--
Gasp!
TJ awoke sharply with a gasp, his upper body rising from his bed as if he had just woken up from a nightmare.
With pupils blown wide, breathing raggedly, and absolutely drenched in sweat from head to toe, he frantically looked at his surroundings and saw that he was back in his room.
'Safe. Home. Safe.'
He muttered inwardly while clutching his chest. He actively tried to calm himself down, repeating those same words like a mantra.
About ten minutes later, he sighed heavily and opened his eyes again. He no longer felt as panicked as before. He knows that he's back to reality, back to his home, and safe from harm.
He looked at the clock, which was about to be 06:00am. He woke up a bit earlier than his usual time, but he's really in no condition to return to sleep. He doesn't even know if he wants to, honestly.
"What the hell just happened?" TJ furrowed his brows in confusion.
He didn't understand how he felt that much pain. From the start to the end of that battle, he was the one on the offensive; the enemy barely traded blows with him, and even then, none of it hit him. Furthermore, the enemy was already dead, so why did he suddenly feel that burning sensation? What's up with that?
Luckily, that burning feeling didn't follow him to reality. He was fine. He just got scared from what happened.
It was here that TJ began inspecting his body and finally realized how drenched he was with sweat.
At first he thought he peed in his sleep and was about to be embarrassed, but it wasn't just his pants and underwear that were wet; his tank top was too. Looking back at his bed, he could also see the dampness he left in the shape of a human. Plus, the wetness didn't smell like urine, so no, he didn't pee himself from that.
It smelled a bit sour but also with a hint of mint, which came from his shower gel that tends to leave behind a scent on his body. So, it was his sweat.
Ahem!
TJ cleared his throat and felt that it was parched. He then felt extremely thirsty, enough to get him out of the bed to get himself a drink.
He downed a liter easily, and that barely satisfied his thirst. He drank another one, and then the feeling went away.
"Ugh." TJ then groaned as he became hyperaware of his clothes sticking too close to his skin as well as their wetness. He shucked them all offsave for his underwear while making his way back to his room.
Then, with a single tug, he pulled his bedsheet off the bed; he used it to wrap his wet clothes and made his way to the bathroom. His washing machine was nearby, so he tossed his wet bedsheet and clothes, including his underwear, in it and had it running while he hopped into the shower for a quick wash.
As the warm water cascaded down his body, flowing through his toned and well-defined body, TJ got lost in his thoughts for a bit.
There's this unusual lightness in and outside his body. The outside sensation, he could understand; it might be the comfort brought by the warm water running through his body, soothing his skin and all.
The one within, though...that's strange.
TJ recalled the previous time he died in the Dream Echo Realm. He felt miserable back then. No warm showers or good food could alleviate the phantom pain he felt.
And it's that very phantom pain that's missing right now.
Had he truly died in the dream echo realm, no matter how strange his death might seem, he should feel the aftermath right now. Being burned from within certainly doesn't feel nice, and that sensation should've killed him.
But again, did he really die? If so, then why does he feel comfortable now?
TJ focused. He closed his eyes and tried to make sense of what's happening to him.
Although it was a little hard because with his eyes closed, the voices in his head tend to speak louder, he still managed to discover something that might be the answer to whatever he's feeling right now.
"Mana..." he whispered, his eyes opening with a strange glint in them.
TJ, just like every other person, always had mana inside of him. After being awakened, his perception of it became slightly clearer than before. He couldn't sense others, but he could for his own.
The amount he had back then was miniscule, definitely nowhere near enough to cast even the most simple magic missile spell.
As he trains, ranks up, and defeats Casters in the Dream Echo Battlefield, the amount of mana in his body rises exponentially. He brought it to the point where he could almost pass as a freshly awakened Fusion Class holder. But of course, his warrior qualities far exceed that, as that's his actual template.
TJ knew that if he were to continue fighting and defeating more Casters, his hope of transitioning to a Fusion Class Template upon reaching the Apprentice Rank would become higher.
In fact, he's banking on that because he knew just how big of a gap there was compared to other class archetypes.
But after defeating that nameless fusion class dream echo, something changed within him.
His mana didn't experience any excessive growth in terms of quality nor quantity.
What happened instead was that it was now in a deeper harmony with his body. It didn't feel 'strange' anymore. Instead, it felt normal now, as if he gained something that has always been there to begin with.
It's definitely a strange sensation. And weirdly enough, TJ understood what's going on.
As a frequent visitor of professional forums, TJ read a lot of posts about many subjects. One of them was the feeling of awakening as a Fusion Class holder.
The poster of the article he remembers said described the harmonious sensation between their body and their mana. The same exact thing that TJ was feeling right now.
"Does this mean I'm of the legit Fusion Class Archetype now?"
In his curiosity, Cedric opened his profile but was then disappointed when he saw that it still indicated that he's just a warrior. His total Mana Points (MP) also weren't displayed. Overall, nothing changed in his profile; everything still looked the same as before, save for the increased value of his skill mastery points due to the intense battle.
"Maybe it needs an update? Maybe next time I increase my star rank, it will update itself. If not, then maybe when I reach the Apprentice Rank."
"Anyway, I just hope that I could transition to a fusion class right away."
Shaking his head, TJ reached for his mint shower gel and transitioned to a full bath instead.
**
"You feel different somehow."
TJ raised a brow before looking at Lily, who's looking at him suspiciously.
"How different?" TJ asked in return.
He wasn't really shocked that Lily noticed; she's always been perceptive. He's just wondering if she could actually point out what's different about him.
"I can't really tell, but I just know something in you changed."
"Oh."
"Come on, out with it! What is it?" Lily shook his arm, unable to contain her curiosity.
"How am I supposed to tell you when I, myself, don't know?"
"Aww..."
TJ felt a little bit guilty for lying. It's not that he didn't want to tell her; he's just being careful.
Lily was as much of a best friend to him as he was to her. She's one of the few people that TJ could trust with his life. But even then, he hesitated to tell her the truth simply because it's simply too risky.
Anything related to him [Boons] is a top-level secret. One that would be best if buried alongside him.
Well, it's not that extreme just yet, but as he goes further into his career, the more careful he has to be. He had read far too many conflicts and gossips on the forums to know just how fast secrets could spread once they're revealed.
TJ never once thought that he'd be able to keep this as a secret forever. It's only a matter of time before he's discovered. What he could do is to at least make them work for it, giving himself enough time to grow strong and protect what's rightfully his.
'Maybe she wouldn't have noticed if I didn't try to sense just how much mana she has,' TJ thought to himself.
He couldn't help it. His closer and more profound perception of mana allowed him to sense mana in his surroundings and on people.
The idea that he had become a Fusion Class holder still lingers in his mind, because these are certainly not something ordinary and/or novice warriors should be noticing.
TJ tried to probe how much mana Lily had in the crudest way he could think of. As a result, Lily, as if sensing his gaze, perked up and looked at him. Although she didn't seem to think much about it, TJ knew that it was instincts that caused her to react.
'I should really start becoming more careful.'