Manus

Del a couple of hours later could be found in a large room laying down on a bed on the lower floor. The room had two floors, though the top one cut off three fourths of the way through the room which could be accessed by stairs.

Del had a folded cold wet towel laying over his eyes. Even with his vision obstructed he could still see the system clearly.

***

Name: Del

Race: Human

Manus:10/10

Abilities:

Full Body Mastery

Copycat

Tongues

Exaltation

Deception

Unarmed Combat

Manus

System Functions:

Plunder

**

Upon staring at one of his abilities for a few moments a sub screen popped up.

[Full Body Mastery: Mastery over one's physical form, your mind has been lifted of it's restrictions and will now enable you to greater control over your physical form, including fertility and blood flow. The higher your skill in this the greater degree of control you have]

Del read the sub screen and was wide eyed. He pulled the wet towel from his face revealing his bruised face. He stare at thr sub screen for a few moments longer before dismissing it.

He immediately tried to look at a sub screen for manus.

[Not enough information available]

He frowned slightly upon seeing a disappointing sub screen appear. He dismissed the system before bringing a hand to his chin.

"So it only shows information I've seen before, even if I can't remember it myself." Del said quietly to himself. He stopped thinking about it since he had no other clues to go on by this point.

Instead he looked over to the desk across the room which was stacked with books and tools. He was going ro be taught personally by the academy's president until the regular school year started and everyone else arrived in two months. He would only receive lessons twice a week though since the president had many other matters to attend to.

Del sighed as he got out of the bed. If he was going to survive he was going to have to train hard. He would need all the information and skills he could obtain so that he wouldn't lack behind. He sat at the desk and opened the first book he was told to read. He would sit there for hours to come.

...

Two weeks later Del would be found swinging a wooden sword that had been filled with stone. His muscles glistened with sweat, his body visibly much healthier and stronger than when he had arrived. Using Full Body Mastery constantly allowed him to raise his skill with it, as well as train his body at all times and encourage better muscle growth. If Del had to estimate, he probably got stronger around twice as fast as the average man.

His growth could be shown how in a mere two weeks he had already gained weight and even grew an inch taller. He now stood at 5'6 and weighed around 140 to 150 pounds though he was still a bit skinny looking. Del dropped the stone filled wooden sword and flexed his arms, appreciating the gains he had made.

Del as well had made many experiments with the system, now know how to not bring up the entire system. He summoned it and a stats screen appeared.

***

Manus:10/10

Strength:31

Agility:32

Endurance:29

Durability:34

***

He was mostly happy with his stats, only regretting not being introduced to manus yet. Though that is why we have been brought back today.

"Boy! Come with me, it's time for your next lesson." Bruce yelled out to Del while he stood by a pillar. He then walked away and made his way to the usual room that he taught Del in. He had noticed that Del never skipped a class. This seemed a little strange to Bruce since Del seemed to know plenty information about many of the subjects. He never let go an opportunity to learn though.

Bruce didn't complain at all though. Del at first seemed to have little to no talent, but after the first few days his growth rate was exponential. Bruce was slightly convinced he was cultivating a genius. "Maybe I owe that old man even more, tsk." He thought, seeing as the old man sent him such a talent.

Del sat at the front seat in the huge room while Bruce stood in front of a board. Del as usual sat in a relaxed manner, with his legs kicked up onto the table and his arms behind his head. He already had a book open on the desk.

"I know you have already completed this series, there is no need for you to keep reading it." Bruce said as he took the book off of Del's table. It was about hand to hand combat, and Del had finished all three books a week ago.

"So we're moving on?" Del asked as he tried to balance a quill on his nose.

"Indeed, since your manus amount is low it is even more urgent that you start cultivating it." Bruce said in a calm manner.

Del's eyes widened and he immediately sat up straight. Bruce handed Del a book and Del took it quickly. He opened it up and was filled with excitement.

"Let's begin then." Bruce picked up a paint brush and dipped it in a bottle. Del was familiar with this at this point. The large blackboard had properties that allowed the paint to be easily cleaned off so paint was often used. "Manus is more or less a second vigor, used like fuel, similar to wood to fire. That alone is not it's only function, but we will approach that later. For now we will be learning how to burn manus, and how to get it back." Bruce continued to explain for the next hour while Del paid attention attentively.

Del has set the system to not buzz him all the time, but he could already tell the information on manus was increasing. He wasn't so sure if his skill with manus would increase, but with this knowledge anyways he could find a way to improve.

When it got dark Del headed back to his room with a tray of food he had gotten from the cafeteria. Del kept on studying as he ate. The food didn't have much flavor but that was to expected at this time period. He swallowed up the last of the the potatoes which were a part of the meal and went back to studying.

"Burn manus..." He said quietly, thinking back to the lesson. That was a good way to put it. With the thought of it being fuel, one could more easily use it like they were burning fuel.

Del looked down at his hands. All of a sudden the world around him fell quiet as he shut out everything around him.

Fuel...

Energy...

Vigor...

Burn...

Del saw nothing but his hands, imagining a flow within them. A flow of energy which was sitting dormant. Than with an extra thought, there was a spark. The darkness which Del had imagined his hands was now lit up as an orange glow escaped his hands. Del grinned, showing teeth as his excitement rose tremendously. This was a true breakthrough!

He had successfully used manus! He then saw the glow on his hands disperse and a scroll of the system appear.

[Manus depleted]

What? Without warning Del's vision faded ti black and fatigue fill him as he felt his body hit the floor.