"So let me get the facts right - this is the first day I leave Sebastian to train with you. Elias beats him to exhaustion, and then you let his mana overrun. *sigh* What was the reason for this again? At this rate, we are sure to kill him before he even wields his own mana." Leo spoke with a calm and flat tone, but his furrowed eyebrows and his crossed arms showed the anger within.
"This was supposed to be part of the assessment. Elias wanted to measure his physical abilities. Sebastian was very promising even without proper training that Elias forgot to hold back. In my assessment, I did not know that he would discharge all his mana at once. I merely asked him to sense his mana within. By the time I got to him, he was already burnt out." Rivie spoke with a concerned tone as she sipped the herbal tea. They were inside the room again while Sebastian was resting on a bed. He had bandages on his extremeties and torso which was slathered in a healing salve.
"It's a miracle then that he didn't spontaneously combust in front of you. I'm just wondering if this is a good idea. I know that we are in a rush for him to learn about our world and mana, but we are clearly overwhelming him with this method."
"This is what makes the assessment part very important. We can learn from this and fine tune our methods of training for him. Few can boast about having a customised training regimen at this day and age."
"That is all well and good, but if he dies during the process? Should we just chalk it up as a failure and that we will learn for the next one? Might I remind you that he might be the last Forgotten One we will have in a long while, maybe even centuries. The information he holds is valuable. Whether he chooses to be an adventurer or a nobleman, we will need his information at some point." Leo let out a long sigh as he sipped on his herbal tea. He simply stared at Sebastian resting, and quickly used an observation spell to ensure he was still breathing.
"Something bothered me though while he was discharging his mana - his eyes changed to the color of gold." Rivie was seriously staring into Leo's eyes. She knew the weight of her words and she waited for his response before reacting.
"That is certainly interesting. His eyes changed to the color of mana just before he burnt out? Hmm. It may have something to do with the job he had in his previous world. If I recall, he mentioned something about quickly checking people who were potentially injured. He may have an aptitude for using mana to affect his own body and other people. You should look into training him in that aspect."
When Sebastian opened his eyes, he saw the roof of the small room he had lunch with Elias and Rivie earlier. The last thing he remembered was trying to sense the mana within him before feeling it run out of control. He tried to sit up, but he couldn't feel his arms and legs. Fearing the worst, he tried to move his fingers and toes first as he quickly performed a physical assessment on himself.
Seeing Sebastian fidget in bed, Rivie and Leo both stood and slowly walked to his bedside.
"I see that you are awake now. Fear not, your body is still intact albeit bruised and burned. With Rivie's healing magic and the herbal salve applied, you'll be back to normal just before dinner." Leo sounded as cold as ever, but his tone showed his concern.
"I'm sorry that it went out of hand, but you suffered what we call a mana burn out. You were able to sense your mana, but you also discharged everything at once. I should have known that you are still unable to control it." Rivie bowed her head as she spoke dejectedly.
"As long as there are no debilitating effects, then I should be alright. My arms and legs still feel numb and I can't move them. Is that normal in this situation?"
"Yes, I didn't heal you fully so your sensation isn't back to normal yet. We were concerned that you would feel the pain then and it might have driven you mad." Rivie was still looking down to the floor as she was talking to Sebastian. She couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes knowing that he almost died due to her lesson.
"Thank you for thinking about that. I think not being able to move in this situation is making me panic a little bit. Can you please restore it for me?"
"I understand, I'll continue with the healing spell. It's been a few hours since then so the pain would have considerably decreased. Please wait." Rivie slowly sat down beside Sebastian as she placed her hand on him. She silently chanted before saying "[Heal]" out loud. He could feel the warmth again from Rivie's palm permeating through his body all the way to his spine. He was slowly able to feel his sensation return from the inside growing out. He was finally able to feel his arms and legs - they stung a bit but the salve applied had a cooling effect. He thought it might have been to treat the burns and also provide a mild anaesthetic effect.
"Is your sensation back?" This time Leo sounded a bit impatient as he asked for Sebastian's status.
"I think so. I can feel my extremities now. Did my own mana burn me?" Sebastian was still moving his fingers and toes about as he asked the elf and the half-elf.
"Yes. In a sense, you discharged all your mana at once causing a large fluctuation in energy. Which reminds me, what was the last thing you saw before you blacked out? How did everything look to you then?" Leo sounded as calculating as ever. Sebastian could sense that he was trying to lead the conversation into a specific topic, but he couldn't guess what it was at this point.
"I just remember trying to talk to Rivie but my words were stifled. When I opened my eyes, I saw that everything was so bright, I could only see Rivie's silhouette. My eyes felt like they were burning at that point." Sebastian was now pressing onto his bandages to check whether the pain was still there, but surprisingly they were gone. While they were talking, the stinging pain had slowly dissipated. Both Rivie and Leo looked at each other before Leo pressed on.
"What you might have seen at that time was the world of mana. It was bright because you saw mana in the air, the ground, and even Rivie's own mana." Leo calmly answered and looked at Sebastian, waiting for his reaction again.
"So I saw the world of mana? I remember you said that mana exists in everything and everyone. So that was the brilliance that I saw and which blinded me?" Sebastian closed his eyes as he kept trying to remember what he saw before he blacked out.
"Yes, you were able to see mana in it's raw form. At the same time your mana was being discharged at a rapid pace, hence the burns and the collapse." Leo was making sure that Sebastian was still listening to him even with his eyes closed before he continued. "I think it may have something to do with your previous job. This nurse specialist job as you described it dealt heavily with rapidly assessing people for any potential injuries so your eyes and quick thinking may have been developed before you even came here."
"With your understanding of your own body and your aptitude to mana, we may have to rethink about your role in a party. Previously I said that you will do well in a supporting role, but you may actually have the potential to deal substantial damage. You'll literally be in the frontlines when your party faces off with monsters soon." Rivie interjected this time, as she tried to reassure him regarding his role. She remembered that Sebastian looked a bit upset when she told him he will be better off in a supporter's role.
When Leo nodded as if to agree with her, Rivie continued to reassure Sebastian. "I will have a talk with Elias regarding this so we can factor this into your training regimen. We will make changes to it starting tomorrow. Please look forward to it. We won't go overboard this time, I can promise you that."
Sebastian quietly sat up on the bed. He couldn't feel anything off for now - except the fact that the healing salve was slippery and felt gross. More importantly, his mind wandered to somewhere else - 'I'm in charge of dealing damage and killing in the party?!'