Awakening

"What, still here? Hand it over. That thing, your stone. For my lady's painting."

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"I wish I had an audience for this…"

[What? You think I'm not enough?]

"I didn't say that!"

Holding back the sigh, I sat down in the training room, ready to start the awakening.

Virion and Tessia had finished their usual swordsmanship training and stood a few meters away from me as I focused.

"Fuuu"

I took a deep breath and tried to grasp the feel of mana inside me.

A little note I'd like to add is that mana and vision are fundamentally different.

While vision acted like a savage animal, unwilling to bend to my will. Mana was like a slippery sludge of obedient goo eager to follow it.

The only reason I was able to command vision like the archons did is due to my brain. It took a lot of concentration to guide the energy ready to thrash around my body.

But thanks to the constant usage of it, mana was abnormally easy to control.

Even now, as I slowly guided the mana to my brain, I could feel the vice grip I had on it. There was no leakage as it travelled through my arteries. If I willed it, the mana crawling to its destination could start racing like an F-1 car.

But maybe it's my cautious side rearing its rear. I wanted to take things slow. After all, it's not everyday that you get a power up…

[You of all people shouldn't say that!]

Hush.

"Fuuugh-…"

The last breadth hitched a little as I felt a pull.

It was alike a switch has been flipped, and worms were getting inside the crevices of my brain.

"Andrew!"

I couldn't register Tessia voice filled with concern as I vividly felt the sensation of fulfillment.

It was like floating. I felt….isolated.

From what I couldn't tell…

"That's not good."

I could feel my body protesting on what I was about to do. My body shook as I forcefully took back control. The once pleasant sensation started to subside and I could finally open my eyes a crack.

A white sphere encapsulated me as I floated like some sage reaching enlightenment.

The ground beneath me sizzled form the emitted heat.

As I forced more and more mana into my brain, I felt more full. But it was never enough…

The fuller I felt, the more I felt the emptiness. My brain craving for more. It was like a drug. The neural network forcefully worked against my will to redistribute the mana, this time more focused on the prefrontal cortex.

[Yooo! That's new stuff. Heard some kid mentioning this before, but never saw anyone pull it off]

[HEY! GIVE ME BACK MY PHONE!]

[Wait a little girly. You shouldn't be so impatient in your adolescence. You'll get wrinkles that way]

[You wannabe teenager!]

….Was that Buddha?

[Yeah~ you guessed it right. But I have to say, it's a peculiar approach to strength]

Not good but peculiar?

[I can't see that far into the future yoi]

How much can you see?

[Keep going at it]

Kacha—!

The call cut off and I felt my focus shift back into awakening.

Hummm—!!!

Great, now I have background music…

Right in the middle, I felt the neural network shift once again as it started overlapping on the already injected mana.

"Is this safe?"

Unconsciously, I said it out loud.

Right now, I was completely on the unknown. Losing control was never in my predictions. Nor was it a wish. But I suppose I'll do what I do best.

I gripped the khaki trousers I wore and willed it to go faster, and like a mad bull, I felt the injection leap to a full 360.

Crack—!

A small crack formed on the sphere before light flooded the entire training hall.

Boom—!!

Followed by a mini explosion…

"That's so cool! Grandpa! I wanna do that too!"

I heard Tessia squeaking as she looked at Virion with her doe eyes sparkling like the starry sky at midnight.

"J-just wait a minute pumpkin, we need to check up on Andrew before that."

"Oh I'm sure he's fine~ Andrew! I wanna do that too!"

"I'm not done yet, so wait a bit." I replied after swatting the dust off my butt and sitting back in the deformed floor, bringing the room to a deathly silence.

"Why should I stop at one?"

I said to the astonished duo before a hymn rang out again, but this time louder than it was before.

'Time for a mana core…'

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{Virion POV}

The same lightshow played itself once more, as I watched the boy defy common sense.

His strength was enormous, downright terrifying.

If I had been a hundred years younger, I would have attempted his assassination.

Owning a dangerous weapon makes you feel safe, but also makes you cautious around it. No one wants a bomb to set off in their own home.

But once I heard him out, I felt reluctant to do so…

On the off chance that what he said is true, could he not just reincarnate again somewhere else after we kill him. It's better to make strong friend than enemies.

"But this is still insane…"

The boy put mana in his brain and now he's going to make a mana core?

What next? Mana in his bones!?

The sheer ridiculousness made me wonder if I was dreaming or not.

—!!

My senses rang as I hurriedly put up a shield around me and my granddaughter.

And I was right to do so…

____!!

A silent explosion came out from around him, emitting faint heat waves and a dense field of mana.

Contrary to what you'd expect, there was no damage this time around. Just a faint tremor and an audible heartbeat.

The following right, I became aware that the heartbeat was none other than mine.