SSS Rank Sword Mage: Awakening Starts with Weakest Mana Affinity

But wait…something caught my eye.

Was I really seeing this?

I crouched at the edge of the pond, frowning. The water, which normally lapped against the stones with a steady fullness, now barely kissed the edges. It looked… shallow.

I dipped my fingers into the surface. Cold. The bottom was closer than it should've been. My chest tightened.

"This is very strange," I murmured. "It wasn't like this yesterday."

The realization hit me like a fist: Morad's pond was drying up. Not a trickle or two, but a slow, invisible drain that had been happening for weeks. Only now was it undeniable.

I turned sharply to the rippling water. "Morad," I said, voice low, "why does your pond look like it's drying up?"

For a moment there was only silence. Then his voice rose, quieter than usual, a ripple at the edge of sound. "I hoped I could keep this from you, but it seems you noticed. I've used too much of my mana, Astraga. I can't absorb any more. Any mana I use now… won't be replaced."

I stared at the trembling surface. "What?"

"I know," he said quickly, "I know I should've told you earlier."

My mind spun. How did I not notice? I came to this pond every day. Checked on him. Talked to him. How did I miss something this big?

"I even checked your pond yesterday!" I muttered.

He gave a low, bubbling laugh that didn't reach his usual warmth. "I used my mana to create the illusion of a full pond. It wasn't real. I just… I didn't know how to tell you."

I clenched my fists, a weight pressing on my ribs. This was a problem. No, more than a problem it was a ticking clock. Without mana, he wasn't just tired; he was fading. The stakes for the vessel situation had just skyrocketed.

There was no time left for slow, careful planning. The only chance was to try the transfer now, with the newly hatched koi fry.

Before I could speak, Morad's voice bubbled across the water, soft but steady. "It's okay, Astraga," he said. "Worrying about these things is boring. You've helped me so much already. These past few weeks we've spent together? They were amazing. Really, thank you for making me forget I was just a voice in a pond."

Something inside me pinched. A small smile tugged at my lips despite the heaviness. "Idiot. Getting all sentimental now, Morad? You sound boring."

He chuckled weakly.

"Believe me, we're going to make this happen," I said firmly. "Morad?"

"Yes?"

"I don't want you to have a half-mindset towards this," I continued. "If we're going to do this, you'd better be one hundred percent in. No moping. Are you going to feel sorry for yourself, or are you going to face this head-on?"

It was awkward. Advising people—motivating them—was not my strong point. This was unfamiliar territory for me. But I couldn't let him slip away without a fight.

There was a heartbeat of silence, then Morad snorted. "You suck at giving motivational speeches! Who even says this when someone's down, hahahaha!"

A laugh burst out of me despite myself.

"But you're right!" he said suddenly, his voice rising like a wave. "I, MORAD, WILL NOT BE BORING! I will face this head-on! And Astraga" His voice softened. "Sorry I hid it from you. I was afraid you'd feel pressured… and abandon me."

"Why would I do that to a friend?"

There was a pause. Then his voice came again, tentative. "A friend?" He said it like it was a word he'd never used before.

I blinked.

Then, unexpectedly, he spoke again: "Astraga, would you like me to become your Mana Beast if we pull this off?"

I stared at the rippling water. "What?" That hadn't even crossed my mind.

"Yes," he said slowly. "This will require me to link with you and become your Mana Beast. But that's only if you want to do anything with a dragon seed that can't evolve…" He sighed.

My heart skipped. Once you link, there's no going back. His life and mine would be tied. If he truly couldn't evolve, then he'd be risking everything to bind himself to me. And yet wasn't I already risking everything to save him?

Why was I even hesitating?

"Morad," I said, my voice steadying, "I will link with you. And when we're done, do not call me your master. We are brothers now. Equals."

"Brothers? Equals?" His voice cracked with shock. "Are you serious, Astraga?"

"Yes," I said simply.

The pond went quiet. For a moment, I thought he'd slipped away entirely. Then his voice came, a whisper trembling with something I'd never heard before hope.

"No one's ever said that to me."

I crouched closer, dipping my fingers back into the cooling water. "Then hear it again. We're equals. And I'm not abandoning you."

He didn't answer right away. The silence stretched, but this time it felt alive. Then, softly: "Then let's do it. Together."

I exhaled, feeling some of the tension ease from my shoulders. "Together," I echoed.

For the first time, the cave felt utterly still. The eggs trembled faintly in their nests, tiny golden streaks swirling inside the shells. New life waited to burst free, as if sensing our vow.

I sat back, letting the dim light from the pond flicker over my face. Weeks of training, meditating, practicing control over fire, water, earth, and air had sharpened me. Morad had been my teacher in that, showing me how to focus, how to make mana manifest will with intent. Each night we'd sat here, him teaching me patience, me pushing through the walls of my own limits.

Now, everything we'd done, every hour of strain and concentration, felt like it was leading to this point.

Morad's voice stirred again, quieter but steadier. "Astraga… if we succeed, it will be because you believed. Not because of me."

"That's not true," I said without looking up. "If we succeed, it's because we both refused to give up."

He chuckled weakly.

The pond light flickered once more. The water was lower than ever. But even as it shrank, the eggs in the mating pond glowed brighter, like lanterns under the surface. The air hummed faintly with mana.

I clenched my fists. "We're not done yet," I whispered.

And somewhere in the depths of the pond, Morad whispered back, "No. Not yet."

Crack…

The sound of the first egg split with a tiny crack. A thread of light leaked through, followed by a twitching tail. Then, with a soft pop, a tiny koi fry wriggled free, its body pale and shimmering, fins quivering like thin silk.

I leaned forward, breath caught in my throat. One…

Then another shell crack