A/N BEFORE YOU CLICK OFF, just bare with me ok, ash will not use any other power system aside from his own as that is the main point of this story, its called THE GOD OF MANA after all, so dont worry, and if you wanted him to use other powers then i am sorry, no.
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Chapter 23
Opening his eyes, Ash inhaled sharply and held it for five seconds before exhaling and holding for five seconds, performing a cycle which allowed him to absorb mana. But instead of the mana being absorbed into his circulatory system, it went straight into his core, which stored it, and the mana absorbed by a single cycle was greater than when he didn't have any core. Smiling widely, Ash, who was butt naked, did not feel any cold as he thought,
"Finally, I have achieved superhuman status." This was what he was looking forward to the most when he reached the fourth stage. Of course, he was also looking forward to shooting out mana as the name projection implied, but he was looking forward to the superhuman aspect the most since in this world heroes with superhuman abilities existed and were the most prominent.
Clenching his fist, Ash ignored the fact that he was naked and crouched down for a second, which would have given any woman a heart attack, but the act of him crouching created cracks on the ground as he leaped off, jumping further than any human could hope to jump with their body. He leaped several feet as he leaped towards the cliff side of the mountain before he dug his hand into the side of the mountain as if it was made out of tofu.
It didn't hurt plunging his bare hands into the side of the cliff. With his hands dug into the cliff side, Ash then leaped again before catching himself by digging his hands into the cliff side and started to crawl on the side of the mountain at a superhuman speed, quickly climbing the mountain in a matter of seconds as blitzes started to appear, but he didn't care.
He eventually reached the beak of the cliff side he was climbing, standing tall at the edge of a mountain that was snowing heavily, and Ash could not contain his smile until suddenly sparks appeared behind him. Turning around, the wind howled across the snowy peak of Mount Everest, the air sharp and biting.
Suddenly, a circle of golden sparks spun open in the air, revealing a swirling portal. From it stepped two figures, their forms contrasting against the white landscape. The first was a woman, her head shaved clean, giving her an ageless appearance.
Her face was calm, with sharp cheekbones and eyes that seemed to see beyond the physical world. She wore layered yellow robes that fluttered slightly in the wind, the color bright against the snow. A black sash was tied around her waist, and her posture was straight, exuding a quiet strength. Beside her was a man, younger, with dark hair and a face marked by recent hardships.
His hands were wrapped in bandages, and he wore a gray robe that hung loosely on his frame. His eyes held a mix of determination and uncertainty, and he looked around the snowy expanse with a hint of awe. He was clearly a student, still learning, and the cold seemed to affect him more than his companion.
The moment they stepped foot through the portal that was opened, they saw Ash standing in the freezing mountain naked completely. The man was the only stunned as the woman tactically handed Ash a robe which specifically fit to his size, his new size, as if she had foreseen this would happen and prepared it for him.
"Thank you," Ash said as the man was still stunned. The woman then gestured to the portal as she said, "I am sure you are famished, I have prepared a feast," she said as Ash smiled, "That would be delightful," as he stepped through the portal unafraid. They arrived in a temple-like place where a bunch of people were training and wearing robes.
The woman then turned towards the portal where the man was still on Mount Everest as he said, "What am I supposed to do? Strip naked? Is this some sort of training?" he asked as the woman smiled kindly, "No, but you are supposed to open a portal back to the training ground using the sling ring you have or freeze to death," she said terrifyingly as she closed the portal despite the man attempting to jump through. "Now then, shall we have something to eat?" she said to Ash followed. Inside the temple, in one of its many rooms, Ash was feasting literally,
he was eating large food, chicken and lambs and rice, everything, as the woman called the Ancient One, she was the leader of this place which was called Kamar-Taj, a mystic place where one learns the art of sorcery using energy from this dimension itself. She was powerful if the respect that everyone at the temple gave her indicated anything. She sat in front of him sipping tea after finishing nearly everything on the table as Ash was this close to burping.
"I am impressed by your appetite," she chuckled as Ash said, "try eating anything but fish for a month and see if you eat less than me," he said as the Ancient One said, "I did and I definitely could not eat what you just ate. It must have to do with the transformation you went through," she said, which should have surprised Ash but he was calm as he said, "so I wasn't going crazy when I felt someone watching me." He sighed as the woman smiled.
"You know if I got a dollar for every elderly powerful woman that I met I would have two, its not that much but it's weird that it happened twice," he said as the woman smiled. "You certainly are unique, even in terms of power," she said as Ash said, "ok so what is it that you want with me?" he asked as the Ancient One smiled, "right you prefer being straightforward," which caused him to comment, "so are you a prophet or a seer?" He asked as the Ancient One replied, "more or so," she paused as he waited to hear what she wanted with him.
"You see, I along with all the Sorcerer Supreme that came before me have been guarding Earth from mystical threats and will continue to do so in the future. I have encountered many strange beings but their origins could be explained," she explained as she took a sip of her tea. "But for the past half a year monsters of an unexplained origin have been appearing all over the globe, they appear suddenly by tearing through the fabric of reality and once slain they disappear just as such without leaving a trace," she explained while watching Ash's expression but he remained calm.
After all, he knew that he could not get to all the phenomena, after all he could not teleport to every single one of them, so he knew that there were some mana beasts that roamed the world wreaking havoc. He knew that some of the world knew of the existence of such mana monsters and he knew that someone would be able to kill a mana beast; he just didn't know that people could see the mana, but what the Ancient One said now confirmed it, that he was the only one who could sense mana.
But what surprised him however was that mana beasts started appearing half a year ago, close to when Ash reincarnated. "I knew it, it was too coincidental that beasts made out of mana would appear perfect for my growth, looks like Goldie left an Easter egg," yet despite that Ash didn't show it on his face as he looked at the woman. "And?" he asked as the woman smiled.
"Yet you Ashborn were able to not only sense these beasts before they appear but even have the power to kill them, permanently, and grow stronger from it," she said as Ash asked, "so? You can't possibly be thinking that I am the cause for beasts appearing, are you?" he asked as she chuckled. "The cause? No, no," she paused as she placed down her cup, "but I do think that you are the solution to it and I am hoping that you would help in stopping this new threat that keeps on appearing, and it seems like as time goes on, stronger ones will appearing," she said as she continued.