Roar....roar...sputter! Suddenly, the flames died out. The fire withered out, sputtering to a stop as the last sparks disappeared. "Short. You maintained the mana for too little time." Huff...huff...huff. Ethan's breathing returned to normal as the mage type mana inside him disappeared completely.
Calling on that mage type mana was tough. Simply drawing out his flames once had drained him completely, leaving him winded. Huff...huff...huff. He glanced at his hand. Just a moment ago, he'd seen orange flames dancing along his fingers. But now, there was no trace of them left. Even the wild, free feeling of mana that he'd felt inside him had completely disappeared.
Sensei frowned at him disapprovingly. "We will start again after two minutes." He closed his eyes, shutting out all distractions as his hard face stared ahead emptily. Maybe he didn't feel like talking right now.
Ethan stared at his empty palms. An augmented type awakener. That's what he was. Just like the protagonist, Noah. He was a rare, one-of-a-kind person who'd never appeared in the past 200 years. At B rank, you were desired. At A rank, you were envied. At S rank you were feared. And at SS rank, you were despised.
Ethan, who had the capability to become stronger than any SS rank gatekeeper in history, simply by virtue of being an augmented awakener, was a potential threat to the five families. Whether it was somebody who directly hurt him, like the Stella family, or one of the milder families like the Gibson or Black family, Ethan was already their enemy.
Squawk! Suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew past, making Ethan shiver. It was that damned bird. He glared at the blue creature perched on Sensei's shoulder. What was its problem? It was trying to mess with him ever since he'd come here. He'd never seen it before, yet it was acting as if he was its enemy ever since it saw him.
"There, there, Angel." Sensei lifted an arm, stroking the bird's back lightly. He didn't open his eyes. Ethan frowned. Angel? More like Devil. That bird was like some kind of an 'ice queen'- cold, regal, haughty, and annoying as fuck. Like 'tsundere' without the 'dere'
Snap! Suddenly, Sensei's eyes shot open. "Let us continue." His cold eyes glinted slightly. Ethan gulped nervously. Maybe Sensei had read his thoughts or something? The way he was frowning at him, you'd think that he'd heard Ethan. But, then again, Sensei was always frowning. His expression didn't necessarily mean anything.
"Place your hands on you thighs," he commanded. "Close your eyes. Draw your mage type mana once again." Huuuff....huuuff....huuuff. Ethan slowed down his breathing, concentrating on his body as he tried to recall the feeling once again. "In....out....in....out. Synchronise your breathing with the flow of the mana in your body."
It wasn't working. For some reason, Ethan couldn't recreate the same steps he'd just performed. Huuff...huuuff...huuuff. "Move your mage type mana throughout your body." His breathing quickened slightly. He'd already fallen behind Sensei's instructions. Huuuff.....huuuff.....huuuff.
"Gather your mana in your palm." This damned mana! Why wasn't it responding to him? Huuff....huuuff....huuuff. He clenched his fist tightly. "Concentrate your mana behind your skin...." Huuuff...huuuff...huuuff. "...and release it."
Nothing happened. Ethan clenched his entire body tightly, trying to force the mage type mana to form. But nothing happened. "I said, release." He could imagine Sensei's stern gaze on him. He was trying. He was trying so hard. But it wasn't working.
"Release!" Ethan opened his eyes, locking them into Sensei's ice blue irises. His entire body quivered slightly, shaking from the tension he was applying as he desperately tried to force out the mana.
"Stop!" Sensei's cold, hard voice pierced through his body. "We will start again after two minutes." He closed his eyes. Sensei didn't give any reaction. He simply continued, as if Ethan's performance had not affected him any way. But that's what made it so frustrating. There was no anger. No disappointment. Only plain, simple, ignorance.
"Let us continue."
"Stop!"
"We will start again after two minutes"
.
.
"Let us continue"
"Stop!"
"We will start again after two minutes"
.
.
"Let us continue"
"Stop!"
"We will start again after two minutes"
.
.
The seconds ticked by as Ethan failed again and again. Each time, he'd try harder and harder. He'd concentrate even more fiercely. He'd circulate his physical type mana even more quickly. And he'd try to recreate the mage type mana as hard as he could. Yet, nothing happened. It seemed like his one success at the beginning was drowned by the countless failures he was experiencing.
"Stop!" Sensei's cold, hard voice echoed through his ears. He had failed again. He stared down in embarrassment and frustration. Ethan could remember the first time he'd used physical type mana. Most people could use their mana as soon as the became an awakener- the moment they became G-1 rank. So could he.
But for some reason, his mage type mana- something that he could use as an augmented awakener- was still unusable to him. It was frustrating. Something that others at his level would be able to use easily was tough for him.
Freeze! Suddenly, a cold gust of wind blew across the room, freezing the floor in front of Sensei. "Sensei?" Ethan looked up in confusion. This didn't seem like one of Angel's tantrums. "Close your eyes. Channel your mana through your body." "Sensei? What do you..." "Do it! Now!" Ethan closed his eyes as he started to move his physical type mana throughout his body.
Whirrr! Ethan's entire body felt energised as every single part was connected by the circulation of mana. Freeze...crack. Bzzzzt! Suddenly, the sound of mage type mana moving pierced through the air. Crack....crack. No. It wasn't Ethan's mana. Sensei was moving his mage type mana.
Bzzzzt! Crack! Ethan's entire body shivered as Sensei's Mana Sense started to invade his body. Bam! The mana swept past his defenses, climbing up his arms as it headed upwards. Whirrr! Ethan pushed his physical type mana towards the invading force, trying to drive it away.
"Control your mana! Call on your mage type mana to defend you. That physical type mana's not going to help you in any way." Bzzzzt! "Urgh!" A sharp bolt of pain shot out from Ethan's chest as Sensei's mana Sense made its way towards his heart.
"Fight!" Ba-dump. "Fight!" Ba-dump. "Fight!" Ba-dump. "FIGHT!" Bzzzzzzt! A wave of mage type mana exploded in Ethan's body. "Aaaaargh!" He screamed in pain as his heart started beating faster and faster. Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump.
Whooosh! Sparks shout out from Ethan's body, jumping out of his keikogi as they fell on the padded floor. "Aaaaaargh!" Ba-dump....ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump. Whoosh! Suddenly, the invasive mana retracted from Ethan's body. Bzzzzzzt! Ethan's rampant mage typ mana descended downwards, wrecking his entire body as it moved towards the easiest outlet- his palms.
Ba-dump...ba-dump...ba-dump....Roaaaaar! Orange flames shot out of his fingers, heating the air in front of his face as they rushed towards the ceiling. Roaaaar! The flames were incredibly fierce. Much more fierce than the flames he'd spewed in his first attempt today. Yet, the cost to bring them out was too much.
Huff...huff...huff. Ethan collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily as the pain receded from his body. "Sensei....what are you...huff" He looked up with a dazed expression. Sensei's cold, hard eyes met his face. "Why did you..." Cough...cough...splatter. Suddenly, Sensei spat out blood. Ethan's eyes widened.
Spitting out blood was dangerous. It was a sign that your internal organs were injured- something that rarely happened to awakeners. Cough....cough. He picked up a napkin, wiping the floor in front of his as his expression stayed the same.
Toss! The bloodied napkin landed in a dustbin, right above another red coloured tissue. "You may leave." Whoosh! The door slid open, revealing the empty passageway. Ethan slowly got up to his feet. Sensei had coughed blood after using Mana Sense on him. And he'd done the exact same thing yesterday. There were as many napkins as the number of times he'd sent his Mana Sense into Ethan's heart.
An opportunity. That's what Sensei had called this. He'd first assumed that this was an opportunity to do something nefarious. To threaten him. To get something out of him. But was it, really? Right now, Sensei had gone through incredible pain, almost risking his life just to help Ethan bring out his mana. Was that how blackmailers reacted.
Suddenly, Ethan turned around. He placed his heels together, pointing his feet out slightly. His arms hung tightly along his side, perfectly along his body as his palms faced inwards. "Thank you, Sensei." He bowed.
A moment passed. Then two. "It's 'Arigato Gozaimasu'. Not 'Thank you, Sensei'." Ethan glanced upwards. Sensei's frown eased up slightly. "You may leave." Creak....creak...creak. Ethan walked along the passageway, heading towards the exit.
The first day at the Combat Club. It was interesting, to say the least. He'd learnt a lot about himself. His control over mage type had increased a little in these two hours. But he wouldn't stop here. He'd practice by himself until he grew better. Stronger. More skilled. And, most important of all. He wouldn't disappoint Sensei.