Rise CHAPTER 10 - Oops?
Added 2023-04-23 20:05:21 +0000 UTC"Stand up and remove your tunic Jiran," Samris commanded. His tone left no room for arguments. Even so, Jiran hesitated, unable to restrain the look of suspicion that crossed his features.
Seeing Jiran pause, and realizing the misunderstanding, Samris quickly raised his hands, waving them frantically.
"I'm just going to track the flow of mana as it passes through your body. Please don't get any strange ideas, boy."
With a sigh of relief, Jiran did as he was told. Samris then handed him a small orange pill.
"Eat this, but do not attempt to control the density as it is released."
"Yes, Lord Feylon." Jiran responded as he retrieved the pill from Samris’s hand.
"While we are in this room, with the wards active, you shall call me Samris. I do expect you to maintain proper decorum at all other times, is that clear?"
"Yes, Samris.'' Jiran stood still as Samris circled behind him and placed a cool palm on his bare back.
Burning with curiosity and unwilling to waste further time, Jiran swallowed the pill.
The density inside the capsule released in a gradual trickle. The small stream of energy was slowly converted to mana before being swept through his body and into his injury where it vanished from his senses.
With a burning desire to understand the strange energy, Jiran lost himself in the feeling of the mana as it moved through his body.
Before his tiering ceremony and the newly acquired memories, Jiran had always felt the mana within him. To his old self, it was as normal as breathing, as typical as the existence of water. Now, he knew that was not the case. Mana was alien, something that did not exist naturally. He was sure of it.
He observed closely as it reached the pin-sized hole at the base of his skull where it seemed to fall into nothingness.
Jiran got the feeling that the mana was not actually going away, but changing somehow. Changing in a way so alien that he couldn't sense it, like a fish not understanding the sky, it was simply beyond his grasp.
He was so absorbed in his meditations that Samris had to ask him three times to attempt to control the mana before it escaped.
Embarrassed, and vividly aware of the man still touching his bare back, Jiran asked for clarification before he did something to further hurt or shame himself.
“How should I do that?”
“Right, of course. You just completed your tiering. Merely think quietly, or say aloud, the name of the skill you wish to use. In this case, Molding.
“Once the skill activates, direct it to concentrate your mana into a ball in your stomach.”
Jiran closed his eyes once more and thought about the skill triggering. He felt a weak force of his will sloppily grab hold of what little mana he had converted, before it was ripped free and absorbed. The entire process felt like riding a bike with six training wheels down a bumpy roller coaster track.
A message flashed across the inside of his closed eyelids.
Molding skill + 1
“Did you get your first skill level? Excellent, please try again. It should become more natural with each use.
Jiran used the skill several more times over the next couple of minutes without any further success.
This is so annoying, it was way easier to claim the density like I did before and control it without this stupid skill.
Becoming frustrated from the continual failures, Jiran allowed a spike of that anger to seep into his chest and latch onto the density flowing toward his neck. He claimed it instantly, converting it into mana that he then guided with those same emotions.
The mana flowed freely, the useless training wheels discarded.
Molding skill + 1
Molding skill + 1
Molding skill + 1
Molding skill + 1
Molding skill + 1
Molding skill …
The skill-up messages trailed down further than he could see. They only stayed in his vision for a moment before moving upward. Long before he got to the end of the list, Samris’s whispering voice jerked him out of his focus on the scrolling text.
“That… is odd. Did you already receive your second skill level? Usually, that takes a few days. Very impressive, Jiran.”
Oh crap, what did I just do?
Samris carried on as if nothing were unusual, prompting Jiran to nearly giggle nervously before he caught himself.
"I want you to move the mana to your feet and then release it." Having never released mana after taking ownership of it, Jiran struggled for a few breaths before getting the hang of the feeling.
As expected, the mana moved aimlessly in his feet for a few seconds before making its way up to his spine. Samris had him repeat the exercise with every part of his body.
By the time the pill stopped releasing its steady flow of density, Jiran was covered in a light sheen of sweat from the mental exertion.
Samris motioned him to re-dress and then scribbled furiously into a notebook at his desk while Jiran watched anxiously.
"Your mana is behaving consistently with a serious injury. However, I could not detect any damage in your neck or head that the mana is attempting to heal. It's as if the mana vanishes upon nearing your skull. Did you receive a blow to the head recently? Or any other injury which you feel may be related?"
Samris continued to write as Jiran reiterated his story about the tiering ceremony and what happened after.
"Do you feel any pain or discomfort from the site of the injury?" Jiran thought hard about his answers, wanting to give enough information to help while not revealing his secrets.
"There isn't any pain, but I do feel like my mana isn't vanishing completely, but changing somehow." Jiran nervously awaited the next question.
If Samris noticed Jiran was holding back, he didn't show any signs of it as he continued making notes.
"That's enough for today, Jiran. It’s clear you have a grievous injury of some kind as the mana in your body is behaving consistently with passive healing.
“Usually, the body stores around fifteen percent of all ingested density for growth toward the next tier.
“However, in the case that a major injury is detected, that passive reinforcement is put on hold and one hundred percent of the ingested density congregates at the site of the injury. This process lasts until the injury is no longer life-threatening."
With a steely gaze that brooked no argument, Samris handed him a folded letter.
"Take this to Sharaal, eat some lunch, then lie down for the rest of the day. Until your injury is no longer a threat to your well-being, do not attempt to control your mana unsupervised by me. Mana knows best what the body needs."
With a nod of dismissal, Samris opened a book and began to read.
"Thank you, Lord Samris," Jiran said with a bow of gratitude.
Finally, some answers! So all I need to do is just keep eating and funneling density into that thief of a hole until whatever it is gets fixed. Hopefully, that will fix my brain damage too.
Things are actually looking up for a change.
Jiran arrived at the kitchen with a smile and handed the letter to Sharaal. Her eyes popped open in disbelief. She then read the letter again, looked up at Jiran with clear confusion on her features, and finally read the letter a third time.
Sharaal let out a sound somewhere between a groan of agony and a sigh before she turned around and resumed cooking without another word.
What was that about? Did he tell her to poison me or something?
Confused, but unwilling to engage the distraught woman, Jiran took a seat and patiently waited for lunch.
Several minutes later, a huge serving of meat was dropped in front of him.
"The first Tier four meal I’ve ever cooked and it's going to a child. You'd better appreciate what this means," she said with a sigh.
The moment she mentioned it, he could feel subtle waves of density rolling off the meat. The Density swirled into the air with a delectable aroma before drifting back to the dish.
Gulping, Jiran tore off a huge piece and shoved it into his mouth.
Sharaal promptly smacked the back of his head while giving him a sharp glare.
"I said eat it slowly, fool boy! A tier one can barely handle that meal. If you devour it like some billik bird with a loran fish, it’ll rip your stomach apart."
She was right. He could feel the first few bites roiling in his stomach. Wave after wave of incredibly thick density swept through him.
Jiran fought the urge to claim it and instead leaned back in his chair and allowed the thick density to naturally flow through his body. Some of it was converted to mana but most just flowed smoothly into his injury.
Despite having the most extravagant meal in town, Jiran couldn't help but be overwhelmed with frustration.
What could I do, having access to so much mana? How strong could I become? What could I learn about the true nature of this alien magic? I have to know how they alter reality! Waiting is killing me!
Sharaal glared at Jiran, misunderstanding his apprehensive expression for dissatisfaction.
"You had best wipe that look off your face, child. You have no idea how lucky you are right now. Madra is not kind. There are people out there who would stick a knife in you for just a single bite of that meal."
Those words sobered Jiran up instantly, being reminded of his mother while he was trying to eat was beyond rude. Swallowing the last of the meat in his mouth, Jiran gave her a hard look.
"Mrs. Sharaal, you have no idea what my circumstances are. I would appreciate if you kept such comments to yourself in the future."
It could have been the glare, it could have been the scars, it could have been the clear favor Samris had shown the boy. Whatever it was, Sharaal paled at his words, nodded, and beat a hasty retreat.
Jiran did his best to enjoy the rest of his meal in peace and he managed just fine. Sharaal was an excellent cook.
As massive as the infusion of Density from his meal was, the black hole in his neck gobbled it all up. Jiran trudged to his room in disappointment to lie down and consider his options.
I was hoping that would have fixed my injury. Does that make sense though? Samris told me to rest after eating so maybe he knew that wouldn't be enough.
That one meal probably shaved a week off my recovery time though. What else could I do to speed my recovery?
Rest for sure, do some light exercise, and learn more about the damage. I should avoid trying to dig out memories of Brandon’s life too. If this whole situation doesn't kill me, I’ll have time to comb through them later when the brain damage debuff goes away.
Jiran closed his eyes and reviewed the changes in his status.
NAME Jiran of Feylon
RACE Human
AGE 7
WEIGHT 25.59 kg > 25.83 kg
STATUS Mild brain damage
TIER 1
GROWTH 0.06% > 0.1%
MANA 0.00
CONCENTRATION 1
STRENGTH 10
AGILITY 10
ENDURANCE 10
DURABILITY 10
WISDOM 10
INTELLIGENCE 10
SKILLS Molding lvl 44
TECHNIQUES N/A
OTHER UNIQUE - Fo$%si%^(
My growth increased, does that mean some of the density from that pill got absorbed? What else changed?
WHAAAAAT?! Molding level forty four?
Jiran read the impossible words over and over, refusing to believe it was real. He hadn’t counted all the level up messages when he was in the study with Samris, seeing the total now left his brain in a whirl.
Samris said something about level two taking a week or longer, right? How did I get over forty levels all at once?
This makes no sense! Do I say something? No, no way. I definitely can’t say something until I know what happened. If he gets suspicious and starts asking more questions, he might figure out I’m hiding other things too.
The library! I’ll have to try and sneak in as soon as possible. There has to be at least a hint in one of those books.
Jiran took a moment to breathe deeply, slowly bringing himself back to a calm state.
Whatever happened with the skill, it’s not as important as resolving my mana problems. Once this stupid injury stops burglarizing my density, I should be able to start raising my attributes again. That will be so awesome. I wonder how strong I’ll feel when I reach the end of tier one.
With thoughts of leaping over buildings and punching holes in walls, Jiran eventually fell into a deep recovery sleep.
A soft knock at the door woke him from his slumber. Stumbling out of bed and cracking the door revealed one of the newly hired maids.
"Good morning, Lord Samris has asked you to join him in his study," she said in a gentle tone.
Good morning? Did I sleep all afternoon and night?
"Oh, uh thank you, and good morning."
He spent a few moments awkwardly changing clothes and headed upstairs to the study.
Samris was waiting for him. The moment Jiran entered and shut the door, the wards activated.
"Good Morning, Jiran. I have outlined your schedule for the coming days," Samris handed Jiran a small journal.
With a nod of approval from the man, Jiran skimmed over the high points of his new routine.
“Light exercise in the morning, breakfast, and then more exercises,” The next word caused his breath to catch in excitement.
“Library studies until lunch,” Jiran did his best not to freak out right there on the spot.
“After studies, I have delivery errands, and finally free time until dinner. What is ‘report and revision,’ after dinner?”
“You will present yourself to me for regular check-ups regarding your condition,” Samris explained.
I get to spend time in the library as part of my duties? Victory!
I should calm down. First, I have to get through morning exercises. For whatever reason, I have a super bad feeling about those.
“We shall begin immediately with the exercise portion of your routine, follow.” Jiran’s nervous gulp and wide, concerned eyes brought a devilish smile to Samris’s mouth.
