“I finally made them, Young Oswald.” Ayano said as she observed Oswald with her new Identifying Glasses she made, then she took another pair of them from the table and gave them to Oswald. “It took me about 2 months, but I finally made these Identifying Glasses that can see the Mana Flow. So this is what you can see.”
“Yes, this is exactly what I see when I … let’s say activate my Mana Flow Vision.” Oswald said, wearing a pair of the Identifying Glasses. “I knew you were a genius Magic Engineer, but seeing you make these I am 100 percent sure.”
“Well it’s thanks to you that I became aware of the existence of Mana.” Ayano explained. “So, I am glad to have made you my disciple. I would’ve never thought about Magical Energy having building blocks. Now that I am seeing you through this, I can tell you have lots of Mana and that is way greater than mine. It’s still a mystery why you don’t have any Magic Power when you have such vast Mana, but it could be that Magic Power is related to Magical Energy, which you do not possess.”
“I don’t want to think about that now.” Oswald said. “I need more practice before the next weekend. I must do well in this tournament.”
“You could do even better if you use Magic.” Ayano said. “But, I guess you have your reasons to keep your identity as magicless. How is your training to master Armor Ascension going?”
“Well, in the past two months I keep trying to better understand the book you gave me.” Oswald responded. “It’s difficult as if I am missing something. I have managed to use the theories in the book to do this.”
Oswald extended his arms and clenched his fists and started to redirect his Mana to his fists. After a few seconds a faint blue glow surrounded his fists.
“Now I see what you mean by finding weak points with Mana Flow.” Ayano said. “It seems like when Mana or Magical Energy is being used it leaves spots of the body vulnerable. It seems the weak spots only happen when activating Magic and not when feeding Magic that has already been activated. If you want to use this on the tournament, you should wear gloves or else that glow will give you away. Good job! Eventually you will be able to create Armor that can hide your identity and give you protection. You already took the first step. You are doing good.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Hashimoto!” Oswald said, taking off the glasses. “I feel this will help me block attacks using my fists more than the Defense Buffs. On Friday will be the preliminaries and on Saturday the last 8 participants will face each other. The only ones I am worried about facing are Leon, Joshua, and Selene. If somehow I end up facing my little sister, I should give her a fair fight just like she would want. I am also worried about not having enough Mana for all the fights. If I use too much my body becomes sore.”
“I have a solution for that.” Ayano said. “I won’t give you an answer. But let me give you a hint. I taught you during your first lesson to use more Magical Energy or in your case Mana when you want to increase the power of the base Magic. Think of how that applies to your situation.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Oswald said, thinking of how that could help him use less Mana. “Are you going to give these glasses to the Lunarian Rankers?”
“Hell no.” Ayano said. “If I give them these, they will see your huge Mana and I am sure that Four and the Leader will decide to kill you. I can’t have them doing that. I might be part of them, but I disagree quite a lot with them. And I believe you’re the only one that can stand up to that man if he ever comes to Earth.”
“Then why are you still with the Lunarian Rankers?” Oswald asked.
“Revenge.” Ayano answered. “They provided me with a solution to enact my revenge, so I joined them and that is why I am still part of them. I know what I am doing is wrong, but I won’t stop now that I am so close to achieving that goal. Let me tell you something, don’t let your revenge against Four consume you, but make him pay for his actions.”
“I’ll make sure of that.” Oswald said. “I’ll stop the Lunarian Rankers.”
“That is good.” Ayano said. “The Leader should be stopped. He has become a Lunarian supremacist that wants to conquer Earth and make a place exclusive for those with Lunarian descent. As of now you stand no chance against them. You can’t even defeat me and I am not the strongest Lunarian Ranker. How are you doing with your physical training?.”
“I've been sparring with Aria every Saturday before your teaching sessions.” Oswald responded. “She points out all the mistakes I make and helps me avoid them. She really takes advantage of every little opening I leave to punish me. That is why I am sore at this time. Although today she had me meditate.”
“That girl really knows how to train people.” Ayano said. “Well, she should be that incredible afterall she is my granddaughter.”
“I would’ve never thought I would be taught by you two.” Oswald said. “I can feel way stronger than two months ago.”
“You still have room to grow.” Ayano said. “Keep training, but don’t forget you also need to rest and make time for your loved ones. You never know when the last time you see them will be. Oswald, let's get going with today’s lesson.”
“I’ll do my best!” Oswald said with a determined expression.
Meanwhile in the training grounds of a luxurious house located in Hills, John was instructing Leon on physical combat.
“You’re doing well, Leon!” John said seeing how far his son had come. “You’re going to be the winner for sure. Is there anyone you’re worried about?”
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“Not anymore.” Leon responded. “Selene would’ve been the one to give me trouble, but I have a trump card now. Whether I need to use it or not I will use it in the finals.”
“A trump card, huh?” John said. “Then, I can’t wait for next weekend to see it. How do you think Oz will do?”
“He will definitely make it to the top 8.” Leon answered. “The place he gets depends on his opponents. Don’t underestimate him just because he can’t use Magic. He is pretty tough.”
“He is Joseph’s son after all, so he’ll be strong.” John said. “Hopefully he can show the others in the Deus Family that he is worthy of being a Deus.”
“Then, I hope he goes against Joshua.” Leon said. “If Oz beats Joshua, it will show his strength. I can’t and see if that is the case. I am confident that Oz would win if they faced each other. Joshua is too arrogant thinking that his talent as a Deus will carry him, but he is competing against me, Selene, and Carmen for the Family Head position. If he wants to compete against regular people he will do fine, but against us that are putting in the effort he will lose.”
“I don’t know what Albert was thinking when raising Joshua.” John said. “Even though Albert is only his nephew, Dad favors Albert quite a lot.
“Yeah, I noticed Grandpa only favors me and Joshua.” Leon said. “He ignores his other grandchildren in favor of his grandnephew. What else are we doing for training, Dad?”
“You have trained enough, Leon.” John said. “Take it easy until the tournament.”
“You’re right.” Leon said. “I need a calm mind for my trump card to work. I never tried this, but I feel I will be able to use it by then.”
“Wait you’re not talking about …” John said.
“Yes, I am talking about that.” Leon said.
“You’re only 19 and you feel you can use it.” John had a shocked expression. “I guess you really are a genius like our ancestor Duke Leon Deus. I guess I was right in naming you after him.”
Inside a high-end battle facility in Ixto, Selene Deus, an 18 year old girl with blonde hair short and green eyes, is frantically dodging fireballs being casted by her mother Karen Deus, a middle-aged woman with long red hair and blue eyes.
“Keep it up, Selene.” Karen said. “If you want to beat Leon in the tournament, you must become better.”
“I know, but I'm getting tired.” Selene said as she kept dodging. “Can you lower the difficulty of the training a bit?”
“Actually, I believe it’s time to increase the difficulty.” Karen said as she stopped casting fireballs and closed her eyes. After a couple of seconds, Karen’s hair turned white and when she opened her eyes, her eyes were a deeper shade of blue. “Now, let’s see how you fare against the Deus State.”
“Mooom!!” Selene yelled. “Are you out of your mind? I am way weaker than you without even going into the Deus State.”
“This training besides you ate my chocolate, so I am making sure you burn the calories.” Karen said as she rushed towards Selene and started throwing punches.
“Shit!” Selene let out as she blocked Karen’s punch with her arm. “Fuck that hurt! I better dodge”
“Are you going to attack, my dear?” Karen asked as she continued her attack.
“I have no chance. I am barely dodging.” Selene responded as she dodged all the attacks. After getting the rhythm for Karen’s attacks, Selene managed to land a punch to Karen’s stomach.
“Good job, Selene!” Karen said as she stopped attacking. “That was the right answer. Just get a feel for the attack pattern and find weaknesses.”
“That was hard as hell!” Selene said. “But I think the only one that will give me trouble will be Leon.”
“Leon is a genius and you’re lucky Carmen is still only 13 or else she would be a formidable opponent.” Karen said. “And for the next tournament in four years you’ll be too old to participate.”
“I’ll try my best, Mom! I won’t let you down!” Selene said, smiling. “If I can’t get first place, then I’ll settle for second.”
“Keep that attitude, Selene! It will help you!” Karen said as her hair and eyes went back to normal. “Although you’re not the top candidate, you never know what the future holds. Make sure to focus on yourself, my dear.”
“Yes, Mom!” Selene said. “I’ll become stronger no matter what. I am only competing with myself.”
“We should take a shower.” Karen said. “Your Dad is waiting for us at the restaurant.”
“I am going to eat lots of food.” Selene said with a happy expression. “Training this hard made me super hungry.”
At Oswald’s house, Joseph was busy instructing Carmen on better Magic techniques. Carmen was holding a sword and was pouring Magical Energy into it. A faint flame could be seen at the base of the blade.
“Carmen think on covering the blade of the sword on fire.” Joseph instructed. “You’re almost there. Just keep concentrating on the end result.”
“Okay, Daddy.” Carmen said as she closed her eyes and imagined a sword covered in flames. After a few seconds Carmen could feel more heat coming from the sword. She opened her eyes and noticed she had achieved her goal. “Look Daddy! I did it! I’ll show Oz once he comes back home.”
“I am proud of you, Carmen!” Joseph said as he approached Carmen and patted her head. “Your Magic control is improving at a fast pace. Usually people learn this technique at 16.”
“Well, I am a Deus. So my growth far surpasses that of regular people.” Carmen stated. “And I am also at the top of the Deus, so I will do great at the tournament.”
“I am glad you are confident in your skills.” Joseph said. What will you do if you have to face your brother in the tournament?”
“I’ll give it my all just as I expect of him.” Carmen said with a determined expression. “I know he could beat me because he is great at physical combat, but I don’t want him to go easy on me just because I am his little sister. I want to see how I compare to him.”
“I know that is what he would do.” Joseph said. “Don’t worry too much about this tournament. You still have another chance in four years since the age range is 13-20.”
“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.” Carmen said, smiling.
“It’s time for you to study more Magic Theory.” Joseph said. “You will improve even faster if you have a deep understanding.”
“Alright …” Carmen sighed, not looking forward to studying more than what school required.