Ivor's headache didn't go away quickly, which showed he had overworked his Soul Sense. He kept his Soul Sense active enough to watch the skeleton and Nara, but briefly checked his earlier discovery by focusing his sense on Nara's chest and pressing inward.
The result was instant when he focused hard. He saw the five attuned nodes as denser points on Nara's mana circuit, but the clarity quickly faded as the effort became too much. It wasn't mana fatigue, but a painful strain on his soul circuit, and his Ember Seed warned him to stop.
The pain worsened, so he immediately relaxed his focus.
He understood the trade instantly. He could read attuned nodes, but it took intense focus and drained his soul energy, so he couldn't use it casually. However, this ability was a huge advantage; reading someone's nodes let him quickly gauge their threat and confidence, even if they tried to conceal it. He had to use it strategically, like a precise knife.
