Chapter 8 - Demonized [Rewrite]

"... That was the short version?"

Taufik said after hearing the explanation from Ms. Jennah.

*nod*

"How is that the short version? I feel like I had an extra class after school when I heard your explanation just now"

Taufik complained, though still thankful for the information that Ms. Jennah had just given him.

Ms. Jennah, who heard Taufik's complaint, had a pained expression, remembering a bed of memories from her childhood, and then said:

"Yeah, that was the short version of how humans can use magic; if you think the short version is like this, you might faint when I tell you the original story. The book that contained that history was so thick, maybe like 7 cm or more... I don't know why they wrote it so detailed like that... why didn't they just write it simply like, 'Nero, who wanted to have more power, summoned a devil by sacrificing his subject, then asked the devil to give him magic. The devil, upon hearing Nero's request, reactivated the MANA that had been sleeping for a long time in Earth's atmosphere by any means, then gave Nero the method of how to use mana. But because of the irresponsible method the devil used, the MANA on Earth became corrupted'? Why didn't they make it that simple? It's not a guidebook anymore but a book about Nero's life history. When I was a kid and started to learn magic, they forced me to read that whole book. Can you imagine that? They forced an 8-year-old kid to read that thick book! Where's the humanity gone?... Just remembering those times gives me goosebumps all over. I know what they were trying to teach us with that book, but WTH?"

"..."

Taufik was speechless at the words of his teacher, who behaved differently than the usual calm, mature, and 'one-san' vibe he was used to.

'Is this what they call a "Gap Moe"? It's so cute... Eh~ No... Taufik, you need to wake up. Remember her age!!'

Taufik said to himself inside his mind.

'... But I'm a vampire, age is just a number for me, so I will SMASH!!!'

He thought, having given up on nature.

"... Cute~"

Taufik unconsciously said, then realized what he had done and quickly looked at Ms. Jennah.

Hearing Taufik's words, Ms. Jennah was confused at first but then remembered what she had done and blushed.

"Cough~ cough~ cough~ What are you saying to your teacher? Don't call an adult 'cute' That's rude!"

Ms. Jennah said firmly, but her face betrayed her efforts.

She wasn't a stranger to flattery, especially from men who had a crush on her, but they always said the same things, like, "You are so beautiful," "I always like mature women, so I like you (:v)," and the like. But no one had ever told her that she was "cute." She always looked calm and mature, because of her job as a teacher, so when she heard Taufik call her cute, she was caught off guard and blushed.

"Why? I'm being honest though. You look cute when you let out your true self"

Taufik said, looking directly into Ms. Jennah's eyes.

Hearing that, Ms. Jennah blushed even more and quickly raised her hand, waving it at him, saying:

"Ahhhh! Stop it, it's enough, don't embarrass me anymore. Let's get back to the topic, it's getting late already, and we have to get out of this forest before sunset"

Ms. Jennah said, trying to change the topic.

"Hahaha~ how cute"

Taufik said, watching her behavior.

Ms. Jennah tried to calm herself, then continued to explain more to Taufik.

"Ukhum~ Alright, so now you know about MANA, right? So do you understand how important your pure MANA is, right?"

Ms. Jennah asked him.

"Yeah~"

Hearing him, Ms. Jennah nodded her head, then continued to explain.

"The Magician Realm is divided into the following: Beginner < Disciple < Intermediate < Advanced < Master < and Grandmaster. They say there is a realm higher than Grandmaster, but no one has ever crossed that realm, so it's considered a myth. And because of the contaminated MANA, someone can't absorb too much MANA in one day. If they absorb too much-contaminated MANA without filtering it first, it will corrupt their mind. And if that happens, that person will recklessly attack any living being they see. We call this case 'Demonized'"

Said Ms. Jennah, then stopped for a while to catch her breath.

"...'Demonized'... it is a problem that accidentally or deliberately happens when some magicians absorb too much MANA at one time. And because of this problem, magicians hide their existence from the outside world. We're afraid that if normal humans learn about the existence of MANA, they'll absorb it without a proper method. If that happens, they will only end up being Demonized"

"Humans on Earth are born with a core, so every human in this world has the same chance of becoming a magician, but the chance of them actually becoming a magician is small."

Added Ms. Jennah at the end of her speech.

...

"... And here's the problem: If we magicians want to ascend to a higher realm, we need to absorb the Mana. But the process of filtering that contaminated MANA is long and dangerous. Fortunately, MANA has an attribute that makes us look young and regressed in age. But even with that, the only magician who is recorded as ever having achieved the Grandmaster Realm is our Robins' unknown ancestor."

After hearing Ms. Jennah's long explanation, Taufik's view of the magician world changed.

"Hmmm, I see bu-"

*Tring! Tring!*

But before Taufik could say anything, his phone rang.

"...Wait a minute, I have to pick up the phone."

Said Taufik, and Ms. Jennah just nodded in response.

Taufik then picks up his phone and sees that the one calling him is his mother. He immediately answers the call.

"Hello, mom?"

'Hmm, where are you now?'

"Yah? What happened?"

'Nothing, the meeting ended faster than I thought, so I'll be home, hmm maybe around 06:00 PM or later, but I remember the ingredients at home are almost gone, so I just wanted to ask what you want to eat for dinner, and I'll buy the ingredients on my way back'

Hearing what his mom said, Taufik looked at the time on his phone and saw it was already 05:35 PM. Taufik panicked.

"... I-I'm fine with anything, Mom"

'Eh, but are you-

"Ahh~ I'm sorry, Mom, I'll end the call now. I'm in the toilet, love you"

*Click~*

Taufik looked at Ms. Jennah and said:

"I'm sorry, miss. I have to go now. Thank you for the information."

Then he gathered his stuff and started to leave.

"Eh?"

Seeing Taufik was about to leave her, Ms. Jennah called out again. She still had something she wanted to ask him.

"Wa-wait... WAIT!! I want to ask you something."

Hearing Ms. Jennah, Taufik stopped and turned to look at her.

"What is it? Make it quick, I have to get home before 06:00 PM"

"Okay... So-"

Seeing that Ms. Jennah was hesitant to speak, Taufik hurried her.

"Hy~ If you don't want to tell me, then don't. I'll just leave now"

"No~ no~ please hear me."

Then Ms. Jennah explained her situation to Taufik, about how she was born with a different situation than the others, and how her core was bigger than the others, and about her problem.

"That's why, if I want to ascend to a higher realm, I have to absorb much more MANA than the others. But an intermediate realm is my limit because my mentor said going higher than that would be too dangerous for me"

Taufik processed what Ms. Jennah said for a while, then asked:

"Hmmm, then how can I help you?"

"... Actually, when I saw your pure MANA, I saw hope for ascending to a higher realm. So, if you don't mind, could you share your method with me... please?"

"..."

'How can I share my method with you? If my Mana was already like this when I became a vampire... Wait! Hehehe~'

Taufik then smiled.

"I can tell you the method right now... actually, it's quite simple"

"Really? You can?"

Hearing that, Ms. Jennah became happy, but her happiness didn't last long.

"Yeah, first you just need to lay down, then I'll suck a little bit of your liquid, and boom, you'll have the same pure MANA as me. Simple, right?"

Taufik said while grinning.

"..."

Hearing what Taufik said, Ms. Jennah's face turned as red as a tomato.

"Yo-you... If you don't want to tell me, then just say so. Why do you have to say it like that? You pervert!"

Then, she ran out of the forest, leaving Taufik behind.

"Hahaha~ How cute"

....

...

..

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