’s lap again as she looks embarrassed, and rest a little. And this time Aki hugs me, as I think about yesterday.
A boss battle with no experience. Enki’s debut. The hero show. The two girls joined the team…
Hm, what did I do yesterday…?
“Ah, I got it!”
“Hna?”
I can’t remember, but then Ayane raises her hand.
“Darling, you upgraded the golems’ cores to II. That has to be it!”
“Ah… It was four golems worth of upgrades.”
‘Gogo?’
“So? Are you saying the golems not only consume magic energy to maintain their bodies, but they are also continuously taking his magic energy?”
Asks Aki.
I do feel like there’s an invisible special connection… Is that it?
“Unlike monsters, they all have their independent consciousness. I thought it was strange, but it makes sense that it takes a reasonable amount to maintain such sophisticated life-forms.”
“And the balance suddenly collapsed with the new cores yesterday. Their consumption was probably raised to be about equal with master’s magic energy recovery. Perhaps if you make more golems, it might become irreversible.”
“It can learn Command, but I’m satisfied with just Enki. Looks like that decision was right.”
The more golem cores I control, the more magic energy is sapped without me knowing. That’s frightening. If I got carried away and made seven or eight… I might’ve had nausea and a headache right before bed, and writhed around not knowing why.
And what happens if my magic energy is sapped when I have none? I might die, or the golems might stop receiving magic energy, erasing their consciousness.
That sends a chill down my spine.
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Thanks for the treat.
Heh, MC is lucky he finds this out when peaceful.