บท 175: [Bottomless Vessel]
[Zero's Pov]
'Status.'
===Status===
Name: Zero Adler [2nd Form]
Rank: C
Strength: F+
Agility: C-
Stamina: ?
Intelligence: B-
Mana Capacity: B+
--> Main Manual:
[Bottomless Trickster - Ungraded] - Major Understanding.
-Core Skill: [Double Trouble]
-1st Skill: [Swap]
-2nd Skill: [Materialize]
-3rd Skill: [Detonation]
--> Elemental Affinity: Water
->Elemental Skills (Affected by [Bottomless Trickster] Manual): [Orb of Water], [Flowing Aegis], [Bottomless Vessel]
==========
Seeing my status once again, nothing had changed from when I dueled Arthur. Now that I wasn't forcing extra mana into my body, my mana capacity was back to [B+] like before. But, the skill was still right there, [Bottomless Vessel]
To some extent, I didn't know if it didn't show up because it was some sort of latent ability that Zero ultimately triggered to activate or if it had always been active but just hidden. Then again, it didn't actually matter anymore.
Something that did matter, however, was the fact that Zero had opened my eyes to a whole new world of elemental manipulation.
The way he used our element was most likely inexplicable to most people, as he made it look like there were absolutely no restrictions to the forms it could take, or how much power he could exude with it.
And from what I could determine there were two reasons why this was the case. The first was the fact that the element itself reacted to strong emotions, and there was no doubt we had a lot of strong emotions during the duel.
This was also the reason why, even though I had tried when Ms. Turner had left for the night, I couldn't activate [Bottomless Vessel] in a normal state. Or at least that's the only explanation I found that made sense.
It was very much a cliché, that the main character would power up to match his emotions, but in this case, it felt reasonable. to believe that the nature of water was dynamic enough to create such a weird prerequisite.
However, what was more interesting about why he was so strong was that he looked at things differently. More precisely, he looked at [Materialize] differently than I had done. For me, [Materialize] had been a way to create things out of my mist, but he had shown me that it could be incredibly potent to use in harmony with our element.
Materializing our water made it so he had full control of it, and because it had the synergy with our affinity, it was also very strong. Still, there was a reason I had never thought about doing something like that, and that reason was incredibly simple.
It cost a lot of mana. A ton of mana even. But for Zero, that didn't matter, because of [Bottomless Vessel]. Still, that wasn't a reason for me to practice it as well. For me, skills would probably almost always be more effective, but the potential for freely manipulating an element was too high to throw away.
'And that angel...'
The last 'spell' he had used was on another level. I doubted I could create something even close to that amount of power as James, though it had to be said that James wasn't someone specializing in firepower. And this quickly led to another possibility, a possibility that also brought with it a consequence.
A sad smile subconsciously emerged on my face, a part of now already knowing how the future would play out, a small voice that told us 'It's fine, it's going to be alright.'
*Knock! Knock!*
'Who would come to visit me this late? It's Friday, don't they have anything better to do?'
However, I had no choice but to wait for the door to open, showing me the sudden visitor that I had gotten. A tall, black-haired man stepped into the room, looking as shy as ever while holding a huge bag full of something.
"H-hey, Zero... I hope I am not... Actually, m-maybe I should go..."
'Did he come this late because he was hesitating?'
Somehow, his stupid little act made the sad smile I had on my face quickly turn into one of warmth, "Don't be like that Thomas. Come over and sit with me for a while, it would be a waste for you to come here just to turn around."
"O-okay... If you say so."
Seeing the man slowly dragging his feet toward the bed, I was honestly quite surprised that he would show up. After what I did, I had assumed that most of my classmates would be somewhat scared to interact with me, even if we tried to explain what we were doing.
Now, Stella was an outlier, not only because she didn't actually see what I did, but also because she seemed like the type of person to not care, in contrast to, for example, Caroline. As the burly man sat down, I knew that with his personality, I would have to be the one to start a conversation.
'Come to think of it, we never did have a real talk just between us, did we? To be fair, I was only officially attending for two days before I was sent here...'
"Thank you for coming, Thomas. It means a lot, really. After what I did... Haha, I guess I just thought that you might not want to be around me anymore."
"N-no! That isn't true!"
Suddenly, something triggered a bit of the fighting spirit that we had gotten to see when he went up against Mr. Brown, his dark eyes lighting up a bit with passion. Then, almost as if he got embarrassed, he turned his head down again, but he still kept talking.
"It's true that you looked a bit scary... but I don't think what you did was necessarily wrong..."
'It wasn't wrong that I threw a huge tantrum and threatened to blast Sophie to pieces? That I used her to make sure we could fight with Arthur when he was serious?'
Keeping my thoughts to myself, I kept smiling at the man, as it looked like he had more to say. Honestly, this was a good chance for me to try and get a read on what kind of man he really was, hidden underneath that burly body and his overbearing shyness.
"The things you said... The thing about the weak not being forced to listen to the strong... I want to help you. I want to make what you believe in reality."
'Why, would you look at this guy?'
Though his whole demeanor reeked of being weak-minded, he didn't hesitate at all to say he would stay at my side, and that he would help me accomplish our goals. Putting my small hand on his shoulder, however, I had to disappoint the young man.
"I'm happy that you want to help me, Thomas. But in the end, the best way for you to help me will be by living your life in ways you view as correct. Of course, I will ask for help if I need it, but you shouldn't say things like this when we have only known each other for a couple of days."
'Also, I really don't want a sidekick. Batman is way cooler without Robin, after all.'
Thomas quickly got a bit embarrassed as he realized what kind of situation we were in, and how bizarre his words were given the fact that we had only spent two days at the academy together.
"A-Ah! I-I'm s-sorry! I didn't m-mean to..."
"Thomas, it's fine. Even if I don't want you to force yourself to help me, I would just be happy if you stayed as my friend. Now, let's talk about something more fun for a bit! Like, I've read a lot of books about how young people talk. So, have you found a girl or a boy that you fancy yet?"
Completely unprepared for the bomb I suddenly dropped, his face turned bright red as he waved his arms, "Ah?! No, I don't have a boy I like! I mean a girl! I don't have a girl I like!"
'Is he ashamed of his sexuality? Is it the same in this world as on earth, where people are afraid of what people think of them just because of their romantic preferences?'
There was no way I would allow this to be the case, Thomas was too precious to have to suffer such a fate, to have to stay silent about his needs and wants just because he was afraid of what people would say.
So, I took his hand in mine, and spoke with a clear tone, "Thomas, I'm going to preface this by saying that I'm not into men, so please don't misunderstand."
As I said this, I saw his eyes turning incredibly sad, but at the same time like a small weight had been lifted off his shoulders. At least now, he didn't have to think about what could have been. However, I was not done.
"But Theia does not judge, and neither does love. You don't have to hide who you are, or at least not to me. You are also allowed to find happiness, and you are not going to find it if you hide from the world."
"Z-Zero..."
"So, keep your chin up! There will be someone for you, and even if there isn't, I will be by your side as your friend!"
And then, the dam burst. "Sniff! I-I... T-Thank youuu... Guh!"
"There, there."
'Another mission completed by Saint Zero!'
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