# CHAPTER 3
Humans'need for growth was an essential spark in finding a solution for their suppression. This was solved around 2 years and 5 months later, on the 19th of the 5th month, Year 03, after the 'Missa Mortis', when a person named Naira Goldsky found a method. It was proved to be very beautifully stable when used by a human. The method was found in one of the previous civilization's traveller Doran's second book - Asta Magna.
As for Ray, being able to sense mana and having the ability to use magic alone won't make him capable of using magic. Using magic required a single stable flow of mana. Too much will kill the mana veins while too little would hinder efficiency. Plus, if backward flow is allowed, the person can become a cripple. This was known as 'Mana Deviation'. It created the need for proper techniques and methods of using magic.
[ NOTIFICATION
YOU HAVE CONSUMED YGGDRASIL'S SAP.]
"..." Ray sat in a lotus position. Knowing the value of such elixirs, he couldn't afford to waste a single drop of it. After all, such elixirs would make the world fight for it.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
A surge of adrenaline.
"When I had consumed 'Madara Pvein' in my previous life, my life almost went out of me. It was only an elixir to purify my body but this one....It won't be easy. But it's nothing."
Pain erupted within Ray's chest. The temperature around his thoracic cavity increased, his heart bouncing inside. The density of mana surrounding his body exponentially increased. Along with density, the quality increased as well.
"KUGH!" Blood splattered from Ray's mouth.
[ NOTIFICATION
THE BURDEN ON THE PLAYER'S BODY HAS INCREASED TREMENDOUSLY.]
[ NOTIFICATION
CAUTION! THE PLAYER'S BODY IS UNSTABLE.]
"I can do this. I won't be able to achieve my goals without such risks. Besides, I have promises to fulfill."
Promises made with those who might not even know it. This was yet another boon of having a photographic memory. Past mistakes and their regrettable outcomes often acted as fuel for motivation in Ray's case.
Aside from this, there were too many risks involved. The biggest was his presence in the middle of a forest. If he was to be interrupted by anything, everything could go awry.
[ NOTIFICATION
THE SYSTEM WILL ASSIST IN THE PLAYER'S ABSORPTION PROCESS.]
"Kugh!" The pain only increased. It felt like Ray's insides were being ripped and churned. This grueling pain, however, left no candle against Ray's determination and tenacity.
[ NOTIFICATION
THE BURDEN ON THE PLAYER'S BODY HAS SURPASSED THE CRITICAL LIMIT.]
"Kuek!"
"Just a little more. A little more." Ray's body yelled at him.
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER'S BODY IS BREAKING.]
[NOTIFICATION
THE EFFECT OF THE TITLE 'REGRESSOR' IS KEEPING THE BODY INTACT.]
The blood vessels around Ray's body were getting pumped. Visible on the surface. Cracks appeared on his body like a statue of stone crumbling. On the other hand, his arm which had evaporated was regenerating, coming out of the bandage Ray had applied on it.
"JUST...." Ray's mind softened. He was half unconscious. His face had gone pale.
"You won't abandon us again, right?"
"...n...No."
Ray regained his focus. He withstood all the pain and focused only on the energy absorption by his body.
.
.
.
.
Time passed by.
SWOOSH!
[ NOTIFICATION
THE PLAYER HAS SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED YGGDRASIL'S SAP.]
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
"Hah....Hah....Hah..." Ray was soaked in sweat. He had succeeded in overcoming a major hurdle.
[ NOTIFICATION
THE BLOCKED MANA VEINS HAVE CLEARED UP.]
"It was definitely worth it."
Ray could feel it, vividly. The mana flowing through his veins. Even if he couldn't use magic right away, just the thought of it made him jump leaps and bounds in his mind.
"Let's not get too carried away. There's still a technique to imprint on the body. Plus, I'm in the middle of hell at night." He almost lost his composure again. The reality was that he still was in the middle of a forest. And the nights had hit as well.
"Did the system also prevent any monster from closing in on me or was it just luck?"
There was no answer to this question as of now.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
~the next day~
"Did we really need to take up this task, Taylor?" asked the girl who looked to be in her mid twenties.
"Varnika, You know it too, don't you? It's already been a month since we took the leave from Bureau for our marriage." said Taylor. He's around the same age as Varnika. His blond hair set him apart from Varnika's black, matched with his gleaming Knight's suit, symbol of a shield hammered on it.
"Even so-"
"Besides our funds have also almost dried up."
"Tsk, it's not like Lance to go missing in that Euren's forest." Varnika raised her left hand in the air, looking at her ring in the reflecting sunlight.
As they walked, they had almost reached the Euren's forest.
"True, but one could never believe the lawless jungle." Taylor and Varnika were both equipped with weapons, a sword by Taylor, and a broadsword by Varnika.
"Hmm.....it-"
SHRIEK! RUSTLE! SHRIEK!
"..!" Varnika and Taylor were both alarmed. They unsheathed their swords in unison.
"Hah...Finally! I finally escaped the forrrr...Eh?" Ray paused. He was taken aback after seeing the two people in front of him.
"Who are you? Reveal your identity!" Taylor shouted at his lungs. The sword in his hand looked ready to be swung at any moment.
"Huh...Wait!...No.no.no...No...How?" Ray's eyes fell on Taylor's armour. He instantly recognised the logo on Taylor's knight suit.
"I'm pretty sure that logo is of the Investigation Bureau of the United Alliance, but....How? This shouldn't be possible. Wait..."
There were a lot of things Ray had a lot to consider at this moment. According to him, it should be around the time of the 'Missa Mortis'. He was retrospective on his memory of the dead man in the forest.
"Why didn't I think of this earlier?" Ray realised the mistake in his assumptions. His regression was already an unimaginable thing, perhaps it wasn't the only inconceivable incident.
"Seems like you won't ope-"
" What's the date today?" Ray asked. His voice could clearly show his desperation.
"What?" Taylor hadn't expected this. The person in front of him, dressed like a drunk thief in his late teens, was asking him about the date? But realising the panic in his voice, Taylor however replied. "It's the 20th of the 12th month,... Year 05."
"..."
"Shit! I have regressed five years later?"
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
"So, the United Alliance is already in action.....Hmm..." Ray's unconventional regression had caused a brainstorm for him. A lot of things have gone awry. He was faced with a reality he had never expected.
Suspecting Ray to be acting or he could have entirely lost his memory, the three of them walked together. Taylor and Varnika had decided to follow Ray on his way to the city.
"I still don't understand this. Why did I regress five years later? Did something go wrong with my regression? Hah...I can't even ask anyone." Having had an unexpected variable into the equation, all of his plans after leaving the forest now required to be restructured.
"Even when his mind was sane, why would a weak person like him go into the forest unarmed?"
"Hey, could you-?" Tayler chose not to trust Ray until he uncovered everything.
"Anyways, Mr. Ray, we have answered your question. It's only fair if you answer one of our questions, " Varnika decided to go directly to the point instead of wasting her time. She had very brilliantly kept her tone in control. "So, did you find anything unusual in the forest?"
"Hmm....considering they are from the investigation bureau and this man Taylor wears a similar armour to that dead body....they must be searching for him then."
Ray understood the reason why Taylor and Varnika were coming to the forest. He took out the piece of necklace he had picked in the forest and handed it over to Taylor. "Ah! That...I found this near the dead body of that person. About his body, I buried it."
"!!!" Taylor held a pendant on his hand. Opening it revealed a young boy's picture framed into it.
"Um..,Taylor?" Varnika noticed the change in expression on Taylor's face.
"It's his. It's.....definitely Lance's..... Excuse me, Mr. Ray, I think this needs an explanation?" Taylor looked furious. The pitch of his voice was proof of it. His tone was naturally aggressive. Having lost a friend of his, that too a friend who took on the task, Taylor and Varnika were originally supposed to, he had no face or words left for him.
"Oh-ho, Look at him. He isn't even hiding his aura anymore."
"Oh? You think I killed him? And then you think I would hand over his belonging to you if I killed him?" Ray didn't back down considering his own honour was at bet here.
"Taylor! Calm down, okay? We still don't know-" Varnika stepped in between Ray and Taylor.
"I don't see why not?" Taylor glared directly into Ray's eyes. His right hand was fixed on the handle of the sword by his waist. Though he knew Ray wasn't behind it looking at his scrawny body from Taylor's perspective, suspicion had become a force of habit his job has gifted him.
"You wanna go at it?" Ray grinned, closing in face to face with Taylor.
"He's not the one behind this."
"..."Taylor gazed in on Ray's fixed unflinching eyes.
"Even so...something doesn't add up. What would he be doing in the forest then?" Taylor had come to a conclusion that Ray wasn't involved in Lance's death. However, he was sure of Ray hiding something. "I'm sorry for my rudeness earlier, I let the situation get the better of me."
"..." Varnika remained silent. Instead, she looked at Taylor without moving between Ray and him.
"Hmm...I won't say I understand your pain, anyways, I'm sorry too." Ray let go of what he was about to say. He could feel the situation Taylor was in from his expression. "When I found your friend, he was already dead and was about to be consumed by the Lycans. There was a three-horned Lycan nearby, so possibly-."
"Hush....Thank God." Varnika took an easing breath.
"Nope, it definitely wasn't a three horned Lycan." This was a fact for both Taylor and Varnika. Considering, Lance was a peak 4* swordsman, getting killed by a three-horned Lycan was nothing besides bullshit.
Ray decided not to speak anything further. Moisture could be seen in Taylor's eyes. Varnika's eyes shed tears.
Throughout the rest of their way to the Nova city, a few things about the city and what Ray did with Lance's body were discussed. Other than that, silence was maintained between the parties.
"Hello, Sir Taylor. Are you done with your mission?" A tiger beastmen guard at the city wall asked.
"Somewhat. Looks like we'll have to part ways here, Ray...Thanks." Taylor was grateful towards Ray, though that didn't mean he trusted him.
"Yes." Ray replied blankly. He had a lot of things in his mind now that he's reached the city.
"See you around, Ray."
"Sure." Ray moved inside the city. It's long towering walls, flags bearing the symbol of a shield with a sword and wand bisecting in the middle. Not exactly as he had supposed to since it had already been five years.
"Finally, I'm in the city." Ray thought. Looking around at the people, mixed races coming from different worlds, all working together. That's the type of city, the United Alliance sought to achieve.
"Anyways, the first thing I've got to do is to have an identification, before I get fined or is labelled as a trespasser."
Ray needed an identification as early as possible. Roaming around the city without having an identification could put him behind the bars. And of course, he needed to avoid unnecessary trouble as much as possible.
CLING!CLING!
"Welcome sir, how may I help you." A human receptionist, behind the counter beside the door.
"I want to register as an adventurer." Ray looked around the guild from the corners of his eye.
"It's as busy as ever. An introvert might die from the overwhelming atmosphere here."
Dwarfs with a beer cup almost the size of a bucket, a few elves eating in their usual elegant way, beastmen enjoying themselves without a care of the surroundings, a man with a cape all over his body.
"Uhhhm, right away, sir." The receptionist went inside and brought an application.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"What?"
"A young dragon's corpse, its heart missing was found near Andreas."
"Some say the dwarves bought it to create an energy source."
"I know, right?"
"Hey, look there."
"A new one?"
"He's too shabby and dirty."
"But he looks young."
"Hah, you a pervert? Ahahahahh."
"You..!...
"I can hear you all, bastards. Do I look that bad? I need to shower first then." The guild was as busty as ever. With a combined dining area, none could help about the noise around the lunch time.
"Here, sir." The form of the adventurer's guild was simple.
ADVENTURER APPLICATION FORM
NAME- AGE-
SEX- SPECIE-
OCCUPATION-
MAIN WEAPON-
MANA STATUS-
MANA AFFINITIES-
"Hmm....." Ray could remember the same moment in his past life when he had filled 'None' in the mana status bracket. Though, the situation now was different.
"Mana affinities, I'll just update it later." Ray hadn't found out his affinities. Normally, affinities are filled after a year of mana awakening. Well, it wasn't a problem because it can be updated whenever.
"Here." Ray pushed his form at the receptionist.
"Yes, just a second, sir. Clara, Clara! Bring out some more forms for adventurer application." The receptionist took the form and placed it in the large box, consisting of so many geometrical components and a lever. A machine made by dwarves which runs on mana stones to print out an adventurer card.
"That's very typical of a city where dwarves live."
"Here, sir." The receptionist handed the white card over to Ray. "You will start from an E-rank. For more information you can buy the adventurer's guide for 1 silver."
Ray had practically no use of a guide, being a former veteran himself. He had another thing to ask of.
"No, thanks. Instead, please give me a map of the city."
"Huh?"
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
[ STATUS WINDOW
LEVEL- 9
NAME- RAY HYSTER AGE- 17 TITLE- REGRESSOR SEX-MALE
TRAIT - ???
STRENGTH - 15
STAMINA - 15
AGILITY - 15
INTELLIGENCE - 15
PERCEPTION - 15
(ADDITIONAL STATS- 3)
HP- 1280 MP- 0 (750)
SKILL - EYES OF ISMARA ( ACTIVE )]