"So, if I understand well, Sol might get kidnapped and gang-raped by a bunch of Witches if your conjecture about his gift is proven."
"Indeed."
"I am too old to deal with this shit."
Lilith sighed as she pinched her brows while she sat on the chair next to Edea. Sol and Edea hide a snicker at Lilith curse.
They were still in Edea's world, but after her revelation, Sol decided it might be wise to bring Lilith here.
"Okay. I understand. Firstly, " She stopped cursing under her breath before finally raising her head, "Congratulations on awakening. It came a little earlier than I thought it would but it's alright. Now we just have to test your capacity and then wait for the opening of the Astral realm."
"Thanks. I must visit Camelia tonight. So I will also ask her to test me."
It was impossible to know one's own capacity through normal means. The only way was to use a special device the church had the total monopoly on.
No one could replicate it since it needed Castitas divine blessing to work.
"I see." Lilith frowned a little at the mention of the name, but, this didn't last long and she nodded, "then no problem. We will make a little special something to congratulate you."
"I understand."
"Also," she gave a rather good smile, "Now that you have mana, you can train in the true arts of our family. I had Setsuna as your instructor all this time because I wanted her to give you the basics. Now you can learn higher-level techniques. You should also get your own weapon."
"I can't wait." He was indeed rather excited. Mana was the key to open the world toward a totally different world. He could now enter the world of superhumans and protect himself.
"Also," Lilith fidgeted a little before speaking calmly, "We need to hide your awakening. It would be best if no one knew that you awakened early. Not even Setsuna nor Milia."
Sol narrowed his eyes at this. There was absolutely no reason for him to hide his awakening. Rather showing off his talent would make the citizens happy and tell the nobles that the royal family was still powerful and that they shouldn't think about manipulating him as they did with his grandfather, Neptune, the fearful King.
"I believe in Milia and Setsuna. Should there be a reason why I shouldn't?"
He wasn't naive enough to believe that all those who smiled at him were people he could trust. But he refused to believe that Milia and Setsuna could have any bad intentions towards him.
"This isn't about trust. They are simply not suitable. Setsuna is simply too straightforward. People would immediately feel the difference in how she treated you if she knew you had mana. As for Milia…" She shook her head, "I simply cannot believe her at 100% for now. I am sure that she is loyal, but she is hiding something and I do not like that."
Sol tapped his finger on the table in deep thought, 'She is hiding something?'
He couldn't believe it. No, he refused to believe that Milia could be in any way possible a traitor. Still… Reality did not care about his beliefs. After all, didn't his father die because he gave his full confidence to someone else?
"I see."
He didn't say whether he would say everything to her or not and Lilith didn't insist either. She would never order him to do anything. He was always free to make his own choice and assume the consequences of those choices. She didn't think that Milia was a traitor either but she was the kind who believed that being cautious never hurt.
*Clap* *Clap*
"Enough. Even though there's some little problem, Sol awakening is a day that we should be happy for. Not about complaints or schemes," Edea managed to burst the awkward atmosphere that was settling in. "Right?"
"Indeed."
"You are right."
The two easily accepted her word.
"Sol, as Lilith said, now that you awakened, your training regime will completely change. What's more, we must ascertain just how many characteristics of the dragon kind you have and to which degree. The most important thing is–Did you awaken a core?"
Beasts were divided into different levels of grades going from E to S and in 3 tiers. The rank S was a tier into his own and that for a simple reason.
Lilith, hearing Edea’s questions shivered a little. That was just how much it means for Sol.
"A core?" Sol was a little surprised. It was the first time he heard about that. He also never saw anything about something called a core in the book he reads.
"... Hum." Edea lips twitched a little. "I guess this is my fault. I forgot to explain it to you. Okay. Do you remember the difference between the tier 3 and tier 2 being?"
"Of course." Sol nodded before continuing, "Tier 3 beings who go from rank E to C have their mana veins awakened from birth. It allows them to circulate mana in their bodies. This is the greatest difference with humans like us who can only normally awaken our veins once we reach 15 years old."
"Indeed. The mana veins, like normal ones, are connected to the heart. Meaning a stronger body is necessary for having a stronger and faster mana circulation. That's why you received comprehensive training since you were young. What about tier 2?"
"Tier 2 not only have mana veins, but they can also have what is called a second awakening. By emerging their horns."
"Yes, " Edea let out a smile. " B and A rank beings can have horns. Of course, they aren't true physical horns but rather a sort of mana construct. This horn is a kind of booster of sorts. They can accumulate mana in those horns and they can also boost their physical and mana capacity depending on how strong or numerous their horns are."
"Now tell me. If tier 3 has veins and tier 2 has horns. What about tier 1?"
"I guess it's the so-called core. What made it so amazing?"
"Hehe. All S rank beings have a core. This core not only allows them to store an incredible amount of energy but the most important is that it allows them to absorb mana directly from the atmosphere."
"You mean?"
"Indeed. In theory, S rank can fight basically endlessly."
Sol was completely dumbfounded. The amount of mana one could hold was basically one of the greatest ways to judge power and talent. After all, the more mana you had the longer you could fight and the more powerful spell you could launch.
Sol could already imagine himself throwing an endless amount of fireballs before snapping out of this dream.
'There's no way it could be that simple.'
Lilith felt pride at how fast the expression of Sol went from elated to thoughtful. She was happy because he understood that nothing in this world was simple. She continued Edea's explanations.
"It seems like you felt it. I was also impressed when I learned that. But your mother told me that it wasn't that easy. Veins, horns, and core. This trinity forms a complete circle. All three have to grow together. Even if you have endless mana at your dispositions. How much you can absorb in one go depends on the thickness of your veins. How much you can use it to increase your power depends on the sturdiness of your horns."
"I see… So, how do I know if I have a core and the horns?"
Edea winced a little, "There aren’t many records of Hybrids between an S rank and a human, but," She fidgeted a little, "Technically, in the next 72 hours you should have no doubt about the existence of those."
'I don't like the way she is phrasing it. It doesn't seem like it will be a particularly good experience.'
“Please be frank.”
"...*Sigh* it will hurt. A lot." She shook her head, "You weren't born with a horn or a core. So your body basically has to shift and create new organs that will connect to the already existing one. Saying that it will hurt is just an understatement."
She hesitated a little before finally saying everything she knew," From the record of my master, she once met a Pegasus hybrid. A close friend of hers. When master asked what she felt while awakening her second and third characteristics, she said that it felt like giving birth."
…
…
…
Sol never felt that this world could be so cold and unwelcoming.
----
A few hours later, Edea now alone in her world couldn't help but laugh out loud while thinking about Sol's expression when he learned what he would have to go through.
She felt a little bad for him but she knew that it was something he couldn't escape to. Using anything to dampen the pain could make the process fail or incomplete.
"Still," She stirred her tea with a faraway look, her face slightly blushing, "Perhaps it's indeed time for me to leave this prison."
(START OF VOL 2: THE SAINTESS)