25 Unnamed

Inside his head Sebastian panted heavily. His thoughts were in disorder as he stared at the translucent barrier in front of him. Large cracks had appeared in it, and multitudes of strands of mana poured through the openings. He could feel his core greedily absorbing the mana, and as it did his core began to rotate.

Unbeknownst to him, His master stood behind him, her hand on his shoulder and a look of horror in his eyes. The once Simple looking Boy had a far more bestial appearance. His aura had changed into something resembled a caged beast, desperately trying to free itself from its enclosure. His eyes had lost their humanity, reverting to those of a wild beast.

She silently screamed for Sabastian to stop, but his mind was elsewhere. He was in a memory deep in his past. A memory that had long since been buried.

***

The girl who had offered me her hand that day, Rose, laughed as she joined me on my walk through the blizzard. Her laughter sent a warmth through my cold heart, and I knew then that this girl was the one.

We did not have to walk far, The convenience store was only a block away. Rose smiled as she left me there, heading towards a distant corner of the store as I headed towards the counter. I asked the cashier for a popular off brand pack of cigarettes, and paid for a fountain drink.

As I was ready to leave the store, I found rose waiting outside for me. She had a smile plastered on her face, as she took a drink from something in a paper bag. I eyed her for a moment, but let it pass. We all have out vices, be it tobacco, alcohol, or sex.

She laughed at me for a moment, before taking her drink out of the bag. It looked to be an energy drink. "The look on your face" She laughed.

I shook my head, this girl... "So do you live around here?" I asked not able to hold in my curiosity any longer.

She nodded at me. "Just moved in to those crappy apartment buildings about two blocks from here. You know the ones that look like a crack den."

I laughed. "I know the the place. I happen to be one of the "Crack Heads" That live there. I suppose it would only be only right for me to escort you home. Wouldn't want anything to happen to such a pretty girl."

***

In reality my body seemed to react to the events going on in my mind. I wrapped my arms around the girl who leaned over me filled with worry. I spoke aloud a few words. "Such a pretty girl".

Serena blushed as she heard that, and tried to free herself from my embrace. Unfortunately I was not there, it was simply my body responding to the stimulus. That did not change the actions my body had taken, nor the words that echoed from my own memories.

These things combined had caused a misunderstanding of epic proportions. A misunderstanding that I was not even privy too. Even If I knew I wouldn't have bothered to explain, I was simply to lazy.

***

In my mind my mental image has returned to its form. I could feel my masters hand on shoulder. As I turned to look at her I could be barrier behind me shatter. Master quickly grabbed me, using her body to shield me from the onslaught of mana that came pouring into my core.

I could hear her scream, as the mana began to burn at her existence. "Master!" I screamed.

I could feel her coughing, as blood began to flow from her mouth. Behind my core span at a freakishly high pace. A vortex of mana forming around it, as it rapidly absorbed the mana that poured into it.

"This place is no longer safe." Tigress managed to force out between her ragged gasps. "You need to leave. You need to go to the real world."

"And what about you master? Am I to just leave you here to die? You havn't even taught me anything yet."

Tigress scoffed. "What can you do little kitten? You can't even control your own Core."

"So teach me! Tell me what I must do!"

Tigress shook her head. "We are stepping into the unknown. A beast should have never learned this skill. The barrier you shattered was put in place by the familiar bond. It prevented the vast amounts of mana from pouring into you."

"This mana, even in beasts is only siphoned it at a small pace. But you are different. You are a beast with an advanced job. A familiar this is not a servant. You developed a core that is not basic. I had hoped to teach you slowly. And after you had learned enough we could bore a small hole through the barrier. That would have been enough."

As my master spoke another figure appeared in my mind. One I had not seen since the very first day I had acquired the black and blue sword. The old man, the true sword master.

Tigress paused as she looked at the old man. He only stared at her for a moment, and then turned to face my core. He lifted his hand, before it appearing countless beams of sword light.

The beams shot forward, impaling themselves into my spinning core. Blood welled up in my chest, forcing me to my knees as I vomited the contents that attempted to fill my lungs.

The old man turned to face me, but did not say anything. He si.omy sat down in front of my core and began to meditate. I could feel the massive flow of energy in my core slowly being siphoned from my core. The mana did not disappear, rather I felt it being stored somewhere deep inside of me. Somewhere that was familiar and yet at the same time foreign.

Only a small stream of mana was left. This flow however was more than enough to keep my mana filled to the top.

The old man finally opened his eyes after what felt like an eternity. He looked at me, his eyes were kind, despite the tiredness they contained.

"That was incredibly stupid of you child. In the future, unless Either I, or Tigress give you the ok you are not allowed to learn any skills, for I fear that in the future I will not be able to protect you from such a blunder."

I bowed my head. I knew I had messed up this time. My own greed for power had nearly led to my own demise.

The old man let out a soft laugh. "That being said the gains you have gotten this time are not small. When you wake up I can only imagine the notifications the system will have for you."

The man waved his hand, and I could feel myself being expelled from my own mind. "Go now child. Both your master and I need to rest."