Chapter 10
After that initial attack from the Hand's ninja and the one following it, there has not been any other attack. Apparently, they had learned their lesson so there didn't come after him anymore. Which Ash kind of appreciated, as he focused on working, learning martial art, and he had decided to go to the ring earlier than expected to earn money. Hence why he had purchased his mobile home after a month of fighting in the ring every night.
Of course, he had to regain his driver's license and sort out his ID issues, which opened a lot of cans of worms and placed him back into the government's eyes. But he really didn't mind, he wanted to quickly find more of those strange phenomena and speed up his progression, but he did achieve a lot of things in the last month. He had made progress in martial art, he fought in the ring and earned thousands, he had completed a major goal which was getting his campervan and sorting out his ID, and now he was ready to venture out into this world and look for those phenomena.
While still meditating, and using his breathing method, he was actually sensing his mana, the one in his body and the shell. In his clenched hand was a nail, a large one at that. As he felt the surging mana in his mana, while it remained dormant, he tried to control it, but all he could do was sense it, not direct its flow. But he knew that, as he knew what to do to progress to the third stage. The third stage is called extension, and it required him using the mana in his body to channel it into objects.
This requires intense focus and practice, as the mana must seamlessly integrate with the object's structure, enhancing its properties without causing instability. Yes, he could imbue objects like a sword to make them sharper, or make his clothes more durable, but since he has the shell he doesn't really need an armour imbued with mana. But since a shell can be shattered and a shattered shell must be reconstructed again, it was a good idea to know how to imbue clothes and armour with mana, not mention, imbuing a sword with mana is badass Which was what Ash was trying to do, imbue the nail with mana. But to imbue an object with mana required him to activate the mana and then channel it into it.
activating mana meant consuming it, hence why he was trying to see if he could cheat his power system and imbue objects with dormant mana. But looks like he could not, which made him sigh while he still maintained his meditative state. he didn't wake up as he activated his mana inside his body, exciting the mana in his body, enhancing his body to peak human stage, just like Captain America. But he didn't stop there, no, he directed the activated mana inside his body and directed it to his arm which was holding the nail. He watched as the activated mana moved through his body like an excited surging stream, moving through his circulatory system of his hand, before it seeped through his palm, bypassing his shell and touching the nail.
But the moment it came in contact with the nail, the nail started to vibrate within his hand, as it grew hotter since its molecular structure was excited and moved as it got energy, heating it up, and making it glow. Sensing the heat, Ash sighed as he stopped channelling mana into it before deactivating his mana. Opening his eyes, Ash took a deep breath as he stood up, his joints cracking as he stepped on the new floor as he placed down the nail. "Another failure," he muttered as he stretched himself. He was now standing at 6 feet tall. Yes, he was still growing.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently as his campervan wobbled for some time. But none of the stuff fell over as it was designed with every terrain in mind. And of course, Ash didn't fall over, he had better control over his body like that. But what shook was the fact that as soon as the shaking stopped, there was a rush of mana, and not just any mana, a fiery type of mana which felt like a spice. "What is that?" he asked himself as he could feel it. This mana was slightly tainted, different, but it was still mana, attributeless mana, and it was gushing up from someplace. Immediately, Ash had an idea come to mind. "A phenomenon," he thought to himself as he smiled.
But that smile died down as his dormant mana was stirred like the previous phenomenon as he thought, "Maybe it's a different type of phenomenon, or maybe not all phenomena were like the last one." But whatever it was, it meant progress for Ash and he was going to get it. So he got up and brushed his teeth, and ate breakfast which he made himself in his new home that he was enjoying so much, before he left the campervan parked there as he headed to where the mana was gushing from.
-scene change-
It was late at night, and Ash was heading towards Hell's Kitchen, New York, where the supposed Earth epicenter was, but when he arrived at the city, he stopped just to buy some groceries from a corner shop. As he held a cookie in his hand, "Hmmm," he was happily humming a tone. The moment he arrived at Hell's Kitchen, he could feel it, the gushing mana coming from the whole Hell's Kitchen, and this put him in a good mood. He also found out on the way here that The Hand was behind this earthquake, which was them digging a hole into Hell's Kitchen, breaking into the source of the mana. He found this out by actively going after one of their hideouts.
This time he fought thirteen of them. Apparently, The Hand was a clandestine organisation with ninja and martial themes, who also seemed to target the same mana source. According to the people he had questioned forcefully, this organisation was terrifying, at least to their affiliates, to the point where they were willing to take their own life than tell ash anything. But that was not Ash's problem. All he wanted to know was what the source was, or where exactly it was, and he found it out. Which is where he was now, as he was heading to his campervan, he stopped as his enhanced perception picked up on someone following to the parking lot where tons of cars were parked.
And then a woman stepped out of the shadows, her presence commanding attention. She was of average height with a lean, yet she didn't look small. She had an athletic build that spoke of agility and strength. Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, revealing a face with sharp, symmetrical features. Her eyes were dark and intense, looking at him with a penetrating gaze.
Her skin was smooth, and her expression was calm yet alert. She wore a sleek, all-black outfit that clung to her form, allowing for ease of movement. The ensemble resembled that of a ninja, with fitted pants and a matching top that extended into a long coat. The coat had a high collar and a large hood, though she wore it down, leaving her head uncovered. The fabric was matte, absorbing light rather than reflecting it, and the coat's interior was lined with a deep burgundy color. Her hands were gloved, and she was holding a katana-like sword.
"Another, you Hand people really need to send someon—" Ash was about to scold her and her organisation for the lack of awareness and them not learning their lesson, but due to his heightened perception, he saw her move. And even then, she was fast, very, very fast, almost borderline superhuman. Yet Ash was able to sidestep her sword slash, but the cookie in his mouth wasn't, as it was cut off. Ash then watched as the woman moved her sword to the side as she turned towards him. Ash smiled as he swallowed the cookie before he said, "I take it back, you guys did learn your lesson," as he cracked his neck. He still held his two bags of groceries in both hands, yet despite that, he was smiling.
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A/N the third stage requires ash to successfully channel(or coat) an object with his mana, which is easier said than done as ash mana is a bit of....yandere,