Part Of Me

Mark looked at the Moonlit Feline, a hint of affection in his eyes.

'It's been a while! How have you been?'

The white-furred cat stared at Mark with blue eyes impatiently.

'You want a name that badly?'

Its eyes widened.

'Mmh... I'm not sure you deserve one.'

A shocked expression appeared on the cat's face.

'Look at Light and Fiery. They have a name.'

The Underling turned its gaze towards the two mentioned.

They stared at their Master, unmoving and impassive.

'They follow orders. They don't do unnecessary things. Unlike you.'

It turned back towards Mark before looking away, as if saying "I don't want it anymore. Keep it for yourself."

The Underling's behavior made Mark show his fangs.

An action that could be described as smiling.

Mark sat on the ground.

The Moonlit Feline did too, although its back was towards Mark.

'How about this? I'll suggest names. Turn back when you hear one you like.'

The Underling tried not to react, but its tail started swaying around.

'Alright. So. Iris?'

The Moonlit Feline did not move.

'Cloe or Lya?'

Yawn-

'This one came to me when I was outside. How about Pola? Or Ola? Maybe even Polar?'

Once more, the Moonlit Feline did not turn around.

'Huh. Mmmh, how about Liz or Lizza? From Blizzard.'

Not only did the Underling not turn around, but its tail also stopped moving.

'You dislike it that much, huh? Mm...'

Mark raised his gaze to the ceiling, a distant look in his eye.

'How about... Ocean?'

The name was read as "Oshan".

The Moonlit Feline jumped up and turned towards Mark with shiny eyes.

'Haha. That settles it then. Huh...?'

But right after that, it turned around and sat once again.

'Want me to continue until you choose the best?'

Its tail started wagging around.

'How about Kri? Or Krista? From Cristal.'

The Moonlit Feline immediately turned around at Krista.

It turned back hurriedly once again.

The Moonlit Feline waited for more options, but,

'That's the end of my list. Sorry to disappoint.'

The Underling immediately stood up and jumped on Mark's shoulder.

It pushed its head against Mark's neck affectionately.

The latter gently grabbed it and put it back on the ground.

Mark had no idea, but a large smile was on his face.

It wasn't a pretty smile by any means though.

'So, which of the two? Krista? Ocean?'

The Underling walked away and climbed onto Fiery's back before lying down.

'You like both equally?' Mark asked telepathically.

He walked away and towards the rest of his Underlings.

'Anyways. Let's get back to this. The Aura stuff is kind of complicated. I need to be focused, to feel something go through my Aura. But the amount of Aura varies. Depending on how angry or in pain I am, the amount explodes...'

The Underlings stared at their Master

'The more Aura, the more useful it is to feel things go through it. Since I would be able to sense attacks before they get too close to me. But the angrier I am, the less I can focus...'

The Underlings, that had been ordered to bring Ogres, arrived.

'How do I remedy this?'

Six dead Ogres were thrown in front of Mark.

[You have developed the Passive Skill "Self-Healing[E-]".]

'Good. I'll be able to recover faster now.' Mark thought as drops of the Ogres' blood went down his mouth.

He turned towards the third Ogre Underling he had brought to the Fourth Floor.

'This guy is the weakest and slowest.' He thought, before closing his eyes and letting his Aura flow out.

Since he was calmer now, the amount of Aura was nothing incredible.

'Attack me.'

And the Underling did so.

Mark focused on his senses as much as he could.

Still, the Underling managed to hit his stomach.

The attack was far from enough to even move Mark away from the spot he was standing on.

'Good. Now he can attack as much as he can, and I'll train as much as I want.'

After fifteen hits, Mark still couldn't feel the attacks coming.

'It's difficult to use...'

He was forced to take an early break.

The Ogre's fists had been broken by its own attacks.

'Tsk. Heal faster, dammit!' Mark ordered, but the Underling couldn't do anything about it.

The unnamed Moonlit Feline stared at its Master with wide eyes.

'Ugh! I should have gotten ten of these if I knew their fists would break so easily.'

Mark sat on the floor.

He grabbed a piece of rubble from the ground with his right hand and let his Aura flow out from his left.

Using that sharp piece of rubble, Mark started stabbing, not his skin, but his Aura.

'Yep. Still can't feel a thing. What the hell? Why can't I feel it? My own Aura being-'

That's when something clicked.

'My own Aura. Huh?' Mark thought.

He hurriedly stood up.

'You. Attack me.' Mark ordered the Royal Minotaur Underling.

It approached as fast as it could.

Mark closed his eyes and waited for it to attack.

'Aura... Isn't something external. It's-'

As the Underling's fist penetrated his Aura, Mark opened his eyes.

Time seemed to pass much slower and he could see that the hit still hadn't reached his stomach.

A smile appeared on his face, as the heavy hit landed.

'Ha! Hahaha! I can do it. Yes. Thinking about Aura as some Passive Skill or as some kind of external barrier is wrong. So wrong.'

As his fighting spirit and competitiveness were stimulated, the Aura around Mark's body became fiercer.

'Yeah. Aura isn't some external thing. I have to think of it as part of my body. As part of me! Hitting my Aura... Is the same as hitting me!'

***

Somewhere far away.

"It's true that these guys have huge potential, just like Raven said..." Draconia whispered to herself.

She stopped watching over Mark and left the room she was in.

'But this guy... He learns fast. Really fast. He can grip and wrestle with abstract concepts like Aura as if it was natural... Well, it's not like he has any real understanding of it. Still, for him to learn how to use it to this extent in a couple of weeks... Yeah...'

Nia walked for a bit.

'A true Monster will be unleashed upon the world.' She thought with a nervous smile.

Nia came to a sudden full stop.

"Still. If he doesn't drop the cocky attitude, I'll beat him up once he's out." She proclaimed, to no one in particular.