Chapter 53: The Neutral Zone Part 11

[T/N: with only 3 paragraphs left to complete translating this chapter, I decided to go get a glass of water and left my phone on the couch. When I came back to finish up, my 1 year old niece (don't know where she popped up from) was having fun with her new toy (my phone). Now I get why saving any progress even if not complete is so important. I mean, how does one even scold a 1 year old :'(]

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** Third Person (POV) **

In a room filled with a high concentration of mana, two people can be seen: a man and a woman. The woman is María Yeriel, who, despite sitting on a rather comfortable piece of furniture, looks extremely tired.

The reason for her fatigue is the other person in the room, Seol Jihu, whom she has been taking care of for the past two months.

At first, her task was easy; she only had to keep a close eye on him for a few hours a day and then she could relax. However, just before the first month ended, Seol Jihu decided to increase the intensity of his training, which became a torment for María.

The increased intensity involved Seol Jihu creating mana spheres around himself and constantly changing their shapes into all sorts of things, from tools and toys to weapons. Periodically, they would take the form of needles, and with them, Seol Jihu would self-inflict injuries, consequently increasing the time María needed to ensure his safety. As Seol Jihu became more accustomed to the new training intensity, he increased the number of spheres and the number of wounds he inflicted on himself.

It was also evident that the speed at which he healed began to increase. The problem was that María had to be very attentive to him, especially in the last weeks as the two-month training period was coming to an end, during which Seol Jihu lost consciousness ten times.

Out of those ten times, María was unable to wake him on two occasions, leaving her no choice but to cast several massive healing spells to prevent his death.

This is why María looked so exhausted; she had to be vigilant of Seol Jihu almost all the time because, although everything might seem normal, he could lose consciousness at any moment due to the nature of his training. The amount of blood he lost during each training session far exceeded what a human body is supposed to have, but she understood that he had an ability that healed him and assumed it also replenished his blood, which is why he lost much more than any person should.

She used the measure of blood he lost as an indicator of how bad his condition was or how close he might be to fainting. The two times he fainted were because the amount of blood lost was so great that it covered the entire surface of the room and reached a height of 12 to 14 cm.

"Damn, he doesn't pay me enough for this. I was a complete fool to think that 100,000 survival points for taking care of this stupid Oppa's training for two months was a gift. It's like when they offer you a prize, but it's actually a scam, and to claim it, they ask you for money in order to redeem the prize, and in the end, if you're naive enough, you pay and lose the money," María said, extremely dissatisfied with the bad deal she made.

"Fortunately, these are the last days. After this, I'll be free and able to go drink until I'm satisfied or die of intoxication. Yes, I'll buy the most expensive bottles and drink until I forget all this torment," María fantasized about the first thing she would do after escaping her suffering, much like prisoners do when they talk about what they will do once they gain their freedom.

But she was immediately startled and hurried to where Seol Jihu was. The mana spheres around him that had been changing shape until a few seconds ago dissipated, which only happens when Seol Jihu voluntarily withdraws them because it's time to eat or when he faints. María knows there are still three hours before mealtime, so the only reason that came to mind was that Seol Jihu must have lost consciousness again.

Maria approached him quickly and began to shake him and said, "Wake up, stupid Oppa, good-for-nothing, con artist, liar, womanizer, small penis, lustful animal, unfaithful beast, adulterer." But given the situation, the fatigue, and how nervous she gets every time he faints, the only thing coming out of her mouth were all kinds of insults. Some came from deep resentment for the situation he put her in, while others were only a product of fatigue and made no sense.

"Wait, Maria, I'm awake, I didn't faint, I just stopped. Stop shaking me, and I don't have a small penis, you of all people should already know that," Seol Jihu said quickly, but when he mentioned his penis, his tone was slightly offended, and when he said she should know, he was teasing a little bit.

But María, who was trying everything possible to wake him up, became very worried when she thought he had fainted again. Seeing that he was fine, yet still had the audacity to be offended and mock her after making her so concerned, infuriated her. She exclaimed, "Son of a bitch, give me back my worry, now I'll make you faint for real," and pulled out a wooden bat from her personal storage bag and began to hit him. No matter how hard she hit though, it did no damage to him, and instead, she ended up with pain in her hands.

"It's okay, I'm sorry I made you worry," Seol Jihu said as he took María's hands and began to examine them. They were a bit red from gripping the wooden bat tightly. He immediately began to channel his mana into her hands and, using a skill he had recently developed, started to heal her hands. The speed was not nearly as impressive as when he healed himself, but since María's hands were only slightly damaged, they healed quickly.

** Seol Jihu (POV) **

These last two months of training have been incredibly difficult. During the first weeks, I realized that if I continued at the pace I started with, I would not get anywhere. That was why I decided to change the training plan and, taking advantage of the large amount of mana in my environment, I decided to increase my mana control as much as possible.

So, I began to create spheres of pure mana around me and change their shape into anything. Thus, my new Class ability called [Mana Application] began to improve, and with its improvement, I could create more spheres. Instead of stopping my training to re-injure myself each time my wounds healed, I took advantage of the spheres and turned them into needles to inflict more wounds on myself. This way, I did not need to stop my training and could continue uninterrupted until mealtime.

After several more weeks and seeing that my mana control abilities, such as [Mana Circuit Application] and [Mana Application], had improved a lot, my [Self-Healing] still had not increased in rank. Interestingly, even though it did not increase in rank, the performance of the healing improved, so I concluded that the improvement was gradual until reaching the new rank.

That was why I decided to increase the wounds and the organs I injured. Eventually, I injured my heart, which I must say was not one of the best ideas. Still, it surprised me that despite this, I could remain conscious and continue training, all thanks to a new ability I developed after injuring my organs so much. This ability is called [Life Support], which allows me to use my mana to sustain any organic deficiency my body has, from the simple lack of any nutrient to the substitution of organ functions.

However, the more critical the body's need, the more mana the ability consumes. But thanks to this ability, I can use my mana to rapidly replace lost blood. I can also use mana to substitute for oxygen if there's none available or if my lungs fail to function. And if my heart stops, the [Life Support] ability takes over its function, allowing me to continue without issues. The only organ I have not dared to damage is my brain; I don't want to push it to that extreme for the sake of training.

But I must admit, without María's help, I would have died several times over. It's only thanks to her that I could afford to take so many risks during training.

And today, on the penultimate day of the Neutral Zone, I finally achieved my goal. A window appeared in my mind. As I'm meditating with all my abilities active and my eyes closed to enhance concentration, the windows still appear in my mind, so I don't need to open my eyes to see them. The window notified me of what I've been eagerly awaiting:

[The skill 'Self-Healing (High-Rank)' has ranked up to 'Self-Healing (Pinnacle Rank)'.]

With this, I can say that I have concluded my training. It's incredible that in these two months, I was only able to improve the skill by one rank, but there's no doubt that I finally understood why healing abilities are so difficult to level up and acquire.

Firstly, an exceedingly high level of mana control is required to make your mana act correctly and aid in improving the body's healing process.

Secondly, the process of [Self-Healing] must be repeated so that the body memorizes it to the point that when the ability is activated, the mana acts on its own, reproducing the memorized process, and only when that level is reached does the ability increase in rank.

If you don't have the necessary level of mana control and do not train until the body memorizes the process, the ability will not increase in rank.

But thanks to this training, I can say that my Stats and abilities have greatly improved. I even managed to develop new skills, including [Healing], which allows me to heal others. However, if [Self-Healing] is difficult even though the body memorizes the process to facilitate it, then even more so [Healing], which is based solely on mana control, making it even more challenging because it does not get that extra help. With my current control, my [Healing] is only of Low Rank.

After all this training, this was the result;

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{Character Profile: Seol Jihu}

1. [General Information]

- Name: Seol Jihu

- Summoning Date: March 16, 2017

- Rank: Gold

- Gender / Age: Male / 26 years

- Height / Weight: 181 cm / 102 kg

- Current Condition: Excellent

- Class: Mage - Level 1

- Nationality: Republic of Korea (Area 1)

- Affiliation: The Shadow, The Lost Paradise

- Aliases: Oppa, World's Best Oppa, Prince Charming, School Star, High School Hero, Seoul's Most Eligible Bachelor, Genius, Death God, Martial Arts Master, Lethal Weapon, Multimillionaire, Successful Entrepreneur, Ladies' Man, Joker, Prince of Lust, Prince of Sloth, Prince of Gluttony, Prince of Wrath, Prince of Envy, Prince of The Goddesses

2. [Personality Traits]

- Self-Control: Suppresses emotions, greed, and impulses with rational willpower.

- Superhuman: Exceptional endurance compared to a tenacious human.

- Tender: Sweet and gentle with friends, allies, and family.

- Cruel: Ruthless and indifferent toward rivals, threats, and enemies.

- Overprotective: Constantly watches over and protects loved ones.

- Ambitious: Desires and covets things he feels are lacking.

- Playful: Enjoys playing and making jokes.

3. [Aptitude]

- Observer: Analyzes and carefully studies elements and events around him.

- Computational: Processes and analyzes large amounts of information at high speed.

- Creative: Has the ability to think of new ideas.

- Universal Genius: Naturally born with exceptional talent in any field.

4. [Physical Attributes]

- Strength: Pinnacle (High)

- Durability: Pinnacle (Very High)

- Agility: Pinnacle (High)

- Endurance: Pinnacle (High)

- Mana: EX (Very High)

- Luck: High (High)

- Remaining Skill Points: 1

5. [Skills]

>> 1. Innate Skills (4) <<

- Nine Eyes (Unknown Grade)

- Natural Talent <Passive > (Unknown Grade)

- Rapid Recovery <Passive > (Unknown Grade)

- Self-Healing (Pinnacle Rank)

>> 2. Class Skills (3) <<

- Mana Application (High Rank)

- Mana Construct (High Rank)

- Mana Construct Manipulation (High Rank)

>> 3. Other Skills (7) <<

- Mana Circuit Application (EX Rank)

- Physical Reinforcement (EX Rank)

- Mana Cloaking (EX Rank)

- Continuous Mana Flow (Demi-God Rank)

- Sensory Perception (Unknown Grade)

- Healing (Low Rank)

- Life Support (High Rank)

6. [Cognitive Level]

- Behavior: Determined (Focused on achieving set objectives)

- Current Emotions: Happy, Satisfied

- Disposition: Tender, Cruel, Overprotective, Playful

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Seeing my Stats made me feel satisfied and happy. The outcome of this two-month training was worth it. All thanks to the [Special Competition], the room filled with so much mana, and most importantly, to María. Without her supervision, I would not have dared to try many things and would have perished more than a couple of times during the training. It is because of all these factors that I was able to achieve such good results in such a short time.

Only today and tomorrow remain in the Neutral Zone, and the day after tomorrow officially marks the end of the 3-month period. That is why today, I will put the final result of my training to the test by attempting the 'Impossible Mission', and tomorrow, well, I'll dedicate it to celebrating with everyone. During these 2 months, I was not the only one who put in effort; the entire group did as well. Just a week ago, we finally completed all the missions. So, taking advantage of the fact that my training is also coming to an end and that I will complete the 'Impossible Mission' today, I will designate tomorrow as a day of celebration to bid farewell to our time in the Neutral Zone.

Having checked my status window and planned what I was going to do, I began to cancel the skills I had been keeping active until that moment. When I was about to open my eyes and get up, Maria suddenly pounced on me in alarm, and started shaking me to try to wake me up. Surely she thought I had lost consciousness again because I canceled my skills. It amused me a bit that she started insulting me with nonsense, but when she said 'small penis', it bothered me a bit.

So, I got up, stopped her, and made a little joke based on the fact that sometimes during my training, my clothes ended up completely torn, and when I got up, she saw me completely naked. The first time that happened, she was surprised by the size of my penis and said that there was no way something like that could fit into a woman without splitting her in half.

Since then, I like to play jokes on her about that because my penis is not really that big; it's just a bit above average. The thing is, Maria is very innocent in that aspect, even though she is greedy and foul-mouthed, she is not a promiscuous woman. As we often talk a lot during meals, she told Odelette and me that she has only had a few boyfriends in her life and has never had sex, so she does not know much about the subject.

This time the joke led us to a little argument in which she ended up with injured hands, and I had to take care of her.