"There is a thin line between sanity and insanity, you are the one who decides which way to go."
It was early morning, a cloudy day, the sun was almost fully hidden behind the clouds as scattered sunlight hit the training grounds.
The smell of fresh dew wafted in the air. The ground was slightly muddy due to recent rains, making squishy sounds when one stepped on it.
Around 40 people were training here, their motivation coming from the attack on their academies.
The realization that they were actually weak showed them the reality, the reality which they wanted to change.
Among these people was a ginger-haired child, who was running laps around the ground.
Her clothes stuck to her body due to the insane amount she was sweating, which emphasized her features.
Even though she was built like a child, her bust size was above average, which would, normally, attract some stares.
But, right now, nobody was looking at her, not even a little glance, the reason being her mana pressure.
Her insane amount of mana naturally repulsed people, and she could not even control the mana she emits due to her lack of training.
Sukuna had realized this, and was training her to the limit.
Sitting on a bench near the grounds, he had just finished his workout and was resting, reading something on his phone.
He occasionally glanced at Nect, making sure she was still going.
Sadly for Nect, her body was unlike others, and Sukuna took full advantage of that.
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(POV: Ryomen Sukuna)
Eva's ability is not that difficult to understand.
She has almost never used ice attacks on large-scale, disguising her ability as slashing attacks, keeping it as a hidden card.
Since I use slashing attacks myself, I just gave her a few tips that could make it easier for her, such as the orientation of the slices.
I told her to practice creating the ice she uses to slice, as its shape was still imperfect.
I left the physical training for later, as she was currently recovering.
I will test some of her abilities later to find out more variations for them, but I believe that I would only have to give hints and pointers, she will take care of the rest.
Right now, I'm sitting on a bench, reading a novel on my phone.
In this world, technology has advanced faster, due to the existence of mana.
The best improvement has to be the machine translators.
In my world, reading a Chinese MTL novel was like trying to decipher a love letter written by a drunk panda on a sugar high.
But here, the MTL's are much better. They even get the pronouns right every time, doing which is much harder than I originally thought.
I glanced at Nect, she was panting heavily, but wasn't stopping.
This was obviously because I had threatened her that I'd disrupt her internal flow of mana.
This basically meant that she wouldn't die, but would go through excruciating pain.
She wouldn't listen, so I even gave her a demo, I'm such a good person.
Although the demo was only at about 10%, she was lying on the ground for a whole minute after that.
That seemed to have given her enough motivation.
I glanced back to my phone, reading the last line of chapter 228. 'You dare gaze upon Young Master!? Courting death!'
Okay... I'll take a break for now.
Turning off my phone, I turned my head up to the sky, closing my eyes.
Nect's body was much more durable compared to a normal person, both externally and internally.
I'm not sure why, but I can say with almost 100% certainty that this is because of her mana.
Since she was born with so much mana, she should have exploded the moment she popped out, inside the womb, even.
But, her body seemed to have adapted to the high concentration of mana, making itself much more resistant than normal.
Although, I wonder why she wasn't found by any high ranking hunter, or official, and invited to train with the Hunter Association, because that is what they usually do with promising individuals.
I opened my eyes, looking at the field where she was running, her steps getting more clumsy as time went on.
It doesn't matter if she didn't train in the past.
A savage grin spread across my face as I leaned forward, pushing myself up from the bench.
We have some catching up to do.
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(A long while later... Time Skip, I guess)
It has been a month and a half since I started training Eva and Nect.
The Academy changed its rules after the attacks and now, students are free to go outside the Academy. Though, during the working hours, the students are required to be in the Academy.
They also had to live in the rooms provided, and not outside.
Due to these rules, I have been able to take the two to some practice in low ranked dungeons.
Everything is going quite smoothly, it doesn't seem that something big is going to happen again.
"Sukuna"
I heard someone call my name. I was currently in my house, sitting on the sofa, reading a book about the history of the world.
There are only a few people in the house right now.
None of the servants call me directly by my name, so it cannot be any of them.
It can be my mom, but this voice was definitely of a man.
That means that this is...
"Yes, dad?"
I said, turning around to look at him.
He walked at a neither leisurely nor a hurried pace and sat on the sofa directly in front of me.
He looked quite serious, so I put down my book on the table and sat in a straight posture, looking at him, waiting for him to start.
"We just got a message from the Hunter Association..."
He paused for just a moment.
"...our family has been promoted from a Rank 3 to a Rank 2"
My eyes widened, I did not take into consideration this event.
Rank 3 families are some of the highest World Nobles. There are about only 150 families in this rank.
High ranks are gained by getting merit and achievements, or assisting the Hunter Association.
Rank 2 families, however, do not assist the Hunter Association, they serve the Hunter Association.
Even though this fact is not openly discussed, almost everyone knows that this is the truth.
The workings of the people are controlled by the Association indirectly.
I assume that this is done to keep a check on both the investigation going on about the attacks, which my father is a part of, as well as on me.
Coming out alive of a high ranked dungeon, winning the Tournament, these achievements have gotten me a lot of attention, but the fact that I do not have mana must have intrigued the higher-ups so much that they made sure to keep an eye out for me.
"I assume you know what this means," he asked, his voice serious. I nodded my head.
"So you must know that they are probably doing this to keep you in control..."
He said that, pausing before a smile made its way onto his face.
"That is a great accomplishment, you alerted the higher-ups enough that they're scared of you... just like me when I was younger."
He said as he quickly walked out of the room, leaving me sitting there, confused.
This guy likes himself a lot, doesn't he?
Anyhow, this is a good thing for me, as Rank 2's usually have more power and freedom, as well as influence.
Even though it means that you start to serve the Association, people still strive for Ranks 2 and 1 because the benefits are worth it.
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(A day later...)
"Alright, Nect... 10 more laps," I said, my voice indifferent as I stood next to a racing track.
Nect, the biggest mana sink in the world, was running laps around the track, her body completely drenched in sweat.
She was panting really hard. If one looked at her, they would say that she will pass out any moment.
But I knew that she can go for around 12 more laps, so I made her do 10.
"Oh come on!" She screamed weakly, but didn't stop running.
Her physical abilities have been steadily improving, although the growth rate is quite slow.
The problem is mana control and techniques. No matter how much I teach her, she seems to not understand it at all.
I can only describe her as female Luffy.
Because of this, her proficiency in mana has been improving at a snail's pace.
I still haven't found any way for her to figure out mana stuff quickly.
My best bet is emotional trauma and instability.
I have noticed that mana reacts differently when the user feels different emotions, quite a bit like Cursed Energy.
Therefore, if Nect feels extreme emotions, her understanding of mana may rise.
My fists clenched. Nect didn't notice, as she was focused on running the laps.
Looking at her, only one thing came to mind.
I'll break her down, then mold her back up into something stronger.
I'll push her beyond her limits, drag her through her worst fears.
And all that starts with getting closer with her. After all, I wouldn't want a weak sister.
This was for her own good. She needed to be strong, and I would ensure she became so.
My fists clenched harder. Looking at her suffering wasn't pleasant for me at all, but this was necessary.
I saw her fall down, her breath ragged as she gasped for air.
I walked to her, picking her up with both hands. It looked like she wanted to say something, but couldn't.
I smiled warmly, my soft expression hiding my inner thoughts.
I carried her to the bench, laying her down, I used my finger to push away the hair from her face, then sat next to her.
My hand went to her head, slowly rubbing it.
She seemed to get more relaxed, which indicated that she liked that.
"You did well," I said, my voice carried pride as I looked at her.
"Now rest," I said, my hand kept on her forehead. She had already fallen asleep.
I turned my head towards the sky, watching two birds fly over us, their faint chirps reaching my ear.
I have a vague plan of how to awaken Nect, using trauma, I'm just waiting for a good opportunity.
But little did I know... that opportunity would come sooner than expected.
Two days later, an alert was broadcasted on TVs and messages were sent to phones...
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This is an emergency, I repeat, this is an emergency.
All residents of the city are requested to evacuate as fast as possible.
Retreat at least 300 meters away from the ITAAS Academy, following the routes sent to everyone's devices.
Please stay calm and cause no chaos, everyone is trying their best to get the situation under control.
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Please don't mind if the writing is worse, I didn't get time to write this :<
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I thought I could do a chapter a day, but I literally got NO time with the exams.
Normal updates start from Wednesday...probably.
Anyhow, what do you think is Sukuna's plan with Nect?
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gimme POWER STONES :3