43 Finally, a mystic

"Oh, Hugo! I see that your little brother has grown so big. Is that why you've been locking yourself in your room?" Hugo could hear Tracy mumble as he dropped back into the tub.

"What?"

"I mean the little kitten between your legs," Tracy added, her tone mischievous.

Hugo's brain froze for a moment; his whole body going on a pause while his thoughts struggled to catch up. An expression of stunned surprise was plastered on his face, and although he was staring straight at Tracy, she appeared not to notice him at all.

Her comment was so out of character, so far from what he knew of her, Hugo just stared at her, his mouth agape.

Hugo's brain formulated no thoughts other than to register that he was dazed.

He closed his mouth, then looked at his naked body that was partially covered by the greasy water before glancing back up to catch her eye.

"I think you should leave," Hugo intoned; his words trailing slowly as though failing to take flight. Hugo could feel seeds of anger and embarrassment take root deep within his mind.

"Do you feel it?" Tracy inquired; her tone now solemn.

"What?" Hugo was confused.

"I am just inquiring… Do you feel anger and disappointment when I make such a comment?" Tracy once again questioned; her voice stressing out every word.

'Yes," Hugo replied honestly but was still confused.

"Now convert that anger into pain; and multiply that pain by one million… no a billion times… Can you imagine what that pain can do to someone?" Tracy inquired while looking down at Hugo who was still immersed in the tub full of elixir.

[Like the pain that I faced when opening up my aorta and vena-cava mana channels?] Hugo shuddered despite himself as he recalled the mind-numbing pain.

"Why ask me this?" Hugo still didn't know where Tracy was headed with this.

"That is the pain I felt when I found your body twitching on the floor. Why do you choose to hide things from me?"

[What is she talking about?] Hugo was befuddled. He looked up to find some traces of tears at the corner of her eyes. Tracy was sad.

Her sadness was like an epidemic; an airborne one slowly infecting him and washing away the sense of triumph he had gained after surviving the torture born out of practicing the Kratos-Body-Yoga.

The pain washed over him like a flowing river, cold, and relentless.

[What is happening?] Hugo was confused.

"Aunt Tracy! What did I do wrong?" Hugo inquired; his tone humble as he locked eyes with Tracy who was wiping away tears.

Since she wasn't in her signature religious nun-like habit, she looked just like an aggrieved girl crying in front of a brother.

Hugo could feel his heart sink as he watched Tracy struggle to stop her sobs. He was weak against tears; a weakness that had followed him from the previous life to the present one.

"I think its time we talked." Tracy intoned after getting ahold of herself.

Hugo nodded in response choosing to remain silent for the moment. He still didn't know what he had done wrong.

[Tracy shouldn't have known about the Kratos-Body-Yoga. The effects of opening my aorta and vena-cava mana channels must have scared her.] Hugo mused.

"First dress up. I'll return in a few minutes. But be careful when moving around as you should not be able to control your body yet." Tracy added after seeing Hugo remain in the pool.

"Eehh?" Hugo was once again confused.

"I mean you've just awoken a physique. You should be able to feel some mana flowing in some of your body channels and tissues. Am I wrong?" Tracy intoned.

"Aahh…" It was then that Hugo remembered he hadn't checked out the results of his training. He had passed out right after finishing the first set of the Kratos-Body-Yoga poses.

"I feel some kind of mysterious connection to the world, but nothing else." Hugo lied through his teeth.

[A man's gotta have some secrets.] He deliberated while inwardly trying to calm his emotions.

He was of course giddy with excitement. He was finally a mystic.

Hugo could feel a surging flow of mana particles rushing from somewhere unknown and nourishing his physical body.

With every breath, the particles rushed through his aorta and vena-cava mana channels and plunged into his heart; the red mana particles then were transported by his vital blood to the rest of his body.

[I can't let Tracy know about the Pyramid's techniques. I'll wait and see what is bothering her.] Hugo deliberated as he shook his head to indicate his feigned confusion.

"Just calm down for a moment. Regulate your breathing to a regular pattern. Then start trying to sense which parts of your body feel different from the rest.] Tracy added; her tone soothing.

Hugo nodded and regulated his breathing while trying to sense his body as instructed.

"Aaaahhh" Hugo cried out in surprise.

[I can sense mana even when not practicing the Fibonacci-Breathing-Sequence or using my sight ability! This isn't logical.] Hugo mused.

"Do you feel it?" Tracy inquired; her eyed filled with expectation. All the sadness that was previously hidden in the depth of her mind appeared to have evaporated.

Hugo nodded in agreement.

"Now go a bit deeper. Try to focus your concentration on the base of your spine. Try to slow down your breathing pattern as much as possible." Tracy once again instructed while taking on the teacher's tone.

Hugo nodded but he was in doubt.

[Why the tailbone? And shouldn't I be using something similar to the Fibonacci-Breathing-Sequence?] He mused but chose to follow Tracy's instructions to the later.

Hugo wanted to know whether the training system of Gaia was similar to the techniques from the pyramid.

As he regulated his breathing to a rhythm below five breaths per minute, a spinning vortex of energy appeared in his perception…

"Aahh… What's going on?" Hugo nearly jumped out of the tub after perceiving the vortex.

[Isn't that supposed to appear only when I breakthrough into the mystic knight realm? Was the Kratos-Body-Yoga problematic? Or was it a mistake I made?]

[And why is there a serpentine creature in my base-chakra?] A thousand thoughts were moving around Hugo's brain as he tried to make sense of the abnormality.

He had been sure he could only activate the base-chakra by weaving mana and condensing it into a crystal after advancing into the mystic knight realm. But it appeared that his base-chakra had been activated beforehand.

Hugo was befuddled.

[Is this good or bad?] He mused while looking up towards Tracy who was scrutinizing his every action.

"So, you weren't aware," She mumbled; her expression becoming more relaxed.