Chapter 39
Luna was lying under a tree, watching Alex, who was wearing a plain white shirt that hugged his upper body along with black pants.
In front of him stood Kevin, wearing the same attire, as they stared at each other.
Alex then said, "I'm going to explain this, but I think you already know."
Taking a deep breath, he continued, "As you know, everyone is born with a mana core. This mana core grows by absorbing the mana in the atmosphere and storing it.
The higher the rank of your mana core, the easier it is for you to reach that rank in power.
However, it's not common to see a person with a D-rank mana core having F-rank strength.
The reason for this is that to store more mana, you need the physical capacity to handle it.
You can be a B-rank mage but still not match B-rank warriors in terms of raw power.
But anyone below B-rank would be a walk in the park for us in terms of raw power.
For B-rank warriors, they can't match B-rank mages in mana control or the ability to command the elements around us.
This means that mages excel in mana control, elemental manipulation, long-range attacks, and area-of-effect attacks.
Even when it comes to their mana cores, you could be at the same rank, yet they will still have more mana than you.
Some mages even possess more mana than those in ranks above their own.
Even so, we are all limited by the fact that we need stronger bodies to store more mana."
Kevin nodded as Alex continued, "Now that's off the table, let's move on to what you're good at: the warrior type."
"We primarily use our elements to enhance our bodies and weapons.
That's why we're going to start with mana control, which you seem to be horrible at based on what I saw during that battle," Alex remarked.
"Yeah, I know," Kevin said, stretching his back.
Alex then asked, "So, can you tell me the first stage of mana control?"
Kevin thought for a moment as he recalled the books Alex had made him read before the training.
"The first stage of mana control is to stop the leaking of mana out of my body and let it flow fully through my meridians."
"That's correct. I don't really have a way to show you, but I think you can figure it out,"
Alex replied as he raised his hand.
"What I'm going to do is simple because this is really up to how you sense and control your mana. There's not much I can help you with beyond this."
At that moment, the space distorted about 100 meters away from Kevin, preventing him from moving.
"What the heck?" Kevin exclaimed, shocked.
[90,000 Arcane mana consumed.]
"This will last for 6 hours. During that time, the only way you can move out of that space is by stopping the leaking of your mana," Alex explained before turning around.
"Wait, Alex!" Kevin shouted, adding, "I can't survive 6 hours without eating."
Alex sat under the tree, stroking Luna's fur as a mirror-like device appeared in his hand.
Soon, an image of Stella appeared.
"How are you, dear?"
"Did you already miss me after just a few hours?" Stella teased.
"How can I not?" Alex said, chuckling. "So, how are you?"
"I know you're worried about me, but we're fine," Stella reassured him.
Alex chuckled. "Stella, I can destroy mountains like it's nothing. I'm like a walking bomb. I could destroy a Tier 3 Kingdom on my own. With this world having even more dangerous monsters like me, there's no reason for me not to worry."
Stella smiled and said, "Then you should have taken me with you."
"It's better you don't follow me yet, at least not until you're at B or A rank," Alex replied.
"What about Lisa? You seem to enjoy having her around, even though she's a C rank," Stella said jealously.
"She told you, huh?" Alex questioned with a smile.
"Yeah, about 30 minutes ago. She said she slept in your room," Stella added.
Chuckling, Alex said, "Your date is going to be much grander, my dear."
"It should be," Stella said.
Alex then corrected her, "Anyway, Lisa isn't a C rank anymore. She just reached B rank yesterday."
"Wow, Orbs really are a blessing to anyone who absorbs them," Stella remarked. "If only someone didn't disallow me from training."
"It's just because you train too much, and your training mostly involves fighting and really intense physical exertion," Alex sighed. "Okay, you can do what you want, but on one condition."
Stella smiled. "What is it?"
"Don't go sparring with Ava or fighting someone who may or may not have evil intentions, just for a short time until the baby is born," Alex said.
"Okay, you know I won't let any harm come to our little guy," Stella promised. Then she asked, "What if you're there watching? Is that okay?"
"Yeah," Alex agreed.
"Then you'd better come here soon, okay?" Stella said.
"Yes, Mam. I'll be as quick as possible," Alex replied.
"Good boy. Now, I have a very important question for you," Stella said.
"What is it?" Alex asked.
"Why didn't you sleep with Lisa?" Stella questioned.
"What do you mean? I did sleep with her," Alex replied.
"I mean sex, Alex," Stella clarified.
Alex chuckled and answered, "Well, it's all about how much I value her and how much I value myself."
"What do you mean?" Stella asked.
"Well, I never sleep with someone unless I'm married to them first," Alex explained.
"Then just use the marriage soul contract you have with me," Stella suggested.
"I could've just done that and been done with it, but I also need her parents' permission. Marriage is the joining of two families becoming one, and if I truly love her, then I need to go through those steps before even touching her," Alex said.
"What about me?" Stella questioned.
Alex smiled lovingly and replied, "It's because you didn't have anyone. The only thing I needed for you was your permission to become mine, and you said…"
"Yes," Stella said, "and let's not forget you were the one who killed my father."
"Well, if I had known things would end up here, then I wouldn't have done it," Alex admitted.
"Not really, because if you hadn't done it, we wouldn't have been together at all. I can't even imagine how that would be.
If you hadn't freed me from my father's dark side, I would have ended up dying somewhere alone, with no one.
So thank you," Stella said, as she thought,
'Maybe it's a little sad he isn't here, but I will never trade this happiness I have for revenge that would bring nothing in the end.'
'But if he were here, could he have been happy knowing that I'm happy?' she wondered.
'What about you, Mom?'