Free Web NovelChapter 17: Chapter 17: Meridian Expansion Pill
The crowd dispersed slowly.
Bastien’s final words still hung in the air like a death sentence: "If you can’t fix that door, I will kill you personally. Also, you are in charge of keeping the zombies at bay. And if you get bitten, I will still kill you myself."
He’d said it calmly, almost pleasantly. Then he’d turned and walked away, Rose following in his wake like a shadow.
Charles had shot Lucian a venomous glare before leading his group upstairs. Clara had given Lucian a significant look — I’ll check on you later — before disappearing into the crowd to help organize the other students.
Now the main hall was nearly empty, save for Lucian, Ryan, Elise, and the heat vision guy — a nervous young man named Pierre who was currently sweating profusely as he stared at the destroyed doorway.
"I... I can do this," Pierre muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "Just need to... heat the metal... fuse it back together..."
Sparks erupted from his eyes as he activated his ability, and he stumbled toward the wreckage.
Lucian turned away and pulled up his system notifications.
╔════════════════════════╗
║ ╔═════════════════════╗ ║
║ QUEST COMPLETE ║
║ "Reach Starlight Academy" ║
║ ╚═════════════════════╝ ║
║ Rewards: ║
║ ├─ EXP: +500 ║
║ └─ System Credits: +600 ║
╚══════════════════════╝
╔══════════════════════╗
║ PENDING EXP SUMMARY ║
║ From humans: ║
║ • 7 Normal Humans: +35 EXP ║
║ From zombies : ║
║ • 12 Normal Zombies: +120 EXP ║
║ • 3 Early Neophyte Zombies: +150║
║ TOTAL PENDING: +305 EXP ║
╚══════════════════════╝
╔══════════════════════╗
║ SYSTEM LEVEL: 6 ║
║ EXP: 970 / 5000 ║
║ SYSTEM CREDITS: 700 SC ║
╚══════════════════════╝
Lucian dismissed the windows and opened the system shop.
He’d been thinking about this since he’d scanned Rose’s stats. Her Aegis ability was perfect for barriers — defensive manipulation was literally what it did. But her mana capacity was too low to sustain a dome large enough to cover the entire academy.
Unless that capacity increased.
He scrolled through the shop until he found what he was looking for.
╔════════════════════════╗
║ ◀ MERIDIAN EXPANSION PILL ▶ ║
║ Rank: C-Rank (Consumable) ║
║ Permanently expands the cultivator’s mana meridians, increasing base mana capacity by 2,000 MPU. ║
║ Note: Does NOT cause cultivation breakthrough. Only increases capacity. ║
║ Price: 500 SC ║
╚══════════════════════════╝
Five hundred credits.
"Buy."
The pill materialized in his palm — small, pale blue, faintly luminescent. He slipped it into his pocket.
"What do you plan on doing now?" Ryan asked, appearing at his shoulder.
Lucian smiled.
"Watch."
He walked across the hall toward Rose, who was standing near the staircase, watching Pierre’s progress with a neutral expression. She noticed him approaching and tensed slightly from wariness.
"Rose."
She turned. "What?"
"If your mana capacity was increased," Lucian said, "and you were supplied with mana restoration pills, could you create a dome to cover the academy?"
Rose stared at him.
Then she laughed.
"You think it’s that easy to breakthrough?" she said, shaking her head. "I’ve been stuck at Peak Neophyte for months. Do you think I haven’t tried—"
"I’m not talking about breakthrough," Lucian interrupted. "I’m talking about increasing your mana capacity without a breakthrough."
Rose’s laughter cut off. Confusion flickered across her face.
"That’s... not how cultivation works. Mana capacity is tied to—"
Lucian reached into his pocket and pulled out the pill.
Rose’s eyes went wide.
"Is that..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Is that a Meridian Expansion Pill?" fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"Yeah." Lucian rolled it between his fingers. "It is."
The confusion on her face transformed into shock, then suspicion, then something closer to disbelief.
"Did you steal it?"
"No."
"Are you from a big family? The Valois? The Moreaus?"
"I don’t think so."
"Then how did you get a Meridian Expansion Pill?!" Rose’s voice had risen, drawing looks from nearby students. "Those things are worth a fortune! Only the top clans have access to—"
Lucian shrugged. "Does it matter?"
Rose opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"...No," she finally said, her voice quieter. "I suppose it doesn’t."
Lucian held out the pill.
Rose stared at it like it might bite her. Her hand trembled slightly as she reached out and took it.
"You’re serious."
"Completely."
She looked at him one last time — searching for the catch, the trap, the inevitable betrayal — and found nothing but calm, crimson eyes staring back.
She swallowed the pill.
The effect was immediate.
Rose gasped, her hand flying to her chest as mana surged toward her. Not from outside — from within, as her meridians expanded, widened, stretched beyond their previous limits. The air around her shimmered with displaced energy, and her red hair lifted slightly in an invisible current.
Lucian’s eyes shifted to gold.
╔══════════════════════╗
║ ◀ TARGET UPDATE ▶ ║
║ Name: Rose Chevalier ║
║ Mana: 5,800 / 5,800 MPU ║
║ (Previous: 3,800 MPU) ║
║ (Increase: +2,000 MPU) ║
║ Cultivation: Peak Neophyte Realm ║
╚══════════════════════╝
Perfect.
Rose’s eyes snapped open.
"I... I can feel it," she breathed. "There’s so much more space. It’s like... like I was breathing through a straw my whole life and someone just took it away."
Lucian smiled. "Can you do it now?"
Rose looked at him.
"Yes," she said slowly. "Yes, I can create a dome. But I’d have to be constantly supplied with mana. Aegis barriers don’t generate themselves — they need a continuous input. At this capacity, I could probably sustain it for... six hours before I’m empty."
"I can do that." Lucian reached into his pocket again and pulled out another pill — smaller, green, unremarkable. "Mana Restoration Pill. Take this now to replenish what you just spent, and I’ll supply you with more as needed."
Rose took the pill automatically, still dazed.
"But there’s a condition," Lucian added.
Her eyes narrowed. "What condition?"
"You have to leave a small gap in the dome. Just big enough for one person to slip through. And you have to open it every night."
Rose frowned. "Why?"
"I have... things to do. Outside. At night."
She stared at him for a long moment, clearly wanting to ask more. But something in Lucian’s expression — or perhaps the lack thereof — told her that pressing would be unwise.
"...Alright," she said finally. "I can do that."
Lucian nodded and turned away.
"Wait." Rose’s voice stopped him. "Why are you doing this? What do you get out of helping us?"
Lucian glanced back over his shoulder.
"Does it matter?"
He walked away before she could answer.
Ryan was waiting for him, arms crossed, expression skeptical.
"So?" Ryan asked. "How did it go?"
"Rose is on our side now."
Ryan’s eyes widened. "Are you planning to take over this school?"
Lucian only smiled.
Ryan stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head slowly. "You’re insane. You know that, right?"
"Where’s Clara?"
The change of subject seemed to throw Ryan off balance. He blinked. "What?"
"Clara. Where is she?"
Ryan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "She’s helping the other students. Organizing supplies, comforting the younger ones, that kind of thing. She’s been doing it since before I got here. She’s... good at that stuff."
Lucian nodded.
He walked away, leaving Ryan standing alone in the main hall, watching the silver-haired figure disappear into the crowd.
