19 CH 19: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
After our dinner, Grandmother and I went back to her study. My training was over and we had decided to depart tomorrow for the Zone in the southwest of the country.
"You've done well these past few weeks here, Kaiser," Grandmother said as she sat down behind her desk. "I'm satisfied with your results so far, so keep it up."
I bowed. "Thank you for your guidance, Grandmother. I'll continue to do my best in the future."
The woman sighed. "Before, I could have made fun of you for being impure in your words. But I can tell you're serious."
I grew confused and looked at her with questioning eyes.
"I don't know how, but you've changed. I don't know if it's for better or for worse, but remember to let loose a little every once in a while. Even during training, your sarcasm and light-heartedness completely disappeared. You didn't smile a single time."
For the first time, Grandmother showed me a sincere smile. "I know these words won't do much, but I don't want your Father to run off my ear saying I didn't try." Her smile faded and she turned serious. "You're going to experience a lot in your life. Some things may be bad, but don't let those bad experiences ruin the good ones. If anything they should make you realize how valuable they truly are. You hear me, kid?"
My gaze fell to the floor, in thought about her words and Hageshi's words.
"Just give me some time, Grandmother," I said as my eyes turned back to her. "Thank you for your kindness, I will remember your words."
She observed me for a moment before speaking. "We will depart tomorrow at noon. Bring anything you think you will need for the Zone."
"I'll see you then Grandmother," I said as I bowed again and turned to the door. "Have a good night."
…
After Kaiser had left…
The woman with dazzling golden eyes and wavy, white hair exhaled in exhaustion. "It's hard being sincere with people."
She looked out her window and saw a tall boy with dark black hair walking from her tower toward the main building.
"I'm worried for kids his age who will have to fight him in the future. I've made a wolf in sheep's clothing."
The woman chuckled and turned to her desk. She picked up her glasses and opened the book she had been reading before Kaiser asked her to train him.
…
When I had finally reached my room, which now had a new wall, I collapsed on my bed.
"I missed this bed. Sleeping on the hard floor of the training room was messing with my back."
[Your training went very well, master. You have gotten very powerful.]
A silhouette of a woman appeared above me.
"Hello, Emy. I haven't seen you in a while."
[While you were training, I figured it wouldn't be necessary to bother you with anything.]
"Thank you. Sometimes, a little peace and quiet while fighting a strong opponent is nice," I said without any emotion showing on my face. "Now, let's get down to business. I must have gained a lot of XP."
During training, I turned off the HUD in my vision to get rid of all distractions.
[Yes, master. Your training was very successful.]
…
Name: Kaiser Raijin
Level: 14
Skill Points: 64
XP: 52,340 / 250,000
Status:
Health: 98%
Stamina: 84%
Mana: 47%
{Skill Trees}
…
"It's a little overwhelming."
[You are nearing the upper limits of what tier one for all Body, Mind, and Magic upgrades can do. Any improvement will be negligible in the future.]
"I was able to make Grandmother use at most 15% of her power to fight me on equal grounds. I think any more power than what I have now will draw attention. Plus, I doubt anyone my age is near me in terms of physical power and mental power. I'm assuming there are people out there my age that are as competent as me at Mana Arts though."
[My analysis of your Grandmother also pointed to her only using 15% of her power. I'd say you are around your sister in terms of physical and mental prowess. She has you beat with Magic though.]
"Yes, I think it would be best to focus on my Mana Arts for now. As for Knowledge skills or Fight Techniques, I don't see any reason to need them for now."
[I also agree that a focus on Mana Arts would be most beneficial.]
"What are my options?"
[The first step should be upgrading your Mana Capacity to tier two. It is up to you if you want to upgrade Mana Control and Mana Capacity to tier three. As for Mana Arts, you can keep advancing on the Fire Mana Arts skill tree or unlock the other elements as well. Ignoring the suspicion of your peers, unlocking the other three core elements would be most beneficial in the long run. It is better to start early with all the core elements unlocked so you don't have to worry about it later. Whether you want to upgrade them individually first or simultaneously, my estimates are that it would take the same amount of time. But if you upgrade all elements together, your power will increase slower than if you focus on each one individually.]
"I think the right plan, for now, is to upgrade my Mana Capacity to tier two, then unlock the other elements as well. Whatever skill points are left over should go to my Fire Mana Arts."
[Commencing upgrade of -Mana Capacity- to tier two at the cost of 5 skill points.]
Surrounding mana in the atmosphere began to converge on my body. I felt mana particles enter every pore on my skin. The experience felt like needles were stabbing me everywhere at once.
Besides a blink, I had no visible reaction to the pain. After the mana was absorbed, I looked inwards and was amazed at the amount of mana that I could now hold.
Compared to before, I now could hold twice the amount. The fire mana within me flowed around my brain and heart in a thick river of particles.
[Commencing unlock of -Water Proficiency I- at the cost of 5 skill points.]
Half of the mana in my body began to undergo a change. They began to lose their crimson color and return to the familiar iridescent gold that signified pure mana. The nature of the mana also changed. It lost its brutal and ferocious nature and was replaced by a serene and peaceful one.
After the conversion, I sent the new pure mana to the surface of my skin. Once the pressure got high enough, I released the mana, and a shockwave spread throughout the room, knocking over some things on the shelves and desk.
I turned on my mana vision and once I confirmed that the pure mana had bonded with the water mana in the atmosphere, I pulled everything back in until I had gained all the mana I had lost.
After it was complete, my breathing quickened a little bit, but I was not exhausted. Results of my training.
I could feel the water and fire mana in my body separating into their own streams. Water mana around my heart, and Fire mana around my brain.
[Commencing unlock of -Wind Proficiency I- at the cost of 5 skill points.]
This time, a chunk of both my water mana and my fire mana formed into pure mana. Its nature also changed into a sharp and fast one.
I went through the same process as before and drew in the wind mana from the surroundings, fusing it with my own mana. At the end of the process, the elements each took up a third of the total particles in my body. The wind mana circulated around both the heart and brain, traveling between the two.
[Commencing unlock of -Ground Proficiency I- at the cost of 5 skill points.]
Parts of the three elements turned into pure mana. The new mana had a hard and steadfast nature.
I pulled in ground mana from the atmosphere with my own and fused it with the mana in my body. Now, there were four elements in my body, each taking a quarter of my capacity. Ground mana also began to circle around both my heart and brain, in the opposite way of wind.
"Alright, unlock the spell Engulf in Fire Mana Arts."
[Commencing unlock of -Engulf- at the cost of 5 skill points.]
Information flooded my brain about the new spell.
"This is quite a useful spell. Especially for slow or unsuspecting targets."
[Now, you have 39 skill points left over. -Fire Proficiency II- costs 10 skill points.]
"Go ahead."
[Commencing unlock of -Fire Proficiency II- at the cost of 10 skill points.]
The fire mana in my head further condensed and melded with my thoughts. The pain made my eyes narrow a little.
[The spells you can unlock do not have to be in order. They just have to be all unlocked to move on to the next proficiency tier.]
…
Mana Arts → Fire Mana Arts → Fire Proficiency II
{Fire Proficiency II}
[Able to decently control fire mana.]
{ -Flamethrower- }
[Send a stream of fire out from an extremity. Power and speed reliant on Mana Capacity and Mana Control.]
{ -Chains of Hell- }
[Conjure chains made of fire to ensnare enemies. Speed and durability reliant on Mana Control and Mana Capacity.]
{ -Fire Skin- }
[Coats the user's body in a durable coat of fire. Durability and duration reliant on Mana Capacity.]
{ -Rocket- }
[Send short burst explosions out of the body to create force and acceleration. Power and precision reliant on Mana Capacity and Mana Control.]
…
"Fire Skin was what Grandmother was using when she fought me. It was a very powerful defensive spell. And Rocket sounds perfect for Spin Strike Arts. I can use my own momentum more often to attack, instead of waiting to counter."
[Each spell costs 10 skill points, so with 29 skill points left, you can get both.]
"Let's do that."
[Commencing unlock of -Fire Skin- and -Rocket- at the cost of 20 skill points.]
Knowledge flooded into my brain of the spells. I got up from my bed and headed out into the halls.
…
In the training room alone, I stood in the center. I held up both arms and sent mana to them.
On my left arm, bright yellow mana flooded my veins and coalesced into a shield of hard rock.
On my right arm, light green mana spiraled down my arm and into my hand. Wind exploded from my palm and condensed into a razor-sharp sword.
"Impressive, my mana reserves have barely budged," I said. "How about if I do this."
I began to run in a random direction. The shield in my left hand transformed from a traditional shield into a shield that covered my forearm with a large point jutting out at the end over my hand.
Fire spread around my body and condensed to form a skin-tight suit of flaming armor. I even completely covered my face, with two slits for the eyes.
As I ran, sparks ignited on my back and exploded, launching me forward at an unbelievable speed.
I flew through the air toward the wall and just as I was about to collide, another explosion rang out from my chest, completely stopping my momentum forward. I softly landed on the ground and turned around, facing the other wall.
This time, I ran at a more moderate pace. I made a small explosion under my feet and I was propelled slightly into the air. Before I hit the ground, I sent more small explosions under my feet and ran in the air toward the other side of the room.
Once I was halfway across, a large explosion on my back sent me flying forwards. As my feet landed on the ground, I sent out a large volume of water under my feet, making me glide on the surface of the ground until I hit the wall with a large force.
*BOOM*
The wall only formed minor cracks on the surface. I looked down at my body to find it completely spotless as the flames coursed around me.
I continued to test my powers late into the night. I used them in tandem with each other, by themselves, and with my Spin Strike Arts as well. Later that night, when I had finally reached the bottom of my mana reserves and stamina, I headed back to my room and collapsed, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
