"YOU?! Don't tell me?! You're gonna absorb it?!" The Old Ghost cried out.
In contrast, Jack was utterly calm, even sitting on the floor cross-legged in a meditative posture. He looked akin to a respectable monk... the scene kinda ruined by the smell.
"Can I have some privacy, please?"
"S-sure..." The Headmaster and "Hostage Corp" girls reluctantly left the room.
Jack lost control of his body as soon as they were alone, returning to his baby form. But that was only the beginning: a second later, it began!
-- QUIVER! QUIVER! QUIVER! --
The very air reacted to his Evil God's Body devour ability!
It started with an almost imperceptible swirl, the air in the dormitories quivering! That's when the foul wind suddenly rushed straight to their room!
It was as if a God had activated a mighty vacuum ability, gusts of foul air invading their place! It crashed into them like an unstoppable gale!!
-- WHOOSH! WHOOSH WHOOSH! --
"CAREFUL! Aisha screamed, barely holding unto the nearest wall. As for Lizzy, she looked horrified, many of her potion flasks already flying and exploding all over!
Yet, some strange force was at work! Even now, Jack still remained cross-legged on the floor! He was the eye of the storm, all extra Mana disappearing inside him.
Jack grinned. This was working! It cascaded on him, all of it quickly turning into pure Mana! This stuff was akin to a drug.
The more foul air invaded him, the better he felt. This stuff was akin to a drug! Every tidbit of Mana stolen made him feel rejuvenated!
He was akin to an old mummy slowly returning to life, every drop of Magic making him feel alive! More importantly, he could sense it as he Devoured!
-- Thump! Thump! Thump! --
This was the core of the Dormitories' Barrier.
He greedily tapped into it, devouring it more and more! This was the energy source that he had always craved for... he simply hadn't known! He merely kept sucking the Mana dry!
Time to Level UP his Evil God Body Again!
[Absorbing Mana from Barrier's Core!]
[All Stats Increased Drastically!]
[Evil God Body Absorbed! AGI]
[Evil God Body Absorbed STR!]
[....]
This was PERFECT! Or so he thought...
To the outside world, this was a freaking APOCALYPSE!
Some crazy phenomenon was happening at the Girls' dormitories. The crowd outside gawked at the sky with their eyes bulging as the Mana Barrier slowly disintegrated.
"Am I dreaming?! The barrier built by a Golden Rank formation Master... is being annihilated that quickly?! Even the Dawn Lords wouldn't be that fast!"
"' More importantly... what's up with that freaking tornado?! W-wait... it's 100% Made of Mana?! H-how?!" With the barrier crumbling, the chaos inside leaked outside!
Jack's solution to a stinky cloud --> Creating a Mana-Pocalypse!
He was so focused that he didn't even detect any of it. He was now tapping into this free Mana, growing stronger and stronger by the second! This was euphoria! It was--
"ENOUGH!" But suddenly, the Headmaster thundered.
The shout contained so much power that Jack started coughing blood, even with a wall separating them. T-this was the power of a Dawn Lord Candidate?! And he seemed pissed!
That's when the Headmaster busted the door open.
"You! That's what you call negatively affecting the barrier?! You utterly destroyed it! Are you insane?! What were you think--" But then he quieted down as he saw Jack's sore sight.
The latter was covered in blood, all his muscles twitching uncontrollably, but his eyes were worst. They glowed with the madness of Mana Addiction...
"Crap! You girls, bring him to a Medic ASAP! Tell them he has Mana Madness!" The Headmaster sighed, the students' complexions turning ashen.
Mana Madness?! It was an overdose of Mana that made mages lose touch with reality, making them forget to eat, drink, sleep, and even breathe... until they'd perish!
Mana Madness was 99.99% Deadly!
"Follow me!" A Female student rushed out.
As they exited, curious eyes all glanced at the cause of the disaster.
"He's the guy?! He doesn't look too strong?! Wait... what's with his eyes, don't tell me?! Shit, no wonder the sight before was Earth-Shattering... it was a suicide Spell!"
"Suicide? He bloody killed himself trying to save the dormitory?! Is this guy a Hero or a complete idiot? But seriously, who is he?!" Countless hushed whispers soon followed.
Rumors didn't take long to spread, their veracity doubtful at best.
"I heard he took the barrier down for the sake of LOVE!"
"Yes, yes, he couldn't meet his GF because of it, so he struck it down!"
"Bro, I heard he's so brave that he already has two wives... and one is even the heir of the Henderson family. Can you believe it?!"
As the rumors became more extravagant, Jack was hurriedly relocated to the Academy's Healing Ward. There, a stern doctor shook his head, sighing endlessly.
"I'm sorry. There's absolutely nothing I can do." Lest a miracle happened, there was no way to save the youth; he was utterly doomed. "Sigh, you girls should say your goodbyes."
At this moment, the Hostage Corp fell silent. They had barely known him an hour, that he was already dead?! What kind of shitty first meeting was this?! "We better leave...."
They all excused themselves, leaving Aisha and Lizzy alone in the treatment room, Jack lying cold and lifeless on the hospital bed, his grieving subordinates beside him.
"You bastard! You promised we'd build FoxZone together! You can't back down now, you hear me! There's no way that I'll accept this!" Aisha tearfully cried out.
"She's right... you can't kick the bucket yet! You promised to be my shop's Patron! I'm not leaving this place before I get my funding!" Lizzy spat out too.
Yet, their "complaining" voices were full of sorrow. At this moment, they simply didn't want to face reality... there was still a 0.01% chance of survival, right?!
Only now did they realize how much they had come to rely on him, appreciating his presence. How would they break the news to the Flame Mansion's people... and pets?!
But just as the mood was incredibly depressive, a sigh interrupted it.
"Tch-- You both suck at eulogies. Why do you both sound like debt collectors? You're supposed to praise how great I am and all...." Jack rose with a flip.
Not only was there no trace of the Mana Madness, but he was incredibly healthy to boot?! How the heck was this even possible?! They were already rubbing their eyes in disbelief.
"H-How?! You 100% did a Mana Overdose!"
"Oh, that? Don't worry; I'm immune to stuff like that." he shrugged.
If anything, he was always in Mana Deficit, thanks to his Evil God Body. Even now, he still felt his Evil God's Body asking for more! How could he possibly Mana Overdose?!
Yet, even now, Jack had a pleased grin on his face:
[Congratulations, Evil God Body Leveled up!]
Without waiting, he hurriedly tested his new upgraded ability! But as soon as he activated it... he became confused. Why was it consuming more Mana than before?!
"What?! This is BS!" he cried out. If before he could go 30 minutes or so in his evil god body, now the timer had just become 20?! How was that even possible?!
"T-this... Did I just get scammed?!"
"Pfft-- Relax, kid. Just look at your hands!" The Old Ghost chuckled.
Jack quickly proceeded, exclaiming in shock. It was incredibly subtle, but why did it feel like there was an extra layer of skin there?! No, it definitely wasn't in his head!
He excitingly created a Spectral Dagger and... -- Splatter! Splatter! -- Opened a massive gash on his hand, bleeding all over like a dumbass.
"J-Jack?!"
"Hmm... is it because it's magic?!"
"Kid, it should be because of the self-harm. I bet it won't activate against your own abilities. You'd have to test it some other way--" The Ghost recommended.
"I see... Aisha! I need you to stab me!"
"What the hell are you talk--"
"Just do it. Now!"
Faced with his insistence had madness, she could only comply. Her dagger approached his skin, and then-- CLANG! Splatter! -- Still drew blood! But it was only a trickle this time!
"I knew it! This is why it costs more to activate! I unlocked a defensive skin ability. How useful is that?!" Jack happily cackled, before focusing, trying to turn it off... it worked!
Suddenly, his uptime on his Evil God Body was suddenly buffed a LOT!
Thirty minutes --> A solid Hour at least!
At this moment, he couldn't have been more glad. Sure, it didn't affect his direct power too much, but wouldn't he be able to fight and blend in a crowd way longer?
More importantly, perhaps he could attend Classes now! He heartily chuckled, thinking about it: "From now on, I'll be a real student at this Academy!"
In his joy, he completely missed the subtle trembling of his new Mana, the ground below the Academy humming softly in response...
.
.
.
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Jack Bright (Classless)
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BODY 20 (STR 7/ AGI 7 / RES 6)
SOUL 48 ( MAGIC 11 / SENSE 18 / WILL 19)
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(NEW!)
- Mana Skin! (F) ????
- Magical Mana Madness ????
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