The Pursuit Of Power - Volume 1 Chapter 19 The Land Of Opportunity
(A/N:- The majority said to accept Hana so that’s what we will be doing. There will be nothing instant and there will be development. I am also thinking of a small Harem of 2/3 girls but no more than that.)
Before Yuuki’s parents met, they were in two different countries. His mother was from Korea and his father was from Japan. Yuuki’s father went to Korea for one reason, it was a Hunter’s Gold Mine.
Countless Gates opened and the need for Hunters increased in Korea, from the sheer number of Gates, even an E-Rank could make a decent living for themselves by selling Magic Cores which were found inside of the bodies of dead Magic Beasts.
Yuuki found two reasons to go there, 1) the previous Japanese Hunter’s Association’s Chairman had a thing out for him. 2) There were plenty of opportunities for him to get stronger. Plus, he knew Korean so he would be able to live without having to work around a language barrier.
He and Hana had just had lunch and after Yuuki survived, he received an ability called [ Inventory ] from the System as a reward. There were 100 squares for items that could be put in, but items of a similar nature could be stacked. As such, Yuuki had a slot especially for all of the Perfect-grade Mana Crystals.
Attempting to put away the Leviathan Dagger, it turned into a serpent-shaped Tatoo upon his forearm which he guessed was the Leviathan considering how menacing it looked. Raven and Chad were out of the Beast Dimension as he told Hana that he had an ability where he could tame the Magic Beasts from a dungeon.
After inheriting his +1 Ice Affinity, Chad and Raven were matching as they had snow-white scales/fur and Icy-blue eyes. Yuuki also learned that Raven was different from ordinary snakes as she could see as Humans did. This did not mean that she could not see thermal hotspots and could switch between the two like they were filters.
Currently, Yuuki was absentmindedly stroking underneath Raven’s head as she basked in his warmth. Raven slept most of the time and fell asleep in Yuuki’s warmth. Snakes did not normally like physical contact so why did Raven like it? Yuuki had no clue. Raven only required warmth and comfort. After all, in the Beast Dimension, she had a separate place to call her home in which it was perfectly suited to her needs. Food was unnecessary as Mana was what she consumed.
Taking out the Hearthstone he received from the Chimera, Yuuki thought about the one he got from the Yeti and realized that all it did was provide a shortcut to convert the Mana into a spell. The Mana was converted into a Mana with elemental attributes and then the spell was cast after the Mana flowed through the Magical Circuits.
Icy-Blue strands of Mana floated around Yuuki’s free hand which was something easy for him to do as he had Ice Affinity from the [ Frozen Gauntlet ]. Skills were just actions that were shortened down to allow for instant usage so Yuuki shattered the Hearthstone which added a skill to his list.
< Skill Acquired >
[ Shadow Spike ] Active – (B)
Description: Create a spike to attack someone from their shadow which is formed from Darkness magic.
After the experience he had in the Trap, Yuuki’s control over Mana was increased and after a few minutes of placing his entire concentration of how the Skill worked, tendrils of Dark Mana wrapped around his hand and formed a glove. Darkness could be either have corrosive attributes and be sneaky, or it could be sharp and deadly whilst being ‘loud’ as it was easy to detect when it was coming at you.
Still, Yuuki had to now experiment with ways to use the Mana otherwise he would not be able to do anything other than wrapping it around his hand or the Leviathan Dagger. Thinking this way, he realized he could use both the frost effects and the Dark Mana to cause the blade that freezes after it cuts through things easily to also corrode. This way, he could freeze the blood of his enemies whilst also dissolving them after one slash.
“Hina is my theory correct about Mana? I feel like something is missing but I don’t know what and that annoys me.”
{Well, it makes sense to me. I don’t have any memories so even if I was an all-powerful goddess I cannot help you other than learning it with you and giving some suggestions. However, you’re right something feels missing and I don’t know what it is either.} Sharing his thoughts, Hina had come to also think as Yuuki did after how long she had spent with him non-stop.
Still petting Raven, Yuuki leaned against the two-seater couch as he watched Hana work. Shortly after, she was done for the day and stretched her limbs as she got up and sat next to Yuuki. Naturally leaning onto him like she always did after tiring her mind, Hana who was doing a strenuous amount of work which was increasing by the day relaxed her mind by leaning on Yuuki. His presence alone caused her mind to slow down and her stress to ooze out of her body.
Moving his arm to wrap it around her shoulder, Yuuki also allowed her to move closer to him in this way. As her last family member, Yuuki was determined to make her happy.
“Don’t you think you’re working too hard? You’ve got plenty of time to catch up with everyone else.” Yuuki put Raven into the Beast Dimension as that was her second favorite place to be.
“No, I think this is the minimal amount of effort I should be putting in. And it’s especially because I have time to catch up that I should not waste any time. Once I catch up then I can spend more time with you!” Happily thinking about the future, Hana shared some of her thoughts with Yuuki.
“Alright. It’s your choice anyway.” Cuddling with Hana as she liked it, Yuuki spent a few minutes just holding her in silence.
“Yuuki, can you tell me what you were like as a baby? I mean, what Mom and Dad said to you about you.” Softly asking a question, Hana made Yuuki think before he replied.
“Well, I think I was actually around 1-and-a-half-years-old before Mom and Dad adopted me… from then on I was kinda playful I guess. I always used to jump around on the old couch which was why there was an indent on the side.” Laughing gently, Yuuki revealed some news that sounded like thunder in Hana’s ears.
“You mean… we aren’t actual brother and sister? …As in blood-related.” Hana inquired with shock visible on her face.
“I forgot you didn’t know this… Mom and Dad told me when I was younger that I was adopted. But! That doesn’t mean I love you any less. You are my beautiful younger sister. If it helps, I forgot we weren’t related until you said so.” Calmly talking, Hana bit her lips to attempt to stop herself from revealing an incredibly happy smile. Tears of joy poured from her eyes and to hide them, she stuck her head into Yuuki’s chest.
‘This means… I can be with him. It does, doesn’t it? Oh my god, I’m so happy!’
Mistaking her tears of joy for tears of sadness, Yuuki patted her head and hugged her to console her as he thought she was sad.
{Is it that nice to be held in his embrace?} Until now, Hina had witnessed the reactions of Chad, Raven, and Hana after receiving Yuuki’s tender care and a small part of her wanted to feel it too.
Staying in his embrace, Hana only showed her face once she had stopped letting out tears of joy. Still not separating from him, silently she tightly wrapped her arms around him and did not let go just to enjoy this moment as much as possible.
‘I love you, so much. I don’t even know how much exactly but I know I love you.’
“I-It’s alright that we are not related by blood. It does not matter to me because you are still you and I am still me.” Giving him a light peck on the cheek to show she meant it, her previous thoughts were only known to her. Seeing Hana blushing lightly, Yuuki smiled as she was no longer ‘sad’ and he thought she looked cute when she was like this. Kissing her forehead in return, he felt her tremble lightly before he saw the time.
“Ah crap! Hana, I need to go and sell some Mana Crystals!”
“It’s fine, go and do what you need to.” Smiling sweetly, Hana made Yuuki smile before he ran and put his shoes on before launching himself out of the door.