I feel odd. After doing the weird poses and "exercises" Alura taught me in the bathtub, I feel strange.

How do I say this, I feel... more powerful? It seemed so ridiculous since I'd only 'trained' for what, 2 hours? But even then, I could feel a difference.

Those poses might be bizarre, but damn, they are useful.

"...Freak." I heard Alura mutter while she looked at me with uncertain eyes- no, rather, they were filled with disbelief.

Eh? What? Why are you calling me a freak?

I shot her a confused glance, which she answered by lightly coughing.

"I get that you have latent potential, but still, isn't this fraudulent?"

"What the hell are you on about? Did I really change that much?"

She didn't answer, rather, she kept observing me, her eyes scanning every detail of my body. And yes, that includes my lower part.

Slowly, she walked up to me and stood half a meter away from me.

"I'm going to slap you."

...You'll what?

"I'm... sorry? Could you repeat that?"

"I am going to slap you."

"Why, exactly?"

"I want to test your strength. Now, hold still."

Woah woah woah, wait a god damn minut-

*SLAP!*

Huh. That didn't hurt as much as I thought it will. Alura looked at me once more, examining my face, then at her hand, and then back to my face.

"...What an actual freak. Are you sure you are not a demon?"

Damn straight I'm sure I'm not a demon! What the hell is up with you? Did I really change that much to the point you think I'm a demon?! All you did was slap me!

"Hmm... No, Male Demons no longer exist, and furthermore, they aren't able to give off energy like this... Hm..."

She kept her hand to her chin and continued examining me. I know that I've changed a bit, but seriously, isn't this a bit too exaggerated?

While Alura was still contemplating what was going on with me, Eve simply came and licked my hand. In response, I pat her head. Man, why can't she just be like you? Look at how adorable you are.

I kept playing with Eve while Alura was still doing whatever, I also tried to rub her belly, although they were only breasts. Surprisingly, touching them didn't have the same effect as when we first met. I do feel a bit strange, but I can continue touching them without my mind being clouded. Eve really likes it, too.

"Ugh, it doesn't matter." Alura suddenly said in an annoyed tone, "Listen, now that your physical strength and speed have increased, It's time to finally use your mana as a weapon."

Finally, that's what I've been waiting for. I can't always rely on my gun, so having an alternative option is always good.

"First things first, don't expect to suddenly gain the ability in one day. This process usually takes a while, some demons even take as long as a year! However, due to your high potential, it shouldn't take more than 2 weeks."

TWO WEEKS?!

Are you kidding me right now? What if that boss suddenly finds us in these two weeks?! I don't have that much time!

"Look, I understand you're worried, but, I'll try my best to lower the time to a week. But I need you to try your hardest, I can't do everything here."

...Fine. I don't have much of a choice, really. I don't think I can beat that Snake Lady with just my gun, and, frankly, I'm better in Close Quarter Combat. Of course, I don't really want to get close to the boss that can just kill me with a single hit. However, in the worst-case scenario where I lose my gun, run out of ammo, or have no other option, at least I'll have a way to defend myself.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"First, close your eyes, and lend your hand out." She said calmly, and I did what she said, "Now, just like the previous exercises, feel the mana in the surroundings. By now, you should be able to feel the mana in the air, since your sensitivity to it increased when you trained."

Okay...?

Just like the bathtub training, I could feel the surrounding mana. They were vivid just like before, just mere specks of dust floating in the air. Although, their glow was dimmer than when I was in the bathtub.

"Now, focus on them, and with your sheer willpower, try to take control of them. Try to control them to coat your hand. It might seem ridiculous at first, but trust me, this is crucial."

It does seem ridiculous, but to be honest, at this point I've learned to accept all the ridiculous things. I'm not on earth anymore- or well, maybe I am, just not exactly the same.

Hmm...

Surprisingly, a few moments after I tried to move the mana with my thoughts, they actually managed to move!

"Now, usually you wouldn't notice any movements except for minimal ones, so don't feel discourag-... Ah..."

Alura suddenly stopped mid-sentence, but I paid her no attention. My mind is currently all on the moving mana particles in the air. It's actually taking quite a toll on my mind to move them, but it's not that bad.

Slowly, I noticed the particles touching my hand, and eventually, many particles came and coated it. Some of them even entered my body.

Nice, not bad at all! This is actually rather comfort-

...!

Feeling a sudden sense of danger, although it wasn't that powerful, I instinctively ducked while my eyes were closed.

I could feel something passing by above my head. I immediately opened my eyes, and looked at the culprit in front of me.

It was Alura. Her hand was stretched out, it seemed she just tried to slap me, but failed.

"You... seriously, I don't understand!" Oh, she was pissed. Her cheeks were flushed red, and it looked like she'll explode any second now. Her vines were shaking, and even the flower on the top of her head was slightly shaking.

What? What's wrong?

I managed to glance at my hand, and sure enough, there was a light blue layer of energy- probably mana- coating it.

...Did I seriously do it successfully in one attempt? Didn't she say it will take at least a week or so?

Shit, I think I can see why I'm the Chosen One. It seems I really do have a talent for something, and it's this Mana shenanigans.

Damn, I feel exhilarated that I actually have a talent for something, since I'm just alright at everything else I do, with the exception of maybe Boxing, since I only sparred a few times but they did say I was good.

Hah... I feel great.

Still, there's one problem here.

What the hell is up with this girl?

"Y-You- Y-You.... AGH!" She said with clenched teeth, not even managing to form a sentence. She is really pissed, "I-I don't understand! How?! I- You- All the demons- Ugh!!"

Uh, should I say something here? I feel like she'll pounce on me if I said anything and will try to literally kill me.

"Awoo...?" It seems even Eve was confused, as she tilted her head at Alura while sitting next to me.

Of course, as is tradition at this point, I headpatted her with the hand that wasn't coated in magic. She wagged her tail in response. Man, why can't Alura just be like you? Look at how adorable you are.

Of course, you trying to molest me every now and then is less adorable, but still!

While Eve was pushing her head against my hand, urging me to pat and play with her more, meanwhile Alura was fuming and threatening to explode any moment now, I turned my attention to my hand coated with magic.

My hand doesn't feel that different. It's as if I'm wearing a glove. I can see some particles coming out of it, too.

I moved my hand around. I don't feel any extra weight or anything. Well, that's a plus.

Now, what can I do with it? Can I just punch a monster in the face and they'll actually get damaged? No, actually, can I coat any other weapon I have, like a knife? I may be able to coat my hand, but I'm not sure about weapons. It might be different.

I lightly tried touching the ground with it, seeing if it has any special effects. And sure enough, when my finger lightly touched the ground, It was like the ground has been drilled.

What the hell is this power?!

I touched it again, and yet again, the parts that my hand covered had simply been deconstructed into dust.

Jesus, what the hell?! I can likely kill a person by just touching them! No- wait, wouldn't this simply kill a monster at this rate? A punch would just eviscerate them!

[Thee have successfully acquired "Mana Coating"!]

Damn, that freaked me out. I keep forgetting I have this weird Zero voice in my hand. I really need to ask her about it soon.

"Ugh, whatever, whatever..." Alura let out a few breaths, and gently rubbed her temples, "It's fine. Let's... just continue."

You say that, yet I feel like you'll kill me If I open my mouth.

With a gulp, I nodded. She didn't say anything for a few seconds, her eyes were closed and there was a vein on her forehead.

Why are you so furious? Hell, shouldn't this be a good thing? Now we don't need to wait for a week!

"Listen, I- Hmm... As you noticed, this layer that is coating your hand is 'Mana'," Yeah I kind of figured that out, it's obvious you know, "However, unlike the usual mana, this one is physical. My veins for example, use the mana as energy, whereas your hand has the pure properties of Mana, you're using mana itself as a weapon. Touching anything with it will deconstruct said thing to smaller parts, particularly dust."

"Wait- Doesn't this mean if I hit anyone with it, they'll-"

"Humans will die, yes, absolutely. Although Demon Hunters might be a different case. Demons, on the other hand, most of them will just be damaged by it, but will not be deconstructed."

I nodded at her explanation. This is really good, but the question is, how effective is it? Like, I know I can damage them, but how much damage exactly? I could very well just be tickling them.

"As for its strength, that depends on you. Demons are basically similar to humans now that you have Mana Coating. Meaning, the more energy you put into your punch, the stronger the damage will be. However, I don't know your current strength, so I can't tell you how effective it will be just yet. As such..."

Alura's vines brought a few knives from the kitchen, and she walked towards the door and opened it, signaling me to come.

"Let's go test it on some Demons."