Yman was having a hard time falling asleep. He was too excited because of his level up.
Until...
Bzzzzzt!
His MTMD on top of the table danced when it suddenly vibrated. He was currently laying on the sofa beside the table.
He lifted his left hand and reached on it. A mini holographic screen appeared after tapping it.
An email?| Yman had doubts when he noticed an email icon blinking repeatedly.
Around this time of night, he was least expecting to receive a mail. And who might it be? Regardless, he needed to open it. He was also curious about the mail. And he was not using his System Deity. So he was safe from hacking. Even if it was a hacker, they could only hack his back-up account and not his System Deity account.
Tap!
Anonymous:
[(Shy emoji) Hi, Good evening, please come to the auditorium tomorrow. Don't be late! Goodnight! Uhm... uhm... (heart emoji)(blush emoji) Sleep well]
What?.....Anonymous again. So it's just a prank, huh. *Sigh!* Why do even these guys keep doing it? Even though it was only a prank, it is not good to prank my petty heart. I may not be so handsome, but even I was wishing for a girlfriend. This prank is just too heartless for me.| Yman was whining in his mind.
He immediately closed the device and returned it back on the table, before he exhaled in defeat and forced a dry chuckle for himself.
He thought that, if not because of the emojis, that message looks so legit. He might think of it that someone just forgot to add their name. But with those emojis of heart and blushes, no matter how he looked at it, it was literally a prank. He was not degrading himself. It just.....he knows his boundary.
And besides, he was too inconsistent. His feelings and emotions kept on changing. He knew that his mindset was not normal. Sometimes he was impulsive. And sometimes timid, and sometimes just normal, then next time different again. These were his biggest shortcomings.
So. Probably. It was unthinkable that someone showed interest in him.
Yman was peeking at the window when suddenly Almina's figure appeared in his mind. She really was too beautiful, he thought. Then he shook his head to get rid of it immediately. It's fine to fantasize but not too much.
Noticing that he could still not fall asleep, Yman stood up and took Sistela who was sleeping beside his Sister. The deity was not really sleeping like a human, they were just going into a sleeping mode.
"I-I needed to train my mana control. Well, you help me?" He said and asked.
The two of them went to the rooftop. He must practice his mana control until he is tired. Actually, hiding the brilliance of mana within his body could also help him to do some sneak attack. It was because of the brilliance that he was so attractive in the dark and could not hide properly.
They immediately used resonance and Yman's body was envelopes by a colorless or white brilliance. Without wasting time, He began his mana control training.
The next morning, as usual, he woke up early and went to the academy for physical training.
Last night he fell asleep very late. Yet, he is still able to wake up early. His body knows when to wake up like it was in auto function mode. Well, it must be out of habit.
Everything seems normal like the usual day. But perhaps, today was different for Yman.
He felt so light. Like he was oozing with vigor. Even his eyesight seemed so clear. His hearing, senses, and even his stamina. Maybe this morning training he would succeed in not fainting.
Yman smiled. This was a different feeling. The same feeling when he first levels up. But right now he felt more alive. Stronger, faster, and his mind was clearer.
He also noticed that his skin was more glossy unlike his unhealthy-looking skin from yesterday. However, all of this was still far if compared to the other trainees. He was not bothered by it though. What was important for him was to keep going and improve himself bit by bit.
After changing into a training outfit, he directly went to the training grounds.
Many trainees already on the field, he also saw Bob in his usual activity, punching the training dummy together with his deity.
Yman went to the shooting area. Where he finds Chloe firing at the bullseye on the wooden cardboard, using her favorite magic-based pistol.
He noticed her body was glowing, this must be how she trained herself. It was effective to practice her marksmanship if she was in resonance because she could fire her pistol as long as she wanted. And maybe she wanted to practice her mana control at the same time.
Yman chose not to bother her and went to choose a weapon to practice his shooting skill too. He went to one of the shooting platforms.
The weapon he chose this time was a magic-based pistol for training.
After adjusting the wooden cardboard at the distance of 10 meters away, he aimed the pistol then pulled the trigger.
Bang, bang, bang!
Out of 3 successive shots, 2 hits the bullseye. He smiled at the results. His dexterity had finally improved. But It still wasn't enough, however, this result could only bear a smile on his face; therefore, he continued firing the pistol.
He took another weapon after he was done with the pistol, then continued firing. He also adjusted the distance farther and farther.
A girl was standing beside him with a puzzled look. But Yman seemed not to notice until the arrow on the quiver was emptied.
"Oh, hey?" Yman called out when he finally noticed someone at his side.
"Ahaha. Yman, I thought you are leaning on swordsmanship. Have you perhaps changed your profession?" Chloe asked in wonder.
"Hm, not in particular. Apparently, there are no weapons that I am proficient in, to begin with."
"Eh, what do you mean by that? I-I thought your teacher taught you swordsmanship. Since that day when you fought with the golems, you have been using wooden swords. And I don't think it was bad. Although you only use some basic slashing."
"Oh, that? No, it wasn't like that. It just..." Yman scratched his face shyly, "...it just, I don't have enough money to buy a decent weapon. And my master only taught me basic techniques in the sword. That's probably why you only saw me using basic strikes."
"I-Is that so." Chloe felt bad for asking.
"Mhm. Regardless, your marksmanship has improved quite a lot. Congrats Chloe."
Honestly, Chloe's dexterity must be improving a lot. This is what Yman believes after seeing her performance while in a practice.
Out of 10 shots, 6-7 was on the spot at a distance of 25 meters.
Such results could only be considered as excellent.
"Y-You watch me practicing?" She asked in surprise.
"Ah, sorry, should I not?" He immediately said he's sorry when he thought that Chloe might not like it when someone was stalking her while in training.
"No, no, it wasn't like that. It was fine, you know." Actually, she felt embarrassed to be stared at while practicing her shooting. She was the type to lose her focus if stared at.
"Ah, okay, then."
"Anyway..." suddenly Chloe noticed something different on Yman.
"By the way, Yman, are you in resonance with Sistela?"
Right now, Yman is not glowing. He looks normal. Like he was not in resonance with his deity.
"D-Did you perhaps.....already master the mana control?"
"P-perhaps. Regardless, I don't even have mana, to begin with." He said while showing can't be helped gestures and emotion.
Chloe felt sorry for Yman. It was already known to everyone about him having no mana. It must be also the reason why he was the target of mockery.
Somehow, she admired his dedication. Even though he had no mana and was only clinging on his unsure talent, he kept bringing-up himself moving ahead disregarding the taunts and contempt he received from the others. Although he was the weakest in this academy in terms of strength and magic, for Chloe, Yman had the bravest heart.
"R-Right. T-Then. Is that because of your Channeling talent?"
"Hmm... you could say that."
Actually, when Yman was practicing with Sistela last night, Sistela noticed that — what Yman was channeling was not his stamina. It was her own mana!
After equipping the head of the Nixie series. She was capable now of inspecting the Mana usage and statistics. This must also be the reason why the Nixie series was more expensive and had better appraisal value. Since it was modeled from a water spirit, it was only natural that it was capable of high mana control and excellent appraisal ability plus low battery consumption.
Yman and Sistela learned that. Yman's body was like a bulb, and his Channeling ability the wire. While Sistela is the battery. Yet, his Channeling ability was a bad wire. Instead of being a wire, Channeling was more like a parasitic wire. It must be clearer to say that he was leeching on Sistela's mana alone.
Not only did Yman not contribute with his mana, since he had none in the first place, but he also took a share from Sistela's mana.
In order to control the use of mana. Yman was the bulb and his Channeling must be the switch only, while Sistela becomes the battery with a lever. As a lever, the mana control must come from her.
Therefore, what Yman needed to do was only to activate his channeling talent, and as a lever, Sistela controls the mana usage.
In this regard, they finally succeeded in controlling the mana. But Yman was puzzled with one thing.
The resonance should be composed of positive mana from Gram metal and Negative mana from Hollow cell. So how come even without using negative mana the resonance is still activated.
His doubt toward channeling talent increases. He believed that channeling wasn't a simple talent.
Although many magicians said that it was a trash and weak talent like a fire in the dying candle. And that it wasn't useful in a fight.
However, it was also the most mysterious talent that a person could have. It is even capable of activating a one-sided resonance.
This must be also the reason why the brilliance envelopes him when in resonance with Sistela was colorless or pure white. Since it was the mana color from Gram metal.
"G-Good for you. I never thought that the first one who succeeded in controlling the mana would be you!" Chloe said in bewilderment. She really finds him interesting. Even from the start. She had this vibes about him, that Yman seemed to be different from the others.
There's an aura around him that Chloe could not express.
"Thanks. Chloe." Yman smiled as he thought that Chloe had become more open every time they conversed. Which, a good development for her seemingly shy personality.
"Yman, bro! What you said yesterday?!" Suddenly Bob shouted when he noticed him.
He was walking towards them together with Mac.