25%

These were all events he could handle quite easily, but he couldn't interfere as freely as he wanted.

He already bore the punishment for all the decisions he would make that could change the timeline.

"Oh, and I forgot to tell you, I finally managed to reach 25%," Jean said excitedly as she showcased the ornament on her head.

It was a circlet with an incredibly fancy design, making her look like some fantasy princess. However, slightly above the circlet was a holographic number.

Looking at it, David could see the number 25 floating above it. Seeing this, a smile appeared on his face. This was a far greater achievement than she realized.

"Are you sure that's 25? It looks like 15 to me," David joked, only to be instantly sent flying into a distant tree.

"Okay, okay, it's 25! My back!" David said, forcibly admitting her growth.

The circlet was a creation from Forge. The man had refused to move to the school, but he had gladly helped in creating a device that could seal off the powers of someone as powerful as Jean.

Of course, it couldn't do so entirely. Hence, he had enhanced it with several magical runes to make it into what it was today.

The purpose of the circlet was to act as a kind of tap.

It blocked off her excess power while automatically detecting the optimum amount of power that she could handle and utilize easily.

Essentially, the device blocked all excess power, allowing her access to only what she could control. As she grew stronger, it would release more of her power.

It was a risky move, considering that Jean and the Phoenix were one, but it was a decision that was paying off.

Jean quickly got used to her psychic abilities at a pace never seen before. Her empathic abilities were also under control, which made it difficult to corrupt her.

The event of her friend's death still remained fresh in her mind, but rather than sealing off that memory, as Charles had initially done, she had pushed through it in a semi-healthy manner.

Grief was normal… Well, her situation wasn't just regular grief, but like with most grief, time helped heal it. Although his back and head had seen better days...

"I'll have to be more careful with you from now on," David said as he stood up from the ground. His back was in serious pain, and he immediately began to heal it. Thinking about it, having a human body wasn't exactly a great idea.

"You know the professor will be talking for an hour. Do you want to do something fun?" David asked.

"Is that my reward?"

"Haa, you just got stronger, and you still need a reward?" David said as he quickly prepared a shield.

Almost immediately, a huge gust of wind swept through the area, sending everything between them flying.

David smiled at his preparation. This much he could always handle, but it didn't mean he couldn't let his guard down to play.

With that, he stood up while waving for everyone watching to calm down. He and Jean were the very first students at the school, and unlike Jean, he acted more like a teacher within the school.

Many of the students viewed him not as a peer, but as a teacher of the academy, even though he clearly wasn't.

"So, where are you going?" Jean asked as she stood up too.

"To a small village in Europe that's about to be erased from the map," David replied.

The curse of the omniscient: you always know too much, even when you don't want to know anything. His punishment had been served, so why not go ahead with the crime?

"What do you mean by that?"

"We're going to save someone," David proclaimed with a smile.