Headache Simulator

[Brewan- Level 7]

Kai paced toward the other side of the room as he looked at the blue stat window hovering in his vision.

"Two levels higher?"

[Yep! He doesn't even have an amazing, beautiful, incredibly designed, masterpi-]

"Ahem"

[-Masterpiece of a sword like you, that can absorb strength from the beasts you slay. He does, however, seem to grow stronger based on experience, and by using his mana. After the fight, I'd put him at level 6.]

Kai looked back down at the number on the blue screen again.

Maybe she isn't actually that good at math.

[Hmph, if you're going to be rude, I'll keep a bigger chunk to experiment with!]

[You reached Level 3!]

[Mana +5!]

[Mana -3, Strength +3.]

Did she just read my thoughts?! And what kind of nonsensical power system is this, I'm leveling up without fighting or cultivating?

[No, I'm not reading your thoughts. You're just predictable. Also, that meat you just ate was killed by Brewan, not you. When the beast died, all of the mana in its core- the thing your sword absorbs to give you mana- spread out, and a lot of it went into the venison.]

Kai had to think for multiple seconds before he understood what Halia was saying.

"So basically, your sword is pretty much useless. I can get all of the energy just by eating, which I have to do anyway to survive."

[No. The sword absorbs almost all of the mana from the beast. You'll gain way less strength from eating it. It's still some though, so you should try to let Brewan get some kills whenever you go out hunting, and use those beasts for food. It'll help Sydney recover a lot faster, as well as making the other two of you stronger.]

[You don't need to worry too much about his fireballs attracting more enemies, either. I'm pretty sure I can work out a new spell for him to use before tomorrow. I will need your cooperation, though.]

If it's to help us hunt and get stronger, it'll be worth it.

-

-

Six hours later, as the sun was diving below the horizon.

In a large classroom, two young men clutched at their skulls in unison.

"I feel like there's a mind-eater beast rampaging through my brain…"

[Hey, you'll have a supporting fighter when you go out to hunt tomorrow! Shouldn't you be happy?]

That was not worth it.

Kai had discovered a number of things over the past six hours of torture. Apparently, if Halia moved around his mana too much, or tried to cast spells without having the proper resources, it would give him a splitting headache.

In Halia's words, "Practicing to mana deficiency will slowly increase your total mana pool, pain pain torture."

Kai had been rewarded for his efforts with +2 mana, both of which had been claimed by Halia.

It really is like having a parasite attached to me. Physical and mental pain, loss of strength, and general annoyance. And she does it all while acting like she's doing me a favor!

Kai resisted yet another urge to chuck the ruby necklace at the now chalk-covered blackboard.

"I never knew magic could be broken down into numbers and ideas like this…"

Standing a few meters away, Brewan was doing only slightly better than Kai. While Halia couldn't directly manipulate his mana, she'd still managed to get him to expend everything he had, granting him an intense headache as well.

She'd forced the two men to pass the necklace back and forth between each other, relaying instructions and making them jot everything down on the blackboards left behind by the academy's original owners.

[Oo! I just had another idea, grab the chalk again!]

"Brewan, do you have any mana left to use your fireball?"

He shook his head.

"Damn. I was hoping you'd be able to cast it on me. Can you punch me instead? Full force, right on the jaw. Put me to sleep."

[Fine, fine, I'll stop. Researching new stuff like this is so fun, how can you not like it?]

Kai just pointed up at his head, which still felt as if it'd been crushed by a stampede of buffalo.

[That's only because you don't have much mana right now! Once you're stronger, it'll be great! When you're fighting, I'll even be able to help you. You can do your sword stuff, and I'll cast spells at the same time!]

"If I ever get a headache like this while in a fight, we'll probably die."

[Don't worry, I'm sure that'll never happen.]

Halia let out a short, ominous-sounding chuckle after her last line. Kai did his best to ignore it as he laid down on his bed of cushions. The pounding pain in his head only increased the more he moved around.

[Ooh~ Hooo oh~]

Halia started to hum softly, her normally mischievous voice softening. Kai shut his eyes, his mind somehow relaxing as he listened to her humming. In a matter of seconds, he was already drifting off to sleep.

[Ooh~ Somewhere~ Over the rain…]

Kai's consciousness faded into darkness as Halia sang softly.

[Kai- Lvl 3]

[Strength: 14 -> 21]

[Mana: 0 -> 6]