154 (Your own hands.)

I opened my mouth to offer her the world and maybe everything beyond it. I could make her Father a Blazer or enhance his physique with potions or even my Device. If I wanted to be really daring right now I could introduce her to the Chat Group.

I wanted to do all of that but paused. It was not my hesitation over inviting Stella or Ayase to the group that snapped my jaw shut. It was not the consequence of what this world would do with me that held my tongue. It was not even the price of all that I was offering that dazed me like this.

No, it was the sight of her at this moment. A quiet look on her face, a small but heavy smile, and no longer trembling pupils staring off into the fading distance. She looked not happy but at peace. That the turmoil that was haunting her was gone for a moment. That she had gathered the strength to move on despite how worried she was moments ago.

She was stronger than I was giving her credit for.

What was I thinking? What was I going to do!? I was going to treat her exactly as Ikki would have. A damsel in distress that needed my actions to overcome the obstacles ahead of her. That no matter how hard she tried herself she would never reach the goal she reached for.

That notion disgusted me before. When it was someone else’s actions and the world that was at fault I hated it. Because it took away her will, her own agency. Yet, when it was my turn to face that scenario I almost offered to fix everything for her.

I knew that I wanted nothing more than to be useful to those close to me. So that motivation dyed my perception of this moment but I should not lose myself in that anymore. A saviour is not needed everywhere and I needed to recognize that.

So I held my silence because being saved was not what she truly wanted.

“Another world? Are you going to spin me a fairy tale Sensei?” She asked with a mirthful glint in her eyes. Clearly taking in my words as a motivational story to lift her mood.

I looked over at her and let out a bitter chuckle that had her startled. She seemed confused at the sudden twist of a mood from me. Then again I would have never thought this sort of thought was blooming me moments ago.

“No, a Fairy Tale is not really what you need right now,” I admitted with that wry smile back on my face. She looked over at me and she seemed to read the odd mix of emotions coming off of me. So she smiled at me with her eyes shining for a moment.

“Stories are nice Sensei, but I have lived chasing a dream for so long. I just want to reach for what I can with these hands. Dreams are for the kind and just Sensei and I am not that anymore.” She spoke out with that quiet look back on her face.

I nodded somberly at her words and looked off into the distance. I had guided her onto a path to take back what was hers, I might as well give her a chance to change this unfair world herself. That is what a Teacher should do and that is what this girl wanted from me.

Some could say that I played the savior role by showing her exactly what she was capable of. By brainstorming with her and pushing the limits of what she was capable of with her Device. But that was not really true.

I pushed her onto this path, that is true but she could have left it at any time. As her bones broke and her organs struggled underneath the enhanced gravity she could have called it quits. As wounds started to litter her body as she lost control of the manipulation she was holding she could have given in. She could have called me a madman and went about her own journey but she did not.

She pushed through it all and reached her current strength all on her own. I did give her ideas but all of this was something she was already capable of, she just had to reach for it with everything she had.

I played the role of Teacher that she needed. That role could be swapped with Saviour in certain situations but there was a critical difference that made all the difference here.

For all my thoughts about solving her current dilemmas, I did not take a moment to think about how she could change things. She certainly could do something and it might end up odd for her in the end but she would have the choice to pursue this mad path.

So I should do what a Teacher does and show her the way.

“Ayase,” I spoke out seriously gathering her attention. She looked over again as she could read the heavy mood coming from me again. “You don’t need a Fairy Tale but maybe a different story will help you right now.” I finished again seriously. She looked like she was going to say something but I continued along.

“This world is cruel and unfair to the weak and powerless. A normal human might as well be a joke to a Blazer not just because of their Device but because of what Mana can do for them. A normal man has limits in his body but even the lowest level Blazer like Ikki-san can push his body far beyond what your father could do.” I let out firmly as I looked over at her.

She seemed confused about the sudden mood change and what I was saying. She could not tell what was going on with me but she knew that she had to listen to what I was saying. My words and eyes held a certain amount of weight after all.

Ikki’s physique was well beyond what a normal person could even think of pursuing. That was the case for most Blazers as Mana elevated these mere mortals into something much more. Closer to a Myth or Legend. The pinnacle of Humainty is a Despardo and they basically turn themselves into constructs of pure mana and that body is well beyond what even the strongest Blazer could form.

Blazers knew that the more Mana they had the more they could enhance their physique with a reinforcement-like method but they didn’t pursue the other side of the coin. The more Mana they had the further they could refine their physique through physical effort. Meaning an A-Rank Blazer might be capable of destroy a building with pure physical force if they pushed their physique hard enough.

Ikki was really lucky that most Blazers looked down on molding their physique. As even a D-Rank Blazer could push their body far beyond his own. I did get it as time was probably better spent honing their Noble Art instead of doing dull and repetitive exercises for the high-level Blazers and the lower-level ones just accepted their place in the world.

Part of that was the fact that Strength was defined at birth for the most part but another part of that was definitely the governments enforcing that thought. They did not want people reaching their peaks and pushing beyond them to become Despardo’s after all.

“I already know this Sensei, we kind of just went over this.” She spoke out with an off smile. She was not really sure where I was going with this. Honestly, this was all kind of last moment but I got a rough idea that should work.

“My point is this Ayase. Mana is what makes a difference in this world and that is something you are either born with or you were not.” I spoke out firmly and she just nodded along with that. Again confused about what I was going on with.

“Ayase, you can Manipulate Wounds. Everything that falls underneath that domain is within your control. So if you want to change this joke of a world then all you have to do is think about how. You could wound someone’s Mana Core and shatter it into pieces. You could collect those pieces and plant them in others. Than repair those fragments into brand new Mana Cores.” I explained at a frenzied pace as my mind spun with ideas.

Ayase was completely still as she stared at me in a daze. She had never expected these words to come out but the more she listened the brighter the look in her eyes became.

“Or maybe you could see the lack of a Mana Core as a wound in itself and help a body develop it’s own. The possibilities are endless Ayase all you have to do is try. It’s going to be hard and maybe in the end you might never reach that goal in the end but if you want to change this world you can only take a step at a time.” I spoke out softly as I looked over at her.

I was leaving out the complications that this would bring. She would either be viewed as a savior or the devil itself in the eyes of most governments. Since most of the government was handled by those that were not Blazers they might view her method as a way to get power for themselves. At the same time, they would not want such a destabilizing factor to be out of their control.

She might not even be able to output the Mana needed to reach those levels either. For example, I could theoretically change a lot of things with my Device but the Mana cost would be heavy. For something that went against the tides of fate, you would need a lot of Mana.

She could spend decades reaching for just one Mana Core and she might not even which that considering her own lack luster Mana Core. But what if you viewed your lack of Mana Capacity as a Wound as well?

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Honestly, was kind of a last minute change here but as I read through the last chapter I figured this would be better for Ayase and it does not discount her joining the Chat Group later.