Unraveling the Chains

Still under the starry night, Jaden had learned to master the contraction of his blood vessels to stop his bleeding and to accelerate cell division to increase the speed of his healing.

All these things had been taught to him by Anna, and he was shocked to realize that such things were possible. CREDHOS, especially those with affinities, had a much faster healing ability than normal humans, but thanks to this knowledge, they could almost heal automatically.

Jaden pondered on the fact that he had quickly learned to master these skills. He wondered if it was due to the way Anna had taught him or if he was naturally talented. but, he knew that there were not only these two possibilities.

It could be because it was so easy that anyone with the prerequisites could easily do it.

In human society, there were those referred to as talented teachers and also those called good students. However, this qualification was often limited to a specific field; those who could diversify their skills were considered geniuses.

On the other hand, students who were not good at school were often called idiots, even if they were exceptionally talented in a specific field, such as combat.

In a place where strength prevailed, the weak were considered incompetent, regardless of their IQ; were these concepts really meaningful?

Once he had managed to stabilize himself, Jaden listened to Sera's words.

"Make sure to recover, because whether you're in good shape or not, you'll be training tomorrow, and it won't be any less painful."

She didn't seem to be joking at all, leaving the two CREDHOS on the ground speechless. They had fought an opponent superior to their abilities, giving it their all - they deserved some rest.

However, just when the two were thinking along the same lines, Sera added as if she knew what Jaden and Kenzo were thinking.

"Do you think you've accomplished something? Get that idea out of your heads, kids; you're nothing special."

Her voice was both serious and mocking, though the mockery wasn't as pronounced as usual. This meant that very few new recruits were capable of such performances. Very rare, not impossible.

When she finished speaking, Sera swiftly moved her katana, removing all the black HOUM blood from it before sheathed it.

Jaden and Kenzo could only accept their fate and pray that they would recover before the training the next day. Kenzo had only experienced ELO depletion.

ELO is the energy found in humans with elemental affinities, somewhat comparable to the chakra in the spiritual and meditative tradition of the Indians. However, it was ensured that this energy was entirely different from chakra, so it was named ELO.

Without it, humans with elemental affinities are similar to those without. Using this energy dry was a significant risk. Without ELO, healing from severe wounds was almost impossible.

What's worse, once there's ELO depletion in a body that usually has it, the person loses all their strength until a minimum is regenerated.

Some time passed, and Kenzo had almost reached the minimum to move, but Jaden noticed that his ELO was not regenerating at all. So, he began to ponder about it.

'My ELO is still bone dry, but my anti-HOUM energy is increasing, albeit barely noticeable.' thought Jaden. He didn't have only ELO in him; he also had this special energy unique to the Lavender.

Jaden felt that to regenerate, this energy consumed his ELO but also noticed that despite the rich nutrients, he was becoming increasingly hungry as his anti-HOUM energy filled up.

'And here I thought this energy would double my abilities; in fact, it decreases them.' pondered Jaden.

He believed that with double energy, he could fight HOUMs with his ELO-based abilities first and then, at a certain level, switch to his anti-HOUM energy. However, the anti-HOUM energy needed his ELO to replenish, which meant he couldn't use this energy without ELO.

'What a shame.' Jaden thought, feeling frustrated. Yet, he asked Anna for more nutrients, to which she replied.

"Where are yours? You should just use them."

There was no hint of sympathy in her words; it sounded like she was stating a fact. This was tough for Jaden to accept, but he still replied.

"Actually, I don't have any." He didn't bother making up excuses that would likely sound fake. Given the way Anna had stated this "fact," it was probably mandatory for a CREDHOS to have these nutrients.

Anna looked at Jaden somewhat strangely before passing him some nutrient bars in the form of chocolate. However, Jaden knew that it wouldn't be enough given the speed of his energy regeneration; he needed more, so he turned to the hero.

"Ken, I need more nutrients." Jaden said.

"No, why would I give you one of my precious nutrients?" Kenzo replied, his eyebrows furrowed in a deep V shape.

They probably received these nutrients from the association, but they only received three per month. but, if you fought until you reached a critical state, you could request more. Otherwise, you had to buy them. Kenzo wasn't wealthy; he had to support his grandfather and save money because his life wasn't as simple as it seemed.

At the academy, they only received these nutrients during missions and had to return them if they hadn't been used. It required concrete evidence to prove the necessity of using them.

So, someone asking him for these nutrients as if it were nothing probably annoyed Kenzo. He was right to ask why and be reluctant to give them away.

"Because I'm your acolyte, and I need them." Jaden said, with a look that seemed to say, "Have you forgotten… the hero?"

Kenzo was obliged to give Jaden one of his reserves, even though it hurt him deeply. He even wondered if it might be better to be a hero without an acolyte. However, in his current state, there was nothing he could do, so Jaden had to wait for him to recover before he gets what he wanted.

However, Jaden wasn't finished. This time, he asked aloud for everyone to hear.

"Who has a product that will accelerate the regeneration of my elo?" He turned his eyes toward the three members of his team, lingering a bit longer on Sera and Anna.

Sera's expression changed dramatically before she spoke.

"Don't you think you're pushing it a bit too far, Mommy's boy? Why should we be so generous towards you?" There was disdain in her voice and on her face.

Such potions were not readily available, and only certain individuals were entitled to them. It wasn't to make life difficult for CREDHOS but rather because they were not easy to produce. So, Sera's reaction was quite normal. Jaden knew he would be pushing it by making such a request, but...

"I think that for my foot to recover, I need to refill my elo in a way, but I don't want to meet the others in this condition, so..." Jaden began to explain.

He didn't finish his sentence, leaving a brief silence where the only sound was the soft rustling of the wind.

"Okay, kid, you give me twice the price of that potion, and it's yours." Sera said, taking out a tiny glass bottle that couldn't hold more than 5ml of any liquid.

"Agreed," Jaden accepted the offer without even asking for the price.

Sera knew that the kid was a wealthy one, so she gave him the potion without hesitation.

He didn't want to see his friends panic, as this might be the last day when everything would be normal with them. This day was supposed to be a happy one, a day they would all remember.

Jaden was willing to do anything for that, even the chair lift and Ferris wheel stunt, and money wasn't really a problem.

If that was all it took to not completely spoil this day, he was ready to empty his account and even borrow money if necessary.

With her agreement, Anna placed the potion next to Jaden. Unable to move, Jaden looked into Anna's eyes before shifting his gaze to the chocolate bar nearby. Understanding the idea, without complaint, Anna began to feed Jaden the chocolate bar.

However, in the middle of the bar, Kenzo stood up and said. "You can pass it on to me, Anna. He's my acolyte, I'll feed him."

Who would stay calm in such a situation? Jaden rolled his eyes, annoyed by the hero but said nothing.

He finished the chocolate bar provided by Anna, and then they moved on to the potion. After some time, he took Kenzo's nutrient bar.

After all these infusions, Jaden's foot slowly returned to normal. Once the foot was back to its usual shape, the anti-HOUM energy no longer prevented Jaden's elo from regenerating.

'It's probably a priority chain. Now that my foot is restored, the most important thing is for me to be able to move, and for that, I need elo.' Jaden pondered, discovering more and more about himself.