CH15: Breakthrough
***
Leo regained consciousness a few hours later, but he was pulled into his Mindspace by the Arcane Sanctuary's messages.
[Note: Reward for surviving Fated Misfortune has been given.]
[Note: All interferences during the Fated Misfortune event have been removed.]
[Note: Primal Flame was subdued during the Fated Misfortune event and bound to User's Soul. User is advised to check at his leisure.]
[Note: User's body and mind have been rebuilt during the Fated Misfortune event to better suit Physical and Mental Energy training. User is advised to check at his leisure.]
[Note: A mutation has occurred in the User's body due to the exponential rise in affinity for Physical and Mental Energy. User is advised to check at his leisure.]
[Note: Secondary Template from the Grand Space Pirate King's Imprint has been loaded. A mutation has occurred in the User's eyes awakening Ocular powers that will serve as a platform for exhibiting Mental Energy Techniques. User is advised to check at his leisure.]
[Note: The User has earned the acknowledgement of his World. You have been bestowed with a Fated Fortune event that will randomly appear in the User's life. User is advised to make the most of the event when it happens.]
[Note: As a result of earning the World Challenger title, the User has received an extra reward that will be linked to the Fated Fortune event. The specific reward will be determined by the aftermath of the Fated Fortune event.]
-
Leo's Consciousness returned to his body after reading through the messages
He noticed the difference in his body almost immediately.
The bottleneck he had felt due to the restrictions of the World was gone.
The feeling of wanting to rise in state had been sated. His body was no longer an ordinary human body. It was now one that could continuously rise in state to become Superhuman, Legendary or even Mythical!
What's more, he had developed conscious control over his Physical Energy (life force).
Although it wasn't much, he could move it at will to do whatever he wanted in his body, and not just to heal or refine his body.
Then again, there wasn't anything much else he could do with it at the moment except that.
The situation in his mind was even more straightforward.
His Mental Energy cloud had increased by at least 50%, and the blue colouration of the cloud had become prominent, indicating a strong improvement in state.
After realising the obvious changes to his body, Leo began looking for the not-so-obvious changes.
The first thing he noticed was the ordered flow of the energies in his body.
His Mental Energy gathered in a region that was physically anchored in his brain. Meanwhile, the excess Physical Energy in his body gathered around his nether region, between his navel and his third limb.
Leo decided to call these the Upper and Lower Cores for obvious reasons.
These cores weren't physical organs, but rather a force area where his Energies gathered hence they were not physically identifiable to anyone but him.
Just as he figured this out, he noticed an energy pathway he wasn't familiar with.
When he followed it, he discovered that the pathway led from both his energy core into a new core he wasn't familiar with, located by the Solar plexus.
For some reason, he intuitively knew what this new core was for.
Leo simultaneously channelled both his Physical and Mental Energies into this new core.
Both energies inexplicably combined to form a new form of energy that Leo wasn't familiar with.
However, he intuitively knew two things about this new energy.
This combined energy could supercharge whatever energy-demanding ability he used -something he lacked at the moment. The other was that the energy was noticeable, to the extent that it could even be mistaken for Mana.
For a moment there, Leo was tempted to keep the connection and fake having Mana. However, he decided against doing so in the end.
The most important reason was that it was risky.
There was no guarantee that the energy could replicate Mana techniques. If he announced that he now had Mana, he would be expected to follow conventional Mana methods and techniques. What if it doesn't work, wouldn't he be in a worse situation than he already was in?
Also, it was widely known that he couldn't use Mana. He would attract unnecessary attention if it became known that he could now use 'Mana'.
One more point under this was that even if he could get away with the other two points, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't meet someone who would figure out he wasn't actually using mana but another type of energy.
Whatever way Leo sliced it, it wasn't necessary.
If there's one thing both the Martial Sovereign and the Grand Space Pirate King agreed on, it was that it was best to be low-key while one was weak.
The tallest tree attracts the strongest winds. If the tree is not strong enough, it will be ripped out by the wind.
As such, it was best to remain low-key.
While these sounded like good logical reasons, Leo knew this wasn't the true main reason he was against revealing this new energy.
These were the most important reasons, but it wasn't the main one.
The true reason why Leo was against this was because it was strange.
He was used to being in the background... an ignored character.
Revealing this new energy as Mana would suddenly throw him into the eye of the public.
Intuitively, he felt it wasn't worth it.
Was it fear? Or was it caution? To be honest, Leo did not know.
Perhaps it was a little of both.
Leo wanted to see what he could do with the energy.
He channelled it through his body and he immediately felt his bodily functions improve.
Then he had the idea to channel it to one organ.
Just to be on the safe side, he first channelled it to his nose.
Almost immediately, his sense of smell increased significantly.
Unfortunately, this wasn't as good as it sounded. For not all the scents in the surrounding area were pleasant.
The stench of the palace guardsmen and DoomMane Guild members training nearby as well as the stink from the stables... all of it came crashing onto the poor boy's olfactory nerves.
He quickly shut off the energy supply and his sense of smell returned to normal.
It wasn't a good experience but it didn't deter the boy. If anything, he was like a child who just found a new toy. All he could think about was playing with it.
He decided to be a little bolder. This time, he channelled the combined energy to his ears.
Instantly, his earring improved significantly.
But Leo had already learnt his lesson. He finely controlled the amount of combined energy he sent to his ears, thus limiting the rate of improvement.
At first, his hearing was limited to his bedroom.
In this state, he could finely hear everything in his room. He even felt like with a little practice, he might be able to tell where everything in his room was, just be his sense of hearing.
Then, the teenager increased the energy input. His hearing increased beyond his room in all directions.
It took a while but he was finally able to control the direction but mentally choosing what to focus on.
He ignored the early morning training of the guards outside in the training area and instead focused on the corridor.
He just happened to pick up a conversation between Rowland and another person as they were walking towards his room.
-
"How is he?" Rowland asked.
"He is fine. In fact, there is nothing wrong with him. I would say he is in the best shape I have seen for his age." The other person replied.
They were likely female judging by their voice.
"Then why do I sense a 'but' coming, Navia?"
"I don't know how to tell you this but the boy... there is no way he will be able to use Mana."
"We have already established that."
"No, not like this. Previously he only lacked a Mana core, which was why he wasn't able to absorb and store Mana. There was nowhere to do so. In theory, if he developed a Mana core or a substitute, he would be able to use Mana, which was why I said if he awakened a strong enough Gift, he may induce the formation of a Core since Gifts reside in a core, and it is well documented that strong Gifts alter their host core. You and I know this better than anyone, Uncle Rowland."
"It is different now?"
"Remarkably different. His body seems to have adapted to its Coreless state. The previously present underdeveloped Mana pathways have all been expunged. For what? I do not know. If I had to guess, his body is probably better adapted for raw physical power."
"Is it... is it possible that the physical training he underwent is responsible for this?"
(To be continued...)
AUTHOR'S NOTES
UMBTM Level 1 complete:
(1) Exponentially increases Stamina
(2) Ability to consciously manipulate Physical Energy
(3) Physical Parameters increased to 3x normal human level.
EMC Level 1 Complete
(1) Expansion of mind beyond normal human limits, allowing for conscious control of Mental Energy
(2) Sharper, faster and more resilient mental faculties (continuous increase with deeper mental tempering)
(3) High resistance to illusions and influences.