A man laughed staring at the number on a pale black watch.
Acer saw the whole situation as dire when meanwhile, his counterpart made a humor out of it.
"Isn't that impossible?"
Acer had already witnessed things that contradicted everything he'd ever been taught. And now, he didn't have the guts to utter any affirmative words.
"If you're mana disabled…you shouldn't – should you be able…"
"Calm down kid!" The man nudged Acer on his shoulder, a smile still spread on his cheeks.
Acer however, wouldn't take it, "Magic… is only possible when you can control mana… right?"
The man bellowed backward, stripping the watch from his palms, "Boy, is mana the only power source you're aware of?"
Swiftly, he threw the watch somewhere into the darkness, "There's Soul Energy, Qi, Pure Mana… even the Tech-bot in your school uses fuel!"
Acer's brow creased, "I thought Tech-bot was only a term used in the academy… it hasn't been made official yet. So how do you know about it?"
"Oh shut up kid!" The man remained playful, brimming with a smile that widened with every passing second.
"Lemme' show you something."
He opened his palms in front of Acer and suddenly a ball of wildfire erupted from them, hovering with a profuse energy that leaked from it.
Even from the distance, Acer felt the dangerous heat torture his skin pores.
The flame was a gradient of green and orange, denting a hue of bright light in the surroundings.
"Is this the flame as you know it?"
Ashley in his class was well known for her fire magic, but her common ball of fury, although composed of distorting heat could not be compared to what hovered before him.
Hers was red, and this was green… and orange. Something about the man's flame kept imbuing an aura of distortion… a deviation from natural magic.
Acer snapped from his daze, irked by another question that sparked in his head, "You're using an equipped item… right?"
The man's head tilted sideways as his ball of fury faded into nothingness.
"I mean… I saw you use two different types of ability – and the fire skill just now."
"Nah! I ain't."
"A lot of things are unreal about your… ability, sir!",
Acer rubbed at his temples. The whole thing was giving him a headache… but also a lot of intrigue,
"You're Mana disabled. That's first! And atop that, you're using multiple abilities like you're a skill book – and the magic isn't even natural."
"Boy! I don't use Mana 'cause I'm mana disabled… so you can't expect my abilities to work like other mages,"
"and about my multiple skills… it's complicated…"
"How are you even able to use an ability at all? Please teach me."
The man's brow shot to the sky, stunned by the latter's request.
He was a bit pushed back, gazing at the boy with emotionless eyes, "What's your name?"
"A-Acer… Acer Pierce."
"Hum! Acer, when I received this ability I wasn't mana disabled… so you can say the ability did that."
"Ehn!"
Acer's thought was thrown into a roller-coaster.
What did the man mean by 'receiving', and making him 'mana-disabled'?
Did he just leave a hint of the skill being transferable?
The man continued, "And since you're mana disabled! I don't think you can be any way have the ability… Mana surgery is an option though,"
"You can transfer the ability?"
"Bro! You're obviously too young… and weak for something like it. I bet you, I want to lift this thing off my shoulders – but you just wouldn't last."
"Won't last?"
The man was dazed at Acer's defined figure, thoroughly stained with dry bloodied guts.
"I could scare the hell outta' you right now,"
"I'm currently on a task – for the Luxols."
After hearing such words from the man, Acer moved back, blanching in awe.
"Now hand me my bottle…"
"You're working for the Luxols? Or you're a Luxols… but Luxols don't look like you."
A silence steered in the forest as the man got lost in Acer's perilous gaze.
"Isn't that supposed to scare you away? Any human who works for the Luxols is a traitor to humanity… ain't I right?"
Acer remained silent, eyes locked with the man.
"What about that redhead? Is he a Luxol?"
"I'm human kid… I'm only doing some work for the Luxols - Surviving isn't easy, alright?"
Acer would have laid an attack on the man if he wasn't disabled, irrespective of how useless it could be.
Even now, he wanted to punch the man in the face – at least, as a way of dispersing the frustration that blew in his chest.
"Have you ever killed a human?.. For them," He asked.
Meanwhile, the man was beginning to get sick of the conversation, his once playful expression sour.
Acer who'd noticed this at once tried to ease the tension between the both of them. After all, he was the vulnerable one here and needed help.
"They gave you the ability…"
"No!" Throaty and affirm, the words blew out of the man's lips, evenly paired with a deadly frown, "It's just a good way to survive… and get protection!"
"Now! My bottle."
The man had made it clear he was no longer in a bright mood, exuding a lush of blood-curdling energy even though they weren't aimed at Acer.
"Mister-"
"Logan!"
"Sir Logan!" Acer stared deep into the eyes of the man, his expression easily forming a reminiscent of the aura before him,
"Would I please be your loyal companion? Joining you in your perilous missions…"
"And then inheriting my ability?" Logan laughed, although still laced up in a fierce aura,
"I'm not very interested in this – and as I said before, you won't last."
He gazed at Acer's posture, a wide smile forming on his face, "But it's a deal."
'Just like that!'
Acer's heart almost exploded.
Though he was away from school, he had just taken a huge step towards his goal… and it was only a matter of time before he would reach it.
"Thank you!" With a wide smile, he handed the bottle to Logan, his heart sealed from the affairs of the academy.