"So, how did the awakening go?"
Sitting down for dinner were Claire, my mother, my father, and me. Mother shot Father a quick glare, followed by his embarrassed head-scratch, while Claire's look of intrigue indicated Father's reluctance to inform anyone else.
Why is he so childish…
Sigh…
"Five hours and twenty-three minutes."
The lack of explanation left puzzled expressions on Mother and Claire's faces. Being more experienced than Claire, Mother quickly formed an idea of what happened, confirmed by a glance at my sheepishly smiling Father.
Although the truth was absurd, she couldn't have looked prouder and happier. With a beaming smile and rushed voice, she exclaimed, "You... You shattered your grandfather's record... Right?"
At her words, Father's smile deepened, and Claire's usually stoic façade crumbled like a sandcastle in the wind.
Seeing her composure break is always hilarious.
"Obviously. What else could I have meant?"
Hearing my teasing remark, Mother smiled with a twitching eye. Father couldn't help but laugh, earning a punch to the gut from her.
Claire sat there frozen. The shock of my unexpected awakening results was too much to bear.
'Ahhh, I'm glad I told her.'
While it was amusing seeing her reaction, telling her just this would be idiotic. Becoming closer to Claire would help isolate Emily, forcing her and her goons to act foolishly.
"Huh? How? You had talent as an awakener as well? Then why didn't you…"
Claire was able to restart her brain, but that didn't alleviate the confusion. While Mother and Father had seen the original Michael's brief practice attempts in the past, Claire had not.
As a result, they were just shocked and not utterly perplexed by the outcome. Claire didn't believe her brother, who refused to do anything related to training, would have such an outstanding result. Even in the original timeline, she was confused. Not as much as now…but she still didn't think I had the talent to be an awakener.
"Claire, I hadn't awakened in the past because I found it bothersome, not due to a lack of talent."
"…Is that really it?"
Seeing as Claire was still trying to process everything, we three sat there in silence, waiting for her.
After 30 seconds, she brightly smiled and said, "It's a shame you started a bit late, but I'm glad you changed your mind."
"I need to make sure you catch up on lost time."
Claire might have accepted the results, but she was quite pissed at us for leaving her out of the loop. Despite the apparent attempt to look menacing, the 14-year-old girl ended up just looking adorable.
Heheehee... pft…
"Sigh… I told Father this earlier, but I only plan on telling Rose and our grandparents for now."
The heavier tone squashed the previous lively atmosphere, and Claire and Mother both looked confused and concerned.
"Just wait a few months, and you will understand why. A bunch of clowns will show up on my birthday."
…
Starting the morning after was my training with Rose and Claire.
"Both of you have practiced the basics before. Try sparring with each other using wooden swords."
I calmly pulled a wooden longsword from my newly acquired Spatial Bracelet. Claire took a wooden greatsword from her, her eyes oozing with chilly confidence. Who would expect to lose to someone who hadn't even been awakened for a full day yet?
Standing 5 meters apart, both of us took a stance. Claire's forward nature and her weapon revealed her aggressive style. I held my sword high and pointed straight toward her.
"Start!"
With that sudden signal, we both charged at each other. Despite the bulkier weapon, the gap in our rank allowed her a speed advantage as well.
In a fraction of a second, she was in front of me. Her raised greatsword diagonally cut through the air; she likely planned to disarm me immediately.
Unlike her expectation, I stepped into her attack and parried it to the ground. Sadly, the residual vibrations that traveled into my hands slowed my response.
In the slight gap, she was able to recover her stance and hurl another slash. Unlike the first strike, parrying it wasn't possible. I managed to move my sword in the way in time, but there wasn't enough time to redirect it.
Right as our swords clashed, I jumped back slightly. This flung me back multiple meters in the air.
Not being surprised at this result, Claire immediately chased me down.
While most of the impact had been dispersed into the air, the sheer force was enough to rattle my bones.
'I could have negated this if I was allowed to use mana…'
This game of cat and mouse continued for another two minutes. While I did grow more accustomed to this body with each clash, allowing for more efficient blocks and parries, the sheer difference in physical abilities made it impossible to continue sparring.
Both Claire and Rose couldn't help but be amazed at my performance. Claire's physical abilities were over an entire major rank ahead of mine, and despite that, there wasn't a single effective blow against me.
On the other hand, I couldn't help but lament about the performance.
'I can't even make use of the openings I see with this body.'
While the unfamiliarity did make everything harder, the specialization of my swordsmanship and lack of mana just confounded my issues.
Even if my swordsmanship was unheard of for someone my age, the lack of memories made recreating Michael's style unbelievably hard.
However, it wasn't a style that seemed to suit me. It was perfect for someone as crazy as Michael, but it felt awkward now.
'I had to improve the swordsmanship either way… maybe I should just use the information as a foundation for something completely new.'
Snapping me out of my thoughts were Claire's rapid questions, "How did you do that? I thought you didn't practice?"
Her expressionless face betrayed the excitement in Claire's voice. The desire to improve her swordsmanship caused her to unconsciously lessen the cold demeanor she usually dons.
Rose, still in her teacher mode, took the initiative to teach Claire. "Michael did nothing fancy; his movements were simply more efficient than yours."
"…Was that all he did?" The lack of an intricate skill involved seemed to shake Claire quite a bit.
"Indeed, the lack of deception and connectivity in your movements were exploited by Michael. Even if you moved faster and hit harder, a well-placed sword could offset most of the impact each time."
With Rose's explanation, Claire couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Even if I was faster, Michael was always in the correct position to defend."
Although Claire's pride in her own skill initially blinded her to the truth, she was unable to deny a reality shoved in front of her face. The ability to readily accept her faults and determine herself to improve them truly suited the Raven family's heir.
"Michael, as the fight went on, there were a few opportunities you ignored. Why?"
Having expected this to not escape her experienced eyes, my response was already ready. "During the awakening, I felt a new path. The Sword Art I previously practiced was too aggressive for it."
Realizing the implications behind my words, Rose smiled gently. Considering the skill I had shown, she could not disregard the possibility of me creating a unique Sword Art.
"Is that so? For now, you two should continue sparring. Explain what went wrong each time; if you miss something, I will let you know."
"Claire, you should aim to increase your proficiency to intermediate. Michael… If you get stuck, I will try to help."
…
A month quickly went by. Stimulated by my skill in the sword, Claire set aside everything that wasn't training. I was the same. For both of us, each day consisted of eating, sleeping, and training.
In the past, Claire spent a decent part of her day training. The rest of her time was spent shadowing Mother and Father at work. While Mother and Father were surprised by the change, it was only natural. Being one of the most talented people in her generation, there wasn't anyone who truly motivated her.
That changed after sparring with me. Seeing a person two years younger and having just awakened only lost due to a lack of stamina shocked her to the core. Being truly motivated to improve for the first time in a while, her Sword Art proficiency quickly increased to the intermediate level. This would put her ahead of her peers when she enters the academy in a few months.
Although she would have practiced harder in the academy due to having more free time, the sheer intensity and vigor with which she practiced would never have been met. Her improvement would help quell that bastard faction at the World Academy.
Naturally, the only benefit I received in the past month wasn't only this. The first week, I became mostly acclimated to this body. The second and third weeks were dull. Although I managed to solidify the basics missing from Michael's memories, no hints toward a new Sword style showed themselves to me.
This changed in the fourth week. Not being able to see the path by purely practicing swordsmanship, I experimented with my new bloodline ability. Considering the ability is a passive type, I figured the effects would be an increase in affinity and resistance to mana. While technically true, such an explanation doesn't do the ability justice.
Normally, a person controls mana. They force it to follow set paths in their mana pathways or the circuitry inside of a magic spell. With enough talent and practice, it's possible to control mana to impossible levels.
But for those of the Raven family, this reality isn't completely true. A bloodline ability involved with mana control decreases mana's resistance to being controlled. Although simple, the Raven family's bloodline abilities give the users an absolute advantage when compared to others in mana control.
Nothing flashy comes of mana listening better. Spells are cast faster and with higher potency. A warrior can amplify their body more than others due to a faster mana circulation. Naturally, every ability was different and had different focuses. Each one can affect mana in amazing ways, granting varying degrees of affinity to mana on the user.
Regardless of the awakener's rank, this type of bloodline ability always proved to be useful. Most of the Raven family possess S or A rank bloodline abilities. The few having an SS rank ability were guaranteed to be a powerful figure even amongst the SSS Class awakeners.
Knowing this, I expected my SSS rank bloodline ability to provide unrivaled benefits. And I was undoubtedly right. Loved by Mana was purely an affinity type. Not vast increases in purity, density, or amount of mana. I did not gain the abilities of an augmenter either.
Instead, Mana does what I desire it to. There is no resistance whatsoever whenever I control it. Naturally, this grants a heightened effect to everything done with Mana. Unlocking everything related to this will take years. Thankfully, I could make use of that ability right away.
I could flow mana into my brain, eyes, ears, and nose without ill effects. My brain, ears, and nose were simply strengthened by doing so. I could think faster, hear better, and smell more. Being an organism that heavily relied on sight, my eyes went under a vast change when infused with mana.
I could see the nodes present on all things, living or non-living.