A Gray World

"I guess today's fight taught you both a lesson," Issac muttered. "People don't play fair or fight fair. If you want to survive, you either climb above them using your ideals or play their games and be the victor."

For once, Jason felt that his grandfather had parted wisdom with him. The words described the event perfectly which led him to look at Risa with hopeful eyes.

"I will try to teach you a bit about curses and healing." Risa sighed as she knew what Jason wanted. "Then we will start this learning from tomorrow. I just want to eat and sleep now…" He added, making Risa and Issac smile.

The entire Syrward family then had dinner with the absence of Ray. Jason and Nora were curious about his disappearance but decided to not ask any questions.

The events of the days had left them completely tired, both mentally and physically. Finishing their dinner, they stood up and directly went inside their rooms, crashing on the bed in a few seconds.

Jason stared at the ceiling for quite some time while recalling the events of the day. He finally had gotten the chance to use his skills in real time and had learned a lot.

'I wonder if not for grandma, what would've happened to me?' He couldn't help but think despite not knowing what the curse actually had been..

[ Whatever the curse was, it is no longer inside your body. You don't need to worry about such things anymore. ] The system pointed out, making Jason chuckle.

'System, have you ever thought why the human brain loves to think of unlikely scenarios?'

[ No?... How is that related to the current topic? ] It asked in cofnusion.

'I don't know the answer to my question as well as your question. Just felt like asking them.' He replied before closing his eyes and shifting a bit.

It didn't take long or his tired body to fall asleep and Jason was soundly asleep after a few minutes.

The system on the other hand kept thinking of what Jason had said. It found out that the question had been etched in its database, refusing to move out no matter how hard it tried.

[ Maybe I need to sleep too… ] The system muttered before going silent.

***

The next morning, Risa came to wake Jason up at nine. She would've come two hours earlier if not for the fact how Jason's body was still tired.

"Let's start with the basics again. What do you know about dark, light and life element?" Risa inquired a still feeling sleepy Jason.

The two of them were currently sitting under a huge tree in the garden as it protected them from the harsh sunlight while allowing them to do things outside.

"Light element is usually used for creating illusions and to grant blessings. Dark element is the opposite and is used to curse people alongside destroying things.

It is also used to create seals and raise the dead. Life element is used for healing people." Jason recited the definitions, making Risa sigh.

"So you have printed the book words inside your mind. Maybe I shouldn't have trusted Issac to teach you about the elements." Risa muttered before shifting her gaze over to Jason's face. "

"Tell me what do you think about the element, not what the book or any other person has taught you."

"Hmm…" Jason fell into deep thought. "I don't know if this counts but when I first heard the names of the elements, I thought that dark meant evil and light meant good. I don't know about life though."

After hearing his reply, Risa nodded in approval. It was as though she had almost been expecting that answer.

"Most children think like that but one thing you should know is to never associate the dark element with evil and light element with good. There is no evil in dark and no good in light."

"Ok…" Jason replied, his thoughts wandering to the ideologies of the different webnovels he had read on Earth.

Seeing his confused self, Risa decided to explain it in a more practical manner.

"Jason, this world and its people aren't just good or evil. It sounds simple and good on paper do divide people into these categories based on their actions but you will never find people who are completely good or evil.

You can say that this world has gray people, those who are a mixture of both good and evil. Even you and me are examples of such people." Risa paused as she saw Jason trying to process everything.

"I see." He replied simply, having thought about it from his experience on Earth.

"Once you start going out, you will see for yourself how true this statement is."

Jason nodded in agreement, having experienced such a thing in his last life.

Risa noticed that Jason seemed to have understood what she had said. She decided to shift the topic, knowing well that it was up to him to apply her words practically.

"Now, lets talk about life magic. Many believe that light and life magic are similar in nature since both could be used to heal. Many say that life magic is an advanced branch of light magic since it can't bless people. This entire thinking is wrong."

Risa raised both of her hands for Jason to see before summoning two balls of mana.

A ball of white light appeared in her left hand and a semi-golden ball of light appeared in her right hand.

"The white mana in my left hand is light mana and the one in my right hand is life mana." Risa explained while bringing both of her hands closer. "Do you notice any other difference in them except their color?"

Jason squinted hard but he didn't notice any visible difference except their color. Since he didn't see any physical difference, he shifted methods and used his own mana to sense the two mana in Risa's hands.

Jason controlled his mana to move around Risa's hands while trying to sense a diference.

In less than ten seconds, he spotted something big.

"Light mana almost feels the exact same as dark mana whereas life mana feels like something completely different…"