"You're doing great, boy. Keep it up! Just a little more!" Inigo mentioned, for the first time since the process began.
As it neared its crescendo, Jash seemed to have lost all sensations, solely focused on the mana flow as instructed.
It eased Inigo's expression; not having to worry about any negative aftereffects, he wiped a drop of cold sweat from his forehead.
Removing his hands from Jash's back, he muttered, "Thank god he got through it, just Sera is crazy enough, let alone Samantha!"
Fortunately, Jash didn't hear this or he would probably want to beat the old man for not caring about him at all!
It was just him worrying over how his wife and daughter would react over anything else, he didn't even seem to care about Cornelius, who was supposedly stronger than him.
"Aren't you going to come out?" Inigo asked seemingly no one in particular as he fixed his red hair akin to cascades of fire.
"..."
"Tsk, tsk, you are always like this."
After getting no response, he grumbled a little, yet his attention remained on Jash's changing form.
His eyes appeared lost as his expression stiffened due to pain, and his skin marred with crimson blood.
"I wonder what surprise he'll have in store this time?" Inigo asked aloud, bemused by the strange phenomenon.
Meanwhile, all Jash felt was the collision of mana inside his body, rupturing his mana veins, healing them and making new connections at the same time.
His sanity was fading with each passing minute as the warning about the possibility of being crippled during the process proved true.
His mind went blank and he couldn't even hear his own screams anymore. But just before he lost consciousness, he felt a soothing sensation.
Jash started to cough blood as his senses returned to him and he sprawled on the cold tiles of the training ground, his breathing ragged.
His mind was numb from what had just happened, unable to make sense of anything for a few seconds as he tried to compose himself.
Before he could regain his bearings completely, however, he heard a strict voice, confusing him.
"Good lad! You actually went and did the most crazy stuff? Who thought you'd break through F-Rank in a single go?"
'Breakthrough? F-Rank? What does grandpa mean?' That was all Jash could think before things clicked. 'F-Rank!? I advanced!!'
Elated at the words of his grandfather, he couldn't help but want to test it and feel his mana core, but he got interrupted.
"Alright, alright, you shouldn't use mana temporarily. Let your agitated body calm down first," advised Inigo, out of concern.
Jash nodded in response and postponed his inspection as he took deep controlled breaths to pace his breathing rhythm.
Only after he was satisfied with his condition did he move, even though he was being observed by Inigo, he didn't pay any mind to his presence.
Moving up and trying to stand, Jash noticed that the wounds around his head and face were healing.
It seemed the pain he endured was well worth it, especially considering his new regeneration rate.
Yet it only raised questions inside his head as the rate of healing felt absurd to him. This type of healing was out of the norm for an F-rank hunter, let alone a newly ascended one.
Despite it being a boon, Jash, who had just recently awakened, was already capable of the same. Of course, it had a cost.
"So tired," blabbered Jash as he felt insanely weak in his muscles and his movements felt wobbly.
"Interesting," mumbled Inigo to himself, a curious glint flashing his eyes as he observed Jash's healing speed.
In this world, hunters were ranked from G to SSS, with Integration-rank as the chasm, their ranking, however, were based on their ability to perform in similar Rank Dungeons and their Mana Core Rank.
After all, one may have a Mana Core of Indigo color(Rank B), but your combat ability and utility were taken into consideration by the Hunters Association when giving the ranks.
Unaware of the complex system and the implication of his absurd healing rate, Jash called out his grandfather after gathering his nerves, "Grandpa? What just–"
"Ignore it. Treat it as a blessing, or a curse if you are already tired," Inigo joked trying to lighten the atmosphere as he interrupted Jash mid-speech.
"Anyway, you seem better now, so why don't you try to channel your mana the way I showed you. Ah, right. Do control your breathing while doing so."
Inigo yawned as he stepped aside, allowing Jash, who had returned to sitting shirtless, focused on channeling his mana from his mana core.
Just one round of circulation made him feel all his previous pain and tiredness leave his body as his depleting stamina replenished rapidly.
In return, it increased his healing speed as the last of his muscle ache or internal injuries healed at an absurd pace.
"How?" He blurted out due to the extreme surprise. 'Just how can a normal mana circulation method achieve this?'
As if reading his thoughts once again, Inigo smirked, "This is no normal circulation technique, brat."
Feeling proud, Inigo puffed out his chest before adding, "This is something only I know in this whole world, and only with my blood can one learn this technique without dying."
"Didn't Mom and Caera achieve this much as well?" Jash questioned, without pause, knowing something was off about this entire charade.
Inigo just smiled in response, though. "Not really. As I said, only I know it. They both did pass it and get most of the benefits out of it, but it's nowhere near enough yours."
"Also, I'd suggest you try to change your entire mana to light-red colored before leaving or even your F-rank mana core would be useless."
Jash nodded seriously and continued to follow the same circulation method of mana.
'I really want to try a proper mana cultivation technique...' lamented Jash inwardly, unable to utilize it in front of Inigo.
It would raise all sorts of unwanted questions he didn't wish to answer for the longest time possible.
Unbeknownst to him, Inigo was concentrating the mana inside the room using the training ground's functions.
If not for the huge amount of ambient mana, Jash might've failed in the last step when his mana core's outer layer shattered before being replaced by a sturdier layer of light-red mana, indicating his advancement.
Even though it was faint and barely noticeable, it was a fairly distinct change in the essence of mana itself and would show its effects in combat training.
In the end, Jash continued the same way for 1 hour straight before giving up as he felt too bored about the whole ordeal.
His mind just shut itself down, refusing to focus any longer. 'Maybe I should have rested after all that pain.'
Rest had already become a luxury with his daily training with Carcel as he would be in pain all the time.
However, he currently felt no pain. He seemed to be in his top condition if not for his deteriorating mental strength.
"I guess that's your limit," Inigo commented with no change in expression and nodded to himself.
Jash just ignored the comment and stared at him, prompting Inigo to ask, "What? What are you looking at, brat?"
"Nothing, nothing." Shaking his head, Jash walked out of the training grounds to take a quick shower, grumbling inwardly. 'He could've at least cleaned me using spells!'