Finding the way back to camp was pretty simple for Reiki all he did was focus on his hearing and find two heartbeats at a few distance from each other and then follow the source of the sound simple as that since he didn’t have anything to do Reiki took his time jumping from tree to tree training to control his agility and strength after a few hours in his training Reiki was able to jump to tree to tree like a monkey mixed with a parkourist on the way back while leisurely enjoying himself and before he knew it he was already back at camp.
As Reiki stood atop of one of the tall tree branches he noticed something odd right now in the middle of a forest and it was peaceful which was the odd thing and thought. Why haven't I encountered any monster or at least saw one… In this game-like world where both magic and science somehow co-exist since Reiki was able to kill one monster, the question of ‘maybe there are no monsters here.’ doesn't apply as he continued his train of thought he was able to come up with two of the most possible conclusions.
The only thing that can connect with this phenomenon are only two things one this part of the forest got over hunted by adventures and the spawn time is still at work or a high-level monster migrated from somewhere else and scared the rest of the lower level monster's causing them to flee to a deeper part of the forest. Was the only thing that could fit in this puzzle but a single question remains that he didn't really take notice and that was if a high-level monster were to migrate to a lower level area how would that affect the balance of things in the forest.
At The Same Time At The Council Of God's
“Hahaha this kid named Reiki is too interesting every time he makes a choice not only affects him it also affects majority of the future around him and it even resulted in some of the different future outcomes has actually been completely removed and some have been greatly altered if he keeps this up he'll die before he even goes back to that so-called trash academy.” As a childlike figure was laughing to her heart's content while sitting on a throne made out of some type of stone with complex carvings that were all highlighted by mana giving the throne an overbearing yet noble presence.
As the God wearing white robes and white hair walked closer to the childlike God sitting on the throne but contrary to the old God’s appearance his steps were sturdy and calm showing his might and as he approached the throne and now a few feet away and said. “Tsukuru-sama can’t we just pick another person again this Akihito Reiki his action creates too many variables he wasn't supposed to meet the princess this way and most of all that black entity that fused with him was never in any of the other timelines.” he asked in a concerned tone.
As Tsukuru catches her breath from laughing she replied to the scholar looking, God. “Don’t worry about it although something wasn’t supposed to happen one thing led to another we’re stuck with him and we can’t just have Kronos turn back time again well at least not yet anyway this kid is what? The 250th person that we chose but none of them got even half the result as he did.” As she said while smiling an innocent smile as if it didn’t involve her in any way.
“But to ease all of your worries this not all of his choices are made by him anyway there’s someone else that was influencing him from behind the scenes it was faint but it’s there I don’t know who it was but I have a few guesses to know who it is I just need some more time everyone knows the rules in our plane and you know that no one is an exemption.” as Tsukuru said to ease up every God in the council that was currently in the council.
The scholar looking God’s eyes were as wide as they can be every single God in the council was watching Reiki’s every single move not one can be wrong yet somehow some other God was able to influence Reiki’s decision without one of them even noticing Tsukuru was able to notice but she said it was only faint wouldn’t that mean that the God the manipulated his choices were stronger than her as the scholar looking God asked Tsukuru and said. “Which choice did Reiki think he made was actually manipulated by someone else.”
At this point, all of the God present in the council felt a chill up there spin if a third party suddenly decided to intervene even if it was small decisions but over time those small decisions can easily affect the future outcome as Tsukur thought back to all of Reiki’s decision every single God was on edge hoping the damage wasn’t as severe as they thought.
After thinking back to all of Reki’s recent decisions Tsukuru said. “Everyone has nothing to worry about the only thing that was affected was him meeting that princess there was only supposed to meet when Reiki was 16 years old and the princess was finally a decent one and not this spoiled one that his currently dealing with.” As Tsukuru finished speaking all of God’s breathed out an in relieved knowing that it was only one decision was affected wasn’t too bad it was still possible to predict a few variables but they couldn't afford to be as careless one small decision can easily affect Reiki’s future even if there are God’s they can’t control everything that happens around him.
Back At The Campsite
“Alright now to try and learn some wind magic let’s start off with something simple and try to aid my movement with it.” As he tried to manipulate some mana and try to feel the flow of wind and try to shroud himself to aid in running the result was… failure.
[System: User Has Attempted To Create Second Wind.]
[System: Loading…]
[System: Condition Has Not Been Met.]
[System: Rebound Has Begin.]
[System: Warning The Wind Around The User Speed Has Increased.]
“Eh?” Before Reiki was able to react the wind around him slowly sped up and started shredding the surrounding trees and quickly after that a few dozen wind blades trajectory was aiming right at him and at this moment the feeling he was always wary of came back to him in an instant.
[System: User has Received 2,500 Damage.]
[System: User has Received 2,500 Damage.]
[System: User has Received 2,500 Damage.]
[System: Warning User’s Health is Below 20%]
Three wind blades that all it took from his health to drop below 20% one more and he would meet his end and Reiki started to jump from branch to branch like a rabid monkey doing everything he can to avoid a premature death he didn’t even take a single look behind him and was desperately trying to get out of range of the wind that was only starting to speed up as he jumped from another tree branch Reiki took a peek behind him and saw that the wind was starting to form a mini wind vortex and was starting to pull some of the more medium sized trees up from its roots as it only gained more speed while more and more wind blades started to come out of the vortex and started flailing out from every direction some wind blades where able to cut the medium trees with ease while the more larger trees were able to cut half way and shook the tree for a few seconds.
Reiki didn’t look back, he only had one thing in mind and that was. Survive! He couldn't afford to die he still had too many things to do and he still hasn’t been able to take revenge from his former best friend that betrayed him at this moment he didn’t even think every action were made by instinct and with his brain desire to preserve its host as he danced with death he didn’t panic his calm was comparable to a still mountain immovable as he leaped from tree to tree and avoided debris flying and branches obstructing his view this was the ultimate test of his agility and reaction time and mistake and it was all over for him.
As Reiki was mid-jump to another branch he didn’t feel the sense of dread but he wished he did because this time he actually smelled something and it was comparable to a rotting corpse that was left to bake under the sun and it was as if it was right in front of him. He barely kept his calm he twisted his body to change it’s inertia and tried to land on the ground as soon as he landed on the ground the branch was suddenly hit by three wind blades.
Reiki didn’t dawdle the moment he landed he started to sprint with all of his might and sprinted like a possed man and slowly the wind vortex lost its momentum and started to fling out fewer and fewer wind blades the center of where the vortex was completely destroyed and a good dozen or so trees were uprooted and some were cut in half and the earth and were the wind vortex had a deep excavate of at least reaching 20 feet deep.
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After sprinting for a good 8 minutes Reiki was on his knees panting heavily and trying to regain his bearings and thought. So that happens when you fail to successfully make a spell the mana goes berserk and violently exhaust itself. As he sat cross-legged and tried to calm his breathing he continued on to think. Note to self the more complex the spells the deeper understanding is required to create it. Is what he thought as he sat in the middle of the forest.
…
A few minutes of catching his breath he was more or less fine and his hp regen was able to get his health back to roughly 46% he stood up and walked back to the camp but this time he only walked and didn’t try to train that goes double for magic if he knew beforehand what would happen he wouldn't have tried to create any complex spells if thinking back to the to creating spells he remembered he casually made a teleport type spell and thought. What would have happened if I fucked up that teleport that time?
Reiki thought about it his blood actually went cold and his face was covered in cold sweat if he failed when he tried to cast Flash before he had the ability he would have been disfigured and that was if he was lucky if he was unlucky he would have shredded himself to a nanoscopic scale and would have disappeared never to return and without a corpse to bury.
As he walked down Reiki was more or less calm now that he knows that creating spells comes with a risk unlike other people that would just curse he was actually thankful for just he was creating a somewhat complex spell if he tried to create one of the more God-defying spells and failed the thought alone would be enough for him to actually stop creating spells and just learn them through normal means like having a teacher or buying one of those consumable scrolls like in games that once used you can use the magic that was inside the scroll.
By the time Reiki made it to camp the first ray of daylight was actually starting to show and before he was able to think he felt a pang of hunger in his stomach indicating that he was starving. With all his training and meeting death twice in less than a 12 hour interval it really took a toll on him physically and mentally as he walked towards the pit he dug he carefully dug up the dirt.
Preventing it from going inside the deep pot and after a few more handful of dirt he lifted the pot with his bare hands dragged the pot next to his tent and just savagely ate the entire boar without caring for manners he ate like a complete caveman and just kept on eating before he knew it he was actually able to consume the entire boar that weighed roughly 200 lb and that was enough to feed three to four burly men and he was able to eat the entire thing.
It was only just barely to satisfy his hunger at first he was actually thinking of sharing the boar since it was impossible for a 10-year-old to finish the entire thing but to his surprise he was able to eat it without even feeling full as he looked at the pot he was able to smell the broth that was made and was slowly simmered the entire boar with him still feeling hungry he lifted the pot again and started to drink the broth.
At the same time, Reiki was eating so loud but he didn’t actually notice it but Otome was actually watching him her eyes were wide as she took a peek from the slim opening of the tent as she saw Reiki completely devour the entire boar and started drinking the entire boar and started to drink the broth directly from the pot if someone else were to see this they would see a single child near a pile of bones and that child was lifting a pot that was even bigger than him and he was lifting it as if it was didn’t even have any weight to it.
After that Yuiitsu was actually rubbing her eyes sitting on her bed as she walked towards Otome and looked to where she was looking she was instantly awoken and shocked to see Reiki had already eaten the entire boar and was drinking the broth directly from the pot as she sends Otome a mental transmission and thought. Otome-san what just happened when I was asleep? Was the very first thing she asked with the hopes of knowing what the boy just did with the boar and where did the pile of bones that were right next to Reiki came from.
… Well, Yuiitsu-sama Akihito Reiki just ate the entire boar in just under five minutes and is now currently drinking the broth as we can see. Is what Otome replied after that Yuiitsu didn’t know what to ask the entire boar was eaten by a single child and nothing was left behind he even ate the brain the pile of bones was completely clean and white it looked like one of those bones you can see in the desert that was just abandoned as they looked at the boy in disbelief.
As Reiki put the pot on the ground and breathed sitting down and burping so loud that he didn’t really care to cover his mouth or anything and of course he knew that the two girls were currently watching him inside their tent but he didn’t care after reaching their destination and thought. I need to find a way to make money and fast no loan sharks are willing to just let money loaned be unpaid or else my family can find other means to ‘payback’ the money that they owe to them and the worst part is the one who owes them money was missing and for the who was missing it was my so-called father… Well non-biological father from what Kronos said to me.
Was the very first thing that he needed to change everything else can wait in the past the loan sharks were fairly famous but not famous enough to be feared just barely passable it was just that the Akihito family owed them too much money due to his father taking the risk for some stupid investment from his friend of course like any family every even Reiki that never goes out tried to convince him but one night he to loan the money in secret and his so-called friend ended running with the money and after that he mysteriously disappeared from the house never to be seen again even in this timeline this adopted father didn’t even show himself or at least took the consequence from his actions.
As Reiki let out one big long sigh he stood up and picked up the pot and walked towards the makeshift kitchen and started to wash the pot after that he heard two people walking outside from the overly extravagant tent and saw Otome and Yuiitsu properly dressed Otome was back in her maid outfit and Yuiitsu was now wearing another red dress that looked exactly like the same one when he first met her from when she was being kidnapped and thought. Is this some kind of law or something? Why does a princess or well nobles have so many of the same dress I just don’t get it? Was the only question the popped in his mind as he continued to finish to wash the pot.
As soon as Reiki finished washing the pot he went back to the shabby looking tent and tried to get as much as practice something else before they leave the moment Reiki was inside the tent Otome started to prepare Yuiitsu’s breakfast and using the makeshift kitchen she was somehow was able to make delicacies that would be seen in five star restaurant like Paella, Sashimi, and there was even some Jokbal and all of them was carefully prepared just for Yuiitsu alone.
With how things are now with them and Reiki if he would even think about trying some of the food that was on the table he would be instantly be met with a knife in his neck by Otome.
…
After eating Yuiitsu was finished and Otome was currently washing the dishes and had already eaten somehow without Yuiitsu noticing after finishing up a cup of tea Yuiitsu said. “Otome-san please wake up the earth mage and tell him we leave in a few minutes oh and tell him he can keep that tent.”
“Yes, Yuiitsu-sama I’ll do as you say.” Otome walked towards the tent as she was about to say something he noticed something moved at the corner at her eye and immediately brandish her weapons and took out two knives and said in a menacing tone. “Who’s there if you do-” Before she was able to speak out another word she was surprised to see that Reiki was actually outside the tent but that didn’t actually surprise her what surprised her was that his flow of mana was completely suppressed and you can’t even tell he was a mage unless you saw him casting magic a few days ago she would have thought the kid in front of her was just another average kid with average looks just another face in the crowds.
What they didn’t know that Reiki didn’t actually go to the tent to sleep he went inside to practice to suppress his flow of mana the first time that they met Reiki the only thing different about him was his flow of mana but now that it was gone he looked like the average child and no one would really notice him. Unless he was right in front of you or asking you for something like directions along the way or something similar but that wasn’t enough to surprise her what really surprise her that Reiki was able to ‘perfectly’ hide his flow of mana
Here is where it gets complicated suppressing your own flow of mana is something that actually takes month possible even years to suppress the stronger the mage the more potent and the more you can easily see there flow of mana and there were even some mages that you can even sense their flow of mana without even using a skill to sense it and Reiki was one of those that exude mana that could easily sense even monster that was smart enough or strong enough would be able to sense him but not to the point of them running away but to try and drive Reiki away from there respected territories due to there instinct of trying to preserve their species.
Up to this day, Otome was actually well versed in magic herself and heard some mages be able to master spells within about one year being the fastest and the longest about being 14 years and that was trying to master to suppress their flow of mana yet this child in front of her was able to suppress his mana flow in a single night she would accept it if the flow was dropped about five percent but Reiki was able to suppress his mana flow completely you wouldn't even dream let alone guess he was a mage that had affinity with four different elements.
As Otome was still staring at Reiki in a daze he said. “Is there something wrong, Otome-san?” Of course he would play the role of the fool. The last thing he needed was to tell them how he was able to suppress his mana flow.
『 Mana Flow Has Been Activated. Mode: Suppressed by 100%』
Was enough to put a huge smile on his face. He never thought it would only take about roughly 40 minutes to suppress his mana flow by one hundred percent. Who wouldn’t be all smiles now? He looked completely harmless, a snake hidden in plain sight. Was the most dangerous of them all he wasn’t surprised at Otome’s reaction at all with Reiki’s progress of improving was something that was completely unheard of.
Even if the two girls in front of him told the entire world no one would believe them not even someone with half a brain and the reason why even if it was true no child would have the ability to improve so greatly in a single night they would be more likely to believe it if it was some of the older mages the lived about 2,000 years but a child doing it the only that would believe the two of them would likely be insane.
As Reiki put on an ignorant face and acted out like nothing was wrong only added to Otome’s suspicions and added fuel to the feud between them although they barely knew each other. The other side didn’t have any background and was from a commoners family while the other was a maid that was trained to eliminate anything suspicious that would try and get near Yuiitsu. And right now the fact he was still alive was not because she couldn't kill him it was because Yuiitsu told her not to
Which only added more fuel to the fire even though both sides were silent they were both smart enough that they would never get along with each other and that was a known fact between them and something that wouldn’t just disappear just because of one person even if she is the princess.
With the way, Reiki talked and feigned ignorance only angered Otome more although she was never the type to wear her emotions on her sleeve this boy right in front of her could easily test her patience and was only one word away from being stabbed by the throat yet something told her that if she did that something dangerous would happen.
For someone who lived in the shadows and met her share of life and death battles the only thing that was reliable was her instincts and right now it was telling her that this boy was dangerous and it was as clear as day as she spoke through gritted teeth she said. “No there’s nothing wrong… lowly earth mage.” as she said the last words as she was telling herself that she could kill him anytime she wants but what she didn’t know was the exact opposite.