Chapter 5
__
Sekou and Emma could be seen walking through the halls of the royal palace whilst speaking to each other. They seemed to be arguing about something extremely important as they stepped through a door and arrived into one of the dormitory waiting areas.
"I'm telling you a mage is better than a knight!" Sekou would exclaim.
"No you're wrong, a Knight is clearly better! There's a reason that in stories it's always a knight in shining armour that comes to save the princess." Emma would say.
"Yeah because they know that if it was a mage the story would end on the first page. It would literally be 'The wizard cast a teleportation spell and appeared inside of the tower the princess was trapped in before casting it again and teleporting out with her.' That's not much of a story now is it?"
"Knights embody courage, passion and chivalry they are a symbol of hope in most kingdoms! Give them the respect they deserve!"
"All of that is nice and all. But when a mage says 'I cast fireball.' It stops mattering." Sekou would say whilst almost yawning.
"Your only argument for the mages is they're power!" She'd protest.
"You're damn right! When one side is overwhelmingly more powerful than the other they are just better. Make it make sense." He'd state.
"No? Absolutely not! Are you hearing yourself?" She'd ask.
"I am and it's a fact-"
"The average demon is probably stronger than the average human. Are they better than us?"
"…"
"No, no, don't go quiet now. Answer the question. Are they better than us?" Emma would start to pressure him to answer.
"Ah what's this? Am I getting called?" Sekou would grab his phone and put it to his ear.
"Ah yeah hello? Hello? Sekou speaking." He'd say as he started to act as if he was answering a phone call.
Emma would just look at him with the most appalled look she could muster.
"Hey! Do I look like an idiot? We both know that our phones have stopped working! Mines even dead!"
"Ahem. Anyways, what should we do right now?" He'd ask her in curiosity. They really didn't have much to do except increase their skill levels and maybe level up. Perhaps increasing their group was also something that could happen.
"Kim. Remember? We still need to check up on him. I heard that after his hand got broken and he got humiliated by Vincent, the others in his group also stopped respecting him and abandoned him." She'd say.
"Oh yea. Let's go look for him." Sekou would say as he decided to go search for him. 'Subject number 2? I'm coming!' He'd think to himself.
"Yea let's.. huaa..go.. find…him.." She'd say strangely enough tho she yawned mid sentence and looked as if she was about to fall asleep. Shaking her head trying to stay awake.
"O-on.. second thought… I-ll arrive in a bit..youuuu… go…. ahead.." Once again her words seemingly slurred and eyelids getting heavy even yawning mid sentence which he found odd.
'She was just fine a couple seconds ago.'
Thinking for a bit he'd decide to test something out.
"So do I have permission to manipulate and deceive?"
"Y-ya whatever…you said…just go ahead…" She'd say whilst shaking her head slightly still trying to stay awake. It was pretty obvious that she wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying as she soon turned around and quickly left for her room.
'Yea something is most definitely off with her.' He'd think.
"I'll have to find out what's going on with her later."
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax suggests to just use her on Emma.]
"No. We've already been over this… no heroes for you. Especially not Emma." He'd say before sighing and deciding to go look for where Kim could possibly be.
Turning around he'd start to walk towards the training area. He didn't exactly know where Kim was but if he knew an area that had a lot of people who could possibly be it was the training area.
"Not like they are going to actually be training, it's more like they are just showing off their abilities." He'd say whilst scratching the back of his head as he kept on walking forward in both boredom and disinterest.
It didn't take long before he arrived and entered the training area/zone that was given to the heroes to train in. Tilting his head a bit he'd raise an eyebrow in curiosity as he looked around.
This was the first time that he had come here and he truly wasn't disappointed. What seemed like Top of the class training equipment lined the walls along with a couple devices he didn't exactly know the use of. He could see and clearly tell that the equipment in the room was high quality and that they weren't being used as they should be.
"Haaa…" sighing slightly he'd just look around and start to walk towards a group of students who were sitting down near the entrance of the training area.
"Yo, got a question." He'd say whilst smiling slightly.
One of the students, a boy , would look at him in curiosity. Smiling he'd speak.
"What's up?"
"You know where Kim went? Someone sent me to look for him and I cannot find him for the love of my life." He'd say whilst scratching the back of his head.
"Oh Kim? A bunch of drama actually happened a bit ago. I think he went off in the forest like 10 minutes ago." The student would explain.
"Oh? You know what happened?"
"Apparently the guys he usually hung out with beat him up. Haha dude really can't get a second to rest first he breaks his hand now he gets beat on by the guys he used to walk around with."
"He seems to only have enemies." Sekou would answer.
"Yeah he does." The student would agree with him.
Nodding slightly Sekou would just mutter a quick "Thank you." Before turning around and starting to walk away the direction was pretty evident. The outskirts of the forest.
'I'm not going to go inside and look around for this guy as the forest is way too big for that' Sekou would think whilst looking at the clear sky once he had exited the building.
"Instead I'll just wait in the outskirts of the forest after all we all gotta head in the same direction for the dormitories he'll have to come out eventually." Sekou would mutter.
After a while of walking he'd arrive right outside of the place and sit on a nearby rock. 'Now we just wait.' Sekou would think.
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax asks if you're really just gonna waste time by sitting around and doing nothing.]
'I ain't really got anything else to do except this. The bird hasn't arrived at the capital yet has it?'
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax says that it only left yesterday and that it's gonna take at least a couple days.]
'Yea, yea I know. Just a bit anxious after all the quest has a time limit… I'm not too worried however according to my calculations it should be there by the end of the week if not a bit earlier.'
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax agrees with the host.]
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax asks the host if they've already chosen their path.]
'What do you mean have I already chosen? What paths can I even take? I can't do anything physical because I'm not that strong. I'm practically forced to pick magic unless there are other paths?'
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax says that the host could also try and become a Lord.]
'That so? Is becoming a lord easier than a mage?'
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax rejects the notion.]
'Then I don't really know if I should go into such a path. I don't even know if I'm talented in one of those areas unless you're an expert?'
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax states she's never actually trained.]
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax states she just stole the memories and knowledge of other targets.]
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax states it can at most attempt and teach the host through bits and pieces of what it remembers.]
'No, no, that wouldn't be really effective plus if I'm taught by someone who didn't really work for it and that misses the basics I'm of course also gonna miss the basics.' He'd think.
'If you had all of your memories intact then it would be worth the shot but you previously mentioned that the system messed with your mind.'
Kicking a rock slightly he'd just sigh in exasperation.
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax states that it can at least teach you magic.]
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax suggests that you undergo the process of creating a mana circle around your heart.]
Sekou would hear this and raise an eyebrow. 'That so? Should I try and create one later then?'
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax urges the host to start as soon as possible.]
Sekou would just lightly shake his head and sigh once more.
"Again I'm waiting on someone, it will take a bit before they arrive tho."
Nevertheless he'd push back the creation of his mana circle till after he had spoken with Kim. Deciding to just spend the next thirty minutes chatting with Fallacia about his future plans moving forward for the church.
Of course this conversation was mostly happening in his mind. Except for the occasional "Yes" and "Maybe" no other words were actually spoken.
And after what seemed like almost an eternity of waiting a young man with dyed red hair, a thug like face and a bunch of piercings would appear in the outskirts of the forest. Walking forward with a slight limp.
Sekou would smile as he saw this. Looking around there was no one except him and Kim which was an even better situation. Jumping down from the rock he'd been sitting on he'd start to walk forward towards the man, a smile overtaking his face as he did so.
An innocent smile or as innocent of a smile as he could muster.
"Yo I've been looking for you-"
"Who the fuck are you?! Piss off before I get angry fucker!"
"Ahem I-I'm here to help-"
"Help who? You think I need your help? Again piss off before I turn you into the one that needs help!"
"I'm just trying to-"
"I don't give a fuck?! If you don't piss off in the next five seconds I'm going to make you."
The conversation wasn't really going well… Sekou couldn't really convince or control someone if he wasn't able to speak to them first. This was literally going nowhere so he decided to change approach.
"Ahem."
"Why are you still here?! That's it, I'm going to break something!" Kim would approach Sekou in a "menacing" manner or at least it would be like that if the guy wasn't literally limping whilst doing so.
"You fucker! Your leg is damaged and your hand is broken! Let me heal you for the love of Mendacia!!" Sekou would almost roar out!
"…"
"…"
A slight silence would overtake them as they both looked at each other. It didn't take Sekou long to realise that this was his chance to get started.
"I'm not doing this cuz I see you as weak or because I pity you but because I first of all need to try out my class skill and second of all it doesn't sit right with me to see one of us get hurt! We are in a new and unknown place, shouldn't we stick together?"
[Veil of Lies Lv4]
'In reality I couldn't care less about everyone else and the skill I'm about to use isn't from my class but we move onward.'
"Don't take my kindness for granted however. I also come with a 'proposal' yea let's go with that. Are you listening?" He'd ask.
Kim would look at Sekou, his eyes narrowing slightly before subsequently remembering how he broke his hand when he went against Vincent and how the assholes that he used to hang around with so quickly attacked him when he asked them to help him get back at Vincent.
Kim wasn't stupid… or at least not as stupid as people thought he was. He still understood that being alone in a new place like this could be extremely disadvantageous and that biting a possible feeding hand was an extremely dumb thing to do.
Plus he didn't feel like the guy in front of him was lying.
"What's the proposal?" He'd ask.
"I heal you and help you get stronger and in exchange you join my little group and help me around. Heck I can even help you get back at Vincent." Sekou would answer whilst smiling.
"How do I know that you aren't lying?"
"You'll just have to trust me. Although I assure you. When I say I can help I don't lie."
[Veil of Lies Lv4]
"You can help me get back at Vincent?"
"Not immediately of course but in due time I have not a single doubt in my mind."
[Veil of Lies Lv4]
"…Ok then. I'll have to trust you then… but if you are lying I'm smashing your face in."
"Names Sekou Oshiro and one thing you'll learn really quickly Kim. Is that I don't lie." Sekou would say whilst extending his hand towards Kim. Clearly intending for it to be a handshake.
[Veil of Lies Lv4 -> Veil of Lies Lv5]
Shaking Sekou's hand Kim would just nod strangely enough as he shook the guys hand he'd feel the wounds and injuries that he had gotten slowly start to heal.
[Heal Lv1]
In the span of about 3 minutes his limp and injured hand would go back to normal.
"Well then it will be a pleasure working with you Kim. If you are able to, meet me in about 3 hours outside of the dormitories. I'll have to introduce you to the other member of our now newly formed trio." With that being said Sekou would smile once more, turn around and leave.
Leaving Kim himself extremely confused at what had just happened. Luckily his confusion distracted him just enough so he wouldn't notice the fact that Sekou seemed to be in a hurry.
"What an… odd guy?" Kim would say allowed before also walking off.
…
'Fuuuckkkk why was so much mana drained from me when I healed him?! I almost passed the fuck out!' Sekou would think now that he'd arrived at a random corner within the palace.
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax states that the host should have been more careful.]
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax states that the host almost passed out from the feeling of all their mana being taken.]
'I know! I know. At least the skill levelled up…' Sekou would think whikst looking at it.
[Heal Lv1 -> Heal Lv2]
It was just that Poker Face has also levelled up due to him keeping his composure.
[Poker Face Lv5 -> Poker Face Lv6]
He didn't know if they were levelling fast compared to other heroes. He'd have to make sure to check with Emma or even Kim later on. That aside all he did right now was take deep breaths.
"Haaaa Haaaa." He felt as if he had just ran a mini marathon and he didn't like this feeling in the slightest. 'That aside when I reach my room the first thing we are going to be doing is make that damn Mana Circle.' He'd think to himself whilst starting to move forward once more.
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax nods in agreement although they wonder if the host is being too hasty.]
"We gotta move fast. Even though I believe I'm moving fast there may always be others out there moving even faster than I am." Sekou absolutely couldn't allow himself to start falling behind. He felt like soon enough the majority of other heroes would also start to lock in and work hard.
'The start is the period of time in which people need to work the hardest…'
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax says that they'll help the host as much as they can.]
"Well then let's start heading back to the room I was assigned to."
Sekou still had a long day ahead of him and he couldn't afford to slow down just due to being a bit tired.
…
Emma would have just awoken from the forced sleep her damned trait forced her to enter and upon waking up the first things she'd see were a lot of system messages. To summarise what she had received.
[Unseen Force Lv0 -> Unseen Force Lv6]
[True Sloth Lv0 -> True Sloth Lv3]
It seemed like the more powerful the ability the slower the progression rate and the higher the level the slower the progression rate. 'Hard work won't even be rewarded, this is so unfair.'
Whether she was referring to the fact that no matter how much she trained the levels wouldn't improve or the actual act of sleeping being deemed as 'Hardwork.' Would remain a mystery.
"Huaaa" A slight yawn would escape her.
Emma would soon after look down as sigh. 'Am I getting too used to this?' She'd think or more so hoped. Because if that wasn't the case then it truly meant that her trait was changing her which once again she didn't even want to think about.
Nevertheless after quickly getting ready she'd leave her room as it seemed her roommate wasn't in yet and start to wonder what she should do.
"For some reason I feel like I'm forgetting something pretty important." Looking up at the ceiling of the dormitory hallway she'd start to think about what happened before she rushed into her room.
'I was talking with Sekou about how Knights are better than mages which by the way he's an idiot for thinking otherwise, this then turned into me bringing demons into the conversation. He deflected it by faking using his phone and then… then we talked about Kim?'
"Kim? We talked about going to meet him.. then right as we were about to go my trait kicked in." She'd tilt her head slightly as she remembered this.
'Sekou definitely told me something whilst my trait was kicking in.' Closing her eyes she'd try to think back on it but for some reason no matter how hard she tried nothing really came up.
Releasing a short sigh she'd just start to walk. Where exactly she was going she had yet to figure out. 'By now Sekou most likely already healed Kim so there really isn't any reason for me to go to him. Plus I need to also have passtimes.'
As she just kept on walking she'd be listening to her surroundings and what other people were saying. Something about some people already standing out.
A few names popped up every now and then but the main ones that popped up were 'Dae, Vincent and Eva although there are some other names they are the ones that mainly pop up.' Emma would think to herself as she kept on walking.
Soon she'd find herself in front of a… pool? There were pools in here? To say she found it surprising would be an understatement but then she quickly remembered that originally this was a vacation spot and would just nod.
Looking around she'd see a bunch of people in here walking around and having fun upon an initial glance she'd figure out that the people in her were mainly from the "Rich Kids", "Pretty & Mean Girls", "Muscular Guys" & "Popular Kids." (Her old group.). She'd raise an eyebrow however as she saw them all here.
Not everyone from those groups were in here but a good portion were present which made her wonder if perhaps people just looked around on the first day and then just started lazying around.
"Considering that today is only the second day I'm not too surprised that people are so relaxed. It takes a lot of mental strength to cope with this sudden situation after all." She'd mainly tell herself as she looked around spotting some of her "friends".
Since she genuinely has nothing to do she'd just walk over to them and start to talk and talk and talk. She started to realise why she was friends with them back on earth. Once she started talking with them it would almost never end and she genuinely enjoyed her time with them.
Plus it wasn't all meaningless time spent lazying around!
[Unseen Force Lv6 -> Unseen Force Lv7]
Go away you!
She was actually gathering information! Yea that's what she was doing! She got an elaboration on the students who were standing out and according to what she had heard it would be summarised like this:
Dae got some Legendary Hero class or something and has been getting stronger pretty quickly as well as getting along with most people here.
Vincent after breaking Kim's hand went on to constantly go out in the forest and train himself or something. People already had a strong impression of him after the hand breaking incident and the fact that he didn't really speak much with anyone just made him even more of a "leave alone" type of person.
Eva was honestly not that surprising out of all groups the ones advancing the fastest were the Geeks/Nerds and she seemed to be a main figure over there. What exactly her class did wasn't very known but apparently she was advancing pretty quickly.
This kind of got Emma thinking and comparing herself to them. 'I don't go out hunting but that's mainly because I can't level up my skills that way and because it's kind of scary and as for how fast I'm progressing skill level wise I'm up there.' She'd think to herself.
Most people still had their main skills at level 0 to 2. The ones advancing quickly had maybe a 3 or 4 and anyone with 5+ was pretty unheard of. Since levelling up a skill required that action to be repeatedly performed, levels at the start were pretty slow plus it was only the second day.
'Then again I'm kind of a special case. I literally level up by sleeping and lazying around. It really can't get any "better" than this.' She'd think.
"Maybe I don't appreciate my abilities enough." She'd mutter to herself.
"What was that Emma?" One of her friends asked.
"Oh? Um nothing. I think one of the boys is about to do a cannon ball!" She'd say as she quickly diverted her friends' attention.
"W-wait really? Where? We don't have swimming suits so that's dumb as hell."
"The boys can just take off their shirts and jump in there with boxers so they don't really have our problem." Emma would say.
"True!" One of her friends would reply.
As that was said they'd soon here it.
/Splash!/
Water would go flying almost everywhere as the guy actually did a cannon ball jump into the pool. However it wouldn't stop there as once one person did it:
/Splash!/
/Splash!/
/Splash!/
/Splash!/
More would follow as it looked like the dude's friends and some extra people would also follow suit jumping in the cool pool water and swimming around.
"It really surprised me that they actually did it." One of Emma's friends would say.
"Yeah true." Another one would chip in.
"Why's that?" Emma would ask.
"There's always the chance that something is in the water even if it ain't a monster there could be an otherworldly disease that we don't know about." One of her friends would reply.
"Yeah and it's not like anyone here among us has advanced medical knowledge." Another one would comment.
"I think there are doctors here. The king is here so there should also be a physician in case he gets sick right?" Emma would say.
"Yeah but we come from earth we are essentially like aliens to them. Just because we look the same it doesn't mean our organs are the same and even if they are things could affect us differently since we originate from somewhere with no mena? Muna?" One of her friends spoke.
"Mana." Emma would say.
"Yeah mana. There are a lot of uncertainties." Her friend would say.
"That's true. Is that why you all haven't been going in the water?" She'd ask.
"Yea."
"Pretty much."
"One of the boys would do it to impress one of us sooner or later so we didn't really need to…"
"Do anything."
Emma's friends would basically all agree and even though it was a bit mean this always tended to happen. The boys doing something stupid to attract one of the girls' attention isn't anything new although they probably did it for another group.
Emma's gaze would travel towards the other side of the pool at another group of girls. Their group would be known to Sekou as the "Pretty and Mean." Girls.
"I can guarantee that the 5 guys who jumped into the water will be looked at from afar and avoided for like the next 3 days."
"It's kind of sad…"
"Yeah but there really isn't much we can do about this."
Emma would just zone out for a bit as her friends spoke amongst each other. She'd just be thinking of what she'd do if she was in fact infected with something that they had no cure to. At least she had Sekou who had an ability that could heal but if that didn't work she'd be gone.
Her mind's imagination would just work its natural course as she sat down whilst looking up.
"Hmm" She'd lightly hum before she heard a small commotion break out.
Some maids came in with trays filled with food and drinks. It seemed like someone had gone and requested for them to come here with something of the sort.
"Are you trying to go and grab something to eat Emma?" One of her friends would ask her as she got up.
"Uh? Oh um sure! Why not."
Responding in such a manner she'd get up and start to walk towards the maids. 'I feel a bit bad due to the fact that I didn't go get Sekou.. I think he would have enjoyed it. Maybe he'd have even jumped in the water with one of the other guys.'
One of Emma's hands would go to fan her face as she imagined something she was better not thinking off.
"Is it hot Emma? Do you want a cold drink?"
"Oh um yea! Yeah that's it!" She'd say as she quickly grabbed the first cold drink a maid gave her and with a short "Thank you." She'd turn around and start to move back towards her previous spot with her friends.
As they all went back to their previous positions someone would bring up classes and abilities and as people happily talked about stuff they'd gotten Emma would suddenly remember about her inventories Items.
'I looked at it once and got all giddy. It's embarrassing to remember.' She'd mutter to herself.
[Inventory:
Overworked Tyrant Ring x1
]
A single item. Yet said item was pretty powerful if she were to say so herself.
[Item: Overworked Tyrant Ring
Description: A beautiful ring that seems to have a ruby like jewel encrusted on it. Legends say that it was worn by one of history's greatest evils, a tyrant so great that he could only be defeated by luck and his own negligence.
Effect: The more tired the user is the more powerful the user becomes. The users strength is increased exponentially the more tired they are.
]
'Once again a case that looks good on paper but is impractical. To use this ability to it's full potential I have to be pretty much exhausted but if I'm exhausted how am I gonna use the power the ring is granting me?' She'd think.
'Even if I'm not completely exhausted this ring basically locks me out of prolonged fights if I ever decide to use it.' Slight irritation would start to appear in her gaze. She was being given powerful abilities with the most irritating downsides.
Drinking the strange purple drink she'd been given Emma's thoughts would start to calm down as she looked up at the sky. A sigh would escape her as she just decided to relax for today… 'I need it for my mental health anyways… I can just relax this once right? Right?'
Whilst such thoughts overtook her the other two members on her team were off doing their own things.
…
Kim would be walking through the forest once more. With his leg and hand healed he'd be walking through the area menacingly his goals pretty damn clear.
As he arrived at a clearing he'd see about six bunnies who suddenly all stopped to look at him. Their eyes narrowed down as they gazed at him. They looked as if they had found- prey? Him? Prey? FUCKING PREY?!
"Hehaha. HAHAHAHAHA…" A broken laugh would escape the delinquent as he looked on at the bunnies who had just decided to look down on him.
"That bastard Vincent takes me off guard once and suddenly everyone starts looking down on me. Does it even make sense? The motherfuckers who couldn't look me straight in the eyes now laugh at me behind my back."
Heat would start to rise up around him so much head that the approaching bunnies would temporarily stop their fur already starting to get singed.
"Worst of all! The fuckers who I used to hung out with. Who I used to help put fear in the heart of those twerps betrayed me! Why?! Because they are fucking scared of Vincent?! RIDICULOUS!"
Kim would stomp his foot down fire engulfing his body as the grass that touched him started to burn. Strangely enough his clothes would remain intact however.
"I've really been wanting to hit something as hard as I can recently. I couldn't do that before because I had no healer! But now? Motherfuckers you all will remember who the fuck I am!"
[Tyrannical Blaze Lv1 activates strongly!]
[Your physical strength is temporarily greatly increased!]
[Your attacks now burn the targets!]
[Raging Fury Lv1 activates strongly!]
[Your physical strength is temporarily greatly increased!]
[Make them remember why they should fear you!]
Kim's eyes had turned completely red from the sclera to the pupil everything had turned a bright burning red. A single step forward would burn every normal flower and plant within a five foot radius.
"Now then. Let's see how long you all can last shall we?" He'd say as he smiles and attacks the six bunnies who in hindsight couldn't even physically touch him anymore without getting completely burned.
Only the sound of flames and squeaks could be heard from that side of the forest as Kim would go on a miniature rampage around that area.
…
"Ok so how the hell do I do this again?" Sekou would ask whilst sitting on his bed with his eyes closed. He sat in a lotus position because he just thought it would be appropriate for such an occasion even though according to Fallacia there was no need to.
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax tells you to stop speaking and focus.]
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax says to take deep breaths in and out.]
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax says that the host by now should feel something new aside from just air coming in.]
He was receiving live instructions as he attempted to feel his mana. He would be breathing in and out with slight 3 second intervals between each breath as if he was trying to find anything off.
'I really can't find anything out of the ordinary here. I just feel the air.' Sekou would think as he kept on breathing in and out at a slow rhythm.
After about ten minutes his patience would be starting to run out. 'It's just air goddamnit! Normal air! Except for being a bit more cool and cold than on earth there really isn't much going on here…' Sekou's thoughts would stop right there.
'Actually why is the air I'm taking in this cold? Last time I checked it was an average temperature outside?' His thoughts would start to head in a different direction.
He'd start to focus on the cool feeling which the air was giving him slowly starting to single out everything else except that feeling. He almost felt as if he could interact with this cool sensation without even touching it? This was strange.
Nevertheless he felt like he could move it. So he did exactly that. He could feel Fallacia sending messages and communicating with him yet he wouldn't pay attention to that.
He was too focused on the ongoing situation. Too focused on moving this foreign force which he wished to take control of.
At first he tried to tug at it to forcefully pull it, yet the energy rejected such an approach almost as if mocking him. The energy did not communicate yet it felt like something was telling him of an easier path.
It felt like something was telling him that instead of forcing it to abide by his will the young man should instead coax it, guide it towards the path he wished for it to take. It told him that a light and gentle approach was needed.
Sekou rejected the very notion. The force would abide by his will. It would listen to him like it should. So without a moment of hesitation Sekou tugged harder, with more force and will than before the energy suddenly being pulled and dragged along against it's will.
It would attempt to escape to scatter or even outright fight back but it wouldn't be enough. Each time it tried to go in a direction that Sekou didn't envision he'd redirect it with even more force, when it tried to scatter he'd reassemble it with an inhuman pressure and when it tried to fight back he'd double back on his violent approach.
The young man seemed to have long since rejected the very notion of him gently guiding or coaxing the energy and after about 5 minutes the energy would learn to comply with the young man's will.
Upon opening his eyes Sekou would see his veins glowing in a light blue light. It seemed like he had achieved his first goal of control over mana. Raising his right hand he'd will it and mana would gather around it.
A smile would come over his face. 'Well now that I know how to manipulate mana it's only a matter of time before I become a first circle mage. Meanwhile the other buffoons are probably just playing around or showing off.' Sekou would think.
"This second day was rather… helpful. Yea let's go with that." He'd say as he opened and closed his hand.
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax wonders why you went the hard route.]
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax said it would have taken less time if you guided the mana instead of forcing it.]
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax says that some beings born from mana may dislike you for this.]
'I mainly did it because complying to someone else's wishes isn't really something I enjoy doing. Plus it was just an extra five minutes, not that big of a deal… and as for possible beings born from mana…'
"I'll let future me deal with it." Sekou would answer with a smile on his face. He had completed one of his short term goals which just happened to be the manipulation of mana.
'Strange, I didn't get a skill from it but I don't really need it. I want the manipulation of mana to be as passive as me breathing so I'll have to figure something out… that something will probably be me setting aside to train with it or just constantly carrying out my daily activities whilst doing it.'
Looking up at the ceiling he'd just release a small sigh. In both slight irritation and dread at the thought of actually training in such a manner. He would be tired like every passing moment.
Sekou would now look at his ring and think for a moment. He'd be looking at the ring of Fraus thinking that now that he knew how to move his mana maybe he should find out what exactly it did.
'Do you think it could be dangerous?' Sekou would think whilst asking Fallacia.
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax doubts it.]
[Skil, Fallacia LvMax believes that if Fraus knew this item was said to be for the future Saint he wouldn't make it damaging.]
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax says that even if he didn't know the system wouldn't give the host something that would just hurt them.]
Sekou would just nod his head in slight agreement as he decided to try this out and start to pour mana inside of his ring. 'I have Fallacia with me if things go wrong.' Sekou would think as he acted.
Moving mana into the ring he'd start to see its golden encryptions starting to shine. His eyes would narrow on it as he awaited the rings effect.
Yet nothing happened.
It just kept on absorbing the mana that he was pouring in and this didn't seem to stop any time soon.
5 minutes passed.
15 minutes passed.
30 minutes passed.
Sekou's eyebrows started to twitch as he saw this happening. He needed to be somewhere in like the next two hours and honestly he didn't know if it was worth it to waste this much time here.
'Let's just wait a bit more.' He'd think.
45 minutes passed.
55 minutes passed.
Sekou's eyes would twitch.
1 hour passed and the ring seemed to finally stop absorbing anymore mana. Sekou was currently sweating profusely, his body exhausted from staying up that long handling mana.
He had to take two breaks to gather more mana back into his body just so he could completely fill the ring. He swore if this effect wasn't worth it he'd be extremely pissed off.
Just as he has those thoughts he'd feel the ring start to suddenly vibrate whilst attached to his finger. Pain started to flare up as he'd see his veins start to grow with an almost golden colour.
'Fallacia I give you full permission! Drag my consciousness back into my mind before I start screaming out loud and draw everyone's attention!' He'd scream inside of his mind.
Sekou had no confidence that he could endure any level of pain that this ring have him without screaming out and he'd rather not have everyone know that he is doing something possibly suspicious in his room.
[Skill, Fallacia LvMax complies.]
And he knew he made the right choice as just as he heard that message he'd see all the veins in his right arm glowing in a golden colour before a mind numbing pain attacked all of his nerves.
Whatever the ring was doing said something was quickly spreading through the entirety of his body and he didn't know if this was good or not.
'I'll have to hope what T.S.A and Fallacia said is true and that the ring won't kill me. FUUUCKKKKK.'
Just as that happened however everything once again went blank as Fallacia moved him back into his mind.
/Darkness…/
Opening his eyes he could see that he was currently sweating a lot whilst also lightly hyperventilating. 'Shit I'm not built for all of this! I'm not some anime protagonist that just deals with shit like this and acts nonchalant!'
"My arm was glowing a bright golden colour and it felt like the blood inside that arm was boiling. That's spreading through my entire body?!"
He'd scream in his mind space.
"Well that's not correct." A female voice would suddenly be heard as Fallacia appeared.
"It's not spreading through your body, it's just heading towards your heart." She'd say.
"That's not much better! I can still die if something happens to my heart!" Sekou would practically yell out as he started pacing around in a hurry.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" This was probably the least calm he has been since he arrived here and to be honest it was to be expected. Sekou had just been holding his anger and fear in until now.
However using this as a catalyst it almost all exploded outwards.
After about five minutes passed he'd take a few deep breaths before asking.
"Do you at least know what the hell it's doing?"
"Not exactly. I think it's some kind of evolution? Or maybe purification but most likely the former."
She'd say as she kept looking at him her expression impossible to tell due to how she was covered.
"Hmm" Sekou would just sigh lightly as he sat down on the black ground within his mind and sighed.
"We will have to see what happens at the end of this. Is there anything we can do here?" He'd ask. He needed something to take his mind off the ongoing situation.
"You can will most things to appear here since this is well in your mind. Imagination is the driving force here. As long as what you are trying to bring isn't a creature." Fallacia would reply.
"Well then… up for some chess?" He'd ask as two balls of fluff? Appeared on each side of a table with a chess board and pieces.
"Sure." Fallacia would say as she approached sitting on one of the balls of fluff.
Sekou followed suit and sitting on the remaining one.
"Well then you'll be white and I'll be black." He'd say whilst smiling. The choice was made simply because black were the chess pieces in front of him.
"Sure." Fallacia would say once more as she made the first move.
Sekou soon followed suit as the match began.
.
.
.
A lot of time had passed since they had started to play chess and what immediately hit him was that Fallacia learned quickly. Even though she needed a small explanation at the start she seemed to quickly learn and get to a level of skill comparable to his.
Which was extremely surprising considering that Sekou had a small passion about chess. Seeing someone improving so quickly was both astonishing and slightly disgruntling. 'Geniuses really are just built differently.' He'd think to himself as he lightly sighed.
They had played about 27 matches and out of those 27.
Sekou had won 9
Fallacia 7
And there were a total of 11 draws.
'How the hell did we draw 11 times? 'one might ask. Well after I got the 9 wins she started to get better at this and I couldn't get any wins anymore.'
'Either ending it in a stalemate or outright losing.' Sekou would go to scratch the back of his head and sigh slightly as he looked on at this scene in a lot of disbelief and shock.
"Has anyone ever told you that you are pretty talented Fallacia?" Sekou would ask as he made the chessboard disappear.
"Yes. Almost too many times." She'd say.
"Was that really the first time you ever played chess?" He asked genuinely curious and a bit doubtful.
"The first time 'I' played chess? Yes."
"Why did you say I like that?"
"Because-"
Before she could say anything else both Sekou and her stopped and looked around. They could feel it. Whatever the ring had been doing to him was completed and it was time to check the aftermath.
"How much time has passed since this whole process started?" Sekou would ask Fallacia.
"Approximately one hour and thirty minutes." She'd reply.
"And the meeting was in two hours. That means I still have about thirty minutes to prepare if my body isn't completely wrecked. " He'd say whilst lightly stroking his chin.
"Well then Fallacia, send me back now." He'd say whilst taking a sharp breath of air in. Although there wasn't really any air in his mind.
"Understood." Is all he'd hear before opening his eyes in his room once again.
The first thing he'd notice was that his body was exhausted, tired as hell and constantly panting. It looked as if he had run a marathon and getting up it felt like his body was extremely sore.
"I feel like shit…" Sekou would mutter whilst looking at his finger. The ring was gone.
"It's gone. Did it disintegrate after accomplishing its purpose or something? I'm really gonna get pissed if all of this wasn't worth it."
He said that yet inside he was more so excited to see if he had actually gotten anything of proper value. He had managed to escape the mind breaking pain by having Fallacia drag him inside of the mental space which was neat. 'I kind of cheated but who cares. If it works it works.' He'd think to himself
He had received a lot of system messages whilst unconscious so he hoped this was worth it. 'I wouldn't receive so many system messages if this wasn't something awesome right? Right?'
Excitement would start to become slight anxiety as he took a deep breath and opened the messages.
"Let's see what you got here then. System." He'd speak with slight excitement.
[DING!]
[External Energy has been detected attempting to merge with the host's body!]
[External Energy is being drawn towards the host's heart!]
[External Energy merges with the host's body!]
[Host enters critical condition!]
[Host's body starts to fail!]
"…"
[DING!]
[Two traits are being created!]
[Traits "World's Child" & "Manuz Essence" have been created!]
[Trait "World's Child" takes effect the host's body starts absorbing mana at a rapid rate!]
[Trait "Manuz Essence" activates as the host's body starts to heal due to large quantities of mana being present!]
"…"
[DING!]
[Host has stabilised!]
[Achievements have been detected!]
[Would the host like to view their achievements?]
"D-did I… did I almost die?"
Is all that Sekou would say before falling into his bed shock evident in his gaze.