Court TV (featuring Judge Beatrice and Judge BanLow):

Judge Beatrice: In the case of WarCode and the theft of Freedom counters, the lack of evidence and the negligence of the Guard means that the Servant WarCode can no longer be detained-

Prosecution: But, Your Divineness-

Judge Beatrice: Oh, SHUT UP! Judge BanLow how many times have we told the prosecution to ‘Shut Up’ in this case?

Judge BanLow: 53 times, Your Divineness.

Judge Beatrice: Then can you, for the 54th time, please tell the prosecution to Shut Up?

Judge BanLow: Will the prosecution kindly SHUT UP!

Judge Beatrice: Good! Back to the verdict. WarCode is free to go as long as he posts a bail of 200 million credits. The case will be resume 20 episodes later.

Wrapped in robes of sky blue and indigo, she wore a lion mask. Her clothing was a Device. It left a blank spot in his mana vision, preventing him from seeing the mana threads underneath it. Even Corn could not see underneath her mask.

But that was all irrelevant compared to the ten balls of water that swirled around her midriff like buckles on a belt. They burned bright like all wands but the texture and swirl convinced him that it wasn’t a wand. Even though she could be hiding a wand underneath her protected robes, he instinctively knew she needed nothing of the sort.

The movement she spotted Corn, five of the swirling balls dipped into the water reservoir. With a resounding whoosh, all the water in the reservoir rose into the air and swirled above them. The water spun like a whirlpool in the air, reminding Corn of the time he had tried stealing mana from a storm.

In one second, Corn had learnt more of what was possible with Magic than he had from spending days watching re-runs of old tournaments.

“Where’s MoonLily?” she asked and despite the thrum and roar of the whirlpool her voice was as clear as crystal.

Today just wasn’t his day.

He slowly pushed out ice, letting it accumulate to the size of a baton. Something felt funny, though.

“I won’t repeat myself again, free former.”

That’s when it clicked. That voice, he had heard it before. But where?

“She’s already safe, back with her clan,” he replied. He had no question that she could hear him.

“No doubt, thanks to you?” The water in the whirlpool swung out of orbit and gushed straight towards Corn. In midair, the water turned to ice. The battering ram of ice was the size of a building, all heading toward him.

Corn screamed out, “Wait, wait, wait!!” He instinctively held his hands out in front of him.

“What?” the building of ice stopped, hanging a few feet away from Corn.

“Could you accept me as a disciple? You know, after you kill me.” He peered out from his hands.

“No.”

“Waitwaitwait. Could you then answer a question?” The ice hung inches from his face.

The mage laughed hysterically, “You’ve got balls, kid. I’ll give you that. Three questions, then you die.”

“Ok, what’s a free former?”

“Some with innate talent towards Magic and a source. They have no need to shoot out bolts from a wand when they can ‘freely form’ the mana from their source.”

“What’s a source?”

“That’s a dumb question. Someone clearly gave you a source.”

“Uhhh,” Corn hesitated.

“You have some level of instruction, yes? Then tell me this: what are the six elements?”

The books the fairy had given him referenced this but he understood very little of it.

“Hard, soft, flow, energy, frequency and polarity,” he said.

She nodded, “Exactly. Those are the ways that mana can be changed or manipulated. A source is something you can draw mana from. The elements are the ways you shape the mana. Only the unimaginative will think that fire or water is an element.”

“Wait, isn’t water mana a technique?” At least that was his assumption since his time in the vault.

“Of course not. For every Stat: a technique is basic manipulation but an art changes the property or attribute of the Stat.”

Corn was about to ask about frameworks and racial abilities when the colossal block of ice snapped his neck.

His last thought had been a realization. He finally recognized where he had heard the mage’s voice. She was the same person he heard with his mana senses plotting to steal Moon’s Freedom counters. He was just too awed with her Magic to think clearly.

Then, he died.

This was an unsettling experience. The weakness in his body was irrelevant, after all, his strong vitality and will let him endure most pain easily. Neither the unnatural thinness of his body, nor his curtain like skin that at places peeled away to reveal bone, bothered him.

Only the fact that he was a spectre was alarming. He only had one life left.

Having multiple lives left Corn a bit complacent. Since most warriors lost and gained lives at a high rate, there was nothing unusual about this. He had three lives to begin with, lost three lives and even gained one life.

But now that he was cut off the System there was no way for him to replenish his lives. Even if he could somehow get other lives, only members of the Border Reserves could renew their lives.

If he didn’t plan every move carefully, he would find himself facing true death very soon.

The first part of his plans was to temporarily avoid his gang. Even though WarCode could post bail, his gang was in deep trouble. The Guard was hanging around their temporary base and he had no idea if that Mage was still around their old base. Forget the Device from the Infinite Harem or all the mana made weapons. He could just generate ice mana from the source in his crippled hand and eat it.

The second part was to get stronger. And for that he was at Cakes & Swords. Of course, he itched to know what had happened to MoonLily and all the secrets behind the Infinite Harem and the stolen Freedom counters. But he wouldn’t ask and take the risk, not until he had learnt all that he could.

“So you’re saying that you became a crazie to finish the quest, joined a gang and the don of this same gang made you disconnect from the System. The very same System that covers all of Metsys, the System that is the foundation of the twelve planes, the greatest System of all systems in the universe. And all of that with a Device?” asked Knot.

The three of them were seated at dining table at the back of the shop.

Corn nodded, “And I have no idea why.” As much as he trusted Line, he did not trust Knot. If he had hundred chances to choose between being a Base Slave and true death, he would gladly choose true death every single time.

“I believe you,” declared the nymph resolutely.

“You do?” asked Line, echoing Corn’s own puzzlement.

“Honey cake, let me explain. Any Device with Intelligence could cut someone off from the System. It is actually possible for the higher ranks to do this so what he’s saying makes sense.”

Line face palmed, “Please. Don’t call me honey cake.”

“Why not, honey cake?”

Line stared at the ceiling before sighing and slapping his palm at his face again.

“I owe you a favour, so how do repay it?”

Knot waved his hands, “Pshaw, think nothing of it. I didn’t help you that much anyway. But as a priest I can help you with your training.”

Seeing Corn’s puzzled expression Knot replied, “I’m not a gang member that I can teach you how to feed, how to steal and whatever other sordid deeds gangs tend to do. I can’t teach you how to use Magic or even give you combat training like honey cake here. But what I can do is teach you how to manage and grow your Desire.

Every Stat is a different kind of power but the fuel for them all is Desire. If you master Desire, you can learn how to grow any Stat properly.

Line nodded. “If a level 2 priest can’t teach you, who can? But, I was hired as a shop keeper.” Saying that he got up and left.

“What does level 2 mean?” asked Corn.

“Growth,” said Knot mysteriously. “But before I can teach you to grow your Desire I must ask, what do you know about Desire?”

“Desire is to a Stat what a Base Slave is to its master. Without the master the slave will still exist but without the slave the master cannot be a master,” said Corn.

The nymph bit his lips thoughtfully. “Huh, interesting analogy. You are not wrong, per se. I always thought of them as two sides of the same coin.

But the basic point is this: every single point of your Stat is attached to a particular Desire, to get more points you need to grow your existing Desire or add new ones. But before you grow or add new Desires, you have to be aware of what you have. That’s where I come.

So, let’s start with an exercise. Close your eyes and breathe in and out.”

Corn smiled, “Don’t have eyes.”

“Really? Could I see?”

Corn removed his hood and googles.

“Huh. I like it. It suits you actually.”

Corn smiled, flashing his spindly teeth at Knot.

“Woah?! I just pissed myself. You could smile your enemies to death.” The nymph’s heart pounded like crazy but he quickly managed to slow it down. “Ok, just dull your vision then.”

Corn shifted to first vision and then blinked, shutting down his vision. The darkness was terrifying. He struggled, trying not to panic. But he soon shifted back to second vision. He tried again to shut down his senses. He only managed to last a few seconds.

The problem was ever since he got his mana vision, he had rarely closed it. Even when sleeping he had left it on. Closing it now left him strangely vulnerable. What if someone attacked him or caught him unaware?

Knot must have noticed something, “You don’t have to ‘close’ your eyes. Just relax and focus on your breath.”

Corn left his vision on and focused on his breathing cycle. It was simple enough since Line had already taught Corn. As time passed on, Corn could feel his body relax and heart slow down.

Knot nodded. “Good. Now, open your senses. Feel the chair you’re sitting on. Smell the sweet fragrance of baked cakes. Listen to the sounds of Line in the shop, the screams of the trainers in the gym behind or the drone of the air conditioner.”

Corn tried following the instructions but quickly grew bored of listening to sounds. Why was there a gym in the back anyway?

“No, don’t focus on it, just feel.”

Corn tried again but got distracted.

“Don’t think, just feel.”

No matter how much he tried, he quickly got bored of ‘feeling’ and listening to Knot rain platitudes on him.

After the umpteenth time of being told to ‘feel’, he said, “I don’t feel anything. I’m just starving. I haven’t eaten since forever.”

“Good. Focus on that feeling of Hunger. In the rumble of your stomach, the painful pit in your belly.”

Corn felt drool in his mouth. “Hey! Stop that.”

“Focus on that sensation. Whenever you feel distracted, just return to feeling Hunger.”

This time it was less annoying. He still got distracted from ‘feeling’ Hunger.

Seeming to sense his boredom, Knot asked, “Where do you think Desire comes from? It comes from the Heart. No, not the organ the capital H, Heart. To feel the Desire, you must empty the mind.”

“Empty the mind, listen to the Heart.”

After an hour or two Knot stopped him, “Don’t worry. It’ll a couple of weeks to master this exercise. First I suppose I should clarify something. In a way, Desire is the fuel of your power, but do you know what the difference between Desire and desire is? Yes, one with capital D and the next with small d.

Capital D, Desire fuels your power, but small d desire is just ordinary like thirst, boredom, hunger and the rest.

The problem with Hunger isn’t that it’s a universal Desire or that it’s addictive or evil or anything like that. Only that it’s too intertwined with small h, hunger. If you can’t tell the difference, you can’t control it. And it keeps growing without you meaning to grow it.”

“But why wouldn’t I want it to grow?”

“Do you want to be progressively Hungry all the time?” retorted Knot.

Corn went silent.

“As general rule of thumb, you want your Desire to be as varied as possible.

You have to be able to tell the difference between your body being hungry for nutrients, in your case mana, and the Hunger that is fueling your Stat. So, I want you to empty all your mana out.”

Corn created a mana circle and pushed all his ice mana into it. He shaped it into a large club. Once he was done, he went blind.

“Good. Here’s your breakfast: a couple of metal mana cubes from my suppliers.”

Corn had been eyeing those for a while now, but it felt rude to eat the supplies of someone who was finally teaching him stuff. Since he was being offered them, he dug in.

As the mana digested, he began to see threads of mana again.

“Nuh – uh, empty out any mana you gained.”

Corn paused. “How did you know?”

Knot smiled. “Desire comes under the purview of Charisma. I can ‘feel’ your Desire replenish”

“Then why is it ranked so low in the list?”

“Pay no attention to the list, liquorice. It’s only concerned with how quickly you can kill somebody, not what Stats are actually useful. But never mind that, empty your mana.”

Corn did as instructed. As he bit into the cubes he could feel some of the mana go to his body and the rest replenish his mana reserves. And he constantly kept emptying out his mana reserves. Finally he stopped eating.

“You feel that? No Hunger or hunger.”

Knot was right. He had definitely reached this state before but having it pointed it out to him felt odd. Hunger wasn’t screaming or crying. The silence was wonderful.

“It takes about four and half small metal cubes for you to be satisfied. Next, let’s see how much mana your body needs per day.”

And that’s what they did for the next two days. Corn emptied out all his mana while testing how much food his body needed. They realized that he needed about nine mana cubes worth of food per day. The source of mana was irrelevant.

At the end Knot declared, “That’s how much your body needs, regardless of how Hungry you feel only eat that much. If you think your body needs more, keep testing it like this.”

Knot wasn’t present for all those two days. In his free time, he chatted with Line and helped around the shop. Help meant handling the confectionary items which was the only thing that he had no interest in eating. It was also the only thing that customers came to buy.

Once the two days were over and they finalized the amount of food he needed, Line walked over to him.

“Let’s do some combat training.”