The inside of kenaz was nothing like Ken had imagined. The streets were paved with the same strange stone as the walls, with ribbons of blue light pulsing through them like veins. People bustled about wearing everything from simple cloth garments to elaborate robes similar to Senna's, many decorated with glowing symbols.
"Your eyes keep drawing to the mana lines," Senna observed as she led him through the streets. "They channel raw mana from the city's core to power our barriers and enchantments. Though I suspect you've already witnessed the more... volatile nature of mana in the forest."
"Mana?" He asked, the term somehow familiar yet foreign. "You mean like magic?"
Her lips curved in amusement. "A simplified term, but yes. Mana is the essence of this world, the energy that flows through everything. Some can naturally manipulate it, others learn through study, and a rare few..." her golden eyes flickered to his chest where the slime resided, "find unique ways to connect with it."
They came to a big building with a glass-like dome on top. "This is where the Translator's Guild works," She explained. "We do more than help people understand each other. We study the Gates between worlds, help people who come through them, and keep track of what we learn."
Inside, people in robes worked at floating screens covered in strange writing. Ken noticed they all wore badges or rings with different colored stones.
"The stones show how strong they are," she said when she saw him looking. "In our world, power is split into tiers. Most people are Tier 1 or 2, just strong enough to use basic mana. The strongest ever was a Tier 30, but that was hundreds of years ago." She touched her badge with its purple stone. "I'm Tier 5."
"What about me?" He asked, feeling the warmth under his skin.
"That's what we need to find out." She led him to a room with a round platform in the middle. "The Gate you came through left a mark on you. Mix that with your power and your new friend, and you're pretty special."
'she is so strange but whatever.' He stepped onto the platform. Lines of light swirled around him, and something inside him responded. The slime moved, and his skin started to glow with blue-tinted heat.
"That's interesting," Senna said, watching some screens pop up. "Your power is getting stronger because of the slime. It can absorb mana naturally. Having a mana being join with someone from another world... that's new."
"The slime is a mana being?"
"We call them Mana Sprites - they're made of pure mana that became alive. They usually stay away from people, but this one..." She smiled. "It must have seen something special in you. When it joined with you, it gave you a way to use mana. You're not just making heat anymore, you're using pure power."
He made a small flame in his hand, watching blue energy mix with it. "That's why the fire felt different when I fought the centipede."
"Right. But you'll need to learn to control it. Raw mana can be dangerous—" She stopped, frowning at one of her screens that had turned red. "That's odd."
"What's wrong?"
"Your power level keeps jumping between Tier 1 and 3, but there's something else... The Gate's mark on you is still active. It should have faded by now, but yours..."
A loud boom shook the building. Senna looked up, worried. "Looks like we're not the only ones who felt you arrive. The Gate Hunters are here."
"Gate Hunters?"
"They think all Gates between worlds should be closed forever - and anyone who comes through them." She waved the screens away. "We need to go. Before they—"
The door flew open. A man in black armor stood there, a red stone glowing on his chest. More armored people filed in behind him.
"Give us the Gate Walker," the man said through his helmet. "The Seal ordered it."
Senna stepped in front of Ken. "You don't have power here, Hunter Vale. The Guild doesn't answer to the Seal."
"Rules changed this morning. Gates are our business now." He raised his hand, red energy crackling around it. "Don't make this hard."
Ken felt heat rising inside him, stronger than ever. The slime spread through him, and he felt new power flowing through his body, ready to be used.
"Sorry," he said, stepping up next to Senna as blue-tinged flames covered his arms, "but I don't do things the easy way."
He launched a blast of blue-tinged fire at them, feeling confident with his new power. Hunter Vale didn't even move. He just raised his hand, and the fire splashed against an invisible wall.
"That all?" Vale asked, sounding bored. "Crude. Uncontrolled. Typical Gate Walker."
Before Ken could react, Vale made a quick gesture. The air suddenly felt heavy, and he slammed into the ground so hard it knocked the wind out of him.
"Stop!" Senna shouted, purple energy gathering around her hands. But two Hunters were already on her, forcing her to defend herself instead of helping Ken.
Ken tried to get up, but the pressure kept him down. It felt like gravity had turned up to a hundred. He managed to turn his head enough to see Vale walking toward him, red energy swirling around his armor.
"Look at you," Vale said. "So much raw power, and no idea how to use it. You're dangerous. A bomb waiting to go off."
Ken forced more heat out, trying to create a fire barrier like he had with the centipede. The flames came, bigger than ever, but they were wild, uncontrolled. One burst hit a nearby desk, setting it on fire.
"My point exactly." Vale clenched his fist, and the pressure doubled. Ken felt his ribs creaking. The slime inside him moved frantically, trying to help, but it didn't know what to do either.
He screamed in frustration and released everything he had. Fire exploded outward in all directions, mixed with pure mana that he couldn't control. The blast shattered windows and scorched walls, but the Hunters simply raised their barriers, unbothered.
"Pathetic," Vale said. "All that power, just making a mess." He reached down and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up. "Time to go back where you came from."
Ken tried to hit him with another fire blast, point-blank this time. Vale caught his wrist with his free hand and squeezed. Ken felt bones crack.
"Oh look, it knows one trick," Vale mocked. His red stone glowed brighter, and pain shot through Ken's body. It felt like his blood was on fire. The slime writhed inside him, sharing his pain.
Through blurry vision, he saw Senna still fighting the other Hunters. She moved like water, each gesture precise and controlled. Her purple energy formed exact shapes - shields, spears, binding circles. Everything she did had purpose. Not like his wild flailing.
"You see the difference?" Vale asked, following his gaze. "Years of training versus raw power. This is why Gate Walkers are dangerous. You have no control, no understanding. You just break things."
He slammed Ken into a wall. More bones cracked. He tried to fight back, but nothing worked. His fire couldn't get through Vale's barrier, and he didn't know how to use mana any other way.
"The sad thing is," Vale continued, "you probably think you're special. Found a Mana Sprite, got some power, thought you were strong?" He laughed coldly. "You're not even worth keeping alive for study."
Red energy started crawling over Ken's skin like burning spiders. The slime tried to fight it off, but it was like throwing water on a forest fire.
'Dammit, I knew I should have turned back.'
Then everything went black.
---
He woke up in a small, dark room. His whole body hurt, but he could feel the slime slowly healing him. Someone had stripped him of his burnt clothes and put him in a simple grey outfit.
"Finally awake?" Senna's voice. She sat in a corner, looking tired but unharmed. "Good. We have a lot of work to do."
"Where...?"
"Safe room, deep under the Guild. The Hunters can't reach us here." She stood up. "That was quite a lesson you got."
He tried to sit up, winced. "You mean getting my ass kicked?"
"No. Learning that power means nothing without control."
He rubbed his head, trying to piece together what happened. "Wait... how did we even get away? Last thing I remember, Vale was about to kill me."
She pulled up a chair and sat down. "You have your little friend to thank for that. When you passed out, it... well, it did something interesting."
"The slime?"
"Right before Vale could finish you off, it came out of your body. All of it. Like a wave." She gestured with her hands. "It grew to about three times its normal size and just... absorbed the mana Vale was using to attack you. Caught everyone off guard, even me."
He felt the slime move inside him, almost like it was embarrassed by the praise.
"Vale's attack backfired when the sprite absorbed his mana. Created a pretty big blast. Knocked most of the Hunters down, shattered Vale's barrier." She smiled. "That gave me the opening I needed. I grabbed you, used a transportation scroll, and here we are."
"Transportation scroll?"
"One-time use item. Very expensive, very rare. Guild keeps a few for emergencies." She frowned. "Though I didn't expect to use one this soon. Vale's going to be pissed about that little trick. His pride's probably hurt worse than his body."
He shifted, wincing at his still-healing injuries. "So the slime saved us? But... why couldn't it do that when I was fighting?"
"Because you were trying to use it wrong." She leaned forward. "You were just throwing power around, hoping it would work. The sprite acted on instinct when you were in real danger. But if you both learn to work together properly..." She left the sentence hanging.
"We could actually stand a chance next time?"
"Maybe. If you're willing to put in the work." She stood up. "But first, you need to understand what you're really dealing with. I am sure sprite didn't just randomly choose you. So, do you want to be my student?"
"No thanks."