Darius really meant. However, it seemed they’d just taken a step in the right direction.
‘All right, Master, I promise.’ Draco smiled slightly. ‘I’ll try not to ignore incidents like that. And I’ll avoid exhaust the source, too.’ He added, shifting his gaze to Gizel, who was still holding his hand. ‘I don’t want to cause the Master any more worry, so I’ll do my best.’
‘Wait, wait… What sort of exhaustion?’ Bleist froze.
‘Oh, well, back in the village… After I cast that barrier spell and felt faint, Cedric said it was exhaustion, and he called the symptoms a mana hangover…’
‘Draco, has anyone examined you since then?’ Earl, terrified by the prospect of complications arising from the unrestricted and violent use of significant mana reserves, immediately grabbed the student by the arm and channelled his energy towards him. He would have loved to check the boy’s source straight away, but he was aware of the danger and didn’t want to risk tragic repercussions for himself. If anything were to happen to him, Draco would certainly blame himself. The examination brought some relief, as he didn’t notice anything alarming in the behaviour of the mana.
‘I was fine, I feel great…’
‘I know you feel perfectly fine, but the state you’re in after draining a source affects your magical sphere, not your physical one,’ he cut in. ‘I don’t feel as though anything’s wrong, but I’d still prefer someone to have a look at you. I hope Dr Herpetes can spare a moment.’ He said the last part more to himself. ‘Did you eat when you got back?’ he pressed further.
‘Yes, we had dinner together,’ Gizel interjected. She, too, must have realised the seriousness of the threat that the dragon had skilfully glossed over.
‘Good,’ Bleist nodded. ‘Draco, recovering mana after being drained isn’t as simple as with normal use of magic.’ Once again, he opted for a calm explanation. ‘You feel fine now, at least for the moment. In situations like this, fatigue and physical symptoms appear with a significant delay, ranging from a few to over
