6 Blessings

Tobias had long since woken up and was currently walking downstairs into the inn lobby.

"Hey old man, you up?" Tobias asked as he walked into the lobby.

"Shut your trap kid, let a guy work."

At this harsh response, Tobias was surprised to see that the broken down building he arrived in yesterday was near-completely refurnished and clean.

"You did all this in one night?"

"Yeah? Just because it was a dump before doesn't mean I don't know how to manage the building... finally got a customer so it has to be presentable."

"How professional," Tobias said, taking a seat at one of the tables, "you make food here?"

"You think I'm a restaurant? Eh?"

"I'm not asking for much..."

"Fine, I'll put together something..."

Andro then left the room while chanting something along the lines of "This is a business and he is my customer."

Tobias chuckled at the comedic interaction and began to ponder over his cheat-like ability.

"The thugs called it a blessing... meaning it should be common knowledge in this world? There were too many special effects for it to not be a cheat."

After going over what he knew, such as his apparent physical power buff, he simply decided to ask Andro about it, "He lives here and is an ancestor to a legendary figure... he probably knows about them."

On queue, Andro walked in with a simple plate of eggs and toast, "Here you go, kid."

"Thanks," Tobias continued with a pause, "do you know much about blessings?"

Andro looked at Tobias as if he was an idiot, and proceeded to say, "Who doesn't?"

"Indeed... what if I told you I received one?"

Andro simply chuckled at the thought.

"I'd say you're a liar. Only three confirmed blessing wielders exist as of now."

"Well I did, and I need your help with it."

Andro looked Tobias directly in the eyes, and said, "uwotm8?"

✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵✵

After a long talk about blessings with Andro, Tobias left the inn and went towards a forest that surrounded the south side of the city. He was mesmerized by the sheer height and beauty of each tree, paying close attention to all sorts of foreign plant life.

Tobias took three major points out of his conversation with Andro. One, blessings are gifts given to mortals by the gods. Two, only those who are not compatible with magic will receive a blessing. Three, the blessing he received is unknown.

"He said that the three confirmed blessing wielders have the power to manipulate lightning, super strength, and the power to summon storms. All three are cheat-like abilities, hehe..."

Simply put, he was very expectant of his future.

'Still, the first thing I need to do is figure out what my blessing is.'

First off, Tobias testing his current physical prowess. He jumped as high as he could, surpassing the records set on his previous Earth. He ran as fast as he could, and couldn't truly calculate how fast he was going. All in all, it wasn't world defying, but definitely a nice boost.

Andro suggested that he try to feel foreign energy within himself, as all blessing users are filled with holy power, an energy that doesn't lose out to a mage's mana.

"How should I go about this... the typical close my eyes and focus on my stomach?" Tobias said, adopting a meditative posture.

Tobias's world went dark, his entire being adopting a focus that seemed inhuman. Tobias had a full array of medical conditions back on his homeworld, one of them being ADHD. A condition that would allow one to focus on everything except the lectures in class. Although it is normally seen as a weakness, it can be a strength when put to use.

Tobias felt nothing when he focused on his stomach, 'The real world isn't a giant cliche, I guess.'

So, instead of focusing on a specific part of his body, he imagined himself in the third person. A feat that only the narrator had accomplished by this point. Then, he saw it. A bright, sun-colored light was radiating from his entire being; he felt that the moment he opened his eyes, it would disappear.

"This definitely isn't my imagination, it's too warm.... and vivid."

After confirming that the existence of the light was not merely imagination, Tobias thought it smart to try and control it. He did everything he could think of, directing it with his mind, telling it to move, and even focusing on it with such intensity that his head had hurt.

"Tch... it's not really a cheat if I can't use it from the beginning." Tobias said after finally opening his eyes.

As he suspected, he could no longer sense the light that he had seen before.

'Didn't Andro list the differences of holy power and mana? Maybe that has an answer?'

Indeed, Andro did list the differences.

"As opposed to mana, a force of the world, holy power is a force of the soul. After being awakened by the gods, holy power becomes one with the wielder. It can be compared to your arm or leg." Tobias said, verbally going over the details of his conversation with Andro.

'An arm or a leg? Do I consciously move my arm or leg in order to protect myself? No... it's an instinctual reaction.'

Tobias had thought that, instead of learning to use his new limb, he should just let his instincts guide him.

"I'll just put myself in mortal danger, that should work! Right?"

After thinking about the pros and cons, Tobias had but one thing he could say.

"Yeah... no, I'd have to be as crazy as a JoJo fan in order to do something like that."