Chapter 73: The Answer

Chapter 73: The Answer

After a few days of rest, Bran underwent a great change in his energy and spirit. He had already begun to adapt to the various changes brought about by the fusion of the Mana Web with his mind. He was now in the cool feeling one gets from suddenly jumping into water on a summer day.

Bran felt the movements of the mosquitoes and insects around him seemed to slow down. He could clearly see their flapping wings and could more accurately predict their flight paths. Now he needed to make his physical abilities catch up with his sensory reactions, at least not lag behind too much.

These past few days, his cousins no longer came to bother Bran; they were scared off by some of his unusual behaviors. Bran had become interested in any mosquitoes or insects that flew within his attacking range. He focused on eliminating them, one by one. On the grassland, the number of insects attracted by people or animals was countless, so this behavior could not stop. What was even harder for them to understand was that their cousin’s black cat also seemed to have caught the same ‘illness,’ joining in this futile activity.

No one could stand it. You’re in the middle of talking, and the person you’re conversing with suddenly leaps three feet high, slapping a fly to death. He just landed, and just as you’re about to speak again, he jumps several steps away, reaches out, pinches a mosquito dead, then triumphantly holds his hand in front of your eyes. After a few times like this, the cousins temporarily gave up on harassing Bran.

…

Most importantly, they now had a better target for their harassment – Danny.

“Sister Danny, how do you put up with my cousin?” Dia originally wanted to use the term ‘idiot,’ but to avoid upsetting Danny, she reluctantly called him ‘cousin.’ Lia and Sia also gathered nearby, nodding in agreement.

“Why would I need to put up with him?” Danny was a bit confused.

“There!” Dia gestured towards where Bran was.

Bran was following at the back of the group, a man and a cat, leaping and pouncing, intently hunting mosquitoes and insects…

“Don’t disturb him. Help clear away possible distractions for him. He’ll be fine after a while.” Danny seemed to recall some interesting experiences and smiled gently.

This smile made the young girls stare, instantly deeply moved by the gentleness. At the same time, the feeling of ‘why isn’t it me’ made envy and jealousy arise.

“Sister Danny, is it very humiliating to be Bran’s attendant?” Lia asked the question she had long wanted to ask.

“Not at all,” Danny said, gently patting Lia’s head.

“Bran’s situation at the castle isn’t very good, is it? I see he doesn’t even bring a White Wolf, nor does he have a mount,” Sia asked.

“Him? He’s actually the richest person in the castle now,” Danny chuckled.

“How can that be? He only brought a little cat; he didn’t bring any other companions. If it weren’t for accompanying him, we wouldn’t be walking on just two feet,” Dia said somewhat indignantly.

“He’s just soft-hearted. He doesn’t want his other animal companions to get hurt because of him,” Danny explained.

“Then why is he still carrying that useless cat?” Lia seemed to have found a counter-argument.

“That’s because no one can separate them, including themselves,” Danny sighed, seemingly a bit resentful that she ranked behind a cat.

And so, Danny was now entangled with various questions.

…

By the evening campfire, Bran said to Danny while taking notes, “After ability Evolution, the body needs a period of re-synchronization. This process is also when Mana nourishes the body itself, causing the body to evolve, making it more suitable for using the ability. This is also why, after Awakening, physical fitness always improves somewhat.

Depending on the type of ability and the direction of Evolution, the results reflected back on the body vary. Before, I always wondered why my sister’s ability Evolution had such obvious effects. Because her ability directly acts on her own body, her initial synchronization level far exceeded other types of Wizards. Actually, her later physical growth is still a slow process.

Although my ability is not combat-related and leans more towards the mental side, keen observation and control, analysis and processing of information are part of the ability. These abilities have very broad applications and are equally significant for improving combat power. However, the physical growth was still a bit beyond my expectations. Perhaps after the mind’s enhancement, especially after my ability Evolution, an imbalance began between mind and body, forcing the body to improve passively to adapt.

So, recently I’ve felt my body’s response speed has increased a lot. Especially when I was almost killed by my cousins, that moment caused my mind and the Mana Web to fuse, at least partially fused completely, the part within my body. Under the stimulus of life and death, the body, mind, and Mana began to unify. I don’t know whether I should thank them or curse them.”

Danny listened quietly. She knew Bran needed a listener at this moment. Just like Huahua squatting nearby, he just needed family to share with.

“Of course thank them,” Not everyone is a good listener. The cousin lounging on Danny’s other side now interjected. This also interrupted Bran’s inclination to continue speaking, but his cousin seemed unwilling to let him off.

“Bran, I have a question. Promise you won’t lie first,” Dia said.

“Okay.”

“When we were little in the castle, how did you get others to find out we were bullying you? You didn’t talk back then.”

Bran smiled. “I was always very clean.”

“What does that have to do with you being clean?”

“If a person is too clean, any stain on them becomes very obvious. I didn’t play with anyone then, didn’t go near any place that might dirty me. The place I appeared most often in front of others was near the castle gate; it’s open and everyone can see. And when I stood there covered in stains, the elders would have bad assumptions. You weren’t very old then either; how many Northlands kids don’t get their hands muddy when they’re little?”

“Nonsense, we were very clean too,” Dia said, dissatisfied.

Bran grinned happily. “Later on, even if I stood near them perfectly clean, just giving an innocent look at the victim… I was quite happy back then, every day thinking about which cousin would get a beating? Didn’t you feel that in the days before you left, you got beaten more often, and more unjustly?

I actually really admire you guys for daring to get close to me. Back then, the kids in the castle didn’t easily dare to come near me. Can you imagine the consequence of your own child’s handprint appearing on an idiot, then being stared at by everyone for a whole day? Even my brother rarely came close to me. Only my sister would occasionally hold my hand.”

Then Bran saw the sudden understanding on his three cousins’ faces.

“We were just trying to scare you. You’re so mean,” Sia said, somewhat displeased.

“Mainly to get back at them for Lily. When you fought, she was too little and suffered too much. I couldn’t just watch her lose,” Bran explained.

Hearing this, the cousins fell silent, and the people around listening to their conversation laughed…

…

To escape the somewhat awkward situation, cousin Dia changed the subject. “Bran, you always seem to be on guard. Even when you’re with us. Why?”

Bran was a bit annoyed. “If I weren’t on guard, you would have stabbed me to death long ago.”

This made the others blush slightly.

Lia asked curiously, “How did you notice from behind back then?”

“Wizards have other ways of sensing things, but my perception had some problems at the time. Also, I was forced into that position by the insect. Even if I sensed it, it was still very dangerous for me. Managing to dodge was really luck.”

“So you decided to ignore us after that?” Lia pressed.

“Mhm. I don’t plan to get close to you in the future either. Too scary,” Bran said with lingering fear.

“You’re just petty,” Sia began to accuse Bran.

Bran smiled silently, not planning to say anything more, and closed his eyes.