-Chapter Sixteen-

Qualification - Part Two

“What, you’re deciding on the wind?” The tone of the voice that spoke was dripping with mockery and amusement. “Well, I’m not surprised.” A young teenager had to listen to those words, clench his fists and tolerate such harassment. He wanted to snarl back, lash out in anger and hurt, but there was nothing he could say. Everyone thought fire was the best element, and to a certain extent, they were right. Its destructive power was innately higher, and it was seen as the power to purify. It had deep roots in history and culture.

“Why did you pick wind?” another voice asked and the teenager looked to his side to see his childhood friend, gazing at him curiously. To her, he had no animosity. He knew her question was one of genuine curiosity, and he felt his anger melt away.

“Well…” as he recalled his thoughts and thought of his answer, he felt a small smile spread across his face. “I feel like I’m connected to the rest of the world through the wind.” Besides, what if a flame happened to be dying? Wouldn’t a small breeze bring that fire back to life? People could mock the wind all they want, for he knew its true value.

He worked hard fighting his bullies and challenging the obstacles life threw at him, honing his skill and prowess through it all. Never did his faith falter, he always believed an awakening will bless him, and one day, it did. The pinnacle of Anemo an Emitter can attain - Wind Bullet. With that skill alone, he was able to reach the top percentile, solidifying his name as a top contender.

“Daniel Pronic. Congratulations on becoming a Guildmaster!”

Nothing was ever more fulfilling, he relished in the thought that he had made it. All those years of hard work had paid off. He was on the other side of the wall now. He was no longer the weak being trampled on. He could stand tall on his own now.

…Or so he had always believed, until this moment. He has faced difficult opponents many times, and he has also experienced defeat many times. But as he watched a child in their mid-teens easily fend off his ultimate magic, their eyes glaring at him through the slits of their mask, he felt his throat tighten and his chest tense. The boy drew ever closer, step by step, dodging and nullifying his attacks. Daniel realised he was also a Sixth tier, they were fighting on equal grounds. Yet for some reason, the presence of this child was so much more overwhelming than any opponent he had ever faced before. It was like his clutch was enveloping around him with no escape, ensnaring him. It wasn’t just raw power, nor luck. It was all skill and calculation.

As soon as Lius penetrated Daniel’s close vicinity and his long-range magic would no longer have an effect, he immediately fell back to reliance on his close-range abilities. Even if Lius can defend against his long-range attacks, if he just throws enough of them, he may eventually reach once, and that’s all he needs. One single attack to go through is enough to disable his opponent. This was not what he expected, but ultimately this battle simply has an extra step. Attack, maintain distance, and attack again. This always worked against someone with strong and impenetrable defence. Whenever they drew close, Daniel would just use a mobility spell to gain distance and repeat. Just like always, Daniel lowered his stance, preparing himself to repeat the thing he’s done hundreds of times, yet even through it all, not a hint of panic showed in Lius’ eyes. He’s completely unfazed, Daniel realised and felt a chill run down his spine. The energy of Anemo gathered beneath his feet and he was just about to take off, his heart pounding in his chest for some reason. He’s fought hundreds of times, yet his heart was pounding against this child. Just as his magic was about to activate, he froze as a sword thrust forward at his inner thigh. The strike was quick and also destructive, and Daniel’s years of experience screamed at him to abort the mobility spell and dodge the sword instead. It wouldn’t cast in time with the speed the sword was coming at him. He instinctively reacted, twisting his leg and narrowly avoiding the blade sinking deep into his flesh. He knew another blow would follow, and quickly tried to recorrect and gain some distance again, but as he did, a blow never followed. Instead, as he dodged, Lius simply followed him, keeping his sword ready to lash out at any time. Daniel took a step back and like a waltz, Lius followed before slashing cleanly forward across his waist. Daniel twisted his hips to narrowly dodge it again, when Aelius poked forward at his chest. He lifted his arm and the blade went underneath his armpit. It was evident now he can’t get away. He needs to counterattack and escape in that momentary opening. Daniel gathered Mana in his finger, ready to fire off another Wind Bullet but another sword swing followed and he narrowly avoided it, interrupting his cast and repeated again, and repeated again. As time passed by, Daniel felt his body slowly grow heavier and his stamina deplete, and he realised there had been no opportunity to respond all this time. Swing by swing, his opponent commanded him to dance like a marionette and he finally realised what this child before him had done. For a moment, fear overwhelmed him, but mixed in it was also awe. Awe in the technique he had witnessed for the first time. A skill that was only supposedly possible in theory. Mana Disruption.

In order for a mage to cast Mana, some degree of concentration is required. Emotions heavily influence a spell and its potency when cast. Most mages learn from a very early age to control their focus on the battlefield. It was guaranteed death if they lost themselves in fear and couldn’t move Mana anymore. This ability to cast Mana at intervals was called Mana tempo. Every mage had their own tempo, and would have to adjust their tempo based on their opponent’s tempo. The aim was always to get cast in an advantageous moment against their opponent. But there were legends, warriors of myth, who could force any mage, no matter how focused, to become unable to move Mana. It was done through moving at the perfect tempo to counter their opponents tempo and disrupt their cast. It was just like playing with a doll or a puppet. The victim would have no choice but to go along with their opponent’s will. When the Mana Disruption is activated, the victim won’t be able to use any Mana for hours or even days if they were of weak mentality. It was a devastating power to abuse.

Lius seemed to notice the realisation cross Daniel’s face, and Daniel found a short moment to escape, his heart pounding in his chest violently. As he remained tensed a few metres away, staring at Lius, the other child gently lowered his blade, showing no intention to fight any longer.

“A-rank. Announce it,” he heard the young voice tell him, and for a moment, he was flabbergasted. “I won’t go any further against you.” As the young boy spoke, Daniel struggled to catch his frantic breath, but he understood what was going on, and turned to face the administrator. If there was one thing Daniel was good at, it was catching on to things quickly.

“Ara, we have a new prodigy today. Announce him as A-rank.” Daniel wiped away his sweat, glanced over his shoulder at the unmoving boy, before he slowly left the stadium with his head lowered. There was nothing to say to the young man. He did not come here to the Guild to climb the Adventurer’s ladder. He was already standing at the top. Daniel was in deep thought about what just ensued. A part of him was filled with fear at the existence of such a monster like that. Clearly so young yet so strong. Or, could it be an old master who rejuvenated their body somehow? No, something like that was only possible in myths and stories. He was just desperately trying to justify the existence of such a genius. Maybe the truth was simple. He was a genius- no, beyond a genius. He is a monster. Though he was shuddering in fear and awe at first, an excitement slowly began to surface and well up from deep within him. The existence of such a person could change Mana or the very world as they knew it. What will he achieve? Suddenly, Daniel felt a small smug expression lift at the corner of his lips. He wanted to see it. The look on the faces of all others when they meet that teenager. All those stagnant, old croneys desperately clutching onto their power and authority, finally realising they are outdated and being overturned by the newer generation, completely powerless. He wanted to observe that child’s journey unfold.

Aelius only silently watched as the Guildmaster disappeared back whence he came, and casually turned away himself, returning to the bleaches. The figures in the crowd were staring at him in horror as he took his seat again beside his two travel companions.

“That was impressive, A- I mean Lius,” Lia sheepishly commended him.

“Thanks,” he smiled back through his mask.

“Next!” the announcer from the arena began to read from a parchment. “Ria!” Aelius turned to look at his blue-haired companion, who looked back at him.

“Is that me?” she asked, her voice in disbelief.

“Yeah. Who else?” he raised an eyebrow back at her, even though she couldn’t see through his mask.

“W-why’d you pick such an obvious name? Anybody’s gonna know it’s me as soon as they hear it along with any details about my magic and light blue hair,” she stammered.

“Hmm, I’m not too sure about that,” Aelius shrugged. “The only people that would recognise those details are the people from the Aerianne Archduchy, right?”

“Yeah, exactly them. Don’t we not want them hot on our heels?” Aria asked.

“Well…” Aelius leaned back with a shrug. “In about a month, there won’t be any Aerianne Archduchy anymore.” Aria seemed to understand his meaning, and with a deep sigh, turned away to go sit her qualification.

“Watch carefully, Lia,” Aelius remarked as Aria stood opposite her opponent, a Fifth Tier woman in her middle ages, wielding a small wand. Since the Pyro lancer was injured and the Guildmaster had backed off, she was the backup examiner on site. “Both of them are Sorceresses. Your existence is their archnemesis on the battlefield.”

“O-okay!” Lia leaned forward with brimming motivation, ready to soak up all she sees at Aelius’ words.

She’s young, Leyna thought, narrowing her eyes at the Sorceress standing before her. Her robe was fancy and her staff was high-tech. It’s gear that typically only the strong could afford to have. Or the rich. Would she have the skill to back up boasting such gear? Leyna was eager to find out. The girl’s companion, the boy named Lius, was already an anomaly. It would be too much if so was she, right? Leyna decided to test the waters right off the bat. A battle between Sorceresses is highly specialised and technical. Apart from raw magic power, there are countless strategies to employ. It only gets more complex depending on what element of sorcery is being used. The first thing to do, the basics of the basics, is to speed-erect a defensive barrier. Leyna spun a quick circle, demonstrating exceptional prowess with how promptly she drew the complex rune using the tip of her wand. A shade of all-enveloping dark blue shone and glowed from her magic, a navy blue representing the dark depths of the ocean, and an orb of energy enveloped around Leyna’s body. Now with the defensive barrier erected, Leyna can attempt to cast a more complicated spell that takes longer to wind up. The barrier will either delay her opponent’s attacks in reaching her, or stop them completely. Softly, her voice began to mumble beneath her breath as she called upon her Mana and it spread out from the centre of her Core to her finger tips clutching her wand. Low-tier spells could easily be cast without any vocal chant, but those cases exchange potency for speed. A decisive, high-tier spell can also be cast without a vocal chant, but would only be a husk or a shell of what it would otherwise be capable of. As such, when using beefy spells, the casters would still resort to reciting chants, even if it took slightly longer to activate. Even halfway through her chant, she kept her eyes focused on her opponent, awaiting to see any reaction from the young girl. Her eyes immediately widened in shock however as the girl shouted a single word and raised her staff. Immediately, the Hydro barrier around Leyna’s feet began to freeze. So she’s a Cryo mage, Leyna thought with narrowed eyes, retaining her composure. Maybe she was underestimating her opponent a little bit, for she never expected the young teenage girl to start on the offensive. Or, could it simply be inexperience? Though Hydro was weak against Cryo, as long as Leyna’s Mana Tier was higher, she should still have an advantage. With this fact in mind, she sent a wave of water out from her body, washing over the ice that was creeping up on her barrier. To her surprise, in the time she was casting that spell, the young girl opposite her had already created several sharp icicles in the air all around her. She neglected any defensive measures in order to get her attack in first. When an opponent uses such a tactic, the only way is to rely on the barrier that was already set up. Leyna quickly waved her wand to reinforce her Hydro barrier. She made it just in time as the icicles came slashing down at her. They struck the barrier with monstrous force. Some were repelled, but a select few remained and were slowly embedding themselves into the Hydro barrier, continuing to freeze it, surprising Leyna. Her decisive judgement concluded that now was the best time to attack before her opponent conjured up a defensive spell. Not to mention, she had a hidden trump card up her sleeve. It might be too much to use in a situation like this but something instinctual within her was telling her she shouldn’t hold back. In fact, she was quite lucky her opponent happened to be a Cryo mage. Their Mana Tiers were very close together, to the point that she couldn’t tell who was superior. Just before the icicles broke through, she drew a small rune in the air at the girl.

“Blazing flare!” she shouted and a ball of roaring flame shot out the tip of her wand at the defenceless girl. Yes, indeed, Leyna was a rare talent not often seen among Mages. She could dual-wield Hydro and Pyro, making her superior to Cryo mages. As soon as the flame left her wand, she followed up with a flame barrier to block the icicles. The Cryo should stand no choice against her Pyro. She couldn’t see through the flames, and for a moment, anxiousness gnawed away at her, at whether the girl was too severely injured or not. However, as the flame wall dissipated, her eyes widened in shock yet again at the girl standing before her perfectly fine, hiding away behind a wall made of Hydro that blocked her Pyro attack. She was also a dual-wielder, Leyna realised, blinking in surprise. And not just some half-assed practice of two different elements. Leyna could tell from the quality of her Hydro barrier that she was well-versed in both. The girl opposite her was probably half her age and had no less talent than she did. Leyna gave a deep sigh, taking a breath before she shouted out.

“That’s enough!” The magic in the arena died away, and the girl lowered her staff, looking through her mask. “Ara, register Ria as B-rank.” Ara, who was hidden away in the corner of the arena returned a nod and began to quickly scribble down on her clipboard. “You can head back up now,” Leyna nodded to the girl, who simply silently turned away and left. What a headache. She watched the girl closely with apprehensive eyes as she returned to Lius’ side. It turns out they are both anomalies…

As Aria returned to Aelius, she softly took her seat beside him. “I’ve returned with B-rank,” she reported, crossing her legs and leaning forward onto one elbow, unfazed and bored. Around them, the rest of the mercenaries were casting nervous gazes their way. Lia looked around in mild concern, but Aelius and Aria paid it no attention.

“Well done,” Aelius responded to her. “And good job not showing off too much.” He turned to face Lia. “You’ll most likely be next. Remember what we settled on. You can’t show off too much power either. Out of the three of us, your abilities are the most important to keep secret,” he calmly explained to her, and Lia answered with a determined nod.

“I-I’ll do my best!”

“No, no. What he’s saying is don’t do your best. Your best is too much. Aim for the middle area,” Aria leaned over to tell her with a soft chuckle and a wave of her hand.

“O-oh…” Lia realised. “Okay, I’ll do my best in not doing my best!” she firmly responded.

“Okay,” Aelius answered with a nod, trying not to chuckle.

“Next applicant - Lia!” The woman named Ara called out from the Arena.

“That’s… me?” Lia wondered.

“Who else here is called Lia?” Aelius asked her.

“B-but… why do you guys get code names and for me it’s just my actual name?” she asked.

“Ah…” Aelius scratched his head. “Unlike us, you don’t have any family hunting you down. It’d be bad if we were recognised, but for you, it’s actually a good thing, no? So your uncles can keep tabs on you and stuff?”

“Oh… I see!” Lia realised. “Okay, I’ll get going!” Aelius and Aria both watched doubtfully as Lia bounded down the steps and into the Arena, before they both sighed heavily.

“For someone so innocent and carefree to hold so much power in their hands… I worry for the examiner,” Aria remarked.

“That’s what a normal fifteen year old is like, Aria. I don’t know where your upbringing went wrong,” Aelius snorted and she looked at him with offence.

“Speak for yourself. You’re far from normal too. I can’t even make heads or tails of it. One day, it’s-” she lowered her voice to make a mocking impression of him. “Aria, oh look at me, speak to me Aria, give me attention.” Her voice changed back again. “And then the next day it was ‘you bitch’! Like what even gives?” she complained but froze as she felt a menacing killing intent from him, and looked over to see him looking back at her. She couldn’t see his expression through the mask, but that only made it scarier. “A-all I’m saying is you just changed way too quickly one day, haha,” she nervously chuckled. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. I was just saying that I can’t make heads or tails of it.” The killing intent slowly faded, and wordlessly, Aelius turned his attention back to the Arena. For a moment, he was silent, until he answered with a scathing remark.

“You say I was looking for your attention. Pretty rich of you to suddenly turn around and start begging for mine as soon as I fucked off.”

“Ugh… that’s…” Aria looked at him and then shook her head with a sigh. “What’s the point of even explaining, you never believe me anyways.”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Aelius growled under his breath.

Leyna watched with momentary unwillingness as the girl named Lia stepped down, her face also hidden behind her mask. Nooo, the middle aged woman internally groaned. This time, it’s a barehanded girl. Would she be normal too, or is it a whole group of three little geniuses banding together? Leyna narrowed her eyes in hesitation. Was she a martial artist? The boy named Lius was a Magic Swordsman - rare enough as is, but his Mana was also very high for his age. Ria was a Sorceress like Leyna herself. She could see why they decided to hide their identities with masks. Their existences were too desirable in the unprotected world of commoners. Their third teammate is a barehanded child in a cloak. How will she fare? Well, Leyna sighed, might as well start off with the procedural methods.

“Begin!” she announced, raising her wand before quickly drawing up a Pryo barrier around her. The orange flame manifested into walls around her body to protect her, and she momentarily looked over to the girl, who was standing completely still. Martial artists would be trying to rush her down and close the distance between them by now, yet she wasn’t taking a single step? Oh Goddess, maybe she really is the normal one out of the bunch, Leyna realised. She was about to go into a chant for an offensive spell, but decided to toss out an insta-cast attack instead. It was weak but executed fast. Several small flaming balls shot across the sand at the girl, who still did not move immediately. Leyna watched in surprise as finally, when the attack was almost on her, the girl simply held her hand out and a small, blue flame formed in her palm. Magic? Leyna raised her eyebrow. Is she a Sorceress as well? A Sorceress without a wand or a staff? She wondered in utter confusion. To her shock, the flaming balls of orange flame travelling toward the girl simply slowed and then was absorbed into her blue flame, like they had never existed in the first place.

“What?” Leyna suddenly felt her Mana pull at the birth of the mysterious blue flame, and the Pyro barrier around her was also sucked into the girl’s palm, as she stood still and unmoving, completely unharmed. For a moment, Leyna couldn’t understand what just happened. Even her Pyro barrier was stolen? Leyna takes it back, they really were a whole group of little monsters. Mana Absorption? Why do all of them have Unique abilities?

Unique abilities were, as the name implies, uncommon powers that only a select few would possess. They were typically far stronger than common powers, and gave a huge advantage over other warriors, even of the higher tier.

Since she can absorb Pyro with that blue flame of her’s, I’ll switch to Hydro, Leyna thought. Let’s see how she deals with that! She summoned a gigantic pool of water in front of her with a short chant, and then with a wave of her wand, fired the Hydro ball forward. Yet to her shock, the Hydro ball was also simply absorbed into the girl’s flame as well. “No way…” Leyna’s jaw dropped. If different elements don’t work, there has to be some sort of limit. She could tell the girl opposite her wasn’t of a high Mana Tier, from the results of probing her with Mana sense. “May the ruler of the world, the opposer of the land, controlling space in all of its authority, the boundless and vast expanse, descend!” she chanted, gathering Mana in all parts of her body. Rapidly, clouds gathered overhead, darkening the sky and turning gray. “Fifth Tier… Ocean-land!” Water manifested from the cloud and dozens upon dozens of missiles came shooting down at the girl. It was enough to flood a small village, and Leyna watched on, wondering if she had gone too far. Yet the girl simply looked up and raised her hand. To Leyna’s shock yet again, every single attack was sucked into the flame, and after a few minutes of onslaught, Leyna’s spell had been completely nullified.

“I-I… don’t believe it!” she almost roared at the top of her lungs, raising her wand again. “Quench the thirst of all. Even a desert cannot resist! Wash away all the sins of humanity and bless our land with purity. Fifth Tier… Hydrophilic Canon!” A rune manifested in the air in front of Leyna. It was triple the size of her body and began to glow dark blue until the light was almost blinding. Once the charge up was finished, a massive giga beam shot out the rune. It moved with terrifying speed and force behind it, a spell with such destructive power that it completely exhausted all the Mana Leyna had remaining. She watched in dismay as it rammed into the girl, and for a moment, nothing was visible through the water, until it died away, revealing the girl still standing upright on her feet with the flame still burning away in her palms.

“…Goddess Steicia be damned…” she wiped her brow and begrudgingly stowed her wand. “B-rank!” she shouted and then spun away, storming out the Arena.

Aelius and Aria watched with mild amusement as the examiner used a Fifth Tier spell for the second time.

“Ah, she’s lost it~~” Aria softly hummed.

“Yeap, she has. Her pride is probably on the line right now,” Aelius nodded in agreement.

“She really is the archnemesis of all Conjurerers,” she remarked, looking at Lia who didn’t move an inch. “It frightens me to think how I could use all of my abilities and none of them would work.”

“Well, Lia will face her own fair share of trouble because of her identity, if it makes you feel better,” Aelius answered.

“It doesn’t, but whatever~.” The two watched in silence as the examiner stormed out the Arena in a fit of rage and Lia returned to the bleaches.

“Uh… A- I mean, Lius, I think I’m having a breakthrough,” Lia said, standing in front of him with her two hands held out in front of her.

“Huh?” he looked at her. “Really? Wow, you can grow from using your Absorption?” he quickly sprung to his feet.

“Yeah, it seems so! What do I do!?” she answered, flustered.

“We can’t have you breaking through right now. We need you to stay at the Second Ring for as long as possible,” Aelius took her hand into his. What to do, what to do… His eyes widened as he recalled the perfect ability.

User has activated the skill Cogent Exile.

Thief in the night, bite away at your victim’s livelihood.

Steal a portion of the Mana from your opponent. Must be making physical contact.

Aelius felt Mana flood his Core from Lia, blinking from the knock back but quickly returning to normal. All this extra Mana… he looked around, wondering what to do with it, when his eyes met Asura’s.

“Ah, here, you can have it,” he outstretched his hand to her, and she softly took it. The Mana quickly shot through him into her, and she began to glow brightly. Her hair shone crimson, and a short moment passed before her hair began to grow longer. The crimson strands that originally ended at her waist grew so long it became like a blanket behind her. Watching such a sight, it reminded Aelius of Repunzel. It’s not as useful as Blood, but Mana has its own uses, he thought nonchalantly before turning back to Lia.

“So, you should be fine now?” he asked her.

“Mmm…” Lia looked at her two hands. “Yeah, I’m stuck at Second Tier now. But why did you not want me to break through?” Lia asked.

“I’ll explain later,” Aelius answered as he gestured to Aria. “Come on, let’s go,” he spoke before leading his two companions out the Arena, back to the Lobby.

Upon returning to the reception desk, Lius was greeted immediately by the staff member from earlier. Almost frantically, she delivered to him his ranking badge. “Congratulations, Mr Lius,” she hid behind a nervous smile. “And you too, Miss Ria and Miss Lia as well.”

“…Thank you,” Lius lowly responded as he received the golden badge. Aria quickly put her silver badge away, and Lia took a moment to gaze at it before she pocketed it as well.

“Now that you’re qualified, you may register your party. Would you like to do so?” the receptionist asked and Lius responded with a nod.

“Yeah, let’s get this over with.”

As the three returned from the Lobby office, Aria asked Aelius, “What now?” He didn’t respond. Instead, the teenage boy immediately stepped up to the Commissions Board.

“We take a commission, I suppose,” Lia reasoned, exchanging a look with Aria.

“Why though? Why are we even here in the first place?” she asked and Lius turned to her with a menacing glare through his mask. “I’m just asking, okay? You don’t gotta fire off your bloodlust like that,” she crossed her arms with a pout.

“…Money,” Aelius simply told her and turned back to the board, observing it. “Why are these all so low-rank?” He racked his brain. Ah, right. Higher ranked mercenaries take their commissions through the Guild directly, he thought, recalling the details from his past life. Spinning around, Aelius approached the receptionist again.

“What can I do for you, Mr Lius?” she asked.

“I’d like a commission,” he asked her.

“Of course. I will look at what’s available.”

“Convoying. Up north. Escorting. Something along those lines,” Aelius added.

“Okay, let’s see.” For a few minutes, she flipped through dozens of papers until she finally sighed. “I have found only one.”

“We’ll take it then,” Aelius answered.

“…Please allow me to consult the Guildmaster, really quickly! This one is significantly high-tier,” she nervously asked him, and he shrugged.

“Sure, go do what you need to.”

“I’ll be right back!” she assured him as she quickly dashed off around the corner, leaving Aelius with his party at the desk.

Daniel Pronic sat at his desk, trying to regain his mental composure so he could use his Mana again, when he was disturbed by knocking at his office door.

“Come in,” he called and the door opened to reveal the lobbyist.

“Sir Pronic, I have something to consult you about,” she asked.

“Of course, go on,” he put on a friendly smile.

“Do you recall the Commission we received a few days ago from that particular Noble family?” she asked.

Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Yes, the A-rank Commission from the merchants, correct?”

“Yes, about that Commission. Lius’ party has requested to take it.” At the mention of the name, a small smile spread across Daniel's lips.

“So he’s chosen this one, huh…” The man leaned back into his chair. “What did he register his party’s name as?” he asked offhandedly.

“… The Misguided, sir.”

“Hah…” Daniel broke out into hearty laughter.

“So… about that Commission?” the receptionist raised her eyebrow.

“Yes, you may allow it.”

“Understood.” Daniel watched as she left, closing the door behind her, before he spun his chair around to look out the window at the sun.

“Misguided? How ironic,” he began to laugh again. “Is that name supposed to mean only those who walk erroneous paths are able to attain power? Or is it the opposite? Those who attain power are destined to walk erroneous paths?” He continued laughing when he felt a pop from his chest, like a clogged pipe finally unclogging, and sat up. “Oh, my Mana’s working again.”