Kanae slapped her hand on her head, when she remembered that she had forgotten to go to the market. The two of them looked at Kanae's actions curiously.
"Something wrong?" Miao asked.
"I forgot to go to the market. I planned to go to the market to check out stuff, but I forgot all about it." Kanae replied.
Zhalia raised an eyebrow and asked Miao why she had been there in the first place. Both of them conversed for a while. A bit later, Kanae interrupted them asking, "Are you going to break my seals today?" to which Zhalia replied with a nod.
Zhalia got up and went to fetch something. When she returned, she held a fat book in her hand. She opened it and studied the neat notes written in it.
"Mmm. This is it." She mumbled and closed the book, handing it over to Miao.
"Brat, this is going to hurt a lot. Are you prepared?" Zhalia asked with concern.
Kanae said with confidence, "More than ever."
"Good." Zhalia smiled on seeing Kanae's resolve.
Her hands glowed slightly as her body's mana collected in her palms. This was an act which Zhalia had never done, but knew she would be successful.
"To remove the seals, there is only one method, and that is to place a stronger seal over it. The stronger seal should be opposite in nature. This means that not only will it cancel the effects of the previous seal, it will also enhance the tensile strength of that part." Zhalia recited, remembering what her Teacher had said.
"You mean by nullifying the seal by adding one with opposite nature but stronger power, you can make my arm's physical strength better?" Kanae asked excitedly.
Zhalia blinked and nodded. She was glad to see that Kanae was more clever than she seemed.
"Ah, Miao, hold her by the shoulders tightly. She shouldn't move because of the pain. Any wrong moves and the result may cause her too much damage." She said sternly.
Miao followed her instructions.
Zhalia's hands were clasped together such that her forefingers touched each other. The action made her hands glow even more brightly. Her fingertips had small magic circle-like patterns. She quickly placed them on Kanae's hands, at her inner wrist.
Kanae almost jolted at the sudden shock of Mana she had received. Her expression remained the same, even though the pain she was undergoing made her want to cut off her hands.
Zhalia was surprised. Even she could feel a slight burning feeling in her palms, so she knew Kanae must be in immense pain. But why was it that she gave no reaction?
A few pain-filled moments later, a magic circle pattern rose up from Kanae's arms, making her sigh in relief.
"What are these circles?" Kanae asked in wonder. She had only seen them in animes before.
"These are seal circles. The more intricate a seal circle's pattern is, the stronger it is." Zhalia informed her. "Ah! That's right. I forgot to explain to you about seals."
Kanae groaned, "There's still something left?!"
"Incomplete knowledge is deadlier than no knowledge." Zhalia preached.
"I think I prefer your drunk version after all." Kanae muttered, tired of hearing so many things.
"I'll pretend you didn't say that. Listen up, you're not a person who specialises in making seals, you're a person who can only make seals with mana. And not just any seal, there are two types. One is an enhancing one and the other is a limiting one."
"Lemme guess. I can increase someone's mana or seal it off. Wow, now I know that guy must have been OP." Kanae said dreamily. She was never against the idea of having too much power.
Zhalia gave a questioning look, but continued. "You must have noticed something different about your palms, right?"
Kanae nodded, gazing at her palm. "I have an exceptional condition called adhermatoglyphia, where I'm born without fingerprints."
She almost screamed out loud. As if the system wasn't annoying enough already.
Zhalia frowned, unfamiliar with the term Kanae had just used.
Kanae quickly covered up her mistake on seeing her expression. "It's a word I made up myself."
Zhalia made an 'oh' shape and then said, "The two people before you who had the cursed body, had the same problem. But in fact, this is common for you all. You see, when you make seals, a pattern appears on your hand. This pattern is different depending on what type of seal you make."
Kanae's eyes grew interested at this piece of news. "Does this have something to do with the fact that the grooves on our fingertips are a mirror of the innate talents that accompany us when we are born?"
Zhalia nodded in surprise. Before, no one had ever known this fact except her. How did Kanae come to know this, if as she had said, she had lost her memories?
"I don't know what pattern it will be, my Teacher hadn't discovered that back then. But there is one thing that he had confirmed- as the complexity of seals increases, they become strangely humane in nature. They begin to develop feelings and can shift." Zhalia bit her lip, aware of the danger Kanae would have to face.
"Shift?" Kanae was pissed. As if the problems she had weren't enough, another one just came waltzing in.
"If you use your mana too much, the seals on your body will take this chance of your exhausted body, and will move to another part of your body. And this part can be anything- your arms, legs and even.... Your heart." Zhalia's face was slightly pale. She had lived enough to see the horrors of the world, but this matter was sensitive for her. Maybe because her Teacher's last wish was for her to guide a person like him and take care of the person.
Kanae let out a sigh as she laid her head on her palm.
"I'll be careful to not overuse it. So tell me, when do I come for training?" She looked at Zhalia.
"Tomorrow morning at 9."
Kanae nodded and got up.
Before she could leave, Zhalia asked her, "I forgot to ask you, are you attending school?"
Kanae stopped for a moment and then turned back. "No idea. I'll let you know by tomorrow."
She walked outwards quickly.
But before closing the door, she mumbled in a soft voice, "Thank you."
The door shut with a slight thud.
Zhalia gave a small smile.