Crownless Reincarnation: New World? Nah I'd win-Chapter 75: Core potential

Akamir scoffed. "That’s ridiculous—."

"I said the same," she cut in, her crimson eyes on him.

"Until he told me it’s your wish."

"...."

Akamir leaned back on the chair as he looked at her crimson eyes.

He placed his hand on the armrest as he asked, "Do you believe that?"

"Ever since I was engaged to your elder brother, there were quite a few rumors I heard about you," she said simply, staring into his eyes.

Akamir didn’t flinch; he knows Asher was quite infamous for liking her.

"Like what?" he asked nonetheless.

"There are a lot," she replied. "But the one that bothered me was how people say you are obsessed with me."

"Do I look like I am?"

"....No."

She hesitated before continuing, "But Morris did tell me how you challenged him for me."

Akamir tilted his head in confusion. "...What?"

"You don’t remember?" she asked. "You were twelve back then."

He guiltily pinged the bridge of his nose.

’What the fuck was wrong with Asher?’

Akamir wondered grimly.

’I mean, come on man, how down bad was he?’

He sighed in defeat as he looked back at her. "Get to the point."

"My point is," she said, intertwining her fingers on the table, "that I do believe that it’s your wish."

Akamir raised his brow. "And?"

"And I will happily comply with your wishes," she replied, taking him by surprise. "But not yet, not when you don’t meet my condition."

Akamir frowned. "Wait, do you actually plan to marry me or what?"

"You think I have a choice?" she asked, tilting her head. "I sealed my fate the day I kissed you."

Akamir leaned forward.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, his voice lowering.

"So... you regret it?"

Her expression didn’t change as she stood up.

"No," she replied. "And believe me when I say it, you are a lot better than I expected."

Akamir chuckled. "What were your expectations, anyway?"

"A possessive guy who will try to control me," she said, walking towards the machine, "and beat me if I don’t listen."

"...."

Akamir’s lips twitched, but he didn’t respond.

’For some reason, it does sound like something Asher would do.’

Inara began to mess with the machine while Akamir turned the chair towards her.

"And what is your condition?" he asked, looking at her back.

"I won’t ask for much," she replied. "Just give me your time and power."

Akamir leaned back again, watching her set the machine.

"Time and power, huh?" he repeated. "Please elaborate."

She fully turned to look at him, leaning on the machine slightly.

"Time to know each other enough so I can be sure I am going to marry the right person,"

she replied before returning to work on the machine.

"And by power, I mean both political and personal power."

"Political power?" Akamir asked, tilting his head.

"You will inherit the political power from your family," Inara smiled, gesturing to him. "Come here."

Akamir stood up from his seat as he walked towards her.

Inara looked at him as she stood in front of him.

"Like it or not," she said, combing his hair, "but I will never marry someone who is weaker than me."

Akamir looked at her. "And?"

"Though you are weaker than me," she said, gesturing towards the machine, "I want to know how strong you can get."

’Ah, so that’s why she has a mana core something machine?’

He thought, shifting from her and the machine.

A way to measure his personal power.

"This world works on power, Asher," she continued. "If you want to have a princess, you should at least have the power of a king."

Akamir rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at her. "What do I need to do?"

Akamir himself was interested to know how strong he can get.

’Nayomi said my potential had increased because of Ella.’

He was eager to know how much.

"Place your hands over here and send your mana," she said, pointing at the two carvings of hands. "The orb in the middle will measure your potential."

He nodded and did as she told him.

As soon as Akamir placed his hands over the carved impressions, the machine stirred to life with a soft hum.

The mana-conducting lines etched into the surface pulsed faintly, responding to his presence.

The orb in the center began to glow.

Inara stepped back, arms folded as she observed the orb. freewebnøvel.com

"Start channeling slowly," she instructed. "Don’t force it."

Akamir closed his eyes and focused, sending a controlled stream of mana through his palms.

The carvings flared in response, and the orb began to shift through colors.

It started with red and soon turned orange and stopped at it.

"Below average?" Inara mumbled, not hiding her disappointment. "Maybe I was expecting—."

Her words abruptly halted as the orb changed color once again.

In one second, it changed from yellow, blue and then indigo.

Akamir felt a strange pressure rising in his chest as the orb pulsed violently.

Inara’s arms slowly dropped to her sides, her eyes widened in horror.

The orb flashed white.

A loud crack echoed as a thin fracture split across the orb’s surface.

Akamir instinctively drew his hands back.

"Inara?" he asked, but she didn’t respond.

She stood there in stunned silence, her legs moved back as she slowly sat down on the chair.

Akamir tilted his head in confusion as he looked at Nayomi.

"Most humans have a cap on core," she replied simply. "Yours has the potential of reaching above core rankings."

’I understand that much,’ he thought, looking back at Inara. ’Why is she acting like this?’

Akamir walked closer before shaking her slightly. "Inara?"

Inara blinked, her crimson eyes finally focusing on him.

"You... cracked the orb," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "That’s... supposed to be impossible."

Akamir raised an eyebrow. "It was?"

Inara rubbed her hands as if she was getting cold.

"You don’t understand, Asher," she whispered softly.

"Humans are inherently weak with mana. The last one to break an orb was someone from a hundred years ago."

Akamir looked back at the orb curiously. "Who was it?"

"The last descendant of Krivos Kingdom’s founder," she whispered weakly. "....His family was killed because of it."

Akamir turned back to look at her. "...What?"

She nodded softly, rubbing her hands.

"It was the current royal family that did it and took their place," she said. "...And your condition isn’t any good."

Akamir tilted his head. "Are you saying I am like him?"

"No, you’re not," she murmured. "You might be worse."

Akamir frowned. "Worse?"

"Better. I meant better," she corrected quickly, as if snapping out of a daze. "Or... I don’t know. I didn’t expect this."

Inara stood up abruptly, pacing away in the room murmuring something.

Akamir looked at the orb that he broke. "That thing looks expensive."

"Don’t worry about it," she said, waving her hand. "I stole it from the academy."

Akamir frowned. "What?"

"I placed a fake one. We won’t get caught," she replied softly. "Probably."

’Yeah, I should bail out before I get caught in her mess.’

Inara paced a few more steps before stopping at the far end of the room, her eyes on him.

"What?"

"Promise me you won’t tell anyone about this," she said. "Keep it a secret from everyone for now, please."

’I wasn’t planning to tell anyone about this anyway.’

Akamir nodded in agreement. "Anything else?"

She shook her head, still in shock.

"Alright, I should get going now," he said, walking towards the door.

"Asher."

As soon as he touched the doorknob, she called him.

Akamir looked back. "Am I getting a goodbye kiss or what?"

She blinked. "You want one?"

".....No."

Inara looked at him suspiciously but didn’t press on it.

She instead drew in a deep breath before asking, "Do you want to go on a date again?"

Akamir looked at her in confusion but nodded nonetheless. "Tell me when."

"...Okay."

He walked out of the room and Nayomi started floating beside him.

"She is a crafty one," she said. "She started planning for the far away future now."

Akamir nodded silently. "I figured that much."

She looked at him. "Do you know what’s the actual reason she measured your potential?"

"Children inherit their parents’ potential, don’t they?" he asked, skipping down the staircase.

Nayomi smirked slightly, floating in front of him.

"Exactly. She wanted to make sure her future children wouldn’t be born weak," she said.

"The moment you cracked that orb, she confirmed it."

Akamir let out a slow exhale. "And here I thought she actually had a thing for me."

Nayomi shrugged. "Don’t be too cynical. She’s cautious, not heartless. If she didn’t like you, she wouldn’t bother."

"She is making things complicated for no reason."

"She is smart," Nayomi said, "but she lives in a world where being smart doesn’t always mean being safe."

Akamir kept walking, his hands tucked into his pockets. "You sound like you admire her."

"I don’t dislike her," Nayomi admitted. "She is one of the few good characters from the novel."

Akamir nodded in response as he walked out of the teacher’s building.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I should be able to do it now."

Nayomi’s ears twitched. "Do what?"

"Nothing special," Akamir replied, only to stop in his tracks.

A faint tug from the crown made him frown.

"What happened?" she asked.

"It’s the mimicker of Priest Elore," Akamir replied. "He wants to talk."

Nayomi nodded as he began to walk towards a silent place.

As soon as he reached there, he summoned the crown.

"What is it?" he asked directly.

"The church had made a summon," he replied. "They found a saint."

"...What?"