Pandora’s Gift

A boy with white hair and a girl who was a foot shorter than the boy was walking together.

"There it is!"

The girl, Pandora, exclaimed excitedly as she pointed towards the village on the horizon.

"Finally!!"

Regis heaved a deep breath as the two of them continued walking.

It had already been nearly a week since the incident with the bandits.

Fortunately, the two of them didn't meet another band of bandits as they travelled together.

"Let's rest here for a little bit first before we go to the village."

Regis said as he pointed towards a large tree.

"Mhm!" 

Pandora obediently nodded in response.

Although they could reach the village if they persisted, they would be too tired by then.

Regis knew that not all villagers were welcoming to travellers, so he'd like to play it safe.

The two of them sat down beneath the shade of the large tree.

"Are you hungry?" Regis asked.

Pandora only shook her head, her eyes still lingering on the village ahead of them.

It was obvious that she was excited and wanted to enter the village already.

However, despite this, she still chose to follow his order without as much as a single complaint.

"Let's just rest for about half an hour, okay?"

"Okay!" 

Pandora responded as she laid on the grass.

Meanwhile, Regis leaned his back on the large tree as he breathed rhythmically.

There was a movement in the mana in the air as it slowly entered his mouth with every breath.

'This Mana Breathing Technique really is amazing…!'

He thought as he felt the mana inside his heart slowly increase in quantity.

This technique came from a book that was in the belongings of the robed man that Regis had taken with him.

Currently, the small quantity of mana that he had absorbed from a certain boy back then had gradually increased in the past few days.

'I think I'll be able to master this technique later this day…'

Regis thought to himself.

Using the Mana Breathing Technique takes too much of his focus, requiring him to be stationary as he used it.

Now if he wasn't wrong, then he would be able to use the technique even while moving once he gained enough proficiency in it.

He then glanced at Pandora who seemed to be taking a nap.

'She's really a monster, huh?'

Regis said to himself as he remembered the things he learned about her recently.

The first was the fact that due to her overwhelming talent in mana, she was able to naturally use Mana Breathing Technique since her awakening.

To clarify, Mana Breathing Technique wasn't a special technique, it was something that was freely given to any human who awakened mana.

Still, Pandora being able to use it naturally was still something that attested to her talent.

'Not only is she talented, she has an extremely powerful Diamond-grade Gift too…' Regis commended in his mind.

In the past few days, he had taught her how to meditate and sense her mind and body.

Of course, all of which only took her one try to be able to do.

It was also at that time that Pandora told him the name of her gift, the very thing that enabled her to cast a magic spell despite her lacking power.

Regis continued staring at her peaceful face as he thought, 'Perfect Copy, huh?'

Perfect Copy, Pandora's Diamond-grade Gift.

This revelation made him enlightened as to how fast of a learner Pandora was.

After all, no matter how talented an individual was, there was no way they could copy someone's actions along with their proficiency.

At most, an extremely talented individual would be able to absorb some parts of a person's actions.

As he learned this, Regis's image of Pandora became very different.

At first, he was only curious as to how she survived the tragedy that befell Toran City.

This along with his feeling of closeness towards her brought upon by the color of their eyes.

However, he now viewed her as someone that didn't need his protection.

Unfortunately, they still needed to explore the specifics of her gift.

After all, the only information in her memory was the fact that "she could copy anything…".

As someone who was only Starless, she was able to copy and cast a Low Rank Magic Spell that could only be casted by those at the One Star Ream and above.

Of course, it came with the price of her body's severe overexertion that led to her collapsing immediately afterwards.

Still, the limits of her gift were unclear.

However, there was one thing that remained a mystery to him.

'She described the name of her gift as something that was shiny and sparkly… a sign that it was a Diamond-grade Gift.'

Sensing the translucent Perfect Adaptation in his consciousness, he felt more confused.

'It seems like I can only wait for an opportunity in the future in order to know just what hell this signifies…'

Huff—

Taking a deep breath, Regis stood up and stretched.

"Aside from my sealed demonic power, my mana and aura are both growing steadily…"

He muttered as he approached Pandora and shook her lightly.

"Hey, let's get going now."

"Ehhh?" Pandora groggily wiped her eyes as she smiled excitedly.

She then stood up and picked up her bag.

The two of them then continued walking towards the village.

It only took them about half an hour of steady walking as they arrived at the entrance of the village.

Two men wearing armor and holding a spear could be seen standing guard.

Upon seeing the two of them, one of the guards spoke, "Who are you? What business do you have with our village?"

Regis held up both of his hands, "We are travellers. We're looking to find a place to spend the night and replenish our supplies."

"Oh, and we're also looking to sell some things…" He added as he showed them the sack he was carrying.

The two village guards looked at each other before one of them said, "Okay, but follow me first. We need to check if you are tainted with demonic power or not."

Regis and Pandora looked at each other as they excitedly smiled.

They both couldn't wait to enter the village and see new things for themselves.

However, although Pandora's smile was genuine, Regis's could only be said to be the half.

'Fuck, this is risky…'

Regis thought as they followed behind the village guard.