Well, at least I did say all that… but I actually have no idea if it'll go that way. Around 10 minutes passed, in which both of us had managed to thankfully calm down properly, and move on from it, trying to approach the matter with a more lighthearted approach.
I did say that all I have to do is regenerate it, but…
"How does regeneration even work? Is it that different from healing magic?"
We were both sitting on the ground, Next to each other as I asked while looking at my left hand.
"Oh I guess I didn't explain it yet. Sorry, I'll go over it, but before I do, lemme know what you're already aware of when it comes to both of them."
"Hmm"
Even if you ask me that though, in most novels or mangas, healing magic is usually also able to heal lost wounds and stuff so…
"Well, I guess there's the obvious part like how healing magic can heal wounds? Then I assume mana regeneration is pretty self explanatory by its name, but I don't really have any clue how it works. For that matter, shouldn't they be the same?"
"That's about how much the average person knows, yeah. Honestly, you don't really need to know the full technical explanation why they're fundamentally different, but I can tell you if you want."
Of course, I wasn't surprised that she knew, but now and ever since that night, there had been something on my mind. Her obvious increase in strength, knowledge and change in behavior, all of them were extremely noticeable. Obviously, I had thought about it, but I ignored it just for the sake of not troubling myself with things that are technically not even a problem to begin with, but no matter what, I still found myself curious about it, you know? Like, why are you suddenly so strong? When did you learn all that? Since when are you like that? All kinds of questions which I simply ignored. And while I will still keep turning a blind eye to it, I wanted to let it out at least once, hoping that one day I'll have the answers to those questions.
"We're not really in a rush or anything, right? And I don't really think it would hurt for me to know the full story, so yeah I do want you to tell me."
And I'm also just curious about why they're separated to begin with.
But she didn't need to know that, since I wouldn't be able to explain why, without ending up spilling some crazy bomb like "in my previous life which by the way I remember, and I lived in a different world without magic and stuff like that, healing magic and regeneration were usually depicted as the same thing in the books I read!" Or something like that. So for the sake of keeping our mouth shut, I just played it out as "it wouldn't hurt for me to know", which wasn't a lie in the end either way.
"Alright then. It might get a little hard to understand at some points, so let me know if you need me to further explain anything."
"Got it."
With a small pause, thinking about how to start probably with her left index finger on her chin, she began a few moments later.
"There are a few laws of existence in our universe. I won't go over all that since it's besides the point, but there is a specific law which is part of the reason."
A law of the universe, huh. It really is hard to ignore Maia somehow knowing all that suddenly. Even then though, this is still useful information, so I guess I have no reason to be against it.
""it is prohibited to directly manipulate the mana that consists of a living being's body." Well, making it short, while you can affect someone's uhm, mind with, say, illusionary magic, even with flawless control over raw mana, you wouldn't be able to directly manipulate that which consists of their body."
"So the mana that makes our bodies is different from the one that makes anything else? Like the mana in the air for example, and so on."
"It's not necessarily different. It's just prohibited to manipulate, or rather, it's just not possible haha. Which brings us to the main point."
I think I can guess where this is going now.
"The way healing magic essentially works is by supplying some of your own mana to someone else. It enhances their base body regeneration system, and stimulates the stem cells in your body to momentarily unlock your full regenerative potential. It's basically like simply helping someone heal themselves. Healing magic is not only limited by that, but also, it cannot heal illnesses or diseases. There's other kinds of magic like pain relief, stamina regaining and so on and so forth, but again that's besides the point."
What kind of "healing magic" is that??? Why is it just momentarily giving someone salamander-like regenerative capabilities instead of actually being magic?!
"Not to mention, healing magic can also only work depending on the circumstances. It cannot regenerate lost limbs or completely lost organs. But, If say, part of your left lung is missing, strong healing magic could still heal you."
"…so healing "magic" is more like just helping someone regenerate on their own, but cannot be done with fully lost organs or limbs."
"Pretty much. This is where mana regeneration comes in. Keeping it short, it consists of manipulating the mana that makes your own body, since you alone are the only one who should be able to do it. You have to substantiate your body's mana with your own mana from your pool, or at the very least stimulate your body's mana to reshape itself into the lost limb/organ so on and so forth. It's a pretty high level skill, due to the amount of pressure on the line, and effort, concentration and will power that it takes."
And you're teaching it to your 7 year old brother… Well, I can't say I'm ungrateful for it, but still.
"Wait so, what's the actual shortest answer for why healing magic and mana regeneration are different?"
"I guess that making it as short as possible would be something along the lines of: healing magic can only boost someone's own body's regeneration in a circumstantial scenario, and it cannot heal lost limbs and organs because it would be directly modifying the bodies of whoever you're healing. Mana regeneration is the direct alternative though, as it not only can also heal yourself even better than healing magic if you do it right, but it allows you to regenerate anything of your body, or change it however you want since its your own body, and your own mana."
"So it's a this or that scenario even with regeneration, huh? How are they different though? Using your usable mana from manipulating the mana that already makes up your body?"
"The first one is a little easier in theory. Just like how you use your own mana to enhance your body, it kinda works the same way, but it takes a lot of your mana to do honestly. Even if you just condensed the hell out of it like you did yesterday with flying, I'm not sure about the results."
"And what about the other one?"
"It's a little harder, because first of all, manipulating the mana that makes up your body is a harder thing to begin with. Technically speaking, if something goes wrong, you might end up deformed or something like that too. It's a more mentally draining method. You kinda just have to imagine taking your body's mana, and stretching it into the shape it used to be? Something like that would probably make it easier to visualize. You could also add a little of your own mana, but I don't think it's necessary. Not sure though."
"Huh? How's that supposed to work? If you just stretch the mana that makes up your body, wouldn't you end up with some spots that are thinner or something?"
"Haha, that's what I meant by you could end up deformed. Our body's mana per say, is kinda infinite? At the very least, it's constantly circulating and regenerating. Regeneration through the second method is kinda just reshaping the path for the mana to circulate back into, and then it should do its own thing."
"Is it even an instant thing? When you did it, it seemed fairly instantaneous to me, but I'm assuming that's just because you're Maia, no?"
"Hmm, it's subjective. As I said, it's pretty mentally draining. I think that generally speaking, by default it should be an instant process. But depending on your state of mind, your concentration and on and so forth, it could take a lot longer."
"So even if I do manage to get it started even in say, a minute or so, I still am not guaranteed to have my thumb back any time soon, huh?"
"Pretty much."
That's not too bad I guess. At the very least, if done right it should be instant.
Once again though, the fact that she knew so much information was obviously weird. I wasn't going to ask about it, and I won't do it any time soon either. I'm probably just gonna wait for her to tell me herself, or wait until I eventually forget about it I guess.
"Guess I'll give it a try."
She nodded while I closed my eyes. For starters, I honestly have no idea where to even begin now that I think about it. I don't even think I've ever felt my own body's mana separate from my own usable mana. And for that matter, I never even thought of them as necessarily different to begin with, but clearly that wasn't the best thing, huh.
Actually, now that I think about it, I forgot to ask.
"Before I do it though, I have a question."
"Hm?"
"When did you even cut off my thumb? I didn't see you do it, and the blood kinda just appeared on it…"
"Oh that? I cut it off as soon as it was unsheathed."
"Huh? I didn't see or feel it though?"
"I cut it during the timeframe of a blink of yours, then just got back to my spot. For that matter, my knife already had the blood on it as soon as I started walking towards you, and you just didn't realize you had been cut, so it didn't fall right away. I didn't want to make the cut itself painful after all."
"Uh huh… I see…"
What kind of overpowered character even are you?? I knew you were strong, but you're also that fast?!
"I-I'm gonna try now for real…"
"Alrighty, let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks…"
Alright, I guess uhm, yeah that. I didn't see anything. I didn't just hear something ridiculous either. I just had to focus on my task now, and simply, uhm what did I need to do again? Hmm oh, right. My finger. Yeah, I need to focus on that.
Let's just pretend we never heard that.
I closed my eyes once again, and this time actually began focusing. I took a deep breath, exhaling through my mouth, and began. First things first, as usual, not only could I feel my own usable mana, but also I could now specifically feel the mana in the air. In all honesty, it was a little hard to distinguish the 2 at first, but I could definitely feel the difference between them. Using the mana in the air itself isn't something she taught me, but it seems like I could also actually do it to some extent? That was besides the point though. That being said, we did have a major problem.
…I can't feel any difference.
Like, actually nothing. The more I tried to "feel the mana that makes up my body", the more I ended up just feeling my own usable mana, or the mana surrounding me at all times, aka the one in the air. Now then, what do I do… I was starting to get pretty anxious now, but at the same time, only a few minutes had passed at most since I started, so calling quits now might've been a little too early.
Maybe if I try to like, uhm think outside the box or something?! Seriously, my finger is on the line here, so I really want to get this over with…
Even then though, the more I tried, the less effective it was, and the more depressed and anxious I got. Am I going to be stuck without a thumb forever? Is my left thumb which I never particularly cared about before in my life but I do now, gonna be gone forever? Is this really how it's going to end?! No! I don't want to believe it! I refuse to-
"…Maybe not having a thumb isn't that bad after all, you know?"
"You're giving up already?!"
I opened my eyes, looking at my dear sister who was actually shocked about my quickness in realignment, but like.
"I've been trying to do this for a while now, and I can't even feel the difference. It's just a thumb in the end, who cares if I miss one? That's why we have 2, no? Ones a spare."
"No,no,no. No matter how you put it, that's not the case…"
"Awh come on, what else am I even supposed to do then? I actually have no idea how to even begin. The mana that makes up my body is either invisible, or absolutely undetectable, because all I feel is the one in the air and my own."
"Well… there isn't actually much that I can help you with here…"
She hesitantly admitted, which was my sign to take initiative.
"Look, Maia. You don't need to feel bad about it, you know? To begin with, this is clearly my fault for not being capable enough."
"That's not-"
"Let me finish first, you damn depressed gorilla."
"…"
"I'm Not saying I'll give up on my thumb as a whole. I'd also rather not be left without it for the rest of my life, you know? But I have a proposal for you."
"…What is it?
"If I don't make it by the end of the day… starting tomorrow, let's just move on. I'll keep trying to do it either way, but if we focus too much on this, we'd just be wasting time."
Her eyes widened slightly at my idea, and as she pondered on it for a few moments with a troubled expression, I really hoped she'd just accept it and get it over with. For starters, I obviously had no intention of keeping her worried or guilty about it, but at the same time, there's no point in wasting time over it if I can't even do the first step. We only have a few months before her birthday and when she'll go on her way.
I doubt she has a ton of things to teach me left at this point honestly. Or at the very least, I think that if I manage to get whatever else she has planned done in like a week or less, the rest of the time could hopefully be spent honing those skills. So if I have to "postpone" or I guess demote my thumb regeneration in priority, then so be it. I'll make sure to manage before she leaves at the very least, but until then, I don't think regeneration is a priority.
"Are you sure about it?"
"Yep. For that matter, how many things do you even have planned to teach me still?"
"Uhm, not really many. They're all connected at the end of the day."
"Thought so haha. So basically, I can prioritize learning those, and practicing until your birthday, no? It would be a waste of time to postpone all of it just for a finger, which I have no current guarantee of managing to get back anyway."
"Even then…"
"As I said, I'm not giving up on it. Even now, I am still trying to figure out the difference between the two. I promise to get it done before your birthday, but there's just no point in wasting time over it now."
"…Alright then. We'll go with that."
We both cracked a smile, as I kept trying until it was time for lunch. Of course, no results came out of it, but I wasn't all that worried anymore. Before going into the city, she had actually given me a prosthetic thumb, which was both creepily accurate in size, and creepily realistic, but hey, who am I to complain? At the very least I had a coverup for it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Maia's Pov)
I honestly can't even describe how relieved I am. The fact that for starters, Cael didn't become afraid of me permanently because of it, and the fact that he decided to move on from it, but not give up. For starters, this was technically going against our failure "plan", but I had already decided to try and convince Mio at all costs to not go with it at this point. I'd genuinely rather never have to cut him like that so merciless ever again. I wanted to throw up from disgust at myself when I wiped his blood off my knife. I hated every single second of it. There was simply no way I'd agree to ever do this again even if we did go with our original plan.
After getting to Layra's restaurant, as usual, Cael received another humongous portion of food, which Layra brought with her seemingly oblivious smile on her face. And by the way, she IS totally aware of how unreasonably sized they are, but for some reason she enjoys watching Cael munch on them, so she kinda just acts like that on purpose. If you asked me, personally I'd agree that it's definitely cute and so would Mio without a doubt, so we never really had a problem with it.
"Maia, I need you to come quickly."
I had already finished eating my food when she contacted me via Mana communication, so I didn't really have a problem with it. However, the timing was a little weird, so I was definitely curious about it. Not to mention, this was my chance to convince her.
"I'm going to the bathroom, just stay there and rest until I'm back."
"…got it."
He had also barely just finished his, and as usual needed his half an hour of rest because of how bloated he was, which gave me the perfect chance. After getting to the bathroom, a portal appeared next to me, and I didn't waste any time, going in right away. Stepping on hardened air on the other side, I quickly passed through completely, walking towards her who was standing there waiting for me, and actually looking pretty rushed.
"Did something happen? Why did you suddenly call me here?"
"Hm, I wouldn't say anything happened, but there is something I wanted to discuss quickly before I go."
"Hm? You're not staying the whole day?"
"Not today, no. I have to go do something real quick."
"And what's that?"
I crossed my arms as I waited curiously for her reply, which took a few seconds to get. I guess she was thinking about how to word it?
"Going to, uhm. Catch a lizard I guess?"
"Huh? Catching a lizard, what are you-… wait, you're going to kill Vorathar, right now?!"
"Not that lizard. The junior one. Also, I intentionally said catch instead of hunt. Don't assume I'm going on a spontaneous killing spree."
As a joke I then let out a sigh of relief, since obviously, my over exaggerated reaction was on purpose, then quickly composed myself as I had no intention of letting this change go to waste.
"By the way, I also had something I wanted to talk about-"
She then extended her arm in front of my face, stopping me from continuing.
"You can stop there. That's obviously what I wanted to talk about as well, so let's not waste too much time, alright? I'd rather get my work over with quickly, so I can be back to watching him train tomorrow."
"Right…"
"Our little "plan" from last night turned out to be nothing but paranoia at the end of the day. "Let's make him forget that painful memory!" So on so forth, but clearly it won't be needed. Our priority is to respect his wishes, no? If he wants to just move on, then I have no reason to be against it."
"So that means?"
"Yeah, by this point, it's pretty obvious that he won't make it today. Just go home after eating dinner, and try to not have your parents notice his missing finger. Unless you want the scolding of your life at least. Either way, I'm gonna go now. See ya."
Before I could even greet her back though, she had already disappeared from sight. She must've really been in a rush, huh? I was a little curious about why she needed Alduin this bad, but I guess I'd find out tomorrow at the latest either way so there was no point in fussing over it.
"Guess it's time for me to go back to Cael."
Though now I needed an excuse for why I'd be coming back from the front door instead of the bathroom.