Hero Of Harmony

It was the next day, and currently, I was back outside, sitting on the grass, though just like some mornings, I was still tired as I hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

"Haa, alright, let's try sensing my mana again today." Muttered Alexander with a yawn as he decided to lie on the ground instead of sitting.

Unfortunately, I hadn't come up with any methods to help me sense mana yesterday during supper, so I just did the same thing I did yesterday. Yet after another four hours, with seemingly no progress, I opened my eyes in frustration as I stood up and decided to bathe, hoping to relax my body and mind.

'I may even develop a theory to help me better sense my mana.' Alexander wishfully thought as he headed toward the nearby pond at the edge of the clearing.

Once I arrived at the beautiful crystal clear pond, I took off my shirt and pants, which for the record, were both crafted by Master using plant fibers; I also didn't have any undergarments, at first it was quite uncomfortable, but I quickly got used to not being so restricted.

Setting my clothes on a large stone beside the pond, I jumped into the water, causing a small splash as I sunk to the bottom of the pond; when I reached the bottom of the pond, I just let myself float near the seabed, or pond bed while I stared into the sky from the bottom. I stayed like this for several minutes, enjoying the water gently caressing my skin before I eventually swam toward the surface so I may actually start cleaning myself.

Grabbing a cleaning sponge and some soap near the pond's bank, I began meticulously cleaning myself for a few minutes before submerging myself into the pond again.

'Haa, nothing; I couldn't come up with a single theory that might help me sense mana; it looks like I will have to do it boring and time-consuming way. At least it wasn't a complete waste of time; I did manage to relax my mind.' Thought Alexander as he emerged from the pond's surface and began heading toward the bank of it.

Setting the soap and sponge back in their designated spot, I got out of the water and put my clothes back on before glancing at the beautiful pond.

'Master had said she created this pond herself; I wonder how much mana she used to fill in this previously empty pit of water.' Pondered Alexander as he stared at the pond, though the longer he stared at it, the faster the gears in his head started spinning.

"That, that might work!" Exclaimed Alexander with joy and hope as he ignored the pond and headed toward the center of the clearing.

I tried not to get too excited about the idea I came up with, but I was confident that it would work, or at least, logically, it should work. Arriving near where I usually practiced sensing mana, I sat down and activated [Heroes Gaze] before opening my status panel, which is surprisingly the correct term for this world.

'It'll take a while, but if my theory is correct, which by all means, should be, that'll make sensing my mana much easier.' Thought Alexander as he eyed his Status panel and carefully watched his mana drop by two every second.

Thankfully, I managed to advance my skill [Heroes Gaze] previous to this, otherwise this would've taken twice as long, though I don't know if it's because this is the real world and not some video game; it took me roughly four years to advance the skill by one level, and if we're going by common sense or logic, it's going to take longer than four years if I want to advance it again.

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Mana: 113/ 790

Etc.

Condition: Mana exhaustion

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When my total mana reached just above one-twenty, I felt slightly weak, my heart was beating harder than usual, and I wanted to vomit all the food I ate yesterday; the lower my total mana got, the stronger those feelings became. I thought about stopping, but I decided to power through it until I was utterly empty of mana.

Once my total mana dropped below forty, the condition on my Status panel changed from [Mana exhaustion] to [Severe mana exhaustion], and at that point, my heart felt like it was constricting itself as it violently pounded in my chest while I was even weaker than before; to top it all off, I could no longer hold back my desire to vomit. Leaning forward, I began vomiting for a full minute; everything I ate yesterday was now on the ground, yet even after going through all that, I still didn't stop using my skill; at this point, it was my stubbornness not to stop after getting this far, I figured I might as well get my mana to zero.

'I should've stopped when I got the condition for Mana exhaustion, but now I'm in too deep; I can't just stop now.' Thought Alexander as he sat back down in pain and looked at his Status panel with his bloodshot purple eyes while watching his mana now enter the single digits.

'9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4…, 3…, 2…, 1.' Thought Alexander as he was only given a brief second to view his mana completely empty before he lay on the ground, and although it was slight, he did happen to sense a void feeling in his heart.

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Mana: 0/ 790

Etc.

Condition: Severe mana exhaustion

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Groggily opening my eyes, I grunted while quickly grabbing my heart in pain as I started hyperventilating, though all the sudden, a warm feeling coursed through my body as the pain began subsiding, and although it was still present, the intensity was much weaker than before.

"Ugh, what happened?" Said Alexander as he tried to remember what happened, but everything was blurry for him right now.

"I'll tell you what happened, Alexander; you emptied your entire mana pool!" Said Lavender angrily as she wished to slap him across the head, but she held back for now since he was still injured.

When I heard Master's angry voice, the memories of what happened started becoming clear, and once I fully remembered everything, I felt happy and angry with myself.

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Mana: 0/ 790

Etc.

Condition: Severe mana exhaustion

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'I don't know how long I've been unconscious, but I should've regenerated some of my mana by now. So why is it still empty?' Thought Alexander in confusion before ignoring his Status panel and focusing on the enraged Lavender.

"How long have I been unconscious for, Master?" Asked Alexander timidly, trying his best not to anger Lavender further.

"Hmph, thirty hours. You've been unconscious for thirty hours, Alexander!" Exclaimed Lavender angrily as she eyed the shocked Alexander.

"T-Thirty hours!?" Yelled Alexander in shock as he attempted to sit up, though his sudden actions caused him to clutch his heart in pain.

"I suggest you don't move; the harder you make your heart work, the more intense the pain will be. These are the repercussions of emptying your mana pool." Remarked Lavender as she forcefully pushed Alexander back into the bed before gripping the bridge of her nose in anger, frustration, and worry.

"Haa, I had thought that with how mature you were, you would be fine on your own; but it seems like I was wrong." Muttered Lavender in exhaustion as she looked down at Alexander, who was clutching his heart in pain.

"To be fair, Master, I'm in the situation because of my maturity; I'm sure most, if not all children, wouldn't be capable of persisting through the pain and uncomfortableness that I experienced." Replied Alexander with a slight smile once the pain in his heart became more manageable, though he went silent from Lavender's furious glare.

"Alexander, you seem to be taking this whole situation too lightly; do you know what usually happens to people who do something stupid like emptying their entire mana pool!?" Questioned Lavender as she took a deep breath to calm down before speaking, though she was once again enraged by the time she was finished.

While emptying my mana, I never once thought about the possible repercussions I might face; sure, the fleeting thought that I might pass out once my mana reached zero was something I theorized could happen, but that's it. I reasoned I'd wake up a few minutes later, maybe an hour at most, but I never thought I'd wake up with heart pain after being unconscious for over a day, and seeing how livid Master was, I'm sure the consequences could be disastrous.

'This all happened because of my stupid stubbornness and my inherent belief that this was some game world with how similar this world is to a video game. It won't be easy, but I need to change my thinking; otherwise, I might die again because of my foolishness.' Thought Alexander seriously as he reflected on his actions before replying to Lavender.

"No, Master, but I'm assuming death is a possibility."

"Yes, not only is it a possibility, it is the most likely scenario for newbies like you! You see, Alexander, since your mana is located in your heart, they are interconnected; the more empty your mana pool becomes, the harder your heart will have to work to offset your low mana. However, since your heart is a muscle, with enough training, you can greatly diminish the repercussion of emptying your mana pool; however, that takes many years of dedicated training and practice. Though you skipped all that and directly emptied your mana pool, you're not only lucky to be alive but also to still be able to wield mana." Explained Lavender, having managed to calm down somewhat.

"I-I guess I am lucky." Muttered Alexander as he felt fear of possibly dying again or losing the ability to use mana.

"Yeah, I guess being foolish grants you extra luck."

"So then, how long will I have to wait before I'm fully healed and my mana returns?" Asked Alexander while deciding it would be best to ignore that comment.

"Well, believe it or not, when I found you passed out on the grass, your heart was in terrible shape; it could barely pump blood through your body, yet within one hour, your heart was healed and even slightly stronger than before. However, the reason why you still feel immense pain is that your mana pool is empty; though your mana should start regenerating within the next ten or so hours, the after-effects usually last for days, if not weeks, but with how quickly your heart healed, I'd imagine the time would also be lessened." Replied Lavender as she rested her glowing hands atop Alexanders' body, causing his pain to diminish further before she stood up.

"Even if that's the case, Master, I still have to wait another ten hours, or possibly more, before the pain finally vanishes." Commented Alexander in dissatisfaction as he looked at Lavender.

"Good, this is what you get for doing something so stupid; also, don't think, just because this is happening to you, that I won't be punishing you. I need to ensure you've learned from your mistake and that you won't do something stupid like this again." Said Lavender as she exited Alexander's room, leaving him lying in bed all alone.

"C-Can I at least get some food?" Asked Alexander; he had gone more than an entire day without eating, though silence was all he heard.