Master Ilya

"...anymore....too fast...but...interesting.."

Ilya's head throbbed painfully as if she were having a hangover. She heard the voice of a man nearby, but couldn't make out what he was saying. She could feel that she was in a bed, the pillow's stiffness doing nothing to help her headache. "Mmmrrg..." She moaned silently, moving her head painfully to the side.

"Ilya..? Ilya, thank god, you're awake!" It sounded painful in her ears, but she smiled at Eliana's familiar voice. "How are you feeling?" "Bleh...not great...my head's thumping so hard..." "Don't worry, it's fine. Mister Eric managed to help you in time."

A man walks in. It was the same person that had asked her about a sage earlier that day. "You...what are you doing here..?" The man chuckles a bit, smiling at her. "Me? Well, if it wasn't for me, you'd be a pile of ashes right about now. My pleasure, really, I'd hate to see a pretty young girl like you reduced to such a state." He takes a seat next to her bed. "To make a long story short, I'm a...benefactor..of young sages as yourself, making sure you don't unknowingly commit elementary mistakes, like this one. Your body, even with its exceptional ability to store magical power even among other sages, takes time to adapt to increases in magical energy intake...hehe, sorry, that was getting a bit too technical for someone who just woke up." He takes a sip of coffee, then starts again. "Basically, ever since you've awakened to your powers, your capacity, or tank, of magic energy grows slowly, developing your powers further. The problem is that in less than two weeks, you've been accumulating so much energy inside you, even forming four permanent sage links, which is unheard of in itself, that your magic limit hardly has any time to increase to accommodate it. What you're experiencing is the result of all this."

Ilya nods along to his explanation. "Whatever happens now, you must stop any...activities with your linked servants, unless you plan on burning yourself up in your own magic." He looks at Eliana for a moment, then sighs. "At least for a week or two. After that, you should still be careful, at least until you can gauge your own magic on your own."

Ilya nods in thanks for the explanation. "Say...how are you so knowledgeable about sages? Are there others like me around? Also..--" Eric puts a finger on her lips, stopping her. "All in due time, young one. For now, I must be off. I'll visit again, so you can hold onto those questions till then." He stands and opens the door. "Rest well, you'll need the energy!" He closes the door behind him.

"Wait a second, mister.." But as Eliana opens the door, there's nobody in the hall. It was as if he just vanished.