It's Best I Settle As A Bystander.

"So that's how I can regain my sight and hearing back," Alistair said, thinking deeply about the information that the being had given him.

The being inside him had said that if he could learn Mana sense, he would regain his senses that were currently missing and they would be by far better than of a normal creature.

But that was easier said than done as even after four years of continuous practice, he hadn't been able to complete the second step.

If it weren't for him getting used to being surrounded by darkness when he spent time bordering between the Spirit Realm and Matter Universe, Alistair would've lost his sanity a long time ago.

"Let's try again," Alistair said, motivating himself to give it his all.

Although he had one of the best teachers residing in his subconscious, Alistair had been unable to make much progress as the bastard only gave him a way and listed the steps.

Unbothered when Alistair made a mistake during the execution nor guided him after witnessing his countless failures.

"Damn it!" Alistair cursed, frustrated at always failing to complete the second step to learn Mana Sense.

Already used to Alistair's cursing, the being chuckled lightly as he enjoyed Alistair's sorrows without giving the confused Slime a piece of advice.

Controlling his urge to curse the freeloader within his subconscious, Alistair began the process from scratch again.

The first step involved the user gathering the Mana around him into his body, the area covered by the user is proportional to his strength. This was the simplest of all steps in learning Mana Sense.

The second step was the user mixing his Mana with the one he had gathered within his body. It may sound simple but it's really hard as the user needs the mixture to be in a certain ratio which varies among different individuals while enduring the pain that came along with it.

Due to the immense energy contained within the user –as the user must absorb Mana beyond his limits, it is possible for the user to explode if he doesn't release it after seeing he had failed to mix both Manas properly.

The third step was releasing the Mana into his environment at a steady pace –which was different from letting it go all at once after the second step had failed– when he had marked every inch of it with his intent.

The fourth step which was the last and relatively easy was focusing on the Mana that he just released while trying to sense it like it was a part of his body.

As a result of the user trying to sense the Mana he released, the user would be given a layout of the place his Mana had spread to.

Taking in a deep breath after failing again, Alistair slowly absorbed the Mana in a four-meter radius into him.

The radius covered by a person using Mana Sense is proportional to their strength but that isn't all as the user's race also affects the radius. For example, if a Dragon were to use Mana Sense the radius covered would be about ten times more than that Alistair had covered.

Soon, Alistair's body began glowing in a pale blue light due to the immense Mana that was inside it.

Still retaining focus, Alistair endured the slight pain he felt while deciding to try a mixture of 74% for the Mana he absorbed and 26% for the one he had already.

As the Mana within him slowly churned, Alistair prayed to all the gods he knew or heard of.

After what felt like hours which was a few minutes, the pale blue light that Alistair had been emitting slowly dimmed as the pain he felt drastically reduced.

Although the pain accompanied by mixing both Mana wasn't much it was unbearable as it felt like about a few dozen soldier ants were biting his body. But during a time when extreme focus was required, the pain was definitely irritating.

Successfully marking the Mana within him, Alistair slowly released it into his surroundings until he had none left.

Like they said, the fourth step was the easiest and Alistair was able to grasp it on his first attempt –making the mundane sight before him look extremely beautiful.

"Huh?" Surprised, Alistair stared at the person before him with a mix of different emotions.

He felt a surge of anger, guilt, regret, happiness, relief, but most of all shame. All emotions threatened to drown his little firm after he saw the face before him.

"This can't be her." He said within himself, desperately rejecting the thoughts in his mind even though reality said otherwise.

"She is the one." The being said, having approval in his tone he added. "And I never expected you to be this talented."

Stumped, Alistair looked at the girl before him as he said. "Alyeen."

Although she looked a lot younger than she did in the past, Alistair knew it was her as he would never mistake those beautiful amber eyes and purple hair.

If he could cry, Alistair would've shed buckets as the emotions he felt were too much. He was happy that she was alive but ashamed of himself for failing to protect he which led to her death.

He was foolish enough to think that parting with her would keep her safe but in the end, he saw her decapitated head in front of him and still couldn't avenge her.

"I don't want to burst your bubble but she isn't the Alyeen you loved even though her name is still Alyeen." The being said, unbothered by the fact that he just plunged Alistair into a pool of sorrow.

Reading Alistair's thoughts –since their souls were connected, the being said. "She didn't reincarnate. Her soul is different from that which you were used to."

"I see..." Alistair responded, controlling his urge to tell 'How do you know?'.

Even if she was the Alyeen he knew and loved, it would be weird if he walked up to her and said he was her lover in their past life. Apart from that since he had already failed to protect her doesn't that mean he could fail again and they might not get a do-over this time?

Breathing deeply, Alistair enjoyed the sight of her petting the head of a black tiger cub that had white stripes and green eyes.

"It's best I settle as a bystander." He thought, deciding not to make her suffer again and she might look like but not be the one he loved.

Just as Alistair was appreciating the nostalgia he was feeling, a blue screen slowly materialized in front of him saying.

— –

[Congrats to the host for finally moving on.]

[As a reward the host has gotten access to The Divine Ascension System template.]

— –