Chapter 3. Blood Vs Reality Manipulation

"There's no way grandpa would do something like that." Noah was shocked when Natasha explained everything to him, especially about the truth of Aaron's death.

Natasha did not hesitate to tell Noah everything, hoping that he could use his blood manipulation abilities wisely. Noah looked at Theo and Charlotte, Natasha's two Legion friends, who agreed with the explanation.

"But I'm pretty sure grandpa died because he was surrounded by thousands of beasts in the forbidden district," Noah explained.

"That's something we keep hidden from the public. Only the Legion knows the reason for Aaron the Hades' death," Natasha revealed.

Aaron died when Noah was just two years old. At that time, Aaron was 57 years old and gave Noah a ruby necklace where Aaron had sealed Noah's and his powers in the necklace.

"You should thank Sam the Zeus. He was the one who decided to hide the reason for Aaron's death from the public," Theo replied, glaring at Noah.

"He just didn't want to cause chaos in the Beast Slayer's body for what Aaron did," Charlotte added.

Noah nodded. He couldn't argue with anything they said because they knew the situation inside Legion better than anyone.

"Do you understand how horrible your talent is?" Natasha was still standing before Noah, looking at the young man with eyes full of seriousness that was shrouded in ambition in her heart. Natasha's desire was that she didn't want Noah to suffer the same fate as Aaron.

"I understand."

"Alright. Enough with the chit-chat, let's fight!" declared Theo, rising from his seat with his left hand still holding the bottle of wine —never to run out.

"Wait. I can't possibly fight with—"

BANG!

With the power of Theo's fire magic, Noah's body bounced backward and smashed through the balcony door, shattering the glass and throwing Noah into the pond in the front yard of Natasha's mansion —a garden.

"A-Akh!"

Noah groaned in pain as his back hit the rocks in the pond. Noah opened his eyes to see Theo leaving the shattered balcony door, and Natasha and Charlotte were close behind.

"Don't be too much with him," Natasha replied, crossing her arms.

"You're a nag!" Theo took another swig of his wine and raised his right hand before him, pointing at Noah.

[Reality Manipulation Talent]

[Skill 1: Boundary-breaking Mist]

Theo spouted the wine in his mouth forward. Instead of remaining liquid, the wine turned into vapor and created a thick mist around Noah, surrounding the garden with no chance of escape.

Several guards from the Beast Slayer unit were ordered by Natasha to leave the battle area, as the air from the boundary-breaking mist would be extremely dangerous if breathed in by ordinary humans without great endurance.

"Cough!" Noah coughed amid the boundary-busting mist from Theo's talent. Visibility was short, about two meters ahead. That made Noah have to be on guard for a possible attack by Theo.

"Heh?" uttered Theo, realizing through his eyes that Noah was still standing and had not been affected by the mist power of Theo's talent.

Natasha squinted, gasping that Noah could last more than five minutes in the thick mist that surrounded him relentlessly. Charlotte clapped her hands instead, feeling proud and happy to realize Natasha had gotten a strong young man.

"How did he survive?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I'll try to surprise him," Theo replied.

The man descended from the balcony and stepped casually closer to the center of the mist. Inside it, Noah was still on standby, keeping a close eye on his back.

"Your skills are amazing, even though I've already used the skills from my talent," Theo praised.

"What would happen to someone trapped in this mist?" asked Noah.

"Suffocation or dehydration. Some of those with weak immune systems, their skin will blister and melt instantly," Theo replied.

Noah was still on guard. Theo's voice became increasingly audible as the man walked closer. From the front, Noah saw Theo appear in the same clothes and still holding the bottle of wine.

"Let's see how long you can endure!" said Theo.

[Reality Manipulation Talent]

[Skill 2: Intangible Entity]

Theo again spouted the wine forward, thickening the mist, which caused Theo's figure to disappear from Noah's sight. Noah was increasingly wary. He did not use any weapons, only hand-to-hand combat.

SLASH!

The man sprinted behind Noah's back and slashed his back with his small sword. Not stopping there, Theo moved quickly and relentlessly slashed Noah's body from every gap that opened up in Noah's hand-to-hand stance.

"Show me your talent now!" Theo commanded, speaking out of nowhere to Noah's confusion.

From the cut of Theo's small sword, blood poured out of Noah's body, with Noah occasionally wincing in pain. However, the wounds on his body began to recover with the blood flow that seemed to be drawn back into the body.

"Woah, fast body regeneration. I'm guessing that your talent makes you resist any poison," Theo explained.

Noah didn't want to remain helpless and unresisting. The young man opened the talent menu in his individual system, seeing that five skills could be used to attack or strengthen.

After learning the five skills quickly, Noah understood what skills he would use in this battle. Noah could only hope that his attacks could significantly impact Theo, although that was impossible since Theo was a Legion.

[Blood Manipulation Talent]

[Skill 1: Blood Absorption]

From Noah's right hand, a dragonlance made of blood red was created. He grasped the sharp cylindrical spear handle tightly, then attacked the figure of Theo, who came charging at Noah from the depths of the mist.

A single slash hit Theo's body, causing an unstoppable fatal wound. Theo went back into the mist and disappeared. Although Noah was sure he had hit Theo, the real Theo was completely unaffected.

Theo, who got hit by Noah's attack, was a cloned Theo from within the mist, so Theo didn't need to worry about it. However, Theo was quite impressed that Noah could land his attack on one of his clones.

"He seems to be successfully using his talent," Theo told Natasha and Charlotte.

Noah began to take charge of the situation, charging towards Theo, who continued to emerge from the mist. When the fifth attack hit one of Theo's clones, Noah's left hand reached forward to draw back the blood that remained in Theo's body through the gaping wound.

An explosion of blood occurred on Theo's wounded body, their blood spheres directed towards Noah and into his dragonlance. The clones weren't killed, just severely wounded with a limp state.

Theo thought that was enough. He had seen how Noah could use his blood manipulation talent. Theo pushed aside the mist and dispelled all his clones, stepping closer to Noah while his hand still held the bottle of wine.

"You managed to attack my clones. That's a good one," Theo replied, downing the wine in the never-empty bottle.

"Really?" asked Noah, deactivating one of his talents.

Natasha and Charlotte walked over to Noah, congratulating him on being the first human to survive Theo's poisonous mist.

"We'll keep your fight a secret. If the people at the academy find out, you'll be in danger," Natasha revealed.

"You have to go back to the academy anyway. You've been unconscious for three days, and your instructors must be looking for you."

Natasha spoke with the firmness of an older sister advising her younger brother. Noah was stunned, not realizing he had been absent from the academy for three days. He was worried that his absence would result in his status not graduating from cadet.

"I'm worried I won't graduate from cadet training," Noah explained.

"Don't worry. I'll take you there and talk to your instructor," Natasha replied.

"You'd better go and prepare."

Noah said yes, bidding them farewell to return to his room in Natasha's mansion, accompanied by a maid. Natasha was still in the garden courtyard, talking with Theo and Charlotte.

"His powers are very similar to Aaron's, especially the dragonlance," Theo said.

"It looks like Aaron inherited his abilities to Noah, which is why Noah's blood manipulation powers are so strong." Natasha raised both hands and seemed to cross them over her breast, realizing there was a potential cadet who could either have a huge impact on the Legion or be the source of a new, bigger, and more dangerous problem than before.

"Do we need to tell Sam about this?" asked Charlotte, Natasha shaking her head.

"There's no need for now. Noah's life at the academy will be ruined if he gets much attention from The Legion like us."

"You too. I hope you don't make a big deal out of this. The less people know, the better," Natasha ordered.

Theo and Charlotte nodded, realizing Noah would be fine under Natasha's watchful eye. Both were confident that Natasha's strength would be able to contain Noah's talent if his strength and mood were unstable at any time.

"Alright, we'll take our leave then." Theo and Charlotte bid farewell to Natasha, leaving the mansion to return to the Legion HQ in the city center. Natasha would follow them there when her business with Noah was over.

For a long time Natasha waited in the garden, Noah finally came from the right side of the mansion, wearing a new white uniform as his old one had been damaged.

"What's wrong with my hair?" asked Noah, realizing that his hair had turned gray from jet black.

"Must be an effect of your talent. We don't have much time." Natasha walked Noah to get into her car. She would drive Noah directly to the cadet training center located at the city academy.

Although the world was filled with magic and talents, people still used technology to make things easier, such as transportation, cooking, and more.

"What should I do with this talent?" asked Noah, sitting in the front passenger seat next to Natasha, the driver.

"Since you can use this talent, you can also use elemental magic. I suggest using your elemental magic more than the blood talent," Natasha said.

"A-All right."

Natasha's black sedan sped into the academy. No one was suspicious of the car's arrival, but when Natasha exited the car with Noah, people immediately averted their eyes at the presence of a member of The Legion.

"Woah. The Legion is coming to the academy!"

"That's Miss Natasha the Artemis. I want to be an Artemis like her."

"Look! She's walking with that white-haired young man."

The corridors of the academy became very noisy, many people gathered and admired the figure of Natasha the Artemis. Not only was she beautiful, but her ability to eradicate thousands of beast slayers inspired the cadets in that place.

Noah became uncomfortable with them, especially since their gazes were also fixed on Noah. Noah's classroom could be seen from a distance with all the students already inside. Instructor Mathias seemed to be teaching them something.

The door opened without knocking, startling the students in the classroom. Mathias put away the markers and walked up to Natasha politely.

"W-What can I do for you, Miss Natasha?" asked Mathias.

"I came to take Noah Quill back to his class. During his three-day absence, I hope you can forgive him for being injured by a beast attack," said Natasha.

"B-Beast?" asked Mathias, looking surprised and not quite believing Natasha's words.

"Why?" asked Natasha.

"It's nothing, Miss Natasha. It's just that Noah is the weakest cadet, I'm not sure if—"

"No, you're wrong. He might be one of the strongest cadets in this academy."