…

Zzzzzzzz…

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

“Wake up!”

Zzzzz…!?!

Wh-, wha-, I-, uh-...

I must have fallen asleep.

What did I miss?

“Young child, what did I tell you about falling asleep whilst meditating?”

“Uhh…”

Uhm

“‘You must always be ready to make a couple of sacrifices for the sake of the betterment of all?’”

“No! In order for you to finally unlock your dormant mana, you simply must meditate, and falling asleep whilst doing that will-, wait a minute.”

Who is this old lady?

Why do I feel so… small?

Where am I??

The old lady mentioned, standing a meter or so from me, looked me up and down suspiciously. She was wearing a long, black robe and she had her thin, white hair in a bun. Her wrinkled ears(pointed??) were decked with all sorts of fancy jewlery, mostly crystals.

Her suspicion must have had some good reason, since she did that OK-sign before her face.

Whoa.

Unlike Allan’s mother or that Henry fellow, this stalactite was formed imidietly, with razor-sharp precision. If she leaned just a little bit closer, she would definately prick my eye out.

“...indeed… I’d be damned! After eleven years of lazily studying under me with no interest in magic whatsoever, you have somehow gained a single mana! I’m not proud in the least, but I am flabbergasted at how such an unkept and insolent pupil such as yourself could even gain one! And in your sleep, nonetheless!”

“...Is that praise or criticism, Mistress Cromwell?

“Both and neither. Now, since you’ve finally unlocked your mana, how abo-,”

Sneaky Henry manuever!

- You stole 21 mana. -

Huehuehueuheuhe.

“...”

“...what’s the problem, cat got your tounge, Mistress Cromwell?”

Hehe… wait, was this a bad idea?

Now that I look closely, her mana is just…

Why is it so dark?

And how come I got 21 mana from a little stalactite!?

“...Did you do something, Andrew?”

“I thought you, if anybody, would know that I have absolutely no controll over my mana. I can’t even feel it! Haha!”

Andrew?...

Wait.

Hold up.

Alright, I got some mana, I should be able to…

It took some gargantual effort, but after just a few seconds, I had successfully reformed my humanoid shape.

It is as I thought.

The where: in the middle of a beautifull meadow.

The who: an old lady dressed in not just a normal robe, but a coal-black one adorned with countless black jewels. The chest part was open in a V-shape, allowing one to see the orb within. It was black. She must really like black. In front of her, a young child of maybe ten or eleven or so sat with his legs crossed. His hair was short and blonde, and his eyes were a heavenly blue. He was so fair it was kind of strange for him to sit with both arms and legs crossed rebelliously. As for his clothes, we was wearing a robe as well, however, this one was white, adorned with two or three blue gems. This one was also open in the chest area with a V-shape, and the orb was… a heavenly blue, with little clouds and a dark-blue wisp-like thing swimming inside.

A-, Allan!?

How did this happen?!?

Why are you so old?!?!

Why didn’t I wake up!!?!?!?!?

Allan!...

I couldn’t help myself.

I tightly embraced Allan, hugging him close.

I may not have been able to see his face, but I have a feeling he was in extreme dismay.

I could see that “Mistress Cromwell” fella though.

Her hand was up and in the OK-sign shape before even a second had passed.

“My!”

“M-, Mistress Cromwell, what is it?!”

“Give me a second, child. - Analyze -”

Hm? What’s that? Why did the mana she’s peeking through start to glow?

“My, oh my.”

“Wh-, what is it?!”

“Well, if I were to look at you, I would see Lv.4, 0/0 mana, Physical Strength 36, Agility 47 etc, but if I were to look at your orb…”

“Y-, yes?!”

What in the-

“It would say Lv. 7, Mana 22/140, Magical Strength 98, Spells: Transmutation Lv.2, Telekinesis Lv.7, and the like. Nothing at all about strength.”

“What does that-,”

“It means that this orb is a being of its own.”

“Whaaaaatttt!?!”

Well, I already knew that, but Lv.7!?!?!?

How did this happen!?

Wait.

What’s the last thing I remember?

Well, I was being attacked by those rats, and I went out in a burst of flames, and I got a bunch of messages, and…

Whoa!

I must have leveled up quite a bit!!

...But why didn’t I wake up earlier?...

Didn’t that message earlier say that I would return to being one hour after dissappearing?...

- Due to the effects of Pillar of the World Lv.X, this was impossible. -

Wha-, what’s that skill??

- ...It’s a skill that causes the following effect: Mana Drain Lv.7(7/1 sec)(increases according to main Level). Your current Mana Regeneration per/sec is 7/1 sec. -

So you’re telling me my mana regeneration is entirely nullifieddddd??????

- yes. -

Well shit then

Guess I’ll just-,

“H-, How can that be?! Isn’t the orb just the soul in a crystalized form!?!”

“I see you’ve at least studied well. Indeed, the orb is the soul.”

“Th-, then if this isn’t mine, then… whose is it?...”

Mine. It’s my soul.

Sorry.