6/29, 985th year of the new millennium

It’s been a few days since I’ve passed out from the effects of mana depletion. I’ve been forced to stay in bed since then because Brandt and Marla think I might be sick.

“I’m telling you, I’m fine. I just used up my mana.”

“Oh, Brandt. Listen to our son. He must still be delusional.” Marla says this while wiping away tears.

“I’m sorry Marla, this is all my fault. First, I couldn’t give you a child, and now the son I chose to adopt has become an idiot because of my actions.”

Marla and Brandt embrace each other and lament over my supposed stupidity.

I fucking hate this situation. It’s not like I’ve ever lied to them after becoming their son. Why wouldn’t they listen to me?

To clarify what happened, when I came to, I explained to my foster parents that after I successfully absorbed the raw mana from the monster core, I had gone into a dreamscape and convinced the Fenrir to give me its power. I also explained that I managed to feel the mana and push it into my fist, which ended up making me faint.

Their response was to laugh and ask me if I was serious.

“Why can’t you two believe me?”

“Look, our son is asking us why we don’t believe him.” Brandt dramatically covers Marla’s ears. “It’s okay. You don’t have to listen if you’re sad.”

“I mean it! I can actually use mana now.” I’m so tired of this back and forth.

“Oh, silly boy, it’s impossible to use mana as soon as you develop a mana pool. Not even the greatest geniuses with the best resources can do it. Don’t worry, the physician from the imperial army will check up on you soon. He and I go way back.”

They’ve been saying that I shouldn’t be able to use mana yet for the past few days, but I find it hard to believe. I thought it felt simple when I did it, almost like it was the most natural thing I could have done at that moment.

“I can prove it! I’ll do it right now.”

Marla just sobs and faints and Brandt looks at me, upset.

What the fuck.

***

7/1, 985th year of the new millennium

The physician of the imperial army came today.

He’s a stout man, wider than he is tall, and gave off an air of regalness that I’ve never seen before. I could sense his status before he ever opened his mouth to tell me who he was, that’s just how much power he held in his gait.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

I was fully expecting a snobbish attitude to go with his way of walking, but I was pleasantly surprised when he turned out to be cheerful and outgoing.

After talking with him for a while, I found myself liking him a lot. The only problem was that he was as much of a goofy bastard as my foster parents.

“Oh my! How could such an illness befall upon this young gentleman!” There’s a third sobbing asshole now.

“Sir, I’m really quite fine!”

“Please, just call me Harold.” He weeps harder. “Such a polite child. To be massacred by a demon of the mind so early on. What a tragedy I have witnessed today!”

This is getting nowhere, so I hold out my arm for Harold to inspect.

“Please, just trust me! I’m currently still out of mana because I don’t know how to accumulate mana particles from the air, but if someone teaches me, I can prove that I’m telling the truth!”

Harold looks at Brandt for confirmation. After receiving a nod, he turns back to me.

“If what you’re saying is true, we can surely use your suggestion to prove your words, however, such an occurrence is very much unprecedented, even within the nearly one thousand years of history of this continent!”

I stare at him, resolute. My words have been ignored by Brandt and Marla for nearly a week now. If I continue getting gaslit like this, I think I’m going to go crazy!

“I’m ready.” I’m going to enjoy making them look like the dumbasses.

“Alright then. Close your eyes. If you truly did imbue your fists with mana, then you should be familiar with the feeling of pushing mana into your fist. Accumulating mana particles is the reverse. From outside of your skin, feel the energy particles that collide with you and drag them into your mana pool.”

I follow the instructions, and almost immediately, I feel a tingling sensation that causes the hair on my arms to raise.

“There’s no way…”

I can hear Brandt muttering under his breath, and I smirk, happy to finally shut them up.

When I feel my mana pool completely filled, I open my eyes to the shocked faces of the three adults.

They’re completely speechless and can only gesture to each other to communicate.

Brandt points at me, points at different parts of the air, then at his abdomen.

I assume he’s asking me if I really did absorb mana from the air, and I nod, fully showing my smugness, but instead of being upset, Brandt and Marla squeal with delight.

“He’s a genius!”

“Our boy’s a genius!

There’s a certain feeling of happiness you get when the people closest to you are proud of you, and I think this is it. This is the first time when I thought that I was happy to live and to achieve something in my life, regardless of all the shit I’ve had to live through. At this moment, I couldn’t be happier that the people who took care of me while asking nothing in return could look so excited just because I did something special.

Despite that, I’m a petty guy, and I just had to live through six days of absolute bullshit right after I turned ten.

“Who, me? I thought I’m a delusional boy though?” I say, feigning sadness.

I rub my eyes to make them red and puffy and give my best tearful look.

“I can’t believe my own parents couldn’t believe my words.”

“I’m sorry, it was all because my jerk of a husband said that it’s not possible.” Marla slaps Brandt on the arm, and he apologizes too.

I turn to look away, trying to hide my wicked smile.

This is it! This is what they deserved for emotionally abusing me for the last six days!

“You three are one crazy family.” Harold is the only one not fooled by my act, and he just sighs in resignation.