CH 88

"I, I don't understand. Why are you..." Jessica slowly walked back in shock at all the things happening at once in front of her.

First, although her name really was Jessica Valentine, she used the name Jessica Slade when she registered as a teacher in this school. That means that the boy knows her true identity, but that also means he knows about the Association.

Second, since he said something about Prospects, he really does know a lot more than she initially thought. He said it in a way that makes her think that he knows that she's even intending on recruiting him. Suggesting that he knows about her intention from the start. 

Lastly, what the hell was this thing floating in front of her. Moving her head to face another direction doesn't make it go away. It stays in front of her head like a screen, just like a television that follows her. It was even stranger how moving her eyes enables her to scan through the 'screen', allowing her to read what was on it.

"Council? King? Kingdom!?" Jessica was left dumbfounded as she read the entirety of the screen.

What was on it looked like a sketchy contract with very little details, though it was really straight to the point. What bothered her was the fact that the boy covered in blue flames was looking at her with a confident smile. Like he knew what was going through her head and he was laughing at her reactions to everything that was happening.

"I guess this is something of a dilemma for you. I can tell you now that we're on the same side, well, I've seen a future where you are on my side." Zel stood up and walked over to Jessica's front while placing his hands behind him. He looked down at the woman with a towering presence, making Jessica feel like it was hard to breathe. Though she quickly left the trance and tried to stand back up.

"Who are you really, kid?" Jessica who was about to try and place her hand on the top of Zel's head hurriedly took back her hand. She didn't know why but she felt a jolt pass through her entire body, as if warning her not to touch Zel. She looked at Zel's face and saw the same innocent smile that he showed her a few minutes ago, but now she had a strange fear in her heart.

"If you're asking for my name, Jessica, then it's Zel Huertazuela. But if you're asking WHO I am and what I can do for you, then that's a lot more complicated to explain." Zel raised his hand and was about to command Toph to open a portal into the Cerebral Kingdom when he saw the lit-up runes on his ring. He stood still for a second before deciding not to use the ring, not until he has the Legacy problem handled.

"I wouldn't have cared for anyone else, frankly, but since I want you to accept my invitation to enter my Council, it's only proper that I tell you who I am. What I aim to do." Zel placed a finger on his temple and rubbed it gently. He was feeling the effects of the integration going on inside his soul and was still under a terrible headache. But since he had Emilia with him, it should only take a while to convince Jessica to join him.

"As a certified First Floor Associate, you should know a little about how to rank those who are Gifted, right?" Rotating his hand to make his left palm face up, Zel presented it to the curious Jessica. He manipulated a few strands of his mana and moved it into the center of his left palm. Never had Jessica seen a child do this in so little time, and he looked like it was nothing to him at all.

"If I recall correctly, the Association takes this, basic manifestation of mana, as the requirement to become a First Floor Associate, right? To simply display it in a formless shape, a mist like this for example." Having been a person whose whole life was dedicated to the Association, Jessica knew that Zel was showing her his control of mana. A blue aura that moved endlessly, yet without any pressure to it. It really was similar in properties to a mist with how it reacts to stimuli.

All that was in her mind was how impressive it was for a young boy to do this, as she herself hadn't learned to do it until she was already eighteen. The same time as almost everyone else she knows, because it is proven science that it is the age when a human develops their mana sense enough to control it. This undoubtably shows that this boy is a genius. But it seems that this wasn't what he wanted to show her.

"I think the first one is to just be able to 'sense' mana? You guys recruit children that are compatible enough with mana that they could sense it without any proper training or having any preconceived knowledge of it." As a man whose already experienced fighting with the Associates, he has a wide array of knowledge regarding their organization. He even knows where their President lives, that old bastard. Probably still trying to break through to Blue at this point in time, since he should only reach it a few years later.

"Children like these, or what you guys call 'Prospects', are usually identified from those with a good performance in tasks that involves traits such as intelligence and physical aptitude. I'm guessing from my current physique that it's more an intelligence one for little, old me?" Zel walked around while trying to decide on which information he should tell her first to make this easier for her to understand.

Usually, when he tells people that he can see the future, they don't believe him. He wants to try making them come to that conclusion by themselves for once. Since Jessica is aware of a rare group of people with special abilities, she might just be able to put two and two together. If push comes to shove, he could just tell her when he gets tired of waiting.

"How did yo- First you know my name, then you know who I work for and how we operate. Could it be, are you a Blue-rank telepath? That could explain why I'm seeing this 'screen'? in front of me." Jessica looked at the signs and thought of a plausible answer. But it didn't seem to hit the mark because of Zel's lack of reaction. It was even proven more so when he shook his head.

"Nope, I'm the telepath! He's got foresight! and a little something extra!" Emilia raised her hand in the distance. Her smile was so adorable that Zel wanted to go over and pinch her cheeks but restrained himself. It seems like this body of his still had a few traces of childishness, or maybe that's just him. But she just told her his ability without even a hint of hesitation. He should take to her about that later.

"Sigh. She's right, my ability is that I can see the future. You told me that yours is basic telekinesis and a visual ability that lets you see 'Mana Nodes', if I recall correctly? You told me how you can see the path of mana. I actually know a gu-" Zel was interrupted when Jessica suddenly grabbed his shoulders, as if trying to hold him in place. She looked like she just heard the most disturbing sentence in her life as all she had in her face was a maniacal expression.

"A prophet!? You're actually a prophet-type gifted!? How much further in the future can you see? Since when did you have this abi-" Jessica was so enthusiastic in her actions that she ended up shaking Zel, making his already bad headache turn worse than it already was. Emilia was about to warn her when she saw the flame around Zel shape up behind him.

Zel was so disturbed by her actions that he ended up pushing her away with enough force to hurl her away by mistake. Making the young woman almost fly out of the barrier Emilia created, thankfully she was caught by the threads Zel hurriedly made after realizing his mistake.

"Settle down. Blergh." Zel who was about to scold Jessica into a more 'listening' type of mood. But he couldn't hold it in and let out a refreshing vomit. Making the excited Jessica settle down a bit and look in wonder at the thick thread that held her in the air.

Rather than the fact that it was holding her in the air, it was the quantity of it that made her flabbergasted. There must be a few tens of it around her, with a few behind him as well. They were connected to the flames that floated around him earlier.

When Zel finished expelling all his breakfast the fast way, he pointed his finger at Jessica and the threads pulled her close to him. Enough that he could press his finger against her forehead with ease. He looked at her eyes and saw curiosity in them, so he explained.

"After learning your ability to a certain extent, you start to see many applications for mana. That's when you start to change its form, creating abilities that relate to your mind's image. Not just the ones that are innate as it comes from your soul. For me, I like to form strings from my mana. It's easy and efficient, that's the only purpose I had in mind when I made it like this." The blue threads that wrapped around Jessica then reeled themselves back into Zel's palm. He then commanded it to coagulate once more and form into a string. Doing it fast enough that Jessica won't be able to figure it out on her own, but slow enough for her to understand a few principles.

"After this state, it's going be much easier to improve your mana control. Eventually, you can even do this if you practice enough. Though it should take a long time for most people." The lone, blue thread then turned into two. The two threads turned into four, eventually doubling at a rate that Jessica couldn't help but be slack jawed as she was shown more. It was a display of mastery that even her master could never show her. She'll probably want to watch it with her if she was here.

"But that's just the most basic use of mana. It can even be called a waste of time for those who are even a little bit talented with it. That's because using it this way takes too much time. Time that could be better spent improving your innate abilities instead." Zel then took out a red time marble from his storage space. He was surprised to see that of the seven he had from earlier, there was only two left.

Perhaps those foresight glimpses used up time energy without his permission, a cause of concern as his already limited supply got lost without his consent. It was as if he was just told that there was free food in a party, but then he realizes that he's actually the one throwing the party.

'Here I was thinking I got those for free. Time Strandi-' Zel shook his head at the realization. He wondered if he should proceed with this demonstration, but ultimately decided to get the situation over with so he can rest back home. He was about to use his time stopping ability when he was interrupted.

"Where did that come from?" Jessica looked at Zel with eager eyes as she pointed at the time marble. His seemingly simple action of taking out a time marble was actually making the young woman in front of him tremble in interest. For at this moment in time, the concept of storage space and storage rings were basically unknown.

"There's a lot of thing that you can only know if I tell you. But I'll only tell you if you accept the invitation I sent you." Zel then immediately disappeared from Jessica's vision. Making Jessica try and wave her hand over the place where he was just a second ago.

"Ick!" A finger touched Jessica's back and she hurriedly leapt forward to pull herself away from it. She was surprised to see that Zel was there, looking the same as he did before. The water in his glass still looking the same, without a single drop lost.

"You see, Jessica. The Association has only dabbled into the wonders of mana. As for me, I've already seen the potential of it. In fact, I've already seen the future of the world. I've seen the end of it." Zel placed a hand behind his back and hid the now half a size smaller time marble with it. He looked over to Emilia who nodded her head, having read his thoughts. She held the book in her hands tightly and threw it towards Zel, whose body absorbed the book like it was a mirage. 

"I'll show you what happens, stand still and try not to puke on me." Moving closer to Jessica, Zel held out a finger as he pressed his finger against her head. Jessica didn't know why but she couldn't move her body, allowing the boy to do as he pleases with her. Strangely, she didn't feel any sort of denial against his touch.