Chương 10: A Soothing Run through the Woods

Two months passed, and Jonny was not able to figure out how to get his own mana. He didn't learn punching magic, and he barely even learned any of that "internal mana manipulation" stuff. The only changes in his magical ability was that he could make his mana circulate faster now while meditating, which was utterly useless. And not just because he didn't care about its use.

It was literally useless for him, because the only normal use for the technique was to cycle mana faster, replenishing reserves from the atmosphere, which he couldn't do. On the bright side, he was still getting stronger. He wasn't sure if it was just because he was a growing kid, or if the mana was having some kind of effect, but he felt like his improvements in strength and stamina had gotten faster since he started learning about mana.

Abbess Helen replenished his mana each week whenever he ran out, but during the once a week he was completely mundane, his always checked against his previous baseline, and always, without fail, he had improved. One thing he had learned during this time, to his dismay, was that he was not the only one who benefited from boosted strength while full of mana.

While his increase was more pronounced, since there was nowhere else for his mana to go besides into his body, the other kids got it too, meaning he wasn't actually that much stronger than they were. Not when he was out of mana, at least. And, of course, those kids included Tommy. Ever since Jonny joined the class with the older kids, the annoying boy had been clinging to him more than ever, even to the point of joining in with his workout sometimes. And the worst part was that Tommy was actually good.

At this point, it was obvious that Tommy was some kind of mana prodigy. As much as Jonny hated to admit it, he wouldn't deny the truth. Tommy was not only talented at controlling it, but his reserves were bigger than the other kids' too, and that also meant he was physically stronger than the other kids, and could even somewhat keep up with Jonny's pace as he exercised.

Of course, Jonny was still quite far ahead, especially on days when he got fresh mana infusions, but seeing Tommy reach forty pull-ups before failing had given him a miniature heart attack. He wouldn't be able to take it if Tommy somehow got stronger than him on top of everything else. Soon, Adoption Day arrived, but unlike previous Adoption Days, neither Jonny nor Tommy were included in the lineup. For Tommy, it was obvious why.

The orphanage always tried to get the best possible prospects for its charges, and for someone like Tommy, being randomly selected by one of the adopting families wasn't likely to have the best results. He would do best in a place where he could get proper magical education and training. For Jonny, the reason was less obvious. If he was a more paranoid person, he might have thought it was because they didn't want a "defective" child in the lineup with the others.

But he was not a paranoid person, so when Sister Lucy told him it was because Abbess Helen wanted to look more deeply into his condition before sending him anywhere, he accepted it at face value. It made sense, after all. So, while the other kids got dressed up all nice and proper and stood outside to greet the soon-to-be parents arriving to adopt them, Jonny, Tommy, and a couple other kids with special situations played out back.

These were generally the kids that either had some kind of disability, or the ones that were already spoken for. For example, Lily, a quiet 8 year old, was actually not an orphan. Her father was alive and well, but had been sent out to the southern border due to some kind of war or something, and since he was friendly with St. Elena's, he had just left his daughter here instead of taking her with him, or finding somewhere else for her to stay. Most of the nuns were out front with the other kids. St.

Elena's had a rigorous background check system in place to make sure their charges only went to safe, stable homes, and "safe" and "stable" usually coincided with wealthy. This meant that they wanted to put on a very good show for their guests, having most of the nuns act almost as maids to cater to the would-be parents. This was important, because it made this one of the only days where Jonny and Tommy went largely unsupervised.

With only two nuns in the backyard with them, and both maids occupied handling the other kids, Jonny and Tommy were free to run around as they pleased. For Jonny, this just meant doing his normal routine of running around the huge field to train his cardio. For Tommy, this meant following Jonny out of boredom, hoping something interesting happened.

"How many more laps are you gonna do?" asked Tommy, running alongside him.

"I dunno," said Jonny.

"As many as it takes to get tired." Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"How long is that gonna take?"

"Good question." He had gotten a mana infusion just the day before, so he was feeling very energetic at the moment. He could keep running for hours, at this rate.

"Wanna play?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'm busy."

"Awww…" Jonny breathed a sigh of relief as Tommy gave up, slowing down until he disappeared far behind. Jonny enjoyed the relative silence, listening to the sound of wind in his ears, and birds in the forest beyond the fence as he ran his lap around the yard. He nodded to the nuns as he ran by them, but they barely even registered his presence, as one was busy comforting a crying toddler, and the other was wrangling the one who had made the toddler cry.

After a few minutes, he made it all the way back around the yard, arriving back where Tommy was still standing. Tommy was facing him, a stupid smile plastered on his face as he held out two sticks.

"Wanna play wizards?"

"No."

"Awww…" Jonny made another lap around the yard, and this time when he returned, all he saw of Tommy was the other boy's rear when as he dug around near the base of the fence. He paid the other boy no mind as he continued on his run, and the third time he reached that same spot, Tommy was gone. He must have gotten bored and went back to the others, thought Jonny. But when he got back near the orphanage building, Tommy was not there. Maybe he went to the bathroom.

Jonny put the other boy out of his mind and ran two more laps around the yard, but when he saw no sign of Tommy on either lap, he started to get mildly concerned. Tommy was talented, but he was also kind of stupid. It would be very in-character for him to have somehow gone missing in an enclosed yard. The next time he made it back to the last place he had seen Tommy, he slowed down and came to a halt before walking over to the fence where Tommy had been digging around.

He found the answer to the mystery almost immediately. There was a broken section at the base of the fence where a child could quite easily slide under. Tommy had left the orphanage.

"Ughhhhhh," said Jonny out loud. He glanced back toward the nuns, who were not paying him any attention, as two of the other kids seemed to have started crying, and their hands were full. As the only other adult present, it fell on Jonny to find the wayward child. It was annoying. I'm gonna steal a bite of his birthday cake next year, he thought grumpily as he crouched down and slid under the fence. Jonny had only ever been in the forest beyond the fence two or three times.

The nuns took the kids there on short picnics for fun. He hadn't really paid much attention at the time, but now that he was out there alone and without supervision, the forest felt suddenly ominous. The trees seemed taller than he remembered, and when he saw a squirrel scurry by along the underbrush nearby, he was reminded of how small he currently was.

The old him would have stood his ground against a bear, but the current him weight less than most dogs, and even after all his exercise, his limbs still felt clumsy and awkward. Still, he needed to find Tommy, so he steeled his nerves and started searching around.

"Tommy!" he called. There was no immediate response. Jonny cursed under his breath and marched further into the woods, occasionally calling out for Tommy, hoping they could wrap up and get back. He felt like a coward for thinking that, but something about the forest was throwing him off. He was pretty sure there wasn't supposed to be anything dangerous living nearby, but at the same time, the orphanage's yard had a fence for a reason, and the kids weren't supposed to go past it on their own.

Plus, the further he got without Tommy responding, the worse he felt. Tommy was annoying and stupid, but he was still just a kid. Kids got hurt easily. What if he climbed a tree or something and fell off? What if he ran into a wild boar or something? What if a big cat just happened to be prowling nearby and thought Tommy looked tasty?

"Tommy!" he called again. He continued forward, not expecting a response, but to his surprise, this time, one came. It was distant, and unclear, but a moment later, it came again, this time closer, and a second later, Jonny heard footsteps.

"Jonny!" Tommy called again.

"Tommy! Where did you–?"

"Run!"

"What?" Jonny watched as Tommy sprinted up to him, and then past him. His confusion only lasted a second before he saw the reason why, but it was too late. It was upon him in an instant, and he barely had time to roll out of the way as a mass of fur flew past where he had just been. Jonny quickly got to his feet and turned to face his attacker, and immediately cursed. Dammit, Tommy, what the hell is this thing?