Chương 66: Chapter 65: Mana Unlocked

Caena"Good, just like that," I said with a soft sigh as skilled hands worked across my body. I had never thought a massage could feel so soothing, far better than anything I had experienced before. I was a little angry when I was brought here with the rest; it had disrupted my plans, but now I have no regret. I am feeling a kind of peace I had not felt in years. I continued to enjoy the treatment while planning for the future; there are several things I need to do, but one is most important.

It is to tap into the emotions absorbed by the establishment, but I am unsuccessful in that, not even able to harness even a speck. So, I am doing the next best thing: imprinting it with my marks. Well, the charms that will make it much easier for me to harness the power when I finally get permission. It is my great fortune that I have come here, to a place that might become a legacy. It also helps that construction is underway. It has allowed me to leave my mark inside the building itself.

I know, I am being watched, but I am used to it. Still, I am careful, especially with Silver. I need to win him over, and I will. I am in no rush; given his ambitions, he will need my help sooner or later. Till then, I will keep doing what I am doing—leave my marks and aid in the consolidation of her legacy. They will help, only a little, but sometimes, a little is more than enough.

"Yes, there, apply a little more pressure there," I said when those skilled hands reached my lower back. The good woman followed her instructions, and a contented sound escaped me. If this continues, she might drift into a deep sense of calm again. It is bringing me great comfort, but because it is also fuelling the spell, in the charm I had in my bag. My way is to draw from strong emotions. As long as those feelings are directed at me or from me, I will be able to harness them.

Thanks to the old woman who is teaching me, I was able to gather what I needed and create the spell, which I am now charging up. It will take a lot of emotional energy from my clients and me to charge it, but when it is charged, I will use it to enhance my allure. I need the spell. I have seen how much money the girls are making, and I need that. Only that way will I be able to afford the materials for new spells. They are not cheap, especially when that old woman also keeps her commission.

I had created a lot of small spells this past month, spending all my years' worth of savings. It was not much when compared to what these girls are earning, but it took me years to save that much. The spell I am charging will help me with my weakness, which is my plain appearance. With it, I will be able to attract clients, and once they sit at my table, I am confident I can keep them there without any help. It will not be easy to charge it; it is quite a big spell and requires a lot of emotional energy.

If I am lucky, it will be fully charged in a few weeks, but if not, it might take a month or more. Till then, I will be on my own. …. Margaux I did not know how many times my body had been scrubbed with different oils and salts. It had happened more than ten times in the past five days that the wonderful fragrances of those things had seeped so deeply into me that I would be smelling them for months. These five days are truly amazing; we go through one treatment after another.

Most of them are wonderful, while some are uncomfortable and painful, but the results are visible. It has been visible since day one, and every day the effects are getting better. Two and a half hours passed, and my body was washed of salt and essential oils. The next treatment is two hours from now; until then, I am free. Wearing the comfortable clothes of the spa, I walked through the huge building, looking at the beautiful garden, which couldn't help but make me feel serene.

The garden is huge and more beautiful than the one we have around the establishment. Havel had told me that the garden was designed by a high-level landscape architect and that many of the plants there were magical and required special care. I was walking through the building when I saw Havel coming toward me.

"Madam Margaux, I hope you and your girls are enjoying your stay in our spa," said Havel, to which I smiled.

"It has been the most relaxing time of my life, Havel," I replied.

"Good, I don't want to disappoint the finest clients I have ever served," he said, placing his hands on his heart.

"Don't joke, Havel; I am sure you have served women more refined than us," I said. It did feel good to hear a compliment, especially from the man who was so distant at our first meeting before he warmed up. I talked to him for a few minutes; it was mostly business, as he told me the kind of treatment the girls and I would be going through in the next two days. Five days had passed too quickly; tomorrow would be the last day, and after that, we would leave the spa. I am going to enjoy these two days.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. With that thought, I walked ahead, and soon, I began to hear a chorus of voices, from laughter to playful shouts. As I walked out of the tall bushes, I saw the girls where I had expected them. Twenty-something girls played in the water, swimming, jumping, and splashing one another like carefree children.

Even an old woman like Della was playing with girls of eighteen and nineteen, catching them and tossing them into the water, with childlike joy on her face. Seeing the joy on their faces, a smile couldn't help but appear on mine. In their line of work, it is hard to find joy, much less such pure joy, and for that, I couldn't help but feel grateful. These girls deserve this and more. I did not join them; I couldn't. It is important that I maintain a distance between us.

A few months ago, I was a little angry with Carla for keeping a distance between us in public in front of the girls, but now I understand why. I am their superior, and while I am their friend and always will be, it is important for me to keep my distance, or I will not be able to do the job to the best of my abilities. I watched them for a few minutes and was happy to see the girls of all three batches bonding well.

There was not much friction between the girls of the first batch and the second, as we had come from the same place and had known each other for years, but it was not the same with the new girls Master Silver had brought from Namdar. They looked different and talked differently; some girls were cold to them at first, especially those in the first batch, thinking their earnings might be affected. A lot of that has changed now, though there are still some reservations in their hearts, not as before.

They need to be together; they do not need to be close, but they need to be civil and treat each other with the respect they would like others to show them. Master Silver is very clear about that. Two hours passed, and it was time for another treatment. I was walking toward the treatment area when I saw Andrea coming toward it from the other direction.

"Mud bath?" she asked, and I nodded, and we both walked toward hall seventeen.

"Ladies, welcome to Varadian Hall," greeted Rona. She was a woman of Otonian origin with smooth black skin. Looking at her smooth skin without any embellishment and her refined features, there might be some elf blood in her.

"It will be a mud bath and will be more effective if you remove your outer garments for it," she instructed. I nodded and took off my dress, which came off easily. They are made for this purpose because many spa treatments require them. Soon, both of us were ready.

"Now, step into the mud tubs gently," she said, and we walked toward two mud tubs side by side. The mud, to my surprise, was white and felt slightly warm as my leg touched it.

"This is Varadian mud; it is made from soil coming from the Varad extreme magic region, along with dust of magical crystals and a few other things."

"The energies of the mud will draw out deep impurities in your body and release your natural vitality," informed Rona in a gentle voice.

"It will be warm and might turn a little uncomfortable as energies seep inside you, but don't be alarmed by it," she added. With both of my feet inside, I slowly sat down while the mud covered me. Rona covered my ears with soft buds and attached a breathing tube to my nose, which made me shudder a little, but I bore it.

"As you have guessed, you will have to completely immerse yourself in the mud for the greatest benefits."

"If you feel it unbearable, you can lift your face out of it," she advised. To be honest, I do not like putting my face in the mud, but I will not let my fear get in the way of obtaining the greatest benefits from this treatment that Master Silver had paid so much money for. So, I steadied myself and completely submerged my face in the warm mud. Within a second, everything became dark, and panic rose in my heart, but I quickly began to take deep breaths through my nose, and within a minute, the panic receded.

It did not disappear; it just lessened. To keep my thoughts from straying into panic, I focused on the process as I usually do. I felt warmth in the tub, and as the seconds passed, this warm feeling became hot, and that began to make me uncomfortable, but it was bearable. The temperature stabilized at the end of the minute, which made me feel relieved. If it had continued to get hotter, I might have needed to get out before it became too much. I focused on the heat and how it affected my body.

It might seem boring, but it is not. As I focused enough, I could feel that the heat, which seemed evenly spread, was not. It was slightly stronger toward my core and weaker toward my limbs. Time passed as I continued to feel the heat interacting with my body when suddenly, that invisible haze changed colors. It surprised me, and I wondered if I was imagining things, but even after steadying my breath, it did not change.

'Am I hallucinating?' I asked myself. There were some treatments that made some girls see visions, but they were warned about it beforehand. Rona did not, and since I was inside the mud, I could not ask. I could lift my head out of the mud to ask that, but I did not want to, as I did not think I could control my panic again. So, I continued to focus on what I was sensing. For the first few minutes, the misty colors remained blurry, but soon they began to clear, and I could see their faint forms.

I began to see mists of many colors, but the most common was a red mist. This red mist gathered the multicolored mist in the tub and pushed it into the body. There, they clashed against a dry grey layer, wearing it down little by little at every contact. I don't know whether it was a vision or something else, but I kept watching, and as time passed, things became clearer and clearer until I could even begin to feel elements of the multicolored mist.

[Attribute Unlocked: Mana] I was focused on the multi-coloured mist when my mind buzzed, and text appeared in front of me that nearly made me open my eyes in shock. Saying I was shocked would be a gross understatement; I had never truly thought I had it, even when my daughter informed me about her mage talent gleefully about a year ago. I was born to peasants; my family had no magic talent, not even a single person in my village had it.

So, when my daughter informed me about a year ago, I automatically assumed it was from her father, whoever that may be. Magic talent is rare, but here the text says, I had unlocked it. I did not dare to believe it, so I did the only thing I could: I brought up the interface. Class: Harlot Lv. 21 Painter Lv.

4 Attributes: Charisma: 13 Intelligence: 7 Vitality: 13 Strength: 9 Mana: 3 Skills: · Night Long · Sometimes I Fake It · Breath of Vitality · Graceful Walk · Clothes Open · He Liked Them Aged · Sultry Tongue · Attention to Colours · Deft Hands Attribute Points: 0"It is not a dream," I muttered and felt extremely happy—not because I had unlocked mage potential, but because I was the one who gave my daughter her most cherished gift.

"I gave her that," I said, not some man, I don't remember. My daughter sounded very happy in her letters when she told me of her mage talent. She was even happier when I sent her extra money along with second-year fees for magic-related classes. Those classes are expensive, and that is the reason why I desperately wanted the job of madam. I did not want my daughter to just attend a few classes, but enroll in the whole program, but it is very expensive, not to mention the tools and resources required to study it.

I want to save enough for my daughter to afford the mage course and everything that comes with it. I do not know whether I can do it, but I will try my best to save every coin I earn. Once she becomes a mage, even of the lowest level, she will never go hungry and will always have the respect of the people. I want my daughter to have the best life, and becoming a mage will give her that.

As for the talent I unlocked, it will remain there for now, as I would need a spellcaster class to use it or learn at least one spell that will give me such a class. Learning a spell is not easy, even if I somehow obtain a spellbook. My daughter had said there are whole theories behind it that one needs to understand before one can start learning to cast the spell. I understand my situation, and it does not make me too sad. It will be enough for me if my daughter achieves that.