I feel satisfied with my performance. The first hours were a real headache. I had never felt so out of sync with my own body, mana, and Imra, nothing like this had ever happened to me in any ascension.
I can only think of something similar when I assimilated into this body, but back then I felt strange because of the size difference between my previous body and this one. The problem now is different.
Not being able to use my Imra and mana as efficiently as I did at sapphire rank has been the biggest issue. In just one session, I’ve been able to notice the huge difference in the quality of my constructions and abilities. I feel more comfortable using them at this new rank.
The problem lies in my control. I usually use a lot of mana to strengthen each ability. Now, excessive mana use can become a serious problem if I don’t manage to control it.
Making calculations based on my progress in a single day, I’m sure that in a couple of weeks I’ll feel more comfortable with this body. I just need to dedicate the necessary time to training, I’ll take advantage of any moment to practice.
It will probably take Brendu a couple of weeks to complete her ascension. That will be roughly the same amount of time for me to feel confident enough to face grade 4 monsters without fear of destroying my own body.
I return to the room. The doctor says goodbye when she sees me enter, and I stay watching the princess. She is sitting, deeply meditating, probably navigating the infinite darkness or deciding which Dominion to take.
I won’t stay doing nothing. It’s time to try light mana and Imra exercises. I need to return to the basics if I want to improve quickly, I remember several exercises practiced last semester.
A faint smell of sweat reaches my nose before I can sit down to train. “A shower and eating something wouldn’t be bad…” I don’t need to eat much now that I’m ruby rank, my body is overflowing with life mana, but that doesn’t take away my love for food.
Now fresh and feeling happy, I decide to train. I create figures of different sizes, different shapes, they change every few seconds. I expand my mind, creating any object I see in the room.
I feel happy and annoyed at the same time. I’m glad to see how my mind no longer feels as much pressure when constructing several mana and Imra objects at the same time, it feels like the RAM of my brain has been upgraded to the latest generation.
At the same time, it frustrates me not being able to use all of this new capacity. I feel like I’m wasting part of my potential.
I manage to stay stable because I know it’s temporary. Before I realize it, I won’t feel this disconnection with myself anymore.
The rest of the days were very normal. Going to some classes, helping my students, training as much as possible, and watching over Brendu. Everything became routine. A bit of calm has done me good, lately my life had been filled with events focused on fighting, now I have some peace.
During these days, I’ve taken advantage of the time to talk with Sol, Arisa, and Marga as much as possible. I’m focusing most of the day on improving my control over Imra and mana, I can talk to them during that time.
The girls feel a bit sad. They want to see us again, they feel somewhat empty because they can’t talk to Brendu.
I’ve also been able to talk with Susan. She is very busy because of a series of events. She hasn’t told me anything so far, and I haven’t asked either. I don’t want to get involved in matters where I’m not needed. If she needed me, she would have already told me.
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She confirmed my suspicions. My movement ability was always meant to be used inside my Personal World, that’s why it feels so easy to use it now. Susan is happy that I obtained the ability while I was still sapphire rank.
Susan suspects that if I had obtained the ability at this rank, it would have been a problem. It would have been much harder to use my Dimensional Step outside the range of my senses. Since I wasn’t fully synchronized by being one rank below, it gave me the chance to adapt the ability.
Susan also gave me some advice to improve my control quickly. She was surprised at how fast I’ve adapted, being a bit obsessed with training helps most of the time.
Areci is also in a personalized room, she decided to ascend to ruby rank. One of the reasons is because she didn’t want to be below me, that’s what Susan told me. It seems Areci was very motivated.
All the days passed calmly, but they feel a bit empty. Not being able to talk to Brendu daily is a strong blow. If I didn’t have Glia and my friends, I would be training even more, and that wouldn’t be healthy.
All of them are also preparing to take the next step, they’re just waiting to finish school.
“I already told you, this chocolate dessert is better!” Shawu shouts while holding her head.
“No, you get tired of it quickly. The vanilla one is much better because you can eat more than one.” Humyr replies to his girlfriend.
They only argue about one thing: desserts. I’ve never seen them argue for any other reason. They’re always opposites when it comes to choosing dessert. We’re all used to it, we just ignore them.
“Are you going to visit my father tomorrow?” Ogine asks me after glancing a couple of times at the couple arguing. She simply shakes her head and looks resigned.
“Yes, I already feel comfortable with my mana control.” I answer.
“I can’t go with you tomorrow, I have a full schedule. I could go the day after tomorrow.” Ogine takes a spoonful of ice cream while we talk.
“Don’t worry, I can get there on my own. I’m not a child who will get lost.” I don’t mind going alone. I’ll go by myself, visit him, and see how the clinic works.
I stay with my friends a bit longer, then decide to return to the specialized room. I want to see how Brendu is doing. I know she has a doctor at all times when I’m not there, but I still want to see her as much as possible.
The city is always so lively. Everyone is moving from one place to another as fast as they can. Shouts come from everywhere, people are always energetic in cities this large.
I pass by my favorite food stalls before heading to the clinic. I need to arrive with a full stomach to perform well.
The clinic is huge. The main building is over ten floors tall. The land is enormous, with several smaller buildings around it. The infrastructure is beautiful.
When I arrive, I ask for Ogine’s father. The receptionist looks at me, confused. After a few seconds of silence, she speaks.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Maki. I’ll contact Mr. Ogi, please wait a moment.” I nod slowly.
For a moment I thought: How does she know my name? Then I remembered—I’m quite famous in this city because of the last tournament. My friendship with Ogine is also public knowledge.
A young man arrives after a few minutes, he will guide me to Mr. Ogi’s office. I can see his nervousness in his movements. At first, he even stuttered a bit when speaking, but after the receptionist gave him a sharp look, he managed to speak properly.
I have to wait in the office for a few minutes. Mr. Ogi is with a very important patient. The boy says goodbye, but doesn’t leave. He stays there staring at me for several seconds, almost making things uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry… could I get your autograph? Only if it’s not too much trouble.” He breaks the silence. “I’m a big fan of yours. I followed the tournament from beginning to end, I’m glad you won.”
“Oh, yes, no problem.” I’m a bit surprised. He’s clearly ruby rank and older than me, I’ve never had an older fan before.
Seeing his satisfied smile makes me happy. I even laugh when he says he’ll show it off to all his friends. We end up taking a photo with a device similar to a camera, he said he needs proof so no one calls him crazy.
The office door opens almost an hour later.
“I’m sorry for the delay, Maki. Things got a bit complicated, and several patients arrived who needed urgent treatment.” Mr. Ogi apologizes.
“Don’t worry, I have no problem waiting if it’s for a good reason.” We shake hands firmly. When I look into his eyes, I can see dark circles—doctors don’t sleep well in any world.
“Ready for your first day?” My face must have said everything, because he lets out a small laugh and continues. “Relax, you won’t do badly. I’ll be close to help you if you need it. The patients only need basic treatment, it’s impossible for anything bad to happen.” I nod slightly.
I’m not completely convinced, but if he’s there to correct any mistake, I can take the risk. I need to be extremely careful. I don’t want to cause problems—people will start spreading strange rumors if I make stupid mistakes.