"So that's your plan?" Aurum prepared the weights and everything else needed for Pablo's training. "You'll force me to train you against my will, and if I refuse…?" He put down the last stone and looked towards Pablo.
"I'll hit myself and tell them you did it." Pablo starts stretching his body, not knowing if he can handle this training.
They are in a private training room, where only the most gifted students can enter. Pablo asked Ayato for permission to train here, which he granted. What separates this room from the others is the amount of training equipment, space, and, obviously, the privacy of being alone. "I told Ayato that you wanted to train me as an apology."
Aurum nods and scoffs, wrapping the bandages around his arms. "Of course you did."
"Look, I'm not happy with how things turned out. But I'm willing to do whatever it takes, and I've proven I can do that before. I just needed to prove it to you as well. When they hear you regretted attacking me and started helping me, they'll think you're changing for the better. But let's not fool ourselves, people like you don't change. You swallow your hatred, then puke it onto someone else. And when they puke back at you, you play the victim."
Pablo crossed his arms. "I did what I had to do, and in the end, you'll also benefit, right? Imagine how happy she'll be when she hears her manic, jealous boyfriend is actually changing."
Aurum doesn't talk back, and sharply exhales. But he can't hold back his anger anymore, and turns to approach Pablo. Pablo doesn't flinch, knowing damn well he won't lay a finger on him. "And what would you do? The people that colonized your people and killed your family walk into your comfort space, what would you have done differently?"
Pablo sighs, looking him in the eyes. "Not every Dawnthinker is evil…"
Aurum cuts him off and screams at him, spit flying from his mouth. "BUT YOU ARE!"
Pablo swallows his words before he even has the chance to say them, anxious from his outburst.
"Maybe not the kid, maybe he's the good one. But you? You're one of the worst I've ever met."
He calms himself down, clenches his teeth, then turns his back on him again. "Let's just do this so you'll get off this fucking island."
Pablo looked away and winced, waiting for Aurum to reveal what's next. "What did you have in mind?"
"You can channel mana to your limbs, right? What else can you do? How did you heal so damn fast back then anyway?" Aurum brings three boulders, from small to large. "Yes, I can use mana to amplify my body. And I can also use it to heal, like you."
"Huh?" Aurum raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean you healed with mana? You're a Dawnthinker." The bite in his voice disappeared, replaced with confusion. "Yeah, but I can use mana, can't I? I can heal with it."
"We don't heal with mana, we heal with Life Force manipulation." Aurum tested the weight of some boulders himself, seemingly satisfied with it. "What's that?" Pablo tilted his head.
"Your body is made of something. If you can generate that thing, you can heal. That's Life Force manipulation. Lucky for us, our bodies are made of mana." He then brought a few chains and threw them next to the boulders. "So you heal with mana," Pablo pointed out, growing confused himself.
"No, we heal using Life Force manipulation, and our Life Force is mana. So we heal using mana. But your Life Force is not. So I have no fucking clue how you heal."
"That's weird." Pablo raised an eyebrow. "What about mana amplification? Is that something impossible, but something I can somehow do too?"
"We increase our mass by condensing mana, which increases our power and toughness. You fill your muscles, which are normally filled with air, with mana instead, to lift things. Since mana is stronger, it's more effective than just air, allowing you to be stronger. But that's just me speculating, you're the first Dawnthinker I've met who can use mana." He threw a towel towards Pablo, which he caught. "I don't have muscles, can't you see?" He lifted his shirt slightly to reveal his body. "Everybody has muscles, dipshit, that's how you do things. Your muscles may be near non-existent, but they're still there."
"So if what you're saying is true, to fill my muscles with more mana, I'd need to get… more muscular?" He looked at his arm, not believing someone like him could do that. "So you aren't hopeless at all. We'll start by putting some weight on you, so you'll know your body better." Aurum moved towards the door. "I'll be back with something, you stay here." He points at him before leaving. Pablo nods. "…" He looked at his biceps again in suspicion. "Really…?"
Time quickly flew by under Aurum's training. He was harsh, rough, and unforgiving, due to his anger towards Pablo, but the circumstances only pushed his potential further. The training wasn't only physical; he also made sure Pablo got the proper food and nutrients to increase his weight. The tension between them eased slightly, but it was clear Aurum was still doing this by force.
And throughout it all, Ayato secretly watched his progress. He wasn't proud, and he wasn't impressed. He was afraid.
The memories flashed to his mind with each glance. Every time Pablo used mana, he saw him: his laugh, his wrath, his superiority. He kept his anger to himself and let him stay.
Meanwhile, Kori was still not around. According to Ayato she was at the second facility, training with some of the superiors, which was pretty far from here. Haisha quickly adapted to his environment and used this time to socialize, sharpen his skills, and build his mentality. His determination was by far the quietest, but the strongest. Each day more challenged him to fights, and he eventually lost to every single one, despite showing superiority throughout the fights.
Pablo could feel every bone in his body aching and shaking, but he could also notice progress.
About a week passed, with six days remaining until Tsuyoi's execution. During this time, Pablo had gained five kilos of weight but was still undeniably fragile and weak. Still, his growth was undeniably real.
But no matter what they did, Pablo still could not use any form of sorcery, which made him feel like all of this was for nothing.
One night, Pablo had one of the strangest dreams of his life… and that's saying something. He finds himself on the beach again, this time at night, with no active predator hunting him. He sees a woman far away, her feet soaked in the ocean water, her back turned towards him. Pablo slowly approached her, fear etched onto his face. He kept his distance, a good three to four meters between them. "I cannot do it. I cannot save my friend…"
The woman interrupted him, her voice still soft as a lullaby. "Do you know how to swim, Pablo?" She tied her hands behind her back.
"I can't say I do. In one of my dreams I swam, but… this is a dream too, isn't it?"
She slowly started to turn towards him. Pablo faced away almost instantly. She smiled in response. "This is not a dream, it's a nightmare."
She started walking backward into the ocean, getting deeper with each step. "Swim with me."
"I don't know how to swim." He looked down, his back turned towards her. "That's okay," she said, opening up her arms. "I'll teach you."
"I'm afraid of the water." He clenched his fists. "You know that."
"Why?" she asked.
"The water drowns me. I can't breathe in there." He started walking away, but her voice stopped being soft and she raised it. "That's not what you should be afraid of."
"What is it then?" He almost whispered, too afraid to speak out loud.
"Yourself."
The moonlight started to blind him. It felt like he was being burned alive.
Pablo gasped and woke up drenched in sweat. He panted and started breathing heavily.
He didn't try to sleep that night after that.
The next day, he continued his training and tried to ignore the memory.
Pablo placed down the largest boulder in the room, screaming in pain as he did it. His arms started shaking violently. "Your mana still hurts you, doesn't it?" Aurum watched.
"It's not the mana, I'm just overloading my muscles. I'm filling them way past the safe limit." He wiped the sweat off his body with his towel and sat on the ground, panting.
"Then don't do that."
"No, I have to. Otherwise I'm not as strong. I have to push beyond my limits if I want to save my friend. Or else I'm…" He stood up again, ready to train more. "You can't grow without…" Aurum was cut off by Pablo, impatient with his blabbering. "Yeah yeah, I've heard those words already."
"Suit yourself." Aurum raised an eyebrow.
Aurum glanced towards the door and began approaching it. "I have something to do. Stay here."
"Venti." Aurum looked at Venti and the rest of his friends, who were waiting for him. Including Aurum, there were five of them: Aurum, Ventifer, Ultio, Rugitus, and Terra. They had been planning for the past week, gaining Pablo's trust and letting the drama get forgotten. What were they planning? It was obvious.
They had been planning and thinking for the past week to kill Pablo and frame it as either a suicide or an accident where Pablo's own mana killed him. The method depended on how much Pablo would struggle. Either way, nobody would know it was them if they did it correctly.
"Yeah?" Ventifer looked at Aurum, waiting for his order. "Is everything ready?" he asked. Ventifer nodded. "Down to the suicide note, we've got it covered. The cliff is currently empty with no witnesses. Stelio is having a private audition with Ayato, so he doesn't see us taking him to the cliff. The girls are with that little brat, down the mountain. They'll have the front seat to his doom."
"Good." Aurum patted Ventifer's shoulder. "You go to the cliff, I'll bring him." He pointed inside the room. The rest left, and Aurum entered the room again.
Pablo was still trying to lift the biggest boulder, using way more mana than his body could handle. "Good, tire yourself," Aurum muttered. "Huh?" Pablo looked at Aurum. "Nothing." He grinned.
"It's a full moon outside right now. Our mana is easier to control under a full moon. There's even a spot for it, the cliff high up the hill." It was a blatant lie; a full moon does no such thing. But at this point, Pablo was willing to do whatever it took. Not to mention, he didn't know any better.
He followed him to the hill, and eventually the cliff. "What will we do there?" he asked.
"Fortunately for you, nothing physical. You'll just meditate and soak yourself in the moonlight."
Pablo reluctantly walked towards the end of the hill and sat down. He sat in a lotus position, his back turned towards Aurum, and tried to concentrate. "If it's to save Tsuyoi…" He closed his eyes. He wasn't oblivious; he was slightly nervous and felt like something was going on, because of the cold wind that hit his neck. Nonetheless, he tried to concentrate. "I'm afraid of failing him," he muttered to himself.
THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID OF.
Pablo opened his eyes in shock once he heard the voice. "Huh…"
The moonlight shone stronger, sending a shock throughout his body. He instinctively turned around in a rapid motion and stopped Aurum's hands from pushing him. The rest of his friends were there too, and they all froze in surprise. "Shit!" Aurum said.
Pablo pushed him away and immediately got up. "What is this?!"
"Payback." Aurum's hands glowed, gold seemingly appearing out of nothing inside his palm, shaped into a dagger. "You should've let us do it. Now it'll just be painful." Ventifer stepped forward. The rest did as well. "Leave this to me," Aurum said.
Pablo raised his fists in fear and anxiety. "Back off, Aurum!" he yelled. "Or what? You'll beat me? I know how you'll punch me, I taught you how to punch me. I know how and when you'll use mana, I taught you that too."
He planned not to use too much of his power, so he wouldn't alert others. "What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry? Because I am!" Pablo yelled. "But you don't understand… if I didn't do it, I would die." He added.
"You'll die anyway! This is it, you bastard!" Aurum charged forward with his dagger. With nothing left to do, Pablo braced himself and got ready to fight. "I killed a stronger Magiborn than you. Come on, then!" He furrowed his brows.
"I say that, but I can't reach the output I reached against Sanita…" he thought. Aurum swung his dagger forward, and Pablo stepped to the side. Aurum swung it again, slicing his neck. It gushed blood, but Pablo healed it quickly before he lost consciousness. Aurum's friends laughed, enjoying Pablo's desperate attempt to fight.
Pablo swung his left fist and filled his arm with mana. He cried out in pain, which allowed Aurum to realize what he was trying to do, and he ducked to avoid the hit. He then stabbed Pablo in the stomach. His friends laughed again. "You can't fool anyone here, Pablo! You have no power here!" Aurum said.
Pablo held onto his stomach and fell to the ground. "If only I had my ring… I could shoot mana out of it!" Pablo grunted.
As Aurum approached him, he desperately tried to kick him while he was on the floor. Aurum laughed and grabbed his legs, toying with him. Pablo grunted and growled, but his noises were quiet compared to their laughter.
"Join in, you guys!" Aurum called out to them while laughing. All five of them approached Pablo and started kicking him while he was down. He wasn't given any space to breathe, fight back, or retreat. Their laughter echoed in his head. He started crying, realizing the reality of the situation. "What… a pathetic death…" he thought to himself. "To think that I thought I was going to save Tsuyoi too…"
Aurum yelled and kicked Pablo too hard, sending him backward, a bit away from the cliff. Pablo vomited onto the floor, his vomit mixed with blood as well. He coughed, unable to stand. As the rest approached him, Aurum stopped them with a grin on his face. "All mine."
"I'll die anyway… but I can't let them get away. I can't release mana out of my body without my ring. But there's one more way…" he thought. "If I just open the faucet… let all of my mana leak out… it will surely kill me. But it will also kill them. My mana will evaporate theirs."
Pablo's breathing got better, but it was still very heavy. "I'm sorry, Tsuyoi. But I'm sure… Haisha and Kori will save you. I'm sorry I wasn't there to see it myself."
He stood on his knees, his brows furrowed with hatred, animosity, and anger all at once. A spark appeared in his eyes as they teared up. "I will push beyond my limits, one last time!" he grunted. "You wanted a suicide?! You're getting it!"
Aurum stepped back instinctively, not knowing what Pablo was planning.
With that, Pablo's eyes widened. Memories started raining down, the lesson he ignored… the truth he avoided.
Nasaki wasn't a bad teacher.
Pablo was a bad student.
He remembered his words. There was a lesson. But Pablo had ignored it because of the awful truth it told about him.
"I can't just rest while Tsuyoi is there, suffering. I have to do it. No matter what. Even if it means destroying myself, I'll do it! Please just teach me something! A rare, deadly technique you never taught to anyone because it's so dangerous, maybe?" Pablo begged Nasaki.
He put a hand on his neck and avoided looking at Pablo. "Sorry, kid. I don't have anything like that. Even if I did, that's not what you should do."
Pablo yelled, grabbing Nasaki so he couldn't turn his back on him. "Why? What should I do then?"
Nasaki grabbed Pablo's arm, a sharp glare on his face. "Breaking your limits and pushing beyond your limits are completely different shit, kid. The latter often ends up killing you."
Pablo listened to Nasaki, his face still holding a hint of frustration and anger.
"For example, back in your fight with Sanita, why did you oversurge your legs with mana?" Nasaki asked. Pablo was stunned. "H-How do you know that?"
"That's not the point. Why did you do that? Sanita would've charged at you anyway, you did something your body wasn't able to handle." Nasaki let go of Pablo.
"You don't know what you're talking about." Pablo objected.
"Would it kill you if you just said 'You're right, I'm sorry'? Does it bother you that much? Listen. I think you have enormous potential, but you lack the mindset to bring it out."
The words flew right above Pablo's head. "What? Are you saying I'm not enough?"
Nasaki snapped and raised his voice too. "This is what I'm talking about! Did you want to save Tsuyoi's life, or do you just want to defeat Sanita? The latter is a splendid motivation, but Tsuyoi and I would've tried to get you out of there alive if we were in your shoes. I'm not saying you didn't have to beat Sanita, he'd be too dangerous if left alive. But do not forget, your motives matter more than your actions. You can't become someone who surpasses your limits before imagining that future self."
Pablo didn't respond, the anger still on his face, but calm enough to hear Nasaki out.
"What the hell was I thinking…" Pablo closed his eyes. Aurum stopped, confused. "All this time, the truth was always in front of me…" he cried out.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Aurum raised an eyebrow.
"…I couldn't accept how weak I was." He breathed out. "But that's long gone!"
He suddenly opened his eyes, a maniacal grin replacing the solemn expression. A fire burned inside his eyes, signaling an undying determination. "I'll fucking do it!" he yelled.
The rest of the lesson kicked in.
"Breaking your limits and pushing beyond your limits aren't the same thing," Nasaki had added. He turned his back on Pablo and walked towards the cabin, expecting him to follow. "Should there be a next time, accept yourself before evolving beyond that self."
The mana that was violently leaking from Pablo stopped, surprising everyone. "Huh…"
Countless violent tendrils sprouted out of Pablo's stomach wound and started choking Aurum. The rest froze in shock, too afraid to do anything. Pablo laughed while Aurum was dying. "It's done, I finally fucking did it! This is my sorcery! It's barely cultivated, it's amateur work, slop at best! But for now… that's what I need!"
"FUUUUUCK…" Aurum desperately cut off the tendrils by turning his hand into gold, and his fingers into sharp knives. He regained his breath. "What the hell are you?!"
Pablo didn't answer. A giant tendril sprouted from his back and smacked Aurum aside, knocking him out instantly. "Shit!" Ventifer created a wind cloud and got everyone else to hop on it, including Aurum's body. They then flew away, yelling out. "Everyone! The Dawnthinker went fucking nuts! He attacked Aurum!"
Ayato, currently talking about ways to better cultivate Stelio's sorcery, heard the call and raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Stelio, get the rest of the students and find out what's going on."
Stelio, aware of the entire plan, nervously nodded and left. "What went wrong…?!" he muttered to himself.
The tendril was gone. Pablo casually walked down the hill and onto the main area. A few dozen students filled it. A tall man approached Pablo and put a hand on his shoulder. "You have some explaining to do, why did you assault…"
Pablo swung his hand forward and sliced his arm off. The students inside gasped, and the man cried out in pain. Pablo then kicked him in the chest and sent him flying through the walls.
"…" Everyone inside looked at Pablo, who stood in the middle, looking at nobody in particular, almost as if he'd dissociated. "Of course… how could I not see it? The healing… the mouths on my body… I had a sorcery this entire time. I'm able to manipulate my body!" he thought.
"GET HIM!" one of them called out, and they all rushed towards him. "Tsuyoi… I take back my apology." Pablo gracefully dodged their attacks; his mana was far more efficient now, and he was able to amplify himself much more without hurting his body. He dodged their attacks and countered them, knocking them out one by one. "I will save you. With the power I have, I can catch up to you."
As he was surrounded, countless arms sprouted from his back and swept the area, pushing everyone away. "No… forget catching up." His grin got bigger. "Right now, I feel like I can surpass you!"
In the second facility, news reached them fairly quickly. The assistant came into the room where the superiors were quietly enjoying their dinner. "Masters! One of the Dawnthinker guests, the one with the mana, is going berserk in the First Facility! No student is able to stop him!"
"Huh? Did he kill anybody?" Vitis asked. She put down her tea. She had short green hair, barely reaching her chin, and was dressed in training robes like the rest of the students, all superiors were, except theirs was a different color, emphasizing their rank. She had a lean, athletic figure, thanks to her years of training. "No, thankfully not. Each attack is just knocking them out one by one. Altus had his arm dismembered, but he can heal from it."
"We should go." She nodded and got up, and the rest of the superiors did too.
Radior stood up, groaning. "Geez, they can't do anything without us. Tell that white-haired girl we'll be busy." He had a bulky physique with a bald head, but his physique was nothing compared to Forte's. Forte was almost two meters tall, extremely big and muscular. His skin was darker than the others', and he had long curly hair. He didn't say anything; he only growled.
Back in the dojo, all the students who tried to assault him were knocked out; only Ventifer, Ultio, Rugitus, and Terra remained. They were afraid, but they charged against Pablo anyway. "We started this, we'll finish this!" Ventifer said. He created a strong gust of wind, blowing Pablo back. He tried to stand on his feet but failed.
He created tendrils from his back again and pierced the ground with them, gaining his footing. "Keep doing that, Ventifer!" Ultio said. He shone light from his hands and blinded Pablo. "Rugitus, Terra, like we practiced!" he said. Rugitus nodded and sprinted towards Pablo. Terra touched the ground and caused it to shake violently, disturbing Pablo's footing. He tried to find an opening to counterattack but failed to do so. Their attack was too overwhelming.
"Rugitus, now!" Ultio yelled.
Rugitus started screaming; his sorcery let him unleash devastating sound waves from his mouth. The sheer power of it started destroying Pablo's skin and damaging his insides. "Agh!" Despite all of his senses being overwhelmed, he thought of an idea. He created a giant mouth on his torso and amplified it with mana to unleash devastating sound waves as well, easily surpassing Rugitus's.
The sound sent all four of them flying, disrupting all their magic. Pablo groaned and blinked repeatedly, healing his eyes, ears, and whatever else was damaged.
As he caught the opening, he extended his arms, grabbed Ultio and Ventifer, and smashed their heads together, knocking them out. "What do we do?!" Terra yelled to Rugitus.
"Lose." Pablo calmly responded.
In anger, Terra and Rugitus charged towards Pablo. Pablo went down on all fours, and his bones burst through his body like spikes, penetrating them all, but precise enough not to be fatal.
They went unconscious like the rest, and Pablo moved on. Suddenly, Lepidus stood in front of him and opened her arms to stop Pablo. "Pablo, what are you doing?! This is enough! Please stop…"
"I'm sorry, Lepi. But you're in my way. Step aside," he said. "Why are you hurting them?!" she yelled.
"The only thing I'm hurting is their ego. I'm not killing anybody. Step aside."
"Or what?" she said.
He sighed and pushed her away by creating a tendril, enough force to knock her out. "Sorry, Lepi." He started walking away.
"Nobody…" A demonic voice growled, suspiciously close to where Lepi lay. "…messes with my sister!" the voice screamed, and a devastating burst of mana unleashed, enough to disturb even Pablo.
He looked at Lepi's unconscious body to see a demonic spirit hovering over it. Its silhouette barely resembled a woman's. It had long silver hair, like her, but her body was torn apart, its dismembered parts hovering in place. "My dear Lepi… I won't let anybody hurt you!" The demon opened its jaw, revealing countless deadly teeth.
"So that's why…" Pablo muttered.
The demon charged forward and swung her fist towards Pablo. Pablo attempted to block it, but the force broke his arm and sent him flying miles at least, strong enough to break through the mana barrier. The moment he left, the devastating snowstorm of Glacivulcan surrounded him. Pablo got up and healed his arm, struggling to stand.
The demon continued its pursuit, screaming in anger. Pablo barely dodged it, but it kept attacking him. Pablo and the demon engaged in a fierce clash, and it quickly overwhelmed him. "My mana control has improved, hasn't it?" he said. He then released his mana deliberately, controlling how much. The sheer output nearly evaporated the demon, leaving it extremely injured. "Lepi… the government… cannot touch her… not again…" it muttered before going silent. Pablo shivered from the cold.
Out of nowhere, the ground below him started shaking. "Huh? Didn't I knock out…"
A swarm of giant plants erupted from the ground and wrapped their limbs across his body, raising him into the sky. Vitis appeared through the storm, her hands glowing with mana. "I don't have enough to damage him. But he shouldn't be able to break my plants," she said to Radior. "Burn him while he can't do anything," she added.
He nodded and started walking towards him. "Got it."
He pointed his hand towards Pablo and unleashed a giant beam of mana, evaporating the plants, but also Pablo.
Pablo crashed into another mountain, barely conscious. "I can take them. I just need to keep going!"
Forte charged towards Pablo at devastating speed, his feet stomping the ground and leaving cracks on the surface with each step. Pablo created a Zweihander from his own bone and fortified it with mana. "Let's go, you ogre!" he said.
Forte delivered a barrage of fists at eye-blinding speed. Pablo amplified his body in order to match it. "I cannot override my body, I can only add onto it. That seems to be my limit. But why the mouths then? I shouldn't think about that now, I have bigger fish to fry!" He focused on Forte's barrage and counted them up at rapid speed, identifying the pattern, allowing him to parry his fists successfully.
Radior was charging another beam of mana while this went on, and Vitis was preparing her attack. "I can't see in this damn storm! How the hell am I supposed to aim?!" Radior said.
"Calm down, he's just a nobody. This attack should do it."
He unleashed plants again, which covered Pablo's arms and legs. "Damn!" He tried to break free. Forte's fists landed against his body. "Agh!" He vomited blood.
"Now!" Vitis yelled. Radior unleashed his beam. This caused a devastating explosion; dust flew everywhere and blinded everyone.
It was quiet.
No sound of fighting or punching. Vitis smiled when she realized that. "Yeah, what did I just say…" A tendril smacked her in the face, knocking her out as well. "Shit!" Radior charged up his beam again, but Pablo appeared in front of him through the dust and punched him in the head, knocking him out as well.
He started breathing heavily, the shock of everything he'd just done kicking in. But he didn't regret it. Maybe if he'd killed someone, he would regret it. But something deep inside him told him that might not be true either. The thought terrified him.
"Tch." Ayato chuckled as the dust cleared, the storm having eased enough to make him visible. "I'm getting déjà vu." He grinned.
Pablo looked at him, the flames in his eyes stronger than before. "No, you're just a pussy who is too afraid to live in the present and too weak to face the future."