11 Brother’s Keeper

Manley and Roger still met up for training as it became routine. They also wanted to protect their money; without the dogs they had a lot of money still yet to be deposited.

After finishing their physical training, they then separated to practice their powers. Manley decided to give mana manipulation a try.

He sat down before activation the skill, as previous attempts have left him disoriented. As he activated the skill he could sense the mana in his hand, then tried moving it through his body. There was no physical sensation, but he could follow its journey through his body with his mind.

MANA MANIPULATION LV2

He focused on moving the mana through his body, in a constant cycle for an hour. It cost him nothing to keep practicing the skill, so he kept at it.

MANA MANIPULATION ADVANCE LV1 Gained

MANA SUBSTITUTE LV1 Gained

After the skill advance to basic he learned that mana existed all through his body, the skill just allowed him to move parts of it according to his will. After that he tried to force the mana outside his body which led to rapid advancement. The moment he reached the advance stage of the skill he succeeded at pushing mana out of his body. This allowed him to cast his magic skills at two meters away from his body.

The new skill was a little strange, and he couldn't think of a practical use for it. The skill allowed him to replicate the effect of something using mana instead. For example, if he was to add sugar to water then use the skill, he could then turn water sweet without the sugar. The skill had a lot of application, but Manley didn't want to switch his focus just yet, besides he had time to figure everything out. He kept practicing the mana manipulation skill because it was the easiest skill for him to train so far and he wanted to see what comes after advance.

He spread his mana to touch everything around him, this is when he discovered that mana outside of his body gets expended. This made his training harder, but he kept at it.

MANA MANIPULATION MASTER Gained

*MIND Attribute Gain—*

MIND +10 Gained

After finally achieving his goal, he learned that the master level is the final for any skill. His mana manipulation master level increased his range to five meters. The master level also either unlocks or adds to a corresponding attribute. Not at all what he was expecting but the reduction in mana cost made casting magic skills at a distance the same as if he made contact.

ATTRIBUTES Affect

MND 15 Mental State

The mind attribute confused him; he could only assume that it protected him from being mind controlled. Thinking of that reminded him of his dogs, he still had the puppies but they're pets, extremely intelligent pets but still pets. He chose to hold off on getting new animal companions until he moved at the end of the year.

Manley decided to focus on a different skill, the cure skill could be lifesaving. He decided to ask his father if he could visit him at work after school.

"What brought this on?" asked Robert.

"I realized I have never actually seen a doctor at work. If I chose to do that in the future, seeing it could help me decide," said Manley.

"Hmm…makes sense but stay close to me. The South Side is not exactly the safest place. I don't live in the area and they don't really trust me, but I don't do it for the money."

Manley was in the car with his father, before even getting to his destination he could see the change in the scenery. Dilapidated houses line the streets, people outside on the streets or in front of houses, and many individuals without shoes milling about.

"I know it looks bad, but these people have no better options. I was lucky enough to serve with people that have enough influence to help me. I have exclusive clients that pay well, but I haven't forgotten about my people. I want to help as much as I can," said Robert.

Robert's office was one of the better-looking places in the neighborhood but that's not saying much. A single-story house with a long line of people wrapped around it. Manley and Robert squeezed through the crowd to get into the building. The door was still shut but there was a receptionist inside. A young girl in a sundress greeted them inside the building. The building had a reception area, bathroom and a backroom where Robert sees patients.

"You can stay out here for now, when the crowd thins out you can come in and observe," said Robert.

Manley left with the receptionist, he then decided to walk out into the crowd. The receptionist raised her hand and was about to stop him. She realized she didn't know his name because he didn't introduce himself, so she sat back down.

Manley opened the door and approached the front of the line. The first person was a man in rags that was constantly scratching himself. Manley used cure as the man tried to walk around him to get into the building.

CURE LV2 Gained

The kept going without noticing anything, Manley watched him, he noticed the man stopped scratching. He turned around to rest of the crowd, but they were already trying to go around him.

CURE LV3 Gained

He started rapid applying the skill, until he ran out of mana. Some people looked decidedly better, but others were just as weary and drained as before.

CURE BASIC LV4 Gained

Manley walked back into the lobby to wait till his mana regenerate. While he was waiting a shoving match broke out between two men. One of the men was complaining about the other trying to bully a lady in order to take her spot in line. The other man was saying that this was his spot, and she was just holding it for him. The receptionist tried to stop them.

"You stop that now or I will get the doctor to throw you out," said the receptionist.

"I didn't do nothing, he pushed me," said the man that skipped the line.

"Bull, this bastard—"

Manley walked up and punched the line skipper in the face. He dropped unconscious to the floor, hands spread out, and legs crossed. The people were shocked, including the receptionist. They were even more shocked when he silently grabbed the man's hands then dragged him out of the building.

Manley propped the man up in a sitting position with his back against the wooden wall of the building. He used his cure skill on him, then his mana manipulation along with his biology skill to get a look inside his body. The man had various infections and what looked like brain cancer. Manley kept on casting the cure skill on the man every time his mana regenerated while watching the cancer.

BIOLOGY ADVANCE LV1 Gained

MEDICINE LV1 Gained

CURE ADVANCE LV1 Gained

SCAN LV1 Gained

He tried for twenty minutes but couldn't remove the cancer. The body just didn't treat it as an illness, and he had no way of cutting it out without opening the man up. He decided to give up on it and just check his gains for now.

BIOLOGY ADVANCE LV1 Critical Strikes 200% Balance +10%

MEDICINE LV1 Inspiration and Talent in Medicine +2%

CURE ADVANCE LV1 Removes Illness mana cost-30%

SCAN LV1 View the microscopic world through Mana

Manley walked back to the lobby and took a seat, ignoring the awkward atmosphere around him. The fact that he couldn't cure the cancer had really bothered him and he wasn't sure why. He was thinking about it and fidgeting which made the people around him even more nervous. He would occasionally cast cure on the people around him. The skill level didn't increase the whole time, like the reading skill. He theorized that he would need a greater challenge to increase it.

His mind kept going back to the cancer. If he can't cure it with magic, then what about poison or maybe drugs. He wasn't certain what brought on this new interest, but he wants to use science to do what magic couldn't.

As he was deep in thought the receptionist approached him and poked him on the shoulder. He looked up and she jumped back.

"Uhh…Manley? Doctor Hill wants you in his office," said the receptionist.

"Oh…right, must have zoned out," said Manley.

He looked around and could see the line had shorten significantly. He looked towards the front of the line to his father's office then started walking.

He walked in to see his father alone and with a frown on his face. He was expecting to be observing him at work but by the look on his face his father must want to talk to him.

"Lay, close the door, I have to talk to you about something," said Robert.

He closed the door. "What is it dad?" Manley walked over and took a seat.

"If something strange happened, I want you to know you can trust me."

"I trust you dad, nothing strange happened."

"Lay, be honest with me. Did you do anything to my patients?"

"No dad, well I did punch one guy, but he deserved it."

"Not that, did you cure any of them? Maybe in a way that's hard for normal people to understand?"

"I don't know what you mean dad." Manley adjusted himself in his seat then trying to sit up straight.

"What I am asking is, are you like me, son, do you have special abilities?"

Manley was shocked, he always wondered how his father was so successful as a black man in this era. He thought of crime, maybe secret inheritance or even secret benefactor but not mutant. Although this makes more sense now that he thinks about it, he was just caught up in his own stuff he never gave it much thought.

"I may have cured them of a couple ailments," said Manley.

"So, you're like me." Robert smiles then pat his son on the shoulder.

"What can you do dad?" asked Manley.

"Well, like you I can heal injury and ailments. I can also see through any obstacle layer by layer. I use it to look through the skin, tissue and sometimes the bones of my patience to diagnose them."

"That's…wait is that why you wanted to be a doctor?"

"No, that was because of my mentor. You will meet him when you go to New York."

"Oh, that's cool, does anyone else in our family have powers?"

"I am the only one in my family, although I met some people during the war that were special. What about your brother?"

"Brother?"

"Oh, right I should've told you or even him but…Roger is my oldest child. I couldn't be with his mother because people aren't ready for that. She ended up marrying a man that always had a thing for her and he was willing to take care of her and the child."

"Oh, that's…"

TRAITS

Brother's Keeper Improved Teamwork with Roger Barren

"Fuck I am stupid!" said Manley.

"Boy, watch your mouth!" said Robert.