" 11...12...13... "
" Keep going, Young Master! You can do it! "
My arms buckled under my weight and density as I lowered myself. My hands pressing into the flooring of this regal room at first felt like little needles and points were digging into my flesh. However, now, I feel a burning pressure sensation. Pushups. They were simple pushups, and yet I could barely do thirteen without my arms shaking. But at least it wasn't as bad as the crunches I had been doing earlier. With Flora's help, I managed five.
" Ugh! "
Collapsing, I fell to my chest with my arms still in position to perform the pushup. This was pathetic, however, compared to where I started, barely able to even do one, it was progress. It had been just five days since Doctor Marbel told me the state of my condition. And under strict orders, no one except Flora and the Doctor has even been allowed near my room.
I can't trust anyone.
" You did your best! "
Flora rushed down by my side and held her hands out, reluctantly stopping once she realized she was actually about to touch me. Ever since she realized that even slight physical contact with me caused twinges of pain, she held herself back.
* GRAB *
I grabbed onto her hand while still lying down on the floor. I wasn't so fragile that she needed to worry about breaking me with a touch—a foolish sentiment. Pushing myself up, I looked at her, sighing a bit.
" I'm not a helpless animal, Flora. Besides, I'm actually feeling rather good. "
This wasn't a lie either. I could stand and walk around my room without much physical difficulty, and I could even run. And that's without being on the sedative. While on it, I'm capable of doing up to twenty pushups and running for ten minutes straight. It seemed to me that my recovery was also severely enhanced thanks to this Vitality running through me.
" I understand...I still worry, though! "
" I'm sure you do. "
Feeling a bit tired, I wandered over to my bed and fell onto it. In the beginning, doing such an action would've made me seize up a bit in pain. However, now, it only hurts a little bit. My tired and weary body made it easier for my mind to drift off and find rest. And within moments, I was out cold.
. . .
" Hello, Sora. "
My eyes snapped open wide, once again greeting a white space that stretched on and on.
" Void Space... "
" That's right, you remembered. "
Draesil said I'd see him again, but he came a little late. I lifted up and, for once, was greeted without any pain in my limbs for moving. I looked at my body, and I was back in my own. Though some things were a bit different. I was taller, more Draesil's height. And my hair—
" You're starting to look more and more like me. "
My eyes wandered toward Draesil, and I was a bit shocked.
" Your complexion— "
" And I you. "
Draesil's skin wasn't ghostly white anymore. Instead, it was the same color as mine. He came closer to me, our faces being just a few inches apart. His green eyes reflected my now longer steel-blue hair paired with his pale green eyes.
" I told you we'd become one. It's starting to show physically. "
" So you're turning me into you? "
" No, Sora. We're turning into each other. "
This was really weird. But...Honestly, I didn't care. I didn't feel the same influx of emotion that I did while inside Draesil's body in the real world. Why was that?
" It's simple. I told you that you would gain my memories. You haven't unlocked them yet; however, memories do influence how one's emotions work. You're starting to feel more than you ever did before. "
Did he read my mind?
" And what about you? "
" I've been sorting through your memories. There are a few that please me. This Haruo person seems to be quite the happy sort. "
That's funny. Haruo, happy? Yeah, I guess that's how it seemed to the outside.
" Haruo was sadder than any of us. He wasn't empty like me, but he wasn't a ball of sunshine. He carried a deep darkness in him out of inferiority and feelings of invalidation. Honestly, I always felt the worst for him out of all of us. "
Draesil looked up and down at me, almost as if analyzing and scanning me. He took a step back and put a hand to his chin, thinking.
" What is it? "
" You're opening up to me. Throughout all your memories, you never did that. "
" You're already in my head. Why hide what I think from you? "
Draesil stopped entirely, dropping his arms as a look of surprise washed over his face. He closed his eyes and smiled a bit, nodding. He opened them and held his hand out.
" You're right. I've been too close-minded. "
" And that means what exactly? "
" I've been hiding a few things from you. I didn't know if I could trust you or not. However, now I'm sure. "
Something came out of Draesil's hand—a vine. It came toward me, and it felt so familiar. In that same moment, it came closer, and I brought my own hand up, touching it.
" In life, though I would never admit it, I happened to be a prodigy in Magic. It's how I summoned your soul in my dying breaths. I'm going to slowly feed your mind as Sora my Magic's memories. In doing so, I'll unlock the memories of my life dormant inside of you. "
His Magic's memories? I knew Magic was a thing, obviously because it was how he summoned my soul. However, I didn't think I'd get to learn it so soon. I had been too narrow in my thinking about how this union works.
" Using your own intelligence, I want you to use my Magic and grow strong. Strong enough to wield our new body and protect my people. "
" Like Flora? "
Draesil nodded. As he did, and the vine disappeared, I could feel something rattling Void Space. It was similar to before, except this time it was a bit more disorderly. I was waking up. Based on the sudden nature of it, I would assume Flora is waking me. Draesil smiled a bit at me, his demeanor being much more relaxed.
" You're going to change this world, Sora. I can see it. "
" Huh? "
Draesil said one last thing, but I couldn't hear it. He waved before turning his back to me, walking off, and disappearing.
. . .
" W-Wake up! Wake up, Young Master! Please stop! "
As I started to come to consciousness, I could hear Flora yelling at me. At first, her voice was drowned out as my ears weren't fully active yet. However, that soon cleared up, and she was piercingly loud. The sedative must've worn off. Ever since I started my physical training to get used to this body, my senses have increased in strength when I'm not on the sedative. My kinetic vision is insanely acute, my hearing is fine-tuned to even minuscule sounds, and even my sense of smell and taste have been hyped up.
My eyes drifted around, looking at my surroundings, before I snapped fully wide open when I noticed the vines coming from my hands, wrapping around the room and beginning to create cracks in the ceiling.
" W-What the hell? "
I exclaimed for once as I shot up in bed and looked around. Pain settled in, but I didn't mind it and instead focused on my hands. Withdraw the sensation of the Mana and pull it back within myself. By cutting off the flow of Mana from the circle surrounding my palms, I can cancel the spell and destroy its lingering remnants since it's only a low-tier vine creation spell.
What the—
" How did I know to do that...? "
Just as I ran over within my mind, the spell perfectly disappeared, and the vines were no longer to be seen. Though the cracks in the ceiling stayed. Some of my furniture had been thrown over, and the stained glass window that peered down to the fountain in the middle of the backyard garden had been broken through.
Flora fell to the floor, grasping at the blanket tightly as she panted.
" Y-You finally woke up... "
Her voice was shaky. I must've worried her greatly. Suddenly unleashing Magic while being asleep would startle anyone.
First Circle Nature Magic: Rose Bloom.
Words formed within my head, and a circle of magical glyphs appeared in my palm once more. It had a faint green hue and glow, and within my hand, a single rose formed. It was pretty; however, something about it was a bit odd. For some reason, the petals were entirely pink. Almost an unnatural shade of it, too, for a rose. It was like a...cherry blossom.
" Here, Flora. "
Flora lifted her head once I called out to her and looked up at the flower. She didn't say anything, and we sat there for a moment. Truthfully, I just wanted her to calm down and use a spell floating around in these new memories. It was a simple one. I remember Draesil using it to soothe Santa, his little sister, whenever she was upset. It's a weird feeling vividly remembering something I never did before.
" Haha...What's this pink flower, Young Master? It's so beautiful. "
" It's a...cherry rose. "
I couldn't call it a normal rose; it wasn't even red. But considering it had the same coloration as a cherry blossom and the shape of a rose, it was fine to call it that. Flora nodded, hearing the name, and took the cherry rose from me, holding it close to her chest while turning to me.
" Thank you! "
" Enough being loud. The sedative wore off, and my head is splitting from all the noise. "
" Ah! Do you want another dose? "
Considering that I didn't really need a sedative to sleep and that I only used them when I was active...I had roughly fifteen, give or take one, left still. Thinking about it, now that I was fully awake and up, I could take this opportunity...
" No, I'll need the brainpower. Fetch me paper and something to write with. I'm going to study. "
" Study? So soon? You always used to study long into the night, but that's because you were so sick— "
Draesil must've been so good at Magic because he studied theory all the time. Being sick, he probably couldn't get a lot of time to train physically. However, I didn't have that weakness. As the days continued, I got more and more used to this extreme body. And soon, I'll have it completely under control.
" Just get what I said already! "
Flora yipped a bit as she ran out of the room and quickly brought me tools to write. I had situated myself at the pristine pale green and white desk situated near my bed and started writing out what I could remember.
At first, it was just a few words, the names of spells and the meanings of a few things. However, within just a few moments, I began to write down formulas for Magic circles. In this world, they are called "Scripture" and are used by "Self-Casters", Mages that wield their own nervous system and internal Mana to create their spells. This information effortlessly flowed out of me, and with my enhanced physicality, kinetic vision, and brainpower, I could draw and formulate scripture on the pages easily.
" Wow... "
Flora hovered over my shoulder and watched me work. It was a bit embarrassing, but I tried not to focus on it. Usually, I wouldn't care if someone watched me work, especially since school was effortless.
However...I was having fun writing down these ideas of Magic and the memories that formed in my head. And apparently, this was only the tip of the iceberg. As I looked through Draesil's memories, I found that there were gaps. Draesil was still hiding some of his Magic from me. But honestly, that's fine. I want to figure more out on my own.
I want to learn Magic too.
CHAPTER 32 END