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Chapter 1
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"998, 999, 1000"
Sweating profusely as the merciless sun covered his body, a boy of about 15 with black hair whispered wearily as he did push-ups.
"Phew, that's for today." Jumping up, the boy starts stretching his body as he looks at his small house made of wood. "I guess I'll have to take a bath..."
As he arrived at the door and entered, suddenly a sweet sound came in his ear. "Ron, are you bac- you suck, take a bath right away."
Ron looks towards the source of the voice, and sees a woman who looks about 21 years old with purple eyes. She has a poorly proportioned face, with several pimples and imperfections everywhere. Her long hair looked dirty and shabby, but if anything stood out about her, it was her grey hair, and a necklace around her neck which was covered in dirt.ย
As she was covering her nose with her hand, Ron thought, 'No matter how many times I see her, I can't figure out how a woman can look like this and have such a sweet voice'.ย
Black veins popped out of her head as she emit a dark aura, "Ohh~~my~ cute ~little ~~brother, are you thinking something rude about your big sister?"
The young man smiled stiffly and spoke quickly, "N-no big sis Helen, yo-u are overthinking it. How can I think anything rude about my sweet, beautiful and youthful big sister? Anyway, I am going to the nearby river for a bath!!."
He quickly grabbed his clothes from the closet and ran as fast as he could through the front door to the nearby river, while Helen watched him with an amused smile on her face, then shook her head and headed for the kitchen with a small smile.ย
...
Arriving at the river with sweat pouring down his face, Ron stripped off his clothes and stepped into the water, while inside his mind the usual impatience assailed him. 'I know just one more day... one more day and I will awaken my mana tool. I know this time I can feel it... I know I can handle the mana... I'm just a little slower. '
In this world of mana, where mana is as common as the earth, Ron categorised himself as a rare, if not unique, case.
A young man who can't even feel mana.
But Ron didn't give up, always thinking he couldn't use mana just because his body was weak, so he started doing exercises that normal people can't even think about, like a 100 km run, 1000 push-ups, 1000 crunches, and 1000 squats on a daily basis.ย
That is why his body has a fairly well defined musculature. His body is not bulky or too inflated, but rather the perfect body for an athlete. He had a slim but ripped body, a pronounced 8-pack of abdominals on his stomach, defined pecs, and thick legs with visible power.
With a combination of black hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, he should be considered handsome. His only downside is his height, which is 155.6 CM shorter compared to other children. He also wears long loose t-shirts and pants, which hide his amazing body.
After Ron finishes bathing, he puts on his clean clothes and returns home, only to open the door and see Helen waiting for him with food on the table.
"Eat slowly Ron, food is not going anywhere" Helen said this with a smile. Ron quickly sat on a chair opposite Helen. As soon as he sat, he started devouring food like a hungry beast.
*gulp*
Ron looks at his sister, "I can't help it, food made by you is so delicious."
Helen smiled at him and said, "OK, eat slowly, or you'll choke."
Listening to his sister's caring words, he slows down his pace. Seeing that Ron is listening to her words, she nods looking satisfied and starts eating her own meal.ย
Suddenly, Helen asked, "Ron, tomorrow is your big day, right?" while continuing to eat her food with etiquette.ย
"Yess! " While continuing to eat without any table manner.
she then asked, "Did you remember everything that I have taught you in the past?"
"...." He suddenly stopped eating and started sweating when he heard this question. Helen gave him a hopeless look while rubbing her forehead.ย
"Sigh... Ron, you don't remember anything, do you?" Crossing her arms with an exasperated face, Helen muttered.
Lowering his head in shame, Ron nodded sheepishly, "Big sis, what's the use of learning that sort of thing? I know that tomorrow when I wake up my mana tool, I'll finally be able to use the mana, and as long as I work harder than the others, I'll eventually be the strongest."
Helen gave him a sympathy look and said, "Honestly Ron, I haven't heard any cases of people where people can't even feel mana; but even tomorrow, if you awaken your mana tool, and you don't do anything about it, how will you become the strongest?"
Hearing this, his face turned red with embarrassment, as Helen watched his reaction with an amused smile on her face.ย
"Ron, I'll explain it all over again this time; so please do your best to remember it this time, promise me." Then, Ron gave her a confident smile. "Don't worry, I will definitely listen and not forget this time; I promise."
Helen then closed her eyes and started speaking. "You said the same thing last time also. Anyway, as you know, mana is an energy which dwells in every person from their birth. They can use mana to cast spells which can apply effects like boosting their speed, strengthening their body, increasing attack power, and so on."
"Spells may have different effects on different people, like a spell cast by a person with denser mana will be more effective than a normal person, or a spell cast by a person who has a large amount of mana will last longer than an ordinary person, and the place where mana is stored in the body is called a mana pool." As she opened her eyes, she saw Ron, who should be paying attention to her, was actually continuing to eat while he completely ignored her; black veins popped out of her forehead; she raised her fist.ย
*Bonk*
A bump appeared on Ron's head. He looked at Helen as his eyes became watery and said in a resentful tone, "What was that for?"ย
Helen looks at Ron without any shred of mercy and speaks, "And here I was thinking someone said something about 'I will listen this time' or I am overthinking it."
I w-as lis-tening, I swea-r I was listen-ing; I just couldn't resist the temptation of the food and then that happened." He said in defense.ย
Helen looks at him for 2 minutes and then finally signs, "Fine, you win; let's finish the food, then continue this talk."
ย After lunch, both of them wash the dishes, choosing to continue the lesson in the backyard. Arriving in the backyard, they set down two chairs and sit on them. Relaxing, they hear the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
Their home is situated on a mountain in the outskirts of the Kingdom. It has abundant herbs, woods, and fruits to sell to the nearby towns.
Helen looks at Ron seriously and says, "No excuses will work this time Ron, so listen carefully." Ron nods at her sister as he carefully looks at his sister with his eyes open.ย
"Let's start with a mana tool. As I was telling you earlier, at age 15, every person can awaken their mana tool. A mana tool represents the soul of the person. It can be a wide variety of things, like a sword, ring, shield, bow, axe, and so on. Mana tools are not tools, but partners who grow with us and have their own consciousness."
"When a person awakens their mana tool, they will unlock two things, which are skills and attributes."
"Attributes will apply the effect on spells the person casts. There are four basic attributes-fire, water, earth, and wind; there may be unique attributes which can be unlocked by certain people only, like thunder, ice, light, etc;"
"Skills are the abilities which people unlock with their mana tool. There are two types of skills--passive skills and active skills. Passive skills are abilities which are passive, and active skills are abilities which we can activate at will. However, unlike passive skills, active skills require mana and have a cooldown time."
"Mana tools are ranked by the number of stars on them. The more stars, the more powerful the mana tool is. There are two categories of mana tool; combat and non-combat."
""In the non-combat category, attack power is sacrificed for utility. For example, instead of a damaging attack, it might instead be able to make food that can increase mana regeneration."
"In the combat category, they have attack power, and they are also the most popular category," as she finished speaking, Ron had stars in his eyes. "SO COOL!!" As he gets up, he punches the air, mumbling, "I am sure I'll awaken the most coolest mana tool."
Watching him, Helen saw him doing some 'weird' dance. Seeing this, she gives him a helpless look and sighs, "Be sure to come back before sunset." She turns around to leave.
Ron suddenly thought of something. "Big sis, you should also have your mana tool, right? Can you show it to me? Pretty please?" he says with puppy-dog eyes.
Helen came to a halt when she heard the question and speaks, "Haven't you already seen it?"
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