Chapter 4: Decision

Author: Never mind I felt like publishing a chapter. So I decided I'll try publishing 2 or more chapters a week. Enjoy!

"Now Asher, what do you intend to do now?" Olivine asked me.

"...One question left." I told her.

"Question after question you sure are curious." Alec rolled his eyes with a voice full of scorn. 

"It's okay Alec. What's your question Asher?" Olivine said with her back straightened and both arms resting on the chair's rests. 

"Can you cure my condition?" I asked her with an answer in mind. 

"Yes…we can." Olivine assured me with a smile.

"Then I'll join…for now. I want you to know I'm not a hero so I won't be able to put the world before myself." I told her to make sure she got what I meant.

"Of course. Would you like to start your awakening now? You'll be cured of your condition after you awaken mana." 

"Alright." I responded to her.

"Okay then. Victor and Alec, you two stay here. I'll take Asher to the waterfall." She commanded them. 

They both nodded and then me and Olivine appeared outside the building. 

I saw the villagers bowing towards Olivine while clearing a path. They could probably guess why I was here. 

"How many members do you have in this branch?" I asked her as politely as possible.

"Quite a lot of questions." She raised a brow.

"Oh- I'm sorry if I came off as rude." I responded trying to save myself.

She let out a laugh before replying, "No I'm just joking. We have about 12,000 members. Normally this is just the branch of the mana branch. Most of the branches have around 9,000-12,000."

'The general population is approximately 15 billion. Each branch is only around .008% of the the population"

There's only three continents in the world ever since most of the continents collided for whatever reason. The government system is one with a majority of its power in the central government and rich folk. It resembles an empire in structure. The central government has the voice while the rich make most of the decisions for each district. The one with the most say however is the President. The president for our continent is President Jules, she has an overruling authority that can bypass any law or reason. Then there are the councilmen. There are around 100 for each continent, they are the only ones who can request a direct meeting with the President. Behind each councilman is either a businessman, called a sponsor, or an illegal source of income. This is the government for all 3 continents/empires for whatever reason. Each empire has around 100 districts with a councilman being the figure for each district. My family sponsors three congressmen, these congressmen have had decent standing in the central government so far. Of course people have tried to use titles though they're unofficial. My family is considered a Duke family, along with Alec's and Noel's. There's one more, they have two twin children called Anne and Seb. This is due to us having direct connections to the most councilman. Considering that I should be rather popular like Alec or Noel but first teenagers don't understand authority and I look like a freak. Anyways, back to the issue at hand. 

"Are some of the members of this branch out?"

"Mhm we have ten more members, you'll probably meet them soon." 

We spoke as we walked out of the village into the forest filled with lush greenery and mythical creatures and vegetation.

"Does time flow differently here? Because I've been here for like two hours."

"No need to worry to the outside world, only twelve minutes have passed." 

"A one to ten ratio is cool." 

Suddenly a gust of cold mist blew towards my face. Stopping it from touching me was a translucent white wall. 

"Oh…it seems Ciel is here?" 

The area behind us was full of different colored vegetation and animals, 

however the area in front was rather different. The trees, ground,bushes were blanketed in ice and from behind the trees was a dense white mist that froze anything it touched. Surrounded by a barrier that was most likely created by Olivine, both of us kept approaching until we saw the source of the white mist. A person that could rival a fairy in terms of beauty and mystique. 

Ciel Cherith, a beauty of an unrivaled degree. There she was in front of me wielding a sword, a rapier to be exact. She was wearing a black t-shirt and matching black pants. Even on her feet were black combat boots, she most likely picked this combination of efficiency seeing what she was doing. In front of her was what I can assume to be a wolf, it stood at a mighty 10 feet in height nearly doubling Ciel. But not overpowering, which was obvious from the scene unfolding. 

The wolf was covered in white fur and had crimson red eyes filled with fear. The reason for its fear was the girl in front of us. 

The tip of Ciel's rapier was covered in a bright white light, that whenever thrusted forward let out a chilly white mist. As hit after hit contacted the wolf, holes were created in the mighty wolf's skin. Though instead of blood what permeated from the skin was blood red ice. 

"Is she…freezing the wolf from the inside?" I asked Olivine 

"Mhm…let's say Ciel is a bit of a genius even amongst geniuses." 

The large wolf was now forced to lean forward stumbling on its own strides. With it's moonlike fur covered in red crystal's it bent it's neck so that the top of it's head was reachable for Ciel.

I had a weird feeling so I asked Olivine, "Is that…a spirit?"

 "Yes, after energy gains consciousness the spirit gathers the non-conscious energy. After gathering this energy they form their own bodies based on the animal closest to them. The larger the body formed typically means the stronger the spirit because size displays the amount of energy they can control. The spirits are graded by grades and tiers. Low, Mid, High, and Superior are the grades. And each grade has 20 tiers. A tier is the difference between a flick and a punch. While a grade is the difference between a light shove and an earthquake. Also the wolf that spirit based its form off of was probably much smaller than it is currently. The spirit only based its general form on the animal, like how if a low-grade spirit tried to use the form of a dragon they'd be a much smaller and weaker dragon." She explained thoroughly not leaving any room for questions. 

"Understood…so what would the tier of the wolf be?" 

"Judging by its size…a tier 7 low grade." 

A monster of that size is only a low grade? Even in its current wounded state it's horrifying, 

Ciel took her hand and put it on the wolf's head. A green mist gathered around her slowly wrapping around the wolf like a blanket. The blanket of mist closed the wounds of the injured wolf causing the ice to fall off of its body. 

"As I said before, Ciel is a bit of a genius. This is because of the fact that she was chosen by a spirit at birth, a healing spirit. The major weakness of spirit users is time. First, the time it takes to find a spirit, then to tame the spirit. Taming the spirit usually requires the spirit user to talk to the spirit and become friends with it which can take months or even years. However, Ciel, having a healing spirit chooses to dominate the spirit physically making it submit to her, which is a method that was stopped because of its inefficiency. This is due to the fact spirits can take decades to heal properly so many would rather take years taming it than wait decades after dominating it. So no matter the grade a healing spirit is incredibly rare. Especially Ciel's seeing as it's a tier 1 mid-grade." 

I didn't even have a comment at this point seeing as to how the more I find out the more I realize just how overpowered this girl is. 

After being healed the wolf bit Ciel's arm which held the rapier, before turning into hundreds of bright white particles that made its way into her body via the wounds. The green mist appeared again wrapping around Ciel's wounds healing it. The scariest part of this whole thing was that Ciel stayed expressionless, not flinching, wincing or even batting an eye. Her face remained cold and still not showing any signs of pain. Just how much had this girl gone through to get to this level…and how much does she intend to go through? 

Ciel sheathed her rapier turning towards me and Olivine. Her eyes showed a hint of surprise seeing me there but not for long. She then turned towards Olivine, bowing her head. 

"Raise your head Ciel, I'm just here to help Asher gain the ability to use mana." 

"Understood." Her ice cold voice once again made its way into my ears but rather than the hint of confusion from before now there was confidence and even more eloquence than before. 

Olivine smiled comfortingly towards Ciel as she asked, "Would you like to stay and watch? Having your spirit's healing ability would be very useful.''

Ciel stood for a moment while holding the moon white hilt of the rapier that was sheathed in its scabbard that matched the hilt in color. 

"Okay." She replied to Olivine keeping her words short yet polite still.

'She didn't even ask me first…great. Guess I'm awakening in front of a super genius.' 

"Wonderful, okay Asher do you see that waterfall over there?" 

I didn't even notice even amongst this part of the forest that had been 

frozen by Ciel there had been one thing that remained full of heat and vitality. The waterfall that fell into a seemingly 4 feet deep hole. And directly under the waterfall was a circular stone platform with floating rocks leading to it.

I nodded in response to Olivine. 

"You're gonna be sitting under there absorbing the mana from the water." 

"What the hell?" I couldn't help but doubt my ears. 

"The mana there is much denser there so it'll be easier to feel it. Since you were born a child of Settlers you have the natural ability to absorb the mana as well all you have to do is guide it to your heart." 

"Okay sure but where do I guide it from?" 

"Your lungs you'll breathe in the mana"

"I'm sure you know the issue with that." I said pointing to the mask.

"Of course, I already have a solution for you."

"Hm?" 

Of course she does, she probably has some super mysterious and mystical potion or something. Guess I was worried for nothing. 

"Force it away." She told me in a completely calm and composed voice.

"...HUH?!?" 

"Listen, the reason blood is flowing properly is because your pulmonary artery is clogged due to you not awakening for so long. The mana you absorbed naturally didn't go through the proper exertion process clogging it at certain points in your body." 

'That…honestly makes a lot of sense now that I think about it' 

"So if you use purer mana to unclog the clogged and contaminated mana you'll be able to also solve your breathing problem along with awakening." 

"...Alright I can't refute what you said since it makes sense even to a muggle like me." I said letting out a sigh. 

"Good. Now before you go let me offer you a bit of assistance." Olivine rubbed my forehead. "I just increased your mana sensitivity temporarily using a spirit tool."

I tapped my forehead feeling a crystal like bump on it.

"What's a spirit too-"

"Enough questions, don't you wanna be cured of your condition?"

'She's right…I can't be focusing on this when the solution to my biggest burden is right in front of me.'

"You're right…"

 "Thank you for understanding. Now hop along to the stone platform."

 Listening to her I walked to the lake created by the waterfall reaching for the first floating rock. As I stepped onto it, I realized it was far more stable than I thought in the beginning. I then hopped from that rock to the next, I repeated this process until I stood on the stone platform. Immediately the water poured down my head.

As soon as I felt it I realized this wasn't water but rather liquid energy. I could feel it replenishing my own energy. 

Realizing this I took off my crewneck and unbuttoned my shirt throwing them onto the littoral land by the lake. I would've taken off my pants but that's…a bit too much. 

I could feel everything, even the blood flowing through my pains and the struggle of breathing. I could also feel the surge of energy strengthening my somatosensory cortex. That explains the increase in sensitivity. 

'What would be the best position to absorb the mana.'

I decided I'd sit like those people in wuxia novels since it was probably the most optimal one. 

Crossing my legs and sitting under the waterfall I had to do one more thing. I took off my mask. I threw the mask onto my clothes to soften the impact. The mask was made to be able to take a lot of force so I wasn't too worried about it. 

I tried my best to breathe in ignoring the suffocation I felt in my lungs. I felt the energy flowing down my trachea and then struggling its way through my pulmonary veins. After it reached my heart it then got distributed to other organs including my lungs. However, on its way to my lungs it got stuck in the middle of the pulmonary artery. It even seemed that the mana that was meant to be unclogging my artery became a part of the problem.

'...it's not enough. The mana isn't being absorbed fast enough.' 

My mind went frantic, not being able to make heads or tails of things. Memories of all of the memories I had with the mask came to mind. Having to carry around a lump of metal on my face from when I was a child. Being isolated by everybody. The looks of disgust that even money couldn't solve. 

'Hell I couldn't even do basic exercise!' 

I refused to stop now, refused to let myself continue living like this. 

'What can I do…what can I…wait.'

If the problem is absorption speed I'll just open up another pathway. 

I used a random rock nearby and tried to stab myself with it. It was horrifying, the feeling of the rock against my skin, the feeling of blood gathering at the point of contact. I couldn't do it, like come on how am I meant to puncture a hole in my body by choice?! 

'I have to…I have to if I wanna live!'

I bit down on my metacarpal bone as I tried again. I repeatedly used the rock to stab into my thigh, not stopping. The bite force on my hand increased exponentially. After like 14 tries that felt like eons I finally pierced my skin. 

I could hear Olivine's voice in the background but it was all muffled. 

The liquid mana entered the wound and went into my bloodstream. It flowed through my veins into my heart and got sent through my body.

'It's close…but still not enough…what else can I do? What else?!"

I couldn't stop now, no matter what. I couldn't let myself stop now. Call it pride, arrogance, ignorance, it doesn't matter. What's the point of life if I'd have to live like this? What's the point of life if I know that eventually my little sister is gonna have to be at my funeral? I'll be dead before my parents at this rate. What kind of son would I be if I let that happen? 

I increased the strength I had used to grip the rock, this time I looked for its sharpest side. Ignoring everything else I stabbed myself in multiple different areas, the side of my neck, my shoulders, and finally at the center of my chest. 

I was bleeding out. I could feel it, but it didn't matter, I didn't care. To me there was more at stake than my life, more than me. I absorbed the mana and instinctively guided it to my heart. The recently absorbed mana was now fighting against the clogged mana in different arteries. 

'One more shove'

I gripped the already bloodstained rock and plunged it into my heart. 

'I could feel it…I was dying for real this time. It seems I played around too much…who gives a rat's ass."

I kept trying still, as severe as the wound was, so was the increase in absorption rate. I absorbed mana hundreds of times faster than I did when I started without any wounds. After around 2 seconds I could a warm mist blanketing my body. In that very instant with the rate my injuries closed and the rate I gathered mana I could feel it, my arteries unclogged. 

After letting out one final cough I fainted. 

—---------------------Perspective-Change-Ciel—-----------------------------------

'It's that boy again, how strange…'

. I looked at Asher who was currently talking to Miss Olivine. He's still wearing those contacts…why? I don't get it his eyes are much better without them. It seems like he's awakening his mana today? 

'I've never seen a mana awakening before…I heard it was a relatively simple and easy process.'

[That child…something is very very wrong with that one.] Said Raftiel, the spirit of healing.

'Hm?' 

[His arteries are clogged by his lungs and around his heart.]

'Really?'

[There's also a lot of internal turmoil building up. Cortisol is gathering up at a rapid rate in the boy.]

'Odd'. 

[Very…keep watching for now I feel like that boy is contemplating something stupid.]

The next second I saw Asher take off the clothes off of his torso. 

'This is much more efficient in absorbing energy…not a bad choice.'

[Shield your eyes child! It seems that boy is a barbarian!]

I ignored Raftiel's pleas and watched Aasher closely. A chilling blue glow permeated my eyes as I looked at his chest. 

'Raftiel was right…the mana isn't flowing to his lungs properly…'

[The cortisol levels increased drastically. What is this boy planning?]

"I didn't account for this…" Olivine mumbled to herself at a volume I could barely hear. 

"Hm." 

"It seems the clogging was worse than I thought…It seems at birth he had a higher absorption rate at first but then something slowed it down. This resulted in the clogging being exponentially worse than he could heal." 

[Shes right…the clogging probably won't be solved at this rate]

A few seconds after they both said this I saw Asher pick up a rock. With the rock he tried to stab his thigh stopping as soon as it made contact.

'Was he trying to stab himself?'

It'll be hard for a normal person to stab themselves. I couldn't even do it let alone with something as crude as a rock…

'?!'

{What the hell?!}

"What is he doing?!!" Olivine screamed.

Asher started stabbing his thigh multiple times with a rather dull part of the stone as he bit down on his hand. His eyes were closed at this point probably due to the pain. 

Olivine started preparing a spell around Asher to get him out from under the waterfall. 

[Tell her to stop!]

"Wait" I spoke out to Olivine. 

"We can't wait, Asher is currently in a dangerous condition."

[Repeat after me…]

"I can always heal him afterwards…have faith."

Olivine looked at Asher, "okay…"

Asher then felt for the sharp side of the rock. 

'What is he-'

I was cut off by the groans let out by Asher as he stabbed himself in four different places. Two of them being vital spots.

'?!' 

[...This kid is a psychopath!] Raftiel said with clear joy in his voice. 

Olivine had her fist clenched probably considering my words. 

'Is the absorption rate good now?"

[No…it's lacking just a little bit.]

In response to the lacking absorption rate Asher…stabbed himself right in the heart. 

[forget psychopath…That boy isn't even human?!]

Seeing the open heart wound I instantly held my hand out letting out Raftiel's green mist. 

Olivine rushed to Asher's side in an instant to the point even light couldn't catch up. 

After letting out one cough of pure black gas he fell back onto Olivine's leg. 

'...What is he?' 

[An absolute freak.]