TBATE - Brother's Once More

Alive

While I was lost in thought looking through the carriage window, Grandpa Virion and Arthur had their own conversation going.

"Arthur. Tessia has shown more expression, more smiles and laughs, now than she ever had growing up; around you, she finally seems more like a child. For that, I thank you." He patted Arthur's other shoulder, the one without a sleeping Tessia.

This was the first time Grandpa Virion ever initiated physical contact with either of us besides sparring, so it kinda caught me by surprise.

After enough time passed that even Arthur had fallen asleep, Grandpa Virion had finally asked me a question.

"Brat. Last night, you said 'I told you so' when I told Arthur about his condition. How'd you know?"

I turned to look at Arthur. "There's no one who knows Arthur better than I do," I began, a solemn smile forming on my face. "So, obviously I would know before anyone else what happened to him. You could only sense that he had a Beast Will. I can sense the kind of Beast Will he has. The attribute, the type, even the animal's mana signature that faintly remains on his core."

"So what is it?" he asked.

"You'll know in due time, when he's ready to tell you. Until then, please wait for that time." I said.

"Hmph. So that's how it'll be," he said. "Very well. I shall wait until Arthur is ready to tell me. By the way, tell me, if you're comfortable, or at least show me how you refine your cores."

"Of course. While an explanation may seem too confusing, I can indeed demonstrate my refining process."

At the end of my words, I straightened my posture and crossed my legs. I let the mana from my 'main' core flow throughout my entire body, into my veins, and circulated it inside my body, while simultaneously drawing in mana from the atmosphere.

After about five minutes, I stopped the process and opened my eyes. What I found however, was a wide-eyed Tessia, Arthur, staring me down with his hungry information-devouring eyes, and Grandpa Virion, looking utterly amazed at what he saw.

"Um..."

"That's so cool!" Tessia exclaimed.

"You're teaching me how to do that," Arthur stated, hungry-eyed.

"Hmm, that's quite a strange refining process you've got there. Unlike the large majority, actually probably every mage but you, we only draw in the atmospheric mana and refine it in our core." he said.

"But you, you don't just draw it in, you let it circulate inside your body, as if trying to augment your body as well, which probably explains why you have so many other small cores. At least, that's what I'm sensing inside your body as you do all this."

"Yeah, Gramps is right. Even if I can't sense whatever's happening inside as well as Gramps can, I can roughly estimate that's what's happening." Arthur said.

"But hold on, how the hell did you discover this refining method in the first place? You're already at the Light Red stage! I've just barely reached Solid Red!" He exclaimed.

"I experimented with mana absorption while we were separated," I said, though, it wasn't necessarily a truth, I can't say it wasn't a lie. I couldn't tell him 'Yeah, I had the help of some random guy inside my mind.'

"In my time alone, I found this method along with a few more I found useful."

"A few more? Like what?" Arthur was definitely curious about whatever methods I discovered. I also knew damn well he'd make me teach him.

"Like this," I said before using the mana absorption technique I'd learned four days ago.

"Woah! When'd you learn that?" From his tone of voice, he must've learned this technique too.