CH 12

Having woken up from the purposely activated dream, things were finally going Zel's way. He was now driving over to his parent's house wearing a blue long sleeve shirt with the sleeve folded to just above his elbows.

He paired it with brown chino pants with a pair of top sider shoes. This was the clothes he liked to wear whenever he went out because it looked good on him and it was easy to wear.

He woke up with only 40 minutes left before the time given by his sister Marie and was now hurrying to make it on time. He didn't bring any weapons on him except for the gun in his storage ring and only brought the essentials. His phone, his wallet and the car keys.

Zel passed by Ray's usual spot and he saw him standing around with his hood on to hide his face.

'As expected.' However, this time Zel was not going to bother with him. He already got what he wanted from him and there was no more to fear because of his new skill.

[ [2] - Basic Mana Storage - Level 2 (Exp 33.33%)

- The ability to observe and handle mana. Gives the user + 4 in Intelligence]

If given enough mana, he could activate his talent "Clairvoyance". The reason he needed to delay it for a few days after use was that he was using unfiltered mana from the surroundings instead of his own. The skill was basically creating a battery that can make a person keep mana inside them to use skills without having to suck up the mana around them.

'Clairvoyance is my greatest asset in this world.'

His ever expanding set of skills might be impressive due to how much they gain experience compared to others who can only use Skill Points, the reason he could even do that was because he had infinite lifetimes to do it.

'After all, the other rankers have no way to use their skills frequently with how hard it is to use them with just natural mana.' Skill experience was one thing, leveling then up might not be that simple. He hasn't got enough time to test it yet but at least he had a goal when using 'Clairvoyance' now.

Skills like Mana Control, Storage and Regeneration are not skills you can learn without having experienced mana actively. The only reason Zel could learn them was because his body could handle it with how much strain the multiple uses of clairvoyance did to his body.

'If only I could quantify the mana I have right now and know what skills I could use and how much they cost me.' The worst thing about the system is that it doesn't tell the user enough details. It forces you to take a hands on approach to get the information you want, but the problem was, Zel doesn't know what he wants from it.

'I'll just take my time and experiment when clairvoyance is available.' He had sensed something when he used it again a while ago. His ever-powerful ability was now showing some faults in its previously perfect state.

'The reason the dream never stopped unless I died of natural means was that I didn't use my mana haphazardly. This recent dream made me feel more tired than even when I was at my death bed. Taking this point down to a conclusion, the mana I used to activate it is a variable that is directly proportional to how long the 'world' would exist.'

His use of the skill Cold Weapon Mastery was just making him remember the weapons he had trained in before while providing his body with the 'memories' of that experience. He had felt it. It was consuming his mana at a rapid rate that he knew time was limited after he finished using it. Since he had no time to waste though, he ended the dream himself.

Zel thought about what he learned about anomalies from Ray. The non-rankers that don't know how to handle their skills and end up sucking out natural mana. This would been fine if it weren't for the fact that they wanted to delay the maturity, and this only increases the rate of exposure of the dimension to the source.

'I should take a dream to find out what happens when the timer runs out.'

Good thing mana storage was now available to him. If Zel was to use up all the mana in his possession then the dream world would end and he would wake up. If he wanted to make better use of his talent better, he should get skills to compliment it.

'The basic mana skills are a given, but my vessel is full right now. Completing the main quest needs Exp Points, points I don't have. So that leaves me with side quests.'

He didn't find any common ground with how side quests are made. The two side quests available were things he wanted to do anyway so why is it that they would grant me only rewards and no direct penalty?

'The affection thing isn't in the system, how would I know how much a -10 in affection would affect my relationships?' Now losing the wonder towards the system, Zel complained on his way to his parent's front yard. He calmed himself down before walking out of his car. He had already felt Rat's gaze as soon as he left the car but Zel had a surprise coming for him.

'Help will arrive here before long. I hope you still come for me later, Ray.'

Zel ignored the gaze while trying to figure out what face he should make when he opens the door. He tried to recall what he did last time but felt that faking it just wasn't his style. He placed his hand over the door handle and just opened it.

"Surprise!"

"Happy birthday Zel!"

"Happy birthday big brother!"

"Happy birthday son!"

"Ahhh!" Zel showed a very surprised reaction that bordered on absurdity. The problem with doing things over and over again is that you try to spice things up for the next time you do it.

Thinking it was funny how he thought he wasn't taken aback like he did last time, he chuckled at himself. The faces of the people he loved were smiling, genuinely smiling. He couldn't have asked for more.

"Happy birthday to you, Happy...." Zel stood there awkwardly while they sang the song, not knowing whether to sing along, clap his hands or just close his eyes in resignation.

"Make a wish!" Someone unexpected was added to the mix of people in the room.

"You came too Emilia? Tina?"

Wearing a yellow sundress and a pair of doll shoes was Emilia while in a casual white T-shirt and blue jeans was Tina.

"Yeah, Karl told us about your surprise party yesterday. We didn't actually know it was a surprise but hey, surprise!" Tina was holding her arms out while presenting him with a gift, a hug. Zel took it gladly and gave her a warm smile.

"Thanks, Tina."

"Hehe, anytime."

Emilia was standing at the side while holding on to a small paper bag that she quickly hid behind her back after seeing Zel hug Tina and it was enough for him.

"You got me a gift?"

"Well, I didn't know what to get you, so I just took the first thing I had in mind. If you want, I could just give you a hug instead."

Zel wasn't going to resist the offer and hugged her before she could take it back.

"Oh, I wasn't ready. Hey!"

"Thanks for the gift, Emilia."

Zel took the gift she was hiding behind her back while she was still processing the hug in her mind. He opened the bag immediately and found a small phone accessory. It was a small kitten stretching it's back while a satisfied look was plastered on its face.

"Hey! Give it back."

"No can do. It's your gift, right? It looks cute. Reminds me of Mr. Whiskers."

"So, you remember Mr. Whiskers too? I thought you forgot so you might not like it."

"I love it! Thank you, Emilia." Zel attached the kitten onto his phone before Emilia could say anything. It fit right on to the phone ring of his phone and couldn't help but smile.

"You like it that much, huh?"

"Of course, you gave it to me. Although I had a better gift today."

"Oh. What was it?" Emilia had a questioning look on her face while waiting for Zel's reply. He shook his head as well, which gave her more confusion.

"I can't remember, I think I should get it again."

"Did you leave it back home or something?"

"No, I can get it right now." Zel went forward and hugged the now stupefied Emilia. Though he hugged her beforehand, none of the two gave it much attention. But this time both felt each other.

"Yeah, this is the best gift I got today."

"Oh, uhh." Emilia didn't know what to do. She knows that she didn't dislike it, and it does feel nice to receive his embrace. Not knowing what to do with her hands, she placed them around him and hugged him back.

"Whohoo! Master!"

"Big brother! Let's eat! Stop flirting with big sister!"

"Oh my, do you two want a picture? Hold still."

Zel let go so that people would stop giving them too much attention. Karl gave him a thumbs up while Marie gave him two plates while winking at him.

Handing the other plate to Emilia, he wondered if he went too far because she didn't seem to notice him handing it to her.

"Do you like me?"

"Depends on what you mean with 'like'?" Zel was taken aback by her boldness. But that's one of the things he liked about her.

"What does that mean?" Emilia was now looking at Zel in the eyes. She wasn't unaware that Zel was hinting her about how he feels, but she wants him to be clear now before they move forward with whatever this is.

"I like you Em, in a romantic way. What about you?" Zel went closer while keeping his eyes on her. He knew what she wanted, and he wasn't going to back down. He smiled gently while waiting for her answer.

"I like you, but I don't know if it's that way."

"Then let me show you myself, if you'll let me." Zel held her hand. The hand he had held for lifetimes on end. The woman who never did him wrong, who was always by his side. She may not have been able to give him children in those lifetimes, but it was different now.

'I have the system to guide me.'

The wondrous system and all it brings, he'll use it. He will make her happy, and when they must face that truth again, he'll make it so that she won't get sad. His eyes showed the confidence not unlike that of Ray's when he first met him. The confidence of a ranker!

"So ummm... Are we boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

"Is that a yes?"

"Well, yeah?"

"Let's eat first. I'll show you something later."

"Ok-ay, boy-friend. Hehe."

The party lasted until evening, but the real fun only started when the sun has set and the darkness revealed itself.