Kenshin had spent a total of fifteen minutes in that epiphany mode. After he returned to his senses, there was already a notification window in front of him.
[Ding* Congratulations!! You have comprehended ‘Will’]
[All stats +5]
[Generated WILL stat]
[Generated WIS stat]
Opening his status window, he found two new additions to his attribute list.
[ATK: 35; DEF: 28; AGI: 38; PHY: 37; INT: 29(+2); WIS: 13; WIL: 11; LUK: 14]
From this he realized one thing; unless an attribute crosses the threshold of 10, it doesn’t show on the interface screen. Not only that, there are many sub stats which can only be seen when clicking on its main stat.
Take STA for example; generally, it doesn’t show on the main interface. But, once he selects on the PHY, to which the STA belongs to; the entire list of sub-stats come out.
[PHY: 37]
[STA: 63; END: 37]
Now both his WIS and WILL has crossed the threshold of 10 that’s why it was showing on the UI. He somewhat knows the significance of WIS but what does WILL do? To know more he selected the WIL on the UI.
[WIL]
[The manifestation of one’s desire. Will refers to the ability of the person to interact and change the reality around them. Higher the Will, the less likely they will be affected by the outside changes]
“…”
Kenshin couldn’t understand even a single thing of what was written in the description. Interacting and changing the reality! What the hell does that mean? While thinking deeply, his eyes shifted unintentionally towards a shaking Suguro, who was standing a few meters away from him. He was looking at him like he had just seen a monster.
“What!?” Kenshin asked as he couldn’t endure Suguro’s weird look.
“Y-y-ou-u, do you understand what you have just done?!” Suguro was shaking like a leaf. His expression was like he was seeing a thousand-year-old ghost. Never in his life had he thought that he would get to see someone comprehend ‘Will’ this fast.
“What have I done?!” Kenshin asked tilting his head in wonder.
“You really don’t know?! Can’t you see the aura coming out of your body?”
“What aura!!?”
Hearing him say such, Kenshin doubtfully looked at himself. Sure enough, there was a formless aura coming out of his body; surrounding him like a cocoon.
“What the hell is this?” he shouted in panic.
“You really have no idea about this?!” Suguro asked pointing his finger towards the aura surrounding Kenshin.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“No! What is this? Is this suppose to happen during the test?” Kenshin asked looking at Suguro in a mild panic. He didn’t notice it, but now he was panicking in a situation where he shouldn’t and had never in the past. However, if he could take his time to check his stats, he should have noticed his WIL decreasing rapidly.
[WIL: 10]
[WIL: 9]
…
The WIL stat also represents one’s willpower. If someone loses all his willpower, then he would no doubt be afraid of every tiny little thing.
Seeing his change in demeanor, Suguro instantly understood the situation.
“Kenshin!!! Listen to me and don’t panic. Everything’s under my control. Just take a deep breath to calm your nerves” as the manager of a DCB branch he was not a simple person. He had his share of experiences and knew how to deal with problems like this.
Listening to his advice; Kenshin did like what Suguro has told. He took a deep breath and got rid of all the thoughts in his mind. Slowly he felt clarity returning to him. His earlier panic had also stopped. Although it took some time, he eventually regained his usual temperament.
“What happened to me? Why do I suddenly feel fear?!” clearly Kenshin still had some lingering fear. Since it was in a safe environment it was okay, but what if this had happened during a life and death battle?
He would have died!
“That was Will” the solemn voice of Suguro broke Kenshin from his worry-filled thoughts.
“What?!”
“Will…the manifestation of one’s desire” Suguro explained still maintaining his solemn tone.
‘Will! Don’t tell me this will is the same one as my stat?’ “What is will?” Kenshin asked deliberately feigning ignorance.
“The same aura oozing out of you just now. That was will. You can also call it a form of energy which allows us to change our own perspective. Generally, high leveled Hunters use this energy to increase their offensive and defensive powers. On the contrary, magic skill users use it to control their magic flow. The stronger their will, the more control they have over their magic, increasing their efficiency to another level. Recently, some Hunters has also found out another use of will. It helps to increase one’s recovery power.
Earlier, you must have a strong desire to control your magic flow. That desire resonated with the magic energy and a ‘Will’ formed. That ‘Will’ suppressed the inconsistent flow of magic in your body, allowing you to control it.
Later, when you stopped channeling your magic energy; that ‘Will’ lost its purpose as such it gushed out of your body. Will also represents our determination. When all that ‘Will’ gushed out of your body, it technically drained all your determination. When one loses his determination what’s left is only fear and cowardliness.
Do you understand now?” before Suguro’s long-winded explanation could finish, Kenshin had already fallen to a trance.
‘It all makes sense now. Will, that was the weird sensation I have felt when I desired to control my magic output. In a sense ‘Will’ is like a ‘command’ born from our strong desire. That command brings a change to whatever we want to change. So that’s how it is! I don’t know if this is all ‘Will’ can do, but I understand the underlying property. But, it seems like this is not without any drawbacks. The drawback of this ‘Will’ is way more severe than anything I have thought!’
“So that’s how it was?! Thank you for informing me” Kenshin sincerely thanked Suguro.
“I understand! This is something that I must do” Suguro patted his chest and said with a solemn air.
Kenshin gave him an I-don’t-believe-it stare.
“Kehum! Now that you understand about its pros and cons; be careful while using it in future” Suguro continued as if he doesn’t see Kenshin’s skeptical gaze.
“Come, let us return to my office and chat while they update your hunter’s license”
“Okay, let's go!” Kenshin also accepted his invitation. He was no fool. He knew his mannerisms had offended Hashimoto earlier. To deal with someone like Hashimoto, he alone was not enough. Although his future prospects were higher, he had still not reached there yet.
Characters like Hashimoto can do anything for their pride. Kenshin knew that with his rise in power, Hashimoto will surely get suppressed. His weight would no longer amount to anything as long as Kenshin exists. To prevent that from happening he can do anything. And Kenshin was afraid of that ‘anything’.
Hashimoto was not like a monster that he could just rush in and slay. He’s a human with status, power, and money in his disposal. To fight him, he needed someone who can keep him in check.
To Kenshin, there was no one better than this manager of DCB Mito branch.