Jade sat on the curb of the street. All the adrenaline was out of her system and she was crashing hard. Hot and cold shivers were wrecking her body, she was breathing hard. Her stomach started revolting as she spotted a piece of Loren’s body, she quickly averted her gaze holding her head in her hands.

It was her first real fight, her first time killing, well, something. Her hands clamped down hard on Duyi’s staff form. She took that things energy, its life, and stuffed it into herself. Jade thought it should feel wrong to do that but it felt good. Too good.

It made her even more sick. Overwhelmed by her feelings Jade doubled over and retched out the entirety of her dinner. After a minute of heaving and nothing more coming out, she could finally contain herself again.

Jade heard footsteps approach her and she turned to her left. Teiyu had put Melissa to rest on the sidewalk using her purse as a makeshift pillow. She sat down next to her looking out at the carnage the demonic creature had wrought on the street.

“Thank you for saving our lives. If you hadn’t fought that thing, I would have had to abandon Melissa to fight it. And I don’t think I could have done much to it. My concept is not the best in direct combat. You did well.”

Teiyu didn’t look at Jade; she was looking straight ahead. Her face was an expressionless mask. Jade did not know how she could be that calm. Trying to steady her voice and desperately trying to keep it together she responded:

“I just acted on instinct and training. I don’t know what I was thinking running at that thing. After what it did … What it did to Loren.” Jade had to suppress another retch. “I … I am so sorry what happened to her. I am much luckier than I deserve. That thing could have crushed us. We should have run away.“

“No, it would have just followed us. I don’t think this was a coincidence, it targeted my car directly. I am pretty sure this was a directed attack. We were lucky you were here. If you hadn’t been here all three of us might have died.”

The next twenty minutes went by in a daze. The police showed up and spread out. They talked to the officers who took their statements and then got a ride home from the police. When Jade arrived at home she was embraced by her mother.

It seemed the police had called her and explained what happened. The police officer left with words of praise and encouragement for Jade’s actions. But also, with a warning that she might have to come down to the station to answer some more questions at a later date.

As soon as the door closed behind the officer Jade started to cry in her mother’s arms. Mara hugged her and gently stroked her head. She slowly guided Jade to her bed and they spent the night next to each other. Jade tightly hugging her mother all through out.

The next day Jade woke up in her mother’s arms, she felt awful. There was no longer an overwhelming sense of dread and fear but a numbness that made Jade feel like she was not quite awake. Behind the numbness slumbered the memories of last night, and Jade would rather stay in this numbness than go back.

They made breakfast in silence and ate in silence. The heavy atmosphere was broken by the ringing of the doorbell. Jade got up and went to the door. Outside was Namoru Ogabu. He was wearing his typical robe but this time it seemed to be slightly damaged. She quickly let him inside and soon after they were sitting at the kitchen table with a steaming cup of tea in front of them.

“I am glad to see you are alright disciple. There were multiple attacks all over town last night and I was pursuing a suspect all the way into the wilderness. Unfortunately, they got away and I was only informed of your fight on my return.”

Namoru bowed and said in a grave voice: “I must apologize for my failure to protect you. It is a disgrace to my family that I left my disciple defenseless in my absence. Be assured that I will reconcile this immediately. But know this, Jade. I am proud of what you accomplished. As much as I dread that you had to experience such events I am just as sure that this experience will be invaluable for your future.”

“Master!” Jade was flustered at her master’s humble words. “Without your teachings I would not have been able to do anything. It was your lessons that gave me the strength I needed to fight back. But I am still weak. If I was stronger maybe I could have saved Loren as well.”

“It is not the responsibility of you students to shoulder such burdens. Any Blame for the harm that came to the people of this town lies fully with the authorities and the empire. It is our duty to protect its citizens. Depending on which path you decide to tread, It might be your duty one day to shield others from such horrors. But not today nor any time soon.”

Jade was not sure how she felt about that, where was she heading, what did she want to accomplish? As much as she dreaded the events of last night, she had to admit that she enjoyed the rush of adrenaline and the dance of combat.

“No matter which path you will choose, I am going to support you. There have been scholars in our history who advanced our empire far more than any general could ever claim.”

The images of the fight, Loren’s scattered remains and Teiyu’s gratitude all whirled through her head until one clear picture remained. Jade standing in the demon’s way, Duyi in her hands; determination blazing in her eyes. She did not know how this image came to be but it seemed to stream out of her very core. The fire of that determination seemed to fill her entire being and Jade knew she made her choice.

“I will grow, I will train and I will be stronger.”

“Good,” Namoru looked pleased at her decision. “There is much to learn and much to do disciple, we will leave for an extended trip tomorrow. Have your things prepared by then!”

Later while she was packing her things, she finally had the nerve to look through her notifications.

Genesis Energy absorbed: 50

Overcharge: 45

Origin core evolution: 0,9%

Level 10 Uncommon shadow Demon slain. Experience is awarded

You have reached level 3

Name: Jade

Tier: 1

Level: 3

Age: 18

Titles:

[First of your kind] [Mana cultivator I] [Origin cultivator I] [Mana Pioneer I]

[Concept Wielder I]

Hit points: 150/150

Stamina: 150/150

Mana: 462/462

Genesis Energy: 240/240

(Hidden)

Attributes:

[Body]

[Speed]

[Mind]

[Soul]

10 unspent stat points

15

15

26

24

Concept:

Main: [Genesis] Sub: [Growth]; Displayed: [Growth]

Skills:

Genesis

You create Genesis Energy based on your [Soul] x 10.

Infusion

Infuse Genesis Energy (GE) into anything you touch, accelerating their natural development.

Extraction

Extract Genesis Energy from anything you touch adding it to your genesis pool. This cannot increase your GE pool above its maximum. Extracting GE from a living organism causes damage based on your [Mind].

Origin Core

The origin core contains your mana. Through cultivation more mana can be accumulated to grow your maximum mana pool.

Mana Types available: Neutral, Wood

Current stage: Tier 1 – beginning.

Accumulated mana: 160

Mana stat bonus: [Mind] x 10

Title Bonus: 10%

Evolution Progress: 0,9%

Origin Pathways

Your Mana pathways mirror the pulse of the universe.

Current stage: Nebulae

Origin of Wood: [Growth]

Current number of Nebulae: 5

4% increased mana gathering speed per nebula

Total mana gathering speed increase: 20%

Wood Manipulation

You are capable of manipulating the wood element mana in plants.

Use mana to freely control any type of plant or wood as long as you keep investing mana in it. Prolonged control increases mana cost exponentially.

Growth boost

All your stats grow with an increased rate. Mana gathering speed is increased based on your mind attribute

She had yet to decide where to put her stats but her teachers had forbidden her from putting any points into body or speed as long as she had still room to grow from physical exercise. Her origin core got a new line of text proclaiming some sort of evolution. It seemed the excess energy she stole with her extraction went into this process. Maybe this is some sort of equivalent to the evolution mana beast had. Only time would tell, for now she started packing her things to get ready for the training trip her master was taking her on.