Reincarnated as a step-dad in a fantasy world

Chapter 158 : Arrival

"Get inside and don't make a noise!" ordered a muscular man to Anita's group of kidnappees.

'Were the chains truly necessary? It's not as if we'll attempt an escape, Anita grumbled in a low voice, aware that if she made too much noise, the man before them might very well beat her up; he had already done so to one of the nobles who kept talking nonsense.

Still, the chains around her wrists and ankles were hurting her. Moreover, those chains were heavy! Couldn't those bastards see that she had a delicate body!?

'And here I thought I was a top-tier abductee,' she chuckled, earning her a glare from the muscular man.

"Don't make too much noise," whispered the nun next to her.

'But you're making more noise than me!' Anita glanced towards the muscular man, worried that Mina's speaking might attract his attention.

However, even after a few seconds, the man didn't say anything to Mina or so much as glance in her direction!

'How is that fair? I just chuckled, and he glares at me. She's literally speaking, and nothing. Bunch of racists!' Anita grumbled before turning to walk towards the door the muscular man was pointing to, her chains rattling as she walked.

"....!"

The moment Anita and the other abductees stepped into the designated cell, they halted, struck by the incredible sight before them.

Enormous. That was the only word capable of describing the interior of their new 'cell'. The dim light emanating from a litany of holes revealed rough, uneven walls that seemed to stretch endlessly into darkness. It was so vast that Anita was convinced it spanned for many kilometers, making her wonder their current location. 

The carriages in which Anita and the other abductees rode were covered, obscuring most of the road from their view. As a result, they had no clue about their current location; it was even doubtful if they were still in the Fiore Empire.

"What the...." Anita's words trailed off in shock when her gaze landed on what was inside the cell.

If the vast interior of the cell was shocking, the number of people inside was even more surprising.

Hundreds upon hundreds of humans could be seen inside the cell, and from their clothing, it was certain that these people came from every echelon of society—nobles, merchants, normal citizens, slum rats!

'Those people are...' Anita couldn't even think of an insult suitable for the ones who had kidnapped them, there was only one

'We're screwed!'

****

"Oh, interesting!" exclaimed Alex while reading.

"What is?" inquired Lilia with a bored face.

It had been two days since they separated from Starx and Bogre, and they were still flying in the direction of Cedrix's daughter's location.

During those last two days, barely anything interesting happened. The only slightly interesting event occurred when a pack of level 3 monsters with fox-like appearances attacked the group on the first night.

However, before the girls could alleviate their boredom by slaying the monsters, Alex killed the creatures in a split second, thus leaving them in their state of boredom.

This was why the moment Alex exclaimed that he found something interesting, Lilia's ears perked up, and she glanced at him, wanting to know what this interesting thing was.

"I just stumbled upon something about the Virax bodies that could be a lead to how to solve my mana reserves problem," Alex answered his wife.

Finally finding something to alleviate her boredom, Lilia concentrated on Alex.

"I just read that the Virax's insane reserves and control over mana result from them possessing a particular gland," Alex said.

"I remember having read about this, but I don't see how this would help you solve your problems," Lilia replied with a puzzled expression.

"Did you forget what you told me the last time we talked about this?"

"What I told you? I don't- Ah, you mean your heart!" Lilia exclaimed.

When Alex had asked Lilia if she knew a way to increase the mana in the body without having to level up, she answered that besides forming a core, she didn't know. However, she had also shared with him something that Scarlett had said when Alex went from level 1 to level 4.

From what Scarlett analyzed, the reason Alex could keep absorbing mana was because his organs, particularly his heart, could keep absorbing mana without exploding. When Lilia shared this with Alex, she had instructed him to look more into it; perhaps this fact could be used to solve his problems.

"I see, you want to use your heart like the gland of the Virax to store mana, but there is-"

"Hey, hold the reins!" exclaimed Alex.

From habit, Lilia always held her chin with one hand while the other was under her breasts when she thought. However, they were currently in the air, and she was the one holding the reins attached to the pegasi. So, the instant she released her grip over the reins, the pegasi began descending towards the ground!

"Oops, sorry," said Lilia while taking hold of the reins.

"As I was saying, you can't use the method you have in mind. What you want to do consists of transforming your heart into a mana tank, right?" Lilia asked while redirecting the pegasi upward.

Alex nodded.

"It's a good idea, but there's a problem. You don't have enough control over your body to stop your heart from absorbing mana," Lilia explained.

"True," nodded Alex, his brow furrowing into a frown.

Truth be told, Alex has never been in a situation in which he desperately needed mana, and his reserves were depleted, so there was really no reason for him to keep looking for a way to increase his mana reserve. However, he thought differently. He was certain that a day would come when he might be forced into a corner due to a lack of mana, and even if this situation never occurred, there was another reason for him wanting to have more mana, and this reason was none other than his ability to blink from one place to another.

One of the restrictions to why he can't use this ability as he wants is that there should be smoke in the place he wants to blink to, and the other restriction is the mana consumption. Each time he blinked, half of his mana was used. Hence, the need for him to increase his mana reserves.

Before coming to find Lilia, he had already thought of many ways, one of them being absorbing mana while using it. On Earth, he had read novels in which such a thing was possible, so he obviously tried to replicate this feat here. That's the moment he realized that such a thing was impossible, insane even.

Absorbing and using mana simultaneously was equivalent to inhaling and exhaling simultaneously! Something like that was absolutely impossible unless you have two independent respiratory systems!

Beside this method, Alex has thought of many others but discarded them, like this one. However, this piece of information he learned about the Virax race gave him another idea that just might be the solution to his predicament, but it seemed that even with this new idea, there was a problem.

Alex was lamenting this fact when suddenly his eyes widened in delight, having found a solution.

"Cell master!" he exclaimed.

"Hm?" Lilia glanced at her husband curiously.

"Amelia's ability, cell master. With this ability, she might be able to help me transform my heart into a mana tank!" he explained excitedly.

Lilia thought about his idea for a moment before shaking her head, "It might work, but it's not set in stone. Plus, something like that might be dangerous; one wrong move could cause your heart to lose some of its functions."

Lilia's words toned down Alex's excitement, but he wasn't discouraged nonetheless. "I'm certain this might work, and I'm even more certain that sis could do it!"

"Well then, talk to her about it later."

Just as Alex was nodding, a knock from inside the carriage was heard.

"Is there something wrong?" Lilia wondered.

"No, it's quite the contrary. Cedrix said that we are actually just above the location of his daughter," announced Anna.

"Oh, good...." Alex's words trailed off, his brows furrowing into a frown.

He glanced at Lilia and remarked that she was also frowning.

"Ask Cedrix if he is certain we are at the right place."

A few seconds passed by before Anna spoke again.

"He said that he is a hundred percent certain. His daughter is just below us. Is there a problem?"

"Yeah, there just may be a problem."

"Oh, what is it then?"

"Two armies are battling just below us."