Luthra snorted. ’What is this old geezer trying to pull? Is this a joke?’
The old man simply took another sip of his tea, not seeming to be offended at all.
"In the grand scheme of things, you are correct. I am not the Absolute Being. But for this specific universe, for all intents and purposes, I am the god you would know."
He set his cup down on the table.
"I am the one who stands at the Wall of Creation. When a new soul is born, it comes to me, and I am the one who gifts it a mana circle."
Luthra’s skepticism immediately vanished, replaced by a sharp, focused attention. He was listening now.
’This old man... he’s the one who gives people mana circles?’
The implications of that statement were enormous, and they all centered on him.
"Then... are you the one? Are you the reason I was born without a mana circle?"
The old man smiled gently, and gestured to the empty chair across from him.
"That is a complicated question. The explanation will take some time, so please, sit down first."
Luthra stood still for a moment, his fists were clenched at his sides. He looked at the simple wooden chair, then back at the old man. ’Fine. I will listen for now. This is too weird to just ignore.’
He walked to the table and sat down, his posture was stiff and his back was straight.
The old man seemed pleased, and poured a second cup of tea and pushed it across the table toward Luthra.
"First, you must understand the process. The Absolute Being creates each soul. That soul then travels to me, here at the Wall of Creation. I assess its nature and then I bestow upon it a mana circle that is suitable. That is how hunters, as you all call them, are born."
He paused, letting the information sink in.
"Of course, some souls are simply not compatible with mana. Their natures are different. These souls are born as what you would call normal humans, and that is a perfectly normal outcome. This system has been in place since the beginning of this world."
The old man leaned forward slightly.
"But then, your soul was created. It was... an unprecedented event. An anomaly."
Luthra just stared at him, waiting for the rest.
"You see, mana is a positive energy. It flows outward from the circle, it is an energy of creation and projection. But your soul was different. When it came to me, it already possessed a mana circle, something that should be impossible. And this mana circle was negative."
"Yes. Its flow was reversed. Instead of pushing energy out, it was a vortex that pulled all energy inward. It was violently unstable, and it was so powerful that it was beginning to tear your soul apart before you were even born. If I had done nothing, your soul would have been completely annihilated."
’My soul was tearing itself apart?’ The idea was difficult to comprehend.
"So, to save you, I had only one choice. I used my power to seal it away entirely. I built a container around it so that its negative flow could not destroy you. This is why all tests showed you had no mana circle. In truth, you have one, but it has been completely sealed off from you since your birth."
The old man leaned back in his chair, his expression serious.
"I have spent all this time, since the moment you were born, preparing a method for you to safely unseal and control this power. And now, after your body has been sufficiently trained to withstand the initial strain, that time has finally arrived."
He processed the information, his face not moving at all. ’so my soul was defective from the start, and this old man sealed it to save me. I see.’
The god continued speaking, his tone completely calm, "However, containing a power of that magnitude was not a simple task, it was a very difficult thing to do, even for a being such as myself."
Luthra’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’what is he talking about? a god is struggling? that makes no sense. is this guy really a god, or just some powerful illusion monster?’
"You seem to be doubting me, and that is understandable. To put it simply, your negative mana circle was a concept that did not belong in this universe’s rule set, a foreign element that the world itself was trying to reject. My role is to manage the existing system, not to handle such extreme paradoxes by myself."
The god picked up his teacup again.
"Therefore, I consulted a friend. He is an existence from another universe, one that is quite familiar with these kinds of irregular systems."
’a friend from another universe? this story is getting more and more ridiculous.’
"Together, my friend and I came up with a special solution just for you. We constructed a unique framework and bonded it directly to your sealed mana circle. You would probably call it a ’leveling system’."
Luthra’s posture became even more rigid, as he knew about leveling systems, it was the common term for how hunters measured their progress, but those were just abstract concepts created by the Hunter Association.
"This is not some man-made ranking, it is a true, sentient system that is now a part of your soul. Its purpose is to act as a regulator, allowing you to slowly and safely unseal your original power, piece by piece, and it will provide a structure for your growth."
The god set his cup down.
"But you must understand a critical point. Because your original power is of a negative nature, the system we built to manage it will also operate in a negative way, so your levels will be negative, and the skills you acquire will be negative."
Luthra finally spoke, "What does that mean? Negative levels."
The old man just smiled. "Ah, you will find that out very soon. Explaining it with words would be too complicated, it is something you must experience for yourself."
’this geezer is being deliberately vague, how annoying.’
The god then raised his right hand, and a small orb of shimmering blue light materialized above his palm, floating gently in the air and giving off a soft, cool light.
"This is the key, the activation trigger for your system. I have been holding onto it for you."
The blue orb floated across the table until it was hovering in front of Luthra’s chest.
"When you have returned to your body, and when you feel you are truly prepared, you must press this into your chest. But I am giving you a serious warning, the process of activation will be painful. It will probably be the most excruciating pain you have ever felt in your entire life."
Luthra looked at the blue orb, then back at the old man, and did not hesitate. He reached out and his fingers closed around the orb of light, it felt cool and solid in his hand like a smooth stone.
The old man looked at the orb in his hand, then back at his face. "It is a good thing I brought you here now. I was not too late."
Luthra just stared at him. ’What is this old man talking about now? Is there some kind of time limit?’
"What do you mean, not too late?"
"The seal I placed on you was beginning to crack," the old man said simply. "The five years of extreme physical stress you put on your body have weakened its integrity. A tiny, tiny amount of your true power was leaking out. That is what allowed you to defeat those monsters so easily."
Luthra was silent for a moment. His mind was racing. ’My training... all of that... was because of a leak?’
The old man chuckled. "My boy, you did not really think your little training of 50,000 push-ups actually made you as strong as a real hunter, did you? Your training was important, yes. It forged your body into a vessel that will not immediately explode. But the strength you used today? That was a preview, a taste of what is sealed inside you."
The statement made a terrible amount of sense. ’He’s right. It was too easy. Even for me. My body shouldn’t have been able to move like that.’
"Then, this orb," he held it up. "This will unseal it?"
"It will begin the process," the god corrected him. "It will activate the system we built for you. From then on, your growth will depend on your own efforts. The system will guide you, but you must walk the path. Now, our time is up."
The god waved his hand, and the white world around Luthra began to dissolve, not like a dream, but like a computer program being shut down.
"Good luck, Luthra. Try not to destroy my world."