rslcontracting Chapter 117: Control At Will
Chapter 117: Control At Will
"Peak of [Gold 2]?"
Cael stared at his hands, still trembling slightly from the ordeal.
"What the heck just happened?"
His breath had calmed, but his mind had not.
Questions raced through his thoughts, colliding and scattering like startled birds.
"Where did that mana wave come from?"
For a terrifying moment, he had thought he might explode.
If he had not used Time Deceleration to buy himself breathing room, the outcome could have been very different.
If he had continued to let the mana pour into his body unchecked, he might have reached [Gold 3] or even [Platinum 1].
That was, if he succeeded. If he failed, he would have died.
But he was familiar with the Mana Strengthening Body Technique’s circulation. Seraphina had circulated his mana almost every day for the past three months.
The rhythm was etched into his muscles, his channels, his very soul.
So, as soon as he realized he had become a [Gold] ranker, he had acted. He had circulated his mana without hesitation.
Thanks to that, his perfect mana vessel was almost complete.
But the question remained.
"Where did that mana come from?"
A thought crossed his mind.
’Am I the only one who experienced it, or did everyone feel that wave?’
He needed to find out. Slowly, he stood up and took a step forward.
-CRACK
The tile under his foot broke.
"What the—"
He immediately took a step back, making it worse.
-CRACK -CRACK
Cael paused and cursed as understanding dawned on him.
Up until an hour ago, he had been [Silver 2]. Now he was at the peak of [Gold 2].
His physical strength had increased before his senses could catch up.
Not to mention, he had skipped [Gold 1] entirely and almost completed his perfect mana vessel.
It was only natural that he could not control his own strength.
He took a deep breath and began to adjust. Simple body stretches first. Arm circles. Leg swings.
Slow, controlled movements to feel the new limits of his body. The floor creaked under his feet, but nothing else broke.
After a few minutes, he walked out of the room. The corridor was empty.
"Right. They all went sightseeing."
He recalled that Edwin, Aria, and Brania had left to look around the academy. They were not back yet.
Cael pulled out his mobile and called Edwin.
The line beeped once, twice. Then Edwin’s voice came through.
"What’s up?"
His tone was cheerful. There was no discomfort or panic.
Cael raised an eyebrow.
"Did something unusual happen?"
Edwin, thinking Cael was asking about Golden Scale students causing trouble, answered,
"Nothing happened. If anything, a Golden Scale student was guiding us."
Cael nodded to himself. If something unusual had occurred, Edwin would have mentioned it without involving Golden Scale.
Since he did mention them, nothing of note had happened.
He canceled the call and looked around the dorm.
If this place had experienced a mana wave, the Golden Scale professors would already be here, investigating.
But they were not here. No one was startled. No alarms were ringing.
’It’s likely that only I... experienced it.’
Cael gritted his teeth and cursed out loud.
"Damn it."
Questions piled on top of questions. Answers were nowhere to be found. Not even a clue.
He walked back to his assigned room and sat on the floor.
He took out all the mana recovery potions he had and placed them in front of him in a neat row. The glass vials glinted in the dim light.
Cael decided to strike while the iron was hot. He would jump to [Gold 3] and complete the perfect mana vessel.
To complete the mana vessel, all he had to do was merge his mana channels with his own blood vessels.
In theory, it was simple. In practice, it would be very painful.
Cael closed his eyes. He took a deep breath.
Then he opened his eyes and muttered,
"Whatever."
Cael began to exhaust his mana using wind waves expelled from his body.
Pale green energy pulsed outward in steady rhythms, each wave carrying away the remnants of his previous limits.
At the same time, he drank another mana recovery potion, then another. The vials emptied one by one.
As he started merging his mana channels with his blood vessels, an itching sensation spread across his entire body, deep, beneath the skin.
As if something was rewriting itself from the inside. Blood leaked from his nose. He wiped it away with the back of his hand and continued.
The pain came next. A dull, persistent ache that settled into his bones, his muscles, his very core. But he didn’t stop.
Slowly but surely, his mana channels began to integrate with his blood vessels.
The two systems that had been separate since his awakening were becoming one. His rank edged closer to [Gold 3].
Half an hour later, he crossed the threshold.
[Gold 3].
But he was not done. The perfect mana vessel was not yet complete.
He could feel the remaining gaps, small fractures where the integration had not finished.
His adaptable body was working ten times harder than he was, accelerating the process, but even that was taking time.
Cael knew, with certainty, that his body would succeed. The adaptable body would not fail him.
Another hour passed.
Then, finally, it was done.
The integration was complete. His mana channels and blood vessels were one.
His body was no longer two separate systems working in parallel; now it was a single, unified vessel.
Cael’s perception of the world changed.
He could feel mana from everywhere. Not just sense it and feel it, he can even see it.
The air was thick with threads of energy, woven together in patterns he had never noticed before.
He could see mana. Literally see it.
The walls glowed faintly with the residual energy embedded in the stone. The floor hummed with the footsteps of students who had passed hours ago.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again. The world was different. Brighter. More alive.
He reached out with his awareness and sensed the dormitory.
Twenty people. He could see them without seeing them, their mana signatures, their reserves, their ranks.
A [Silver 2] is in the room down the hall. A [Bronze 3] two doors over. A [Gold 1] on the floor above.
That said, Cael’s whole body was pent up with mana.
Due to the strange mana wave, the mana recovery potions, the jump from [Silver 3] to [Gold 3], and the completion of the perfect mana vessel, all of it had left him overcharged.
He needed to release the buildup.
He raised his hand, intending to release the mana calmly through the wind.
Then a thought crossed his mind.
If he were successful in releasing it properly, the problem with the wraith invasion could be cleared out.
The more he thought about it, the more certain he became.
But he did not know how strong he actually was.
Cael looked up at the ceiling. A single light bulb hung above, its source of power derived from mana or Mana-Tech, to be precise.
He could see the thin line of mana entering the bulb, connecting it to the building’s power source.
With a thought, he used mana nullification.
The line of mana was cut. The connection severed. The room dimmed.
Cael withdrew the nullification. The line reconnected. The room glowed back to normal.
He stared at the bulb for a long moment.
Just as he had guessed. Once he touched mana with his will, he could control it at will.
Absolute control over mana.
"Mana Sovereignty is just a... cheat code."
Cael had already been able to fight [Diamond] rankers when he was [Silver 3].
Now, at [Gold 3], dealing with them was no longer difficult. With just a thought, he could render [Diamond] rankers useless.
Against wraiths, he could defeat [Captain] ranks easily with Battle Reaper’s Dominion.
Against [General] ranks, he could use Battle Reaper’s Dominion combined with Time Deceleration. That was enough.
He was not confident against [Mythril] rank humans or vampires.
But [Mythril] rankers could be subdued if they underestimated him or if he was given time to prepare.
As for [Commander] rank wraiths... well, Cael did not have a death wish.
Although [Mythril] rankers rival [Commander] rank wraiths. Mana sovereignty gives an edge against [Mythril] rankers.
Cael used Teleportation.
The world twisted around him, bending and folding for a fraction of a second. When his vision cleared, he was no longer in the guest dorm.
He stood on the highest point of the Golden Scale Academy, the clock tower.
The structure rose above the rest of the campus, its ancient stone weathered by decades of wind and rain.
From here, he could see everything. The training grounds where students sparred during the day.
The administrative buildings where instructors planned the selections. The dormitories where hundreds of participants slept.
Moonlight fell on Cael as he stood at the edge of the tower, his silver hair catching the pale glow. He gazed down at the students below.
Even at this late hour, students walked the paths and small groups gathered near the fountain.
A pair of students sparred under a lamppost. Others sat on benches, talking, laughing, winding down before the selections began.
None of them noticed the figure standing in the moonlight, watching them from above.
Cael’s violet eyes swept across as he muttered,
"Time to release the built-up mana, I just hope... they won’t be scared enough to cancel the selections."