Hero Of Harmony

When I woke up, I was surprised to notice that it was early in the morning; with how early I had gone to sleep, I had expected to awaken in the middle of the night; I suppose that goes to show how mentally exhausted I was. Yawning, I got out of bed while taking note of Master's disappearance, which didn't surprise me considering she seemed like she didn't need to sleep as much as me; that could be because she is an entirely different species, or maybe I'm just sleeping a lot since I'm a growing child.

'Anyways, I feel much better now, though I'm famished; hopefully, Master made breakfast!' Thought Alexander as he exited his room and headed toward the kitchen, where he saw Master cooking.

"Good morning Alexander; you appear to be in a much better mood." Said Lavender as she turned around and glanced at Alexander when she heard his approaching footsteps.

"Yep, I feel much better! It seems all I needed was some rest." Replied Alexander with a smile as he approached Lavender.

Standing beside Master, I attempted to view what she was cooking on the stove, which for starters, looked very similar to the one from Earth though it, of course, operated much differently; however, because of how short I was, I had to stand on my toes just to be able to see over the stove.

"What are you making, Master?" Asked Alexander while looking at the pan Lavender was using.

"Hehe, I'm making eggs with vegetables, one of my favorite dishes to eat in the morning." Said Lavender lightly while chuckling at the sight of Alexander, to which he was oblivious.

"Eggs? I thought you couldn't eat meat?" Asked Alexander curiously as he eyed Lavender since, throughout his five years of living with her, he's never once seen her eat meat.

"Well, eggs aren't technically considered meat, but I can indeed consume them. I just can't eat them on a daily basis; otherwise, I'll get an upset stomach." Stated Lavender while focusing on the pan.

"Hmm, but if this is one of your favorite dishes, how come this is the first time I've seen you prepare this dish?" Questioned Alexander while skeptically eyeing Lavender.

"Because I didn't have access to the specific eggs, which usually wouldn't be a problem for me in the past as I could easily buy them from a merchant or a store; however, now, the nearest settlement is roughly 233 kilometers away, and that's merely a one-way trip." Replied Lavender while removing the pan from the stove before splitting the food between two plates with a few pieces of bread already on them.

"Thanks, Master. However, you didn't answer my question." Said Alexander as he grabbed a plate before approaching the table and sitting down, followed by Lavender doing the same.

"I was getting there, have some patience, boy." Remarked Lavender while shaking her head while sitting across from Alexander at the table.

"The birds which produce these specific eggs had just recently migrated, and it seems some have settled here in this forest. Once I found out, I took the liberty to go and collect a few of them." Added Lavender as she took a bite of the food while savoring the flavor.

"So, Master is a kidnapper? Well, it's unsurprising; it wouldn't be the first time you've kidnapped a defenseless baby." Commented Alexander with a slight smirk, to which Lavender responded with a bland expression.

"For the record, If I had not kidnapped you, as you call it, you'd have died for the second time; also, I didn't kidnap these eggs; I only took the ones that didn't radiant any signs of mana, which means no life had formed yet." Replied Lavender dryly while eyeing Alexander.

"Hehe, I know; but it's gratifying to return the favor and make fun of you; I'm rarely given the opportunity." Said Alexander while chuckling, to which Lavender sighed and ignored his antics.

Once I finished eating, I was planning to head outside to continue training, hoping that it would distract my mind from what happened yesterday, as I'm still somewhat affected by it; however, thinking about training caused me to remember the skill I acquired yesterday.

"Oh yeah, Master; we happened to get off track yesterday, but you said that I should have acquired two mana-related skills instead of one?" Said Alexander while looking at Lavender, who had also finished her food.

"Yes, you're correct. You should've acquired the skill [Mana Sense] along with the skill you already possess, [Mana Manipulation]; however, you didn't, which is weird considering, in order for you to locate the mana in your heart, you must be able to sense it." Replied Lavender with a thoughtful expression while tapping her finger on the table.

"Hmm, how about trying your skill [Heroes Gaze]; when I was examining your status panel yesterday, I happened to read its definition, and considering it is a mythical Skill, now that you can wield mana, that might've indirectly unlocked one of its hidden capabilities." Stated Lavender calmly while looking at Alexander as she shared her wisdom.

"Hidden capabilities? That's a thing?" Asked Alexander in surprise, as he had never once thought of the possibility of a skill having a hidden capability.

"Yes, it's a thing; although high-level skills can have it, it's much more frequently seen in titles." Replied Lavender while nodding her head.

When Master said that, I instinctively looked at my title [True Hero] while ignoring my other Title [Reincarnator], as It already gave a pretty detailed description and provided me with two rare traits. However, while my title [True Hero], on the other hand, granted me one mythical skill and one mythical trait, its description was pretty vague and left more to be desired, so I believed if either of the titles had a hidden ability, it would be that one.

'Those are all things I can think about later; besides, let's see if Master's assumption is correct.' Thought Alexander as he closed his eyes, only to open them, though when he opened them, his eyes were emitting a soft glow, capable of putting one into a trance from its beauty.

Whenever I use the skill [Heroes Gaze], my eyesight is increased by many folds, practically turning my eyes into a microscope and telescope while also providing a detailed description of whatever I intently stare at. However, as my skill had recently leveled up, I could now see in all directions, essentially making me immune to sneak attacks, and while it was somewhat confusing at first, I eventually got the hang of it.

"Beautiful." Muttered Alexander in fascination while observing the room.

What I was seeing was mana freely floating through the atmosphere, and it reminded me of a rainbow because of all the different colors I could see, though if I had to guess, I'd assume the different colors represent different mana elements.

"Alexander, can you see the mana floating in the atmosphere?" Questioned Lavender with widened eyes while eyeing Alexander.

"Yes, and it's gorgeous; I've never seen anything like it. Though how did you know?" Replied Alexander in awe as he continued observing his surroundings.

"Well, In the past, I've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to view mana with my own eyes a few times, and every time I did, I'd react exactly like yours." Stated Lavender with a smile while internally feeling slightly envious of Alexander's eyes.

After getting my fill of the beautiful scenery the mana created, I stopped using [Heroes Gaze], which caused my vision to return to normal.

"Haa, now everything looks so boring and ugly." Said Alexander with a sigh, eliciting a chuckle from Lavender.

"Hehe, I know exactly how you feel; after you've seen the world of mana, you can never see the normal world again as anything but ugly. However, at least we know why you didn't acquire the skill [Mana Sense]; you've already had it, or a superior version of it, at least." Stated Lavender as she stood up while grabbing both plates before heading toward the kitchen.

"Thanks for the delicious breakfast, Master; I'm going outside to continue training; even though I've finally managed to sense and manipulate my mana, my control over it is abysmal." Said Alexander as she hopped out of his chair and headed toward the front door.

"Wait, before you go, let's quickly check if you have an affinity with any other mana element besides the neutral element." Said Lavender as she exited the kitchen and approached Alexander, who had stopped moving.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot that was even possible; I've been too busy focusing on just locating my mana. I hope I have an affinity to the fire element; that way, I can make giant explosions!" Muttered Alexander excitedly as he gently slapped his head, imagining himself causing massive explosions using a large wand.

"You know you don't need to have the fire element to create explosions; sure, it's much easier with the fire element, but with enough creativity and mana, you can make any element create explosions." Stated Lavender with a chuckle as she rummaged through a nearby shelf.

"Hmm, what are you looking for, Master; weren't you going to determine my affinity for mana?" Asked Alexander while approaching Lavender.

"I am; however, if I wish to do so, I'm going to need a mana crystal; otherwise, I'll have to do a very long and tedious process to determine your mana affinities. That is if you even have more than one; ha, found it." Said Lavender as she grabbed an old, dusty, and damaged-looking pouch which had a symbol of a leaf, though it has been faded and was hardly recognizable.

"Follow me, Alexander; let us do this test outside and away from the house; with how unique you are, I wouldn't be surprised if you caused the mana crystal to explode." Added Lavender as she headed toward the door before exiting the house, followed by Alexander.

"Explosion? That can happen?"

"Yes, they can, although very rare. Finding someone with a strong enough affinity toward a specific element that can cause a mana crystal to explode is not easy." Replied Lavender while nodding her head.