Chapter 9: Seeing Rorick Again
After basking in the glory of my success for a little bit, I noticed that I was still bleeding and that the leftover mana in my body would soon run out. In a panic, I tore off some fabric from my clothes and tied it tight around my wound. It helped quite a bit to stop the bleeding, and not a moment too soon, as I was left with an intense feeling of weakness after the mana finally ran out.
Despite my horrible physical condition I had a broad smile on my face. I could still feel a newfound strength pulsing throughout my body with the rhythmic thump of my heart. I wasn't sure if this would actually lead me to the pinnacle of strength in this world, but I felt like I was on the right track.
Now satisfied with my thoughts, I turned my attention to my surroundings once more and saw a puddle of blood nearly overflowing from the hole that I dug earlier. I once again became queasy knowing that all of that blood used to be in my body.
I took the dirt that I set aside early and tried my best to refill the hole. It was rather hard to accomplish this task as I ended up with a good amount of strange blood-based mud, but after taking more dirt from the surroundings, I was eventually able to cover everything up.
I sat down and noticed my hands covered in dirt and dried blood. I guess I will have to use even more dirt to hide the leftover blood. I then looked down to make sure my clothes were in order still. I tore the fabric from the part of my shirt that lays around my waist, so I could just tuck in my shirt and it would be relatively fine. I also had long sleeves that I could pull down to cover over my bandage.
Thinking about it now, I realized that I was still wearing the clothes that I brought with me from the other world. It had probably been about a week now and everything looked worn out and had a bad smell to it. No wonder nobody wanted me sitting at their tables. I decided that I would make it a point to ask around about cleaning myself tomorrow.
Soon I laid down in the corner and decided to get a bit of sleep after all. I just went through an exhausting set of circumstances and my cover would look even better if I actually did sleep in this area. Soon I drifted off while thinking about what I might face in the coming days.
The next day, I went through my normal routine like normal, albeit with a slightly more paranoid attitude. I found myself keeping a very close eye on all of the people around me and then had to laugh knowing that even if I was found out, I could do nothing about it. The strength of these people was otherworldly and I was helpless before them.
Breakfast finished like normal, but afterwards Bruno showed up with Rorick in tow. I knew this would be the most dangerous situation thus far as I couldn't even begin to imagine what kinds of means these two possessed. Yet, after seeing the excited look in Rorick's eyes I figured that I was safe.
"You weren't wrong Bruno. He really has already awoken to mana."
Bruno scoffed.
"How could I be wrong old man? You do know how long I have been overseeing new recruits right?"
"Please save your wounded ego. This situation is remarkable. Sure, the absolute best people were able to feel mana earlier, but he did this while only consuming spirit food. It's borderline unheard of."
"Yeah, at least this worthless old dog can do something right. I already told him to proceed with physical mana training."
After that a hint of pity appeared in Rorick's eyes.
"Such a shame indeed. If only you happened to be one of our loyal subjects. Ah the wasted potential."
Outwardly Rorick looked genuine with his pity, but after years of seeing my superiors doing similar things, I had a feeling that he was actually quite happy with my misfortune. In his eyes, my path to power on the mage path might have been quite threatening, so he was glad that the problem was eliminated before it even started.
He took a step forward and placed his hand on my shoulder.
"I know that you were looking forward to being a mage in this world, and I daresay you might have even found out how to make that happen. But just know that this situation is for the best. If you don't walk the warrior's path then your heart might give out at any moment. Don't worry though, at the very least your capabilities with mana have risen your potential. I think it is now very unclear who the potential hero is so we will be sure to give you a better treatment."
Near the end he looked quite happy with himself. It's like he took pleasure in showing that righteous attitude of pretending to have my best interests at heart. At least I might be able to work this situation to my advantage.
"If you truly mean that, can I ask for someplace to clean myself and maybe better clothes? I think I'm being ostracized because I smell and look like complete shit."
"Of course, of course. How could we torture you in that way? We will lead you to the baths and prepare new clothes as soon as possible."
He then took a step back and looked back to Bruno.
"You know what to do, and make sure you confirm he strengthens his muscles. We wouldn't want any unknown situations to occur, would we?"
"No sir, I understand."
It felt weird seeing Bruno so subservient, but I guess that's what happens when a general is ordered by the best mage of a country.
With that, Rorick left and I was left with good ol' Bruno eyeing me down.
"Well, you heard the man. Let's get some exercise on the way to the baths and start your physical training."
He made it sound like it would be a nice team effort, but it was painfully obvious that he was just following his orders to confirm that I strengthened my muscles at least once. I started to get nervous while thinking of all the possible ways to cover up my mana training. The way these people made it sound was that if you focused on anything else even once, then you were no longer a threat and I didn't want to test that theory.
"Come on then, let's go with a light jog. You better not push yourself too hard though."
His words reminded me of my condition once more and I realized that I at least had that card to play. I knew that I could work with this.
I gave him a nod and then we slowly started jogging away from the training grounds. I'm sure it looked like quite the pathetic jog with all of my muscles constantly aching from my sleeping conditions.
To my surprise though, I noticed that it was much easier to jog than before. I figured it might have been because my blood was much better at carrying oxygen throughout my body, but I couldn't be entirely sure.
Regardless though, after noticing Bruno frown slightly, I forced myself to start breathing harder. After my first day in this world, I was no longer confident in my acting abilities, but after looking over to Bruno once more, he seemed much more relaxed.
Bruno ran by my side while matching my pace and also directing us at every turn. He definitely wanted to get this done as soon as possible, so I guess there wouldn't be a whole humiliation scene this time.
We kept jogging up until I started to get the first signs of fatigue in my body. Immediately after, I slowed to a walk while continuing my fake heavy breathing.
"What's wrong? We are still a little bit out."
"It's my chest. I feel like if I don't catch my breathe now it might explode."
Bruno had a deep scowl on his face.
"A worthless dog after all."
With that, we walked the rest of the way all while I went through various motions of faking being out of breath. At one point I would bend over with my hands on my knees. At another, I would slow walk with my hands behind my head. I did anything I could to make Bruno think I was exhausted all while making my real feelings of exhaustion vanish from my body.
Eventually we made it to what they called the baths and Bruno seemed none the wiser to my deceit.
When we entered, much to my pleasure, I noticed that this world's idea of bathing was wildly different than my old world. Before me, I saw a wide-open area that would have counted as a hot spring in my world back home. There were various pools filled with mineral water and it was complete with waterfalls on one side and a drain off area on the other.
Taking a look at the whole area, I noticed one spot where a waterfall quickly flowed into a drain off area. It was fast moving water and it led to a completely different area. Even if there were a lot of blood in the water, nobody in this room would be any wiser and that was my chance.
I looked over at the impatient looking Bruno once more and decided that I would give my plan a try. It would be a risk, but every step of the way was filled with risks. There was no other way for me to reach the pinnacle, so I steeled my determination and decided to go through with my plan.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone