The Mysterious Disease and the Future I See
“Do you read it all?”
Mana Storage Deficiency. This was a term I’d never heard before.
“Hmm....”
Shion rolled her eyes slowly and began reading the information on Mana Storage Deficiency.
Mana Storage Deficiency. A disease caused by congenital or acquired damage to the mana core—the organ that stores mana—preventing it from functioning properly.
No treatment method has ever been discovered.
There are two primary symptoms.
The first is that no matter how hard the patient tries, they can never leave their current rank.
“....It’s terrifying.”
For Shion, who was already so close to the 5-Star rank, the symptom felt especially frightening.
If she herself contracted this Mana Storage Deficiency, she probably wouldn’t have the will to live even for a while.
“Forever unable to grow....?”
But right then, Shion’s mind once again drifted to Sion.
“Speaking of which.... Sion-senpai was 1-Star, wasn’t he?”
There had always been something strange about it.
Sion always trained with all his heart, yet no one had ever heard that he had reached 2-Star or even 3-Star.
“....”
I had heard it once before when I was walking home with Chloe. She and Sion had been receiving mana training since they were ten years old.
And as a result, Chloe had now reached the 4-Star rank, but Sion still remained at 1-Star.
“.....Could it be that Sion-senpai...”
No, that couldn’t be. There was no way my first friend had contracted this terrifying disease.
But.... upon cold, rational thought, all doubts vanished if he had Mana Storage Deficiency.
Wait, then what about the second symptom....
Shion, growing increasingly anxious, hurriedly read the rest.
- Those suffering from this disease are mostly teenagers, and most die before reaching the age of twenty.
“.......!”
Shion’s breath suddenly stopped.
“Dying....?”
An eerie sensation flooded her body, as if blood were flowing backwards.
Those with Mana Storage Deficiency live until the age of twenty and then pass away.
Sion was currently seventeen.
Suddenly, the conversation with Chloe came back to mind.
- How was Sion-senpai before?
- That guy Sion? Well....
Chloe furrowed her brows and fell silent for a moment, then answered.
- Well, he’s just a pitiful human in every way. I can’t tell you the details because it’s a family matter, but he was always like a living corpse—without passion or drive. Even when I shouted at him to do something, he’d just laugh it off and say he understood. I guess that means he showed no will to live.
Before he lost his memories, Sion always spent his time listlessly, as if he were nothing more than a living corpse.
When I heard that story, I had simply thought, ‘Ah.... that’s how it was for Sion-senpai.’
But if he truly had Mana Storage Deficiency, that explained why he wasted his life without motivation.
After all, what was the point? He would die at twenty anyway. Why bother trying?
“Wait....!”
Without realizing it, Shion suddenly stood up and shouted.
Sion before losing his memories—living without passion. But after losing his memories, he had been working harder than anyone could imagine.
“No....!”
Sion didn’t know he had Mana Storage Deficiency.
That’s why he kept pushing himself in the training grounds, chasing an endless path of growth.
But he.... would never receive the reward for his efforts.
Shion found that fact unbearably cruel.
How could one person’s effort simply vanish without meaning? It was terrifying!
If Sion ever learned this, he would surely struggle with pain. He might even give up on life like before.
So, should she hide this truth from him?
The person she cherished most was racing toward a goal he could never reach, yet she would simply watch it with a smile? Was that right?
I didn’t know. I truly didn’t know.
“......Sion-senpai.”
Shion let out a long sigh and slowly turned her head to look out the window.
Autumn was approaching, dropping leaves onto the ground.
* * *
After the detailed physical examination, Shion immediately returned to Luin Academy.
The results would arrive by letter in a few days. It must have taken time because they used the latest devices.
“I’m in no hurry. It’s fine.”
She spent the afternoon at Luin Academy, waiting for the test results with ease.
It was now 8:12 PM. The carriage ride had been long, so she should have been tired, but she had slept soundly inside it and felt full of energy.
Since there was nothing else to do, she decided to test the powers of the newly awakened Wanderer class.
I headed to the training ground and adjusted the dummy combat device to a suitable level—around 7.
After taking a deep breath, I pressed the switch and activated the dummy combat training.
- 7 LV Dummy Combat Training has begun. Please train without getting injured.
With mana supplied, the dummy began moving like a living creature and swung its sword at me.
The battle against it began.
‘.....I see it.’
Amazingly, the ‘future’ began to appear.
Looking Slightly Further Than the Ordinary... the name was unnecessarily long. It would be simpler to call it Future Sight.
This Future Sight allowed me to peek into the future 3 seconds ahead during combat.
Right now, I could see the future with my eyes.
The dummy would attempt a horizontal slash in 3 seconds.
“Hyaaa~!”
I dodged the overhead strike aimed at my upper body by leaning back lightly.
Although the dummy’s speed was far higher than mine, since I could read its every action with Future Sight, dodging was no problem at all.
Next came the vertical slash. I read the timing and stepped to the side, dodging it with ease once more.
Thereafter, the dummy kept unleashing fierce attacks until the training ended, but none of them could reach me—I was protected by Future Sight.
- 7 LV Training has concluded.
At last, the training ended, and the dummy stood rigidly in place like a stiff mannequin.
As the battle concluded, I felt the future I saw gradually fading away.
“.....I finally reached a point where I can say I’m strong somewhere.”
A faint sense of exhilaration slowly spread through my body.
The 7 LV dummy had the level of a swordsman between 3-Star and 4-Star.
In other words, just moments ago, I had dodged every single attack from a 3-Star swordsman with complete ease.
Even without using Counter Attack, Hollow Slash, or Tao Power to block—purely by reading the future and dodging with my natural physical ability.
“If my current state remains like this.... I might be able to defeat a 4-Star expert somehow, but a 5-Star opponent? I could just run away.”
By obtaining Future Sight, the weaknesses in my basic swordsmanship and magic knowledge were filled.
Ah, you use this sword technique? Yeah, dodge it by reading the future.
Ah, your magic does a timed attack 2 seconds later? Yeah, dodge it the same way—by reading the future.
“Phew! This is exactly what a legendary-class is supposed to be.”
Since it was a waiting-type class, I felt the value of the Wanderer class growing stronger the more I awakened Enlightenment.
This might one day surpass even Shion’s class, the world’s savior. Ah, that’s going too far?
“Whatever. It’s just that I’m getting stronger gradually~”
Humming a cheerful tune, I left the training ground. After sweating enough, I hurried to the shower room, washed up, and then headed back to the dorm.
Right then, on my way to the showers, I ran into a familiar face.
“Oh? It’s Shin, right?!”
“......Sion-senpai.”
Shion noticed me and widened her eyes in surprise for a moment.
Then she looked away, hesitated, and finally lowered her head.
What was this? I hadn’t pulled any pranks, so was something wrong?
“W-well, I heard you were absent due to family circumstances. D-does everything seem resolved?”
Shion slowly raised her head and asked with an awkward smile.
“Haha, I met my father for the first time after losing my memories, and he was surprisingly kind. I was surprised. Since everything is fine, you don’t need to worry, Shin.”
“I see. That’s a relief....”
No matter how I looked at it, Shion’s state today was strange. Was she really ill somewhere?
“Shin, you seem a bit unwell. Are you okay?”
I asked cautiously, and Shion looked into my eyes.
Truly clear and beautiful blue eyes.
They gradually turned red, and transparent tears began to flow from her eyes.
“Sh-Shin?”
“....I’m sorry, Sion-senpai. Today.... I don’t feel like talking.”
She clenched her fists, bit her lip, wiped her tears with her sleeve, and walked past me.