D. God Original Chater 85

The green ooze sticking to Jiran crackled and popped as it rapidly ate through what was left of his tracksuit. He used a molding to insulate his skin but without knowing the exact chemical composition to counter the acid, there was nothing he could do for his clothes.

Blinding pain assaulted his brain from the missing arm that had been blasted off just past his shoulder. With a generous application of mana, Jiran blocked the pain center in his brain. He didn’t know exactly which part of the brain governed pain, so he was forced to use a sloppy mental image which consumed a significant amount of his remaining mana.

He quickly tied off the shaping and focused on his missing arm.

Better get this stabilized quickly.

Jiran created pressure with his aura around what was left of his arm. He then pushed mana into the cast until it buzzed like a trillion bees around his stump. Sitting on the burnt ground, he closed his eyes and focused.

Bones first.

Marrow in the middle, surrounded by spongy bone stuff. Then blood vessels and compacted, hard bone wrapped around it all. Tendons, muscles, more blood vessels, and finally skin.

Jiran sighed as he looked down at the single inch his stump had grown after supplying it with nearly his entire mana supply.

This is going to take a while. Wish I had a little more knowledge to make this more mana efficient. Should I use my gate again? I’ve been relying on it so much lately.

Lenton didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with storing mana there and using it later, but he looks ready to drop dead any day, what does he care about long-term consequences?

Unless it’s an emergency, I should avoid it until I understand it better.

Olive, hovering a meter off the ground, flew over the nearby hill. She spotted him and veered in his direction.

Her look of relief upon seeing him vanished, replaced by panic.

“Jiran! No, no, no, your arm.

“I’m so sorry! I should have arrived sooner. I could have helped. Are you okay? What can I do? Where are your cloth—”

Her eyes tracked down his bare chest and well-defined abs until they stopped below his navel. Steam exploded from her ears as her brain ceased functioning.

Jiran quickly realized why Olive had trailed off when he looked down at his naked lower half. A snap application of his fifth casting channel bent light around his body, obscuring his nudity.

He stood and walked over to the girl whose face was a blazing inferno and karate chopped the top of her head.

“We are still in the wastes. Focus up. I’m incredibly low on mana and we can’t afford to stand around being distracted. Let’s go.”

Jiran grabbed her hand and extended his obfuscation casting to cover both of them completely and then dragged her along behind him. She quickly regained her composure and used her own aura to propel herself.

“Your arm,” Her despondent croak was followed by a single sob and a deep breath.

“It’s fine, I’ll have it fixed in an hour or two.”

“W-what, really? Can you truly regrow it so quickly? But you’re only tier four. Regrowing an entire limb should take you seasons. An entire year would not be out of the question.”

“Olive, not to be insulting, but you really need to get some sleep.”

“What is that supposed to mean?!” The angry squint she directed at him no longer contained pity after learning he would be better so quickly.

“You know I can absorb density rapidly. You also know I can convert it to mana instantly. Just those two things alone would drastically increase my recovery. We both know I have other advantages as well.

“You haven’t been thinking clearly since we were in the forest. Did something happen while I was recharging my mana?”

Olive frantically waved her one free arm in front of her body.

“Did something happen in the forest? No, nope, not a thing. Definitely nothing of importance, nope,” Her awkward forced smile and neurotic giggles did nothing to convince Jiran she was telling the truth.

“Riiiiiiight. Okay, whatever.”

“Look, Jiran. I can see Rokdo Fort. I need to go let them know that we dealt with the Rook. I’ll be right back!” Her words came out in a rush as she dashed ahead at full speed.

“Can you grab me some pants while you’re in there?” Jiran shouted at her rapidly receding back.

Olive found him half an hour later in the same glade at the edge of the forest. He had churned through his mana pool six times and his arm now ended at the elbow. A light sheen of sweat covered his body.

Each rotation of absorbing mana only to instantly drain it again left him feeling weaker than the last. The pain was beginning to cloud his thoughts and his throat ached from thirst.

“Here you go,” She tossed some black fatigue pants at his feet before turning around while he pulled them over his legs.

“Thanks, Olive."

“Sorry I took so long. They looked so scared and depressed. Father always lectures about boosting morale at every opportunity.”

“I’m glad you did what you could,” Jiran sighed as exhaustion weighed down on him.

He could tell Olive had a lot on her mind by the way she was staring off into the distance with a complicated expression. Flopping onto his back in the grass, Jiran looked up at the multi-colored sky.

A few minutes of rest, then I’ll keep going.

Rooks sure are a pain in the ass. If I had time to charge up a real attack, they wouldn't be so bad, but those rocks they throw come way too fast. Flying too high would just attract a Bishop, then I would really be screwed. Those are supposed to be tier eight or nine.

Only someone like Dominus, Lenton, or Sophia can take those things on with any realistic hope of victory.

Opening one eye, Jiran glanced at Olive who was now watching him with bunched eyebrows and pursed lips.

“Are you okay?” He asked with a gentle tone.

Olive’s face contorted into a mix of pain and confusion.

“Am I okay? Me?” Her fingers jabbed into her breastplate with incredulity.

“No, Jiran! No I am not… okay!

“You almost died back there because I was too weak to help. You lost your arm, your face is pale and you're covered in sweat. You look sick and you need a doctor, but I can’t even fly you back to Cruex as fast as you could fly yourself!”

“I’m completely useless to you. I feel like my heart is about to explode in my chest while at the same time, I want to puke and cry.

"How can I be okay?” Her voice trailed off after the initial outburst until she was barely murmuring by the end.

Jiran felt the despair in her tone as if it were a beast burrowing into his chest to take a bite out of his heart.

Oh, hell no.

“Listen up, Olive!” He growled with barely restrained fury.

“You fought five Knights, alone. They could have easily killed me if they attacked my back while I was fighting the Rook. You trusted me enough to let me use you as bait.

“But most importantly!

“You brought me some pants,” He shot a cheeky smile her way when a laugh bubbled up and escaped her lips despite her best efforts to stop it.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. I doubt there is another tier five in the empire who could have done what you did today. My arm will be fixed before you know it. Hopefully, before school starts.”

“Wait, are you seriously considering teaching after everything you’ve been through this morning?!”

“Definitely. I’ve been through much worse. The last time I fought a Rook, it blew half my body off. Samris made me keep fighting that day while Lenton just laughed as if it was a big joke.

“Trust me, this little cut on my arm is no big deal. Why don’t you sit down and relax with me for a bit before I finish healing,” Jiran patted the grass next to him.

Olive’s mouth opened and closed like she wanted to say something more. Eventually, she huffed a sharp exhale out of her nose and sat next to him.

Jiran enjoyed the companionable silence for a few minutes before resuming his cycle of healing. An hour later, he was flexing the fingers on his fully regenerated hand.

Yeah, the less I have to do that, the better.

Olive interrupted him by tentatively reaching out and grasping it between both of her hands. She flipped the limb over as if looking for some sign that he was not fully healed.

“C’mon we’re going to be late,” He said while reaching around her with his other arm and holding her to his chest for the second time that day.

He lifted them into the air and tore through the sky at blistering speeds back toward Cruex.

He could feel her panic as she flexed every muscle in her body at once, squeezing him far more than was comfortable.

“I should have asked them to borrow a shirt, as well,” She lamented, causing Jiran to laugh at her embarrassment.

It wasn’t long into their flight that Olive rested her cheek against his skin. The single spot of warmth caused him to become hyper-aware of the physical connection.

I wonder if she can hear my heart pounding. Does she need to hold me so tight? And what’s with that creepy smile?

They arrived minutes later, slowing only to fly above the innumerable blocky pyramids that were every structure in the city.

Jiran was only a few minutes late to The Garden. He ignored the questioning looks and murmurs from the massive crowd as he entered the same changing room he had used that morning. He sighed in satisfaction once fully dressed in his snug uniform.

He touched one of the pouches Mayalyn had sewn into the fabric with a fond smile before facing the throng of eager students and military personnel.

Two hours later, A weary sigh escaped Jiran’s lungs as the wave of mana sweeping through the academy marked the end of his class. Groans and complaints filled the air as those who had failed to convert their mana by the end protested.

“Same time tomorrow. Don’t be discouraged if you failed today. Learning to harvest emotions is not an easy task.” Jiran’s parting words were barely heard by anyone amid the turmoil of the crowd.

He took to the air and was quickly followed by Olive who had stayed for his entire lecture this time.

“Are you going to rest now?” She asked, a dagger of annoyance barely concealed in her tone.

“I was thinking of attending Professor Lenora’s class today. Did you want to come with me?”

“Jiran, please. You need to rest. What happened this morning was not some minor inconvenience or triviality to be ignored,” Jiran appreciated the worry in her tone even though he felt it was unnecessary.

“Really Olive, I feel fine. It was just a little pain.”

“I can see that you intend to be stubborn about this. If you truly believe you are fine and wish to insist on denying your body and mind rest, I understand,” A tingle of danger was Jiran’s only warning before her next words escaped her lips.

“But just to be safe, I’ll ask Father to sit down with you over a cup of tea. His opinion on these matters is always above reproach.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s not be hasty,” Jiran scrambled while pretending to yawn.

“All of a sudden I’m so tired I can barely stand up. I think I’ll just go take a nap in the homeroom.”

“Absolutely not! We are going home where you can lay down properly in a warm bed.”

Jiran sighed again as he was once more cornered by the crafty negotiator.

“Fine, fine. Let’s go.”

They flew at a lazy pace and soon arrived at the mansion which was bustling with activity. Dozens of maids Jiran did not recognize carried furniture in and out of the building.

“What the heck is going on here? Why are they replacing all the furniture?” He wondered aloud.

“Oh, that’s all my stuff. I asked them to get my things moved in while we were at school today.”

“You what?!”