“You said that there wouldn’t be a problem.” Nel says, her quiet voice carrying a certain mysterious threat to it. “You told me that you would be safe.”

“Accidents happen.” I say, nervously waving my hands around as I explain. “We’re going to be more careful from now on. Red, or one of the others will be with us until we’re strong enough to handle things on our own. Everything’s fine, right?”

“That only tells me that you weren’t careful at all.” Nel says, her fingers clacking out a rhythm as she glares between the two of us. “I anticipated that you might get injured, which is why you had those expensive healing potions with you. Where are they, by the way?”

“We used them.” I say, forcefully keeping my face expressionless. “Thank you for getting them for us.”

“You could thank me by not getting yourselves pointlessly hurt.” She replies, forming a fist and biting her lower lip for a moment before forcing herself to relax.

“I’ll try.” I reply.

She’s clearly not saying this purely out of frustration, it’d take someone truly blind to emotion not to notice that she’s worried about us. We were nearly killed. Even with how many close calls we’ve had, it’s impossible to become completely numb to it.

Eshya grunts a quiet response, slowly stretching her arms and legs, which have to be aching from the amount of exercise she’s put herself through. We stayed to train with Red for much longer than we probably should have; Eshya was loath to leave, and I wanted to get my new magic working right.

In the end, I can’t manage to achieve the same degree of success with my annihilation magic as that first time casting it. There’s a trick to it, I’m sure, something about the intent that was different that I’m not able to replicate. At least that’s my current theory.

“Are you sure you didn’t want to spend some time with Shen?” I ask Eshya. She’d barely looked at the bug since she woke up, choosing to ignore Shen in a way that almost seems childish.

“It’s fine.” Eshya replies. “It’s better to use my time training instead.”

“I’m not so sure the extra few minutes will help you out that much.” I reply. “Do you want some more mana?”

“Yes, please.” She’s about to accept the mana, when I hesitate a moment and hold it back. “I’ll give you more mana after class today if you promise to stay and relax with the rest of us for a little while. It’s been too long since we’ve spent time together.”

Eshya’s expression sours as she looks from me, down to the small piece of jerky in my hand that’s yet to be infused with mana.

“Eshya.” Vii chirps, rushing to her side and whispering in her ear. They glance at me a few times, and Eshya with a resigned sigh nods in acceptance.

“What is it?” I ask.

“We’re going to spend some time together after class.” Vii says cheerfully. “All of us. Everyone is running around doing their own thing all the time. We should take a break, and spend some time together.”

“Exactly.” I say, happy that someone finally gets it.

“Go to class first.” Nel says. “I’ll hold down the house, so to speak.”

“Oh, before I forget. What do we do about the healers bill?” I ask her.

“I’ve already made a deal with that healer. He’ll treat us however much we need for… I believe it’s down to twenty-one days now?” She says, “It’s a temporary solution, like my acquaintance up here on the surface who can offer us some limited healing.”

“You didn’t tell me about it.” I say, thinking back to the meeting.

Nel tilts her head in thought, before nodding in agreement.

“It must’ve slipped my mind. For some reason, I assumed everyone already knew. There was so much going on at the time… I’ll try not to make that mistake in the future.”

“We’re all still new to this.” I admit, “But the fact that you had this dealt with before it was even a problem is commendable, regardless of the fact your forgot to tell us about it. Thank you.”

For the first time since she began lecturing us this morning, she smiles. Her lips twitching up into a warm expression.

“It’s nearly time for class.” She says, her voice getting a little heavier as she continues, “Be careful.”

“I will.” I reply, but from seeing her expression, it’s clear that she’s lost some of her trust in me. I said something much the same before I went training with Eshya and nearly got the both of us killed.

“Nel.” I say, leaning in and taking her hand. “We’re all doing what we can. Perhaps we’ve been taking greater risks than we should have, but I want you to know that I won’t ever choose to leave you.”

She nods, taking a deep breath and steadying herself, before nodding firmly and leaving. Who knew having so many relationships could become difficult? Not that I’d give up any of them even if things get more challenging still.

We head out of the dorms and walk down the streets. Eshya still seems distracted in her own head, and I know I’m not going to be able to get any decent conversation out of her. I step a little closer and grab her hand, swinging it around a little and feeling how much stronger she’s become. Her skin now makes me itch a little from the mana friction.

“How about you Vii? You’re still doing alright?” I ask her as we head to class.

“I’m good. Yesterday I just had something I had to do. I should be able to train with you two from tomorrow.” She says.

“What was it?” I ask, “Some class that you’re interested in?”

“You’ll find out once we’ve finished class today.” She says, sounding awfully proud of herself.

Ever since yesterday, Eshya has been consuming more and more mana, building herself up, while I continue to process my own. Even now most of my multi-minded focus is working to trying to stress my mana form just barely enough to cause mana leakage, which I can use to further develop my mana flow. I’m still carrying the crystal around with me to recover my mana as I need it, though I do get an occasional glance from strangers who see its glow.

~ Skill developed

~ Mana form flow fixer

The Skill comes as a little bit of a surprise, since I haven’t seen anything quite like this in the Skills that I’ve stolen. Honestly, I should’ve already done enough to develop this ability a long time ago, but I suppose I’m still not the best at using Chip to my advantage. Regardless, I won’t shoot the messenger just because he’s running late.

The Skill seems to ease the amount of mental focus it takes to police my mana flow, making it easier to train myself up while focusing on class, or conversation. The Skill should help me to passively grow my bodily connection to my mana form, faster still than I’m already pushing it. All it really does for me, is ease my use of the multi-mind Skill, allowing me to use more of my mind to focus on what I’m actually doing rather than splitting my focus a dozen different ways.

Unlike the other classes, our mana form class takes a slightly different approach, allowing us to come for extra lessons as needed and giving us as much one-on-one teaching as can be managed.

As a human I’ve been given some extra attention on top of that, and it’s no different today. I’m not entirely happy with the situation. I feel a bit like the special student in class who’s too slow to keep up with the curriculum. Yet, that’s a frustratingly accurate representation of the actual situation I’m in.

“We’ll meet up after class.” Vii says, before following a teacher’s assistant for her own conversations on her personal mana form development.

Eshya does the same, not sparing a moment before she dives into a passionate discussion about her newly discovered liquid mana form.

The same teacher as the last time comes to visit me, the ethereal Persephone.

“Your mana form has changed significantly since the last time you visited.” She says, looking over and around me.

“You can see that?” I ask, and she slowly nods leading me to a quiet corner of the room.

“The way the mana moves in the air around you, inspired by the mana moving inside of you.” She says, “You’re developing quickly, if recklessly. You know that you’re leaking mana, yes?”

“I do, it helps me develop quicker by showing me where I’m weakest.” I say.

“It is a wasteful process, I would advise that you take your time growing instead, but you aren’t here for that advice, are you?”

“I’m afraid not.” I reply, “I’m a combat course student. I’m risking my life the longer I let my mana stagnate as it has.”

“I will not demand that you change your process, but I will still advise caution.” She says, bowing her head. “I will help you in any way that I’m able. Have you encountered any problems that you need to bring up?”

“As I said before, I need to get to the liquid mana stage.” I say simply. “I need to get stronger, and quickly. What else can I do to get there?”

“Take great care with rushing yourself.” She says rather strictly. “The faster you rush things the more that you will miss. If you aren’t careful in developing your mana form over and into your physical form, you may develop into something warped and incomplete. It’s not good to push yourself beyond this boundary without properly building yourself up to prepare for it.”

“But it is possible to break through to liquid mana early?” I ask, leaning forwards.

“Not so long as you have a support device.” She says. “At least it makes it very challenging to do so. The makers had the wisdom to keep us from hurting ourselves by developing too quickly and without care.”

“So, it’s chip holding me back?” I ask, “What happens if I don’t perfectly integrate my flesh and mana forms?

“Mana friction forms between the parts of your body that conflict.” She says. “The way the mana is absorbed into your flesh, and then flows through it only works in a perfect balance with your mana form. You risk losing your life if you don’t act carefully.”

“That’s… a little more serious than I thought it’d be.” I admit grinding my teeth as I shove around the flow inside me, trying to get it to work as I want.

“It is. Which is why you must first develop yourself.” She says, her face turning into thick mist for a moment. “There is also another option. I only bring this up because you have concerns for your survival. If you take this shortcut, you may permanently limit yourself, but it shouldn’t directly harm you.”

“Give me the details.” I say, leaning forwards to listen more closely.

“This is the path of some beasts.” She says, “If you follow this technique, you may gather your mana into a core inside of you. It’s not that your mana will not pass through your flesh, but it’s flow will become much more limited. You’ll be weaker than your peers, who have woven their mana flows into their flesh.”

“I can always pour out my mana and develop myself properly later.” I say, swallowing back my anxiety at the thought of it.

“No, you can’t.” She replies. “While it is occasionally possible for a person to return to a gaseous mana state if they fail to hold a liquid state shortly after developing it. It’s not something that you can do as you please.”

“I’m special.” I say. “I can reduce my mana down to zero and survive, at least for a little while. At the moment, I’m able to lower it down to around 90 units safely.”

Her face blurs again, it seems to happen whenever she grows confused or emotional.

“So how do I go about, making this mana core?” I ask.

“It will be difficult, but not impossible to work around your support device.” She says, “You must try to compress your current mana into a ball inside you and maintain it in a liquid state for a prolonged time. Eventually it will cause a development into a liquid stage mana form, with all the troubles I’ve mentioned.”

“Thanks.” I say, taking a few notes with Chip. This should be perfect for getting me combat ready again, so long as I keep training myself to survive in the destruction of my mana form, I should be alright.

“I would urge you not to neglect your connection between your mana and flesh.” She says further, “Especially if you’re able to do as you claim.

“Would you like to discuss possible mixed categories to explore for your physical mana bonding? I’ve studied up on human physiology so I might be able to help you develop better mana groupings.”

“Let’s hear it.” I say, sitting back on the soft beanbag.

“I would advise you to use blend, bone, muscle, and nerves, into a singular category. It’ll increase your strength and the speed of your responses. I imagine it would be important as a student of the combat classes.

“The next category would involve your skin, hair, nails, eyes, and the layers of fat beneath your skin. These will protect you from adverse environments, and attacks.

“Your cardiovascular and respiratory systems are uniquely important in delivering energy quickly, and it’s important to keep them as their own grouping. This way you can take a moment to recover yourself before reinvesting your mana back into your offensive and defensive groupings, or freely adjust your investment to match your needs in longer fights.

“Your digestive systems are more important than you might at first think. Mana investment into your digestive systems allows you to consume more efficiently, even things that your species would not normally be able to digest. This way even your meals here will be less wasteful.

“Your mind, is of course, your mana sense. I shouldn’t need to say that it’s critical to keep it as its own unique grouping.

“The rest should be gathered together in its own grouping. It’s still important to ensure that these organs are fully developed, even if you’re going to rush yourself as you’ve mentioned.”

“What about my immune system?” I ask, and her face blurs again in confusion.

“What’s that?” She asks.

“The immune system? To keep you from getting sick? Disease? Bacteria? Viruses?”

“I… don’t quite understand what you’re talking about.”

“Very small things that get into your body and make you ill.” I say, and she nods a few times before she turns to thick mist again, thinking about it.

“Something so small wouldn’t develop a mana form.” She says, “It takes very strict training to contain mana into such a small space, beings can occasionally develop into something small like you describe, but it is rare.”

“No disease?” I ask, realising that I’ve never actually seen anyone ill. I’d put it down to the fact that healers must be quietly taking care of it before it’s become a problem, but maybe they don’t even have to.

“Well, that’s neat.” I’m supposing that the bacteria and viruses must get killed from the mana friction when they try to invade our bodies. I have to wonder what sort of complications that might be causing inside my body, as humans are meant to have some helpful bacteria in us. I just have to hope that it doesn’t do me any damage.

“There are still poisons which use the stagnant mana of nonliving things, or the expressed mana of magic.” She says. “You’ll often need treatment from healers or through potions if you are unlucky enough to encounter such things, but I don’t think it’s a common experience.”

I nod quietly, while working through Chip to rearrange my categories as she’s described. It changes my numbers around a little, since it’s apparently an imperfect measurement. I also take a moment to rewrite the labels on them.

“So, there’s no problem in continuing my training as I have? I won’t suddenly fall flat and die?” I ask.

“No, but you will run out of mana if you keep leaking like you are.” She says.

“That’s not a problem.” I reply. “One more question. How does all this flesh-mana bonding thing influence my Skills? My new defence grouping for instance concentrates my mana into my skin, but I already have a reactive mana skin Skill, so how do they affect one another?”

“Ah, yes.” Persephone pauses to think for a few moments, “Would you like the long proper explanation? Or would you rather I try to explain how it roughly works?”

“The second. Definitely the second.” I reply.

“Okay. Your Skills will be more powerful, more efficient, or perhaps faster to use when you have developed your flesh to better use the mana running through it.” She says. “How it is affected depends on the type of Skill, the organs in use, and sometimes even the situation you’re in can have an effect.”

“Simpler than I was expecting…” I say.

“You did ask for such.” Persephone replies with a smile. “Is there anything more?”

“There were a few things I wanted to ask about in terms of the direction of my mana flow, the speed of it, and whether there’s benefits to making the flow more complex?” I ask, starting a long conversation.

The teacher is happy to help answer these questions, and I slowly put together more ideas on how to improve myself further. My mind slowly drifts to the future ahead and the power I’ll need to develop in order to survive, and I feel a poisonous panic seep into my bloodstream.

Another part of my mind drifts to my friends and lovers, soothing my fear. Controlling my breathing, and steadying my mana flow, I put together rough plans, not only to deal with the violence and challenges, but to find opportunities to enjoy my life, and share a few moments with the ones that I love.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Skills & Stats

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 776 units

~Mana distribution:

Catagory Current Max. Defence 0% 30% Offense 57% 57% Mana Sense 0% 72% Recovery 0% 30% Gluttony 0% 24% Misc. 0% 30% Efficiency 57% 82%

~Favourited Skills:

-Chip Shredder

-Multi-mind

-Tag

-Mana surge movement

-Mana surge punch

-Reactive mana skin

-Infused delayed Casting

-Fire burst punch

-Annihilation magic

-Mana form flow fixer