My Watch System

The next morning, Mike and Kitsune wake up at the campsite and head to the training ground, a small space with no trees around, and a beautiful waterfall with several animals nearby. Some targets are already destroyed, while others remain intact.

"Let's start your training, Mike. First, do you know the forces of this world?" Kitsune asks.

Mike, thinking for a moment, responds, "Sure, I hit them and they die."

Kitsune, clearly indignant, thinks, "How can he be so dumb?"

"Well, let's start with the basics. In this world, there are two types of force: physical and magical. From what I see, you don't have either," she says.

"You'll see," Mike responds, furious.

"We can work on your magical power for now. The base of it is mana, which flows through the body of every living being. However, the purer the mana, the more an individual can mold it into spells. Give me your hand, Mike. Let's see your purity level."

Reluctantly, Mike holds Kitsune's hand. "87%? This is impossible! How can a living being have such affinity with their mana, especially this idiot with no training? Now I understand why he was selected for this test," Kitsune thinks.

Mike, already knowing the result from a previous test, says, "It was 77%, right? I've done this test before. Why do you care so much about this?"

Confused by his response, she answers, "Of course not, you fool. The result was 87%."

Mike, scratching his head, exclaims, "I don't understand anything anymore." Before Mike can ask more questions, Kitsune quickly understands the situation. The fruit given to Mike earlier must have increased his purity level, something never seen before in the world.

Still taken aback, Kitsune ignores the fact and tells Mike, "Well, now that you know what mana is and your purity level, your task is this: Do you see that waterfall? Your job is to momentarily stop the water flow."

"M-Maybe that's impossible," Mike responds.

Kitsune then steps a little closer to the waterfall, points at it, and silence falls. After a few seconds, the water resumes flowing normally.

"This is the basic training, kid. Just concentrate all your mana at the tip of your finger and visualize stopping the flow," Kitsune says.

Impressed, Mike responds, "WOW, alright, I'll make it happen." Mike approaches the waterfall, mimics his friend's movements, and then... NOTHING happens. Frustrated, Mike mutters, "This is impossible."

"You didn't even try properly, lazy. Focus on the environment and do it!" Kitsune scolds.

After hours and hours of trying, the day ends. It may not seem like it, but concentrating his mana so many times is extremely tiring, more difficult than any physical training. Kitsune, lying under a tree, watching the boy's failed attempts, thinks, "This will take longer than I expected. How can someone with so much purity not do this? Let's see what happens."

Exhausted, Mike loses his balance and falls to the ground.

"Damn, how can I be so useless? At this rate, I won't even pass the test, let alone save my brother."

With an improvised water bucket, Kitsune lies next to Mike.

"Here, this will help with your recovery."

Smiling, Mike responds, "Thanks, with this, I'll be able to continue my training."

"Why are you doing this?" Kitsune asks curiously.

Mike puffs out his chest with a lot of determination, "Someone needs me. That's why I need to get stronger, no matter the cost or how much I train. I will understand what happened and rescue them."

The girl smiles and says, "If that's what you want, then go rest. Tomorrow, your training continues."

Weeks passed the same way. Mike trained relentlessly while his companion helped him, giving him food and water. One late afternoon, Mike finally succeeded in stopping the waterfall. Kitsune, impressed, congratulates him. Mike, very happy, jumps into the creek, shouting, "Finally, woohoo!"

Kitsune says, "Alright, get out of there. Now, let's move on to the second stage." Mike gets out of the creek and looks at her closely.

"Now, I want you to cover your mana with the water. That way, you'll be able to manipulate it freely and use it in combat."

Mike, not understanding much, asks, "How would I use it?"

"Water Barrier," Kitsune says, lifting a large wall of water, which is a little thin but still impressive.

Mike, having never seen anything like it, is completely incredulous. "I want to do it too! I want to! Water Barrier!" However, Mike's barrier is just a small puddle of water. Kitsune then bursts out laughing while the boy yells at her.

Later, sitting by the campfire, Mike, tired but happy, ponders, "Why does she help me so much? So far, she's only taught me how to manipulate water. When will I use my watch? I really want to learn teleportation."

Then, Mike calmly asks Kitsune, "Kit, why do you help me so much? We barely knew each other, and you practically saved me."

Looking at the boy, she responds, "Well, you looked so lost and helpless when I found you. You reminded me of my little sister. I wish someone had done that for her, so I decided to help you. But please, let's not talk about it. This is a happy moment, don't you think?"

Curious but understanding of the sad situation, Mike replies, "Of course it is."

Then, silence falls for a moment, and Mike breaks the ice by asking, "What about this watch? When will I be able to use the abilities of my enemies and allies?"

"You don't even know how to use mana yet. It would be impossible for you to understand the watch at this moment. To be honest, I don't fully understand it either, but the time will come, don't worry," Kitsune responds, smiling.

Mike simply smiles back and yawns. "Well, I think I'm going to sleep. Good night."

"Good night, see you tomorrow, Mike," Kitsune responds.

In the following days, Mike continued training to manipulate water with mana. When he felt ready, he tried again.

"Water Barrier."

Mike then creates a barrier much larger than Kitsune's, and it's much thicker too. Within the area's limits, it was the best barrier possible. Impressed, Kitsune responds, "Looks like you finally managed to control it, huh? Now, use your creativity to make weapons for battle." Kitsune then creates a bow and arrow made of water and shoots it, knocking down a tree.

"I want you to understand that these powers are limited by the environment. Since we're near water, you can make these barriers and other bigger things, but in a dry environment, it would be impossible—only basic things are possible," Kitsune explains.

Mike nods, agreeing with his friend.

Mike spends the rest of the day creating weapons like swords, shields, and spears made of water. As night falls, Kitsune orders Mike to leave the training area and head into the dangerous forest at night to test his new abilities. They say their goodbyes, and Mike heads into the forest.

In the forest, still very dark, Mike lights a torch and moves deeper into the woods, looking for nocturnal enemies. Suddenly, he hears a noise.

"BOOM!"

"What was that?" Mike exclaims, startled. Looking around, he gathers his courage and heads toward the sound. When he sees a person with their back turned, gravely injured, Mike lowers his guard and advances toward the person.

"Are you okay?" Mike asks as he gets closer. He then feels an increasingly dangerous presence. As he turns the person's face, he hears.

"I got you, you fool."

Then the creature gives a wicked smile and tries to stab Mike. However, he was faster and creates a small shield to defend himself.

"That was close," Mike exclaims. His good heart and desire to help others nearly led to his death. In this forest, you can't trust anyone, especially at night. Mike then gets into an attack stance, staring the creature down.

The creature responds, "Give up and die, kid. You don't have what it takes to keep going."

Mike ignores it and creates a water sword. "Oh, I see you can control water. Impressive for a kid your age. Someone must have helped you... the fox, right? Hahaha."

"How do you know her?" Mike asks, startled.

"Hahaha, this is so funny. I know there's no reason for you to believe me, but I'll give you a piece of advice: That fox doesn't seem what she is. You'll find out the hard way, hahaha."

Mike responds, "Don't talk about my friend like that, you filthy bastard!" and attacks the creature. The creature then reveals itself to be a being over two meters tall, completely black, with purple eyes.

"You'll see, kid," it says, dodging Mike's strike and counterattacking with a smoke bomb.

"Now you can't see me, hahahahah!"

Mike, startled, creates a water bubble for defense. The creature attacks the bubble, its weapon gets stuck in it, and quickly, Mike opens a small gap in the bubble and stabs the creature with his water sword.