38 Mana Heart

Nova was up in the late hours of the morning on Sunday.

「Woah! You're finally awake!」[Reischneid]

He was still tired and just a tad bit confused.

「Huh? What time is it? Where is the dog?」[Nova]

「...What the hell are you talking about?」[Reischneid]

Nova powered on his phone, and saw that it was already 11AM.

「Man.. I don't know what to do with the rest of my weekend..」[Nova]

「For starters, how about restarting your mana circulation?」[Reischneid]

「Oh. Okay, yeah. You're right.」[Nova]

He flipped open the bracelet and started the calculations on the rate he should circulate his mana at in order to develop mana the best.

「What's the rate you regenerate at again?」[Reischneid]

「Uh.. 1 unit of mana every minute.」[Nova]

「Maximum mana capacity?」[Reischneid]

「34.」[Nova]

「Oh. Not bad. That's like the growth of 20 over.. Around 40 hours? Could get a lot faster though.」[Reischneid]

「Well, I'm getting there. It was a lot slower in the beginning, huh?」[Nova]

「Yeah. But later on, you have to worry about training more than just capacity and regeneration. Be thankful that you don't have to train as slow as the others because of your mana heart.」[Reischneid]

「Oh, yeah! What IS mana heart?」[Nova]

「..You don't know yet?」[Reischneid]

He shook his head.

「Nope! What is it?」[Nova]

「It's when your mana veins and blood veins overlap, causing the efficiency at which you use energy to be much better. There are some downsides though, want to hear them?」[Reischneid]

「Hmm… I think it would be better to know my shortcomings. So, sure! Shoot.」[Nova]

「Alright, so since your blood veins and mana overlap- if you lose blood, you'll also lose mana. It's fine for now, but on the battlefield, it's a fatal flaw.」[Reischneid]

「Couldn't I just heal myself?」[Nova]

There was a short pause before Reischneid responded to Nova.

「...You're DAMN lucky you have a healing seed.」[Reischneid]

「But, still. I can lose mana from losing blood? I'll have to be a bit cautious then. What else is there?」[Nova]

「Well, I'm not sure if it's a shortcoming or not, but if you accelerate your mana circulation, your blood circulation also accelerates. This gets more energy to your cells though. Back then, people who had mana hearts could tap into a physical strengthening technique called the "Reburn", which would essentially burn their life essence in return for quick bursts of energy. Let's try to avoid that. 」[Reischneid]

「Hmm.. Alright! How about bonuses? Anything good?」[Nova]

Nova was starting to get excited.

「Well, you're experiencing the best bonuses already. Increased mana training speed? That's a godsend. Better efficiency? Also very good. But the best one would be a tie between mana veins and the bloodline infusion technique.」[Reischneid]

Somewhere in that explanation, Nova lost interest and was confused.

「Okay, can you speak English?」[Nova]

「You're not ready for bloodline infusion, maybe when you've got 50 mana units I'll teach it to you. Mana veins just mean you have better control of mana than everyone without it. It sounds boring, but when you're weaving higher class spells, it's enough to break a stalemate.」[Reischneid]

Nova was starting to realize that Reischneid was more of a "basics before cool things" guy.

「Hmm… you're very hands-on with my learning path, aren't you?」[Nova]

「Well, take on what you're ready for. If you aren't ready, what's the point?」[Reischneid]

「Really? I'd expect you to be a lot more carefree.」[Nova]

「Nope! Relaxing is one thing, training is another. Like how you keep work away from play, you don't relax every day.」[Reischneid]

「Hmm.. Okay! So, you think I can perfect my circulation technique today? I want to be able to rest while I'm sleeping, as I should.」[Nova]

Reischneid broke into loud laughter.

「HAHAHAHA! Nope. Keep it up though, maybe once you hit 50 units, I have a way for you to train while sleeping.」[Reischneid]

「Really?! Then, let's do it. I'll set my rate for as close as I can to 1 per minute, then I'll eat a lot! Let's gooo!」[Nova]

「...Does anyone ever tell you that your inside voice is a lot more enthusiastic than your outside one?」[Reischneid]

He thought about it for a moment, before concluding his answer.

「...I'm pretty sure you're the only person who can read my mind..」[Nova]

---------------------

Later on in the day, Nova was met with a knock at his door.

『Yeah? Who is it?』[Nova]

『It's me.. I've come to visit.』[Freyana]

『Oh! Okay! Hold on.』[Nova]

He walked over to the door and opened the door.

『Hell-』[Nova]

His hello was cut short by his surprise.

Freyana was wearing a school uniform that looked like it was made for her.

『...Are you going to school with us now?!』[Nova]

『No.. I was just told to wear this if I wanted to go around school normally! Please let me in.. It's embarrassing being out here!』[Freyana]

『Why not? It suits you.』[Nova]

She seemed to have reached her limit, and she pushed her way into his room.

『...』[Freyana]

She turned around and closed the door behind her, before breathing a sigh of relief.

『Do.. Do you mean it?!』[Freyana]

『Huh?! Uh.. yes! You look good in it!』[Nova]

『Then..! We can go on dates while wearing our uniforms! Just like in those shows I watched! Also! Look!』[Freyana]

「..Shows she watched? Uniform dates? Do people actually go on dates while wearing their school uniform? I thought that was a manga thing or something..」[Nova]

She turned around, but Nova didn't see anything.

『..Huh? I don't see anything..』[Nova]

『That's right! I've been practicing extra hard! I can hide my wings now! Let's go on another date!』[Freyana]

『Oh.. Sure! Do you like ramen?』[Nova]

Freyana's eyes shimmered at the mention of ramen.

『Yeah! I love it! My dad used to make it for me all the time!』[Freyana]

『Then, I know a really good place! Let's go!』[Nova]

They were about to leave before she put her arms out and blocked Nova from exiting.

『Go change into your uniform! I'm wearing mine, so.. I don't want to stand out.』[Freyana]

『Then.. Would you turn around while I changed, please?』[Nova]

『...Okay.』[Freyana]

She turned around while Nova began to change his clothes.

Each passing second, her ears got a little redder.

『Uhm.. Actually, why don't I stand outside?』[Freyana]

『Huh? Why would you do that?』[Nova]

He stepped closer to her.

『You know.. You're changing and-』[Freyana]

She started to turn around, and she saw a glimpse of Nova...

『Oh. I'm done. Let's go!』[Nova]

He walked past her, then opened the door and held it open for her, but she stood frozen in place.

『..Oh.』[Freyana]