Chapter 11: Mana Crystal
"But... "
"Enough. It's Nate's decision and he will decide his future. I already said we're a hired thugs and we've been hired by the country this time. Which means the 75 friends you left behind will be sent to the border and guess what? It will be a miracle if a single one returned alive." Baldy lashed out at Olly who wanted to argue more.
"You're lucky to have awakened magic, even though it was late and your attributes are less pure. You have a chance to be someone in this world, someone who'll make a difference. But the path to reach that goal will have blood and it's you who'll decide who's blood it's going to be. It's either you or your enemies." Baldy said while looking at the kids who had different emotions in their eye.
*Sigh* 'What kind of guild did join? Since when do I have enemies. I thought mercenary guild was like adventure guild to accept missions and such. This isn't what I expected it to be.' Nate thought to himself but there wasn't going back now. He was sure he would be killed before he reached outside. Although they said he could back out but they didn't say they will let anyone go out alive. Not after three months of intense training.
Nothing was free in this world and surely they wouldn't let anyone from the training leave just like that. But being assassin wasn't a bad choice either since he already killed someone. Maybe that was what he was meant to do and his gifts as well. Nate imagined himself holding a sniper rifle and blowing someone's head from distance people thought impossible in this world.
Nate was scared by such thought as well. A chill went up to his spine as he was excited by this thought. 'It has only been three months into this world and I'm already corrupted by the ideologies of this world. But maybe that's okay. My moral views from Earth won't work here if I want to live.' Nate thought to himself and made his decision.
"I'll do it. I'll become an assassin" Nate said leaving his second thoughts behind.
"Nate, are you sure that's what you want?" Olly asked with concern.
"Mm, I've already killed once. I don't mind doing it again since I'll be getting paid for it next time I do." Nate said as he smiled.
The smile was the scariest thing the other kids saw including Olly. Was it okay if you kill if you're getting paid? It was easy to see Nate's mental state was not stable.
The stress from being in the new unfamiliar world and the trauma from killing someone was slowly affecting Nate and he himself was not aware of it. But there wasn't anyone who could help Nate or know what he was going through.
"I'm glad to hear your choice, Nate. And all of you also have the chance to become an assassin but I suggest you wait a few more years. Now, let's start with basics before we go to the deeper subject." Baldy said as he looked at the kids in front.
Among the five Nate was the oldest being 17 and others were still 14-15 years old. Nate was almost an adult so he could start the training for assassination and enter the world of assassination in just a few years of training but Olly and others were still considered as kids.
"Being a mage comes gives you innate advantages such as heightened senses, physical abilities, and regeneration. So as long as you advance in your magic your physical abilities will grow as well. But it won't be enough to withstand the backlash of higher tier magic. Hence many mages train in physical abilities whether they are an internal or external caster." Baldy said as he flexed his muscles
"Since you've awakened your magic then you must have sensed the energy inside and outside your body," Baldy said as he looked towards the kids to check their confirmation and everyone nodded.
"That energy is what we call mana. We are always absorbing them into our body as we breathe but the amount is close to none. Some are able to absorb more and some simply can't. Once the absorbed mana reaches a certain amount, that person can awaken as a mage. Its why most kids from noble family awaken magic at an early age as they are fed food with magical elements. And kids from ordinary family rarely awaken their magic." Baldy continued his lecture while Nate and others listened with great interest.
"So to advance further as a mage, you have to absorb more mana into your body through the air or from other sources," Baldy said and took out five crystal of different color.
"These are mana crystal found in the heads of the magical beast as well as mages. It is a storage of mana and you have that in your head as well. The crystal can be divided into different attributes according to their color.
Red for fire, Blue for water, Green for wind, Yellow for the earth and so on. These crystal holds more mana and is also pure since it only holds only one attribute of mana unlike in the air. Absorbing mana from the crystal is easier and is more rewarding and also helps you advance more quickly since your body does not need to filter the unwanted attribute.
Imagine a crystal similar to this in your head and absorb the mana from the crystal and direct it towards that crystal it should be easy." Baldy pushed the crystal towards the kids according to their attributes.
Nate was given a red crystal which was fire attribute crystal not a summoning attribute and looked towards Baldy with questioning gaze.
"Summoning is one of the derived attributes based from basic elements. The summoners mana attribute is the same as the beasts or weapon they summon. In your case its fire, well it should be. Go ahead and try absorbing it, if it doesn't work I'll get crystal of another attribute. Your summons is unheard of so it is hard to identify the attributes of your mana." Baldy said scratching his head.
Nate's summons was unusual and different than the ones in the records. The summons were usually magic or demon beasts or weapons of different attributes but Nate's weapon didn't hold any magical property. Which was great for assassination as his weapon wouldn't radiate any mana making his attacks hard to defend but also made it harder to identify his innate attribute.
But looking at the flashes created by Nate's weapon he figured it counted as fire attribute. He was not a professor in mana so he decided to try the simplest method and pushed fire crystal towards Nate. If it works then it was great if it didn't then he would push other crystal towards him.
Nate looked at blady with a suspicious eye and took the crystal in his hand. Olly and others had already started to absorb the mana in the crystal as they closed their eyes holding the crystal. Nate followed as well and tried to sense mana in the crystal while closing his eyes.
As soon as he focused towards the crystal a thin line of red energy moved from the crystal towards his hand making its way towards his head. Nate enjoyed the heat as he felt his body relax as the mana was slowly drained away from the crystal.
While Nate was enjoying the crystal, Baldy was looking at Nate with shock. Olly and others were still trying their best to sense the mana in the crystal but Nate started to absorb as soon as he held it in his hand.
"If he can summon stronger weapon then, he will definitely create a legend in the assassination world," Baldy said as he left the room and let the kids do their thing. It would be a few hours before they finish absorbing the mana.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Username_unknown
Username_unknown Nate will be mentally unstable for this volume.
I was trying to look for a reason to make him an assassin. It would be weird if he suddenly decided to be a killer without having a mental issue first.
Weekly Power Status
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