"I see, so you never met your parents, huh? I'm sorry to hear that, it must have been tough," Remarked Ariella sympathetically.
"No, I wouldn't say so. Since they passed away while I was still a baby, I never felt any grief or anything, since I never actually met them. Maybe a bit lonely at times, but the people who ran the orphanage I grew up in were pleasant and caring, so it wasn't too bad. I'd say it's much worse for people who lose their parents after they're old enough to remember them," I pointed out.
"Yeah...I can confirm it isn't a pleasant feeling, it's absolutely soul-crushing," She replied with a crestfallen smile.
"Oh, I'm so sorry...when you said you didn't change your name because you didn't want to hurt your parents, I assumed that meant they were alive," I responded, feeling bad for her.
I remember how crushed I was when my mother died in my previous life, and the sense of despair I felt when I learned that she'd been murdered.
From the sound of it, Ariella seems to have had two loving parents, losing them must have undoubtedly been incredibly painful.
"That was when I was younger. And now, I definitely won't change my name, I feel like that would be an insult to their memory. They passed away about two years ago, my grandmother took over as my legal guardian, I've been living with her ever since."
I see, that must be why she didn't enroll at the Hunters Academy until this year, she was grieving.
"I-...," I began.
"I-I'm sorry, didn't mean to put such a damper on things. Let's change the subject," She interrupted, forcing a smile on her face.
"Sure," I nodded with a smile, as she took a deep breath to compose herself.
I should think of something to talk about and help her get her mind off this topic. Let's see, what should I talk about?
Hm...oh, I know...
"By the way, the theory you brought up in that General Education class, about how Hunters categorized as Arcane Mages are equal parts Mages and Combatants, and should instead be called Arcane Hunters, I thought that was pretty fascinating. I think you might be onto something with that," I remarked with a smile.
"Yeah, that's actually something I've thought about for a while. After my Awakening, I really hoped that I'd get an Arcane Class, and I looked into it a lot, I found it fascinating. And as I learned more about it, a thought occurred to me.
When the Awakened are assessed, the way they're differentiated between Combatants and Mages is by measuring the amount of Mana they have, their Mana Level, in proportion to their Potential.
If I remember right, that happens during Tabulization...since you were classified as a Combatant, that must mean it's possible to measure Mana even if Tabulization fails."
"Mhm, I was told that I was a Combatant right after I got out of the pod, after being told that the Tabulization failed. They couldn't determine my Class and Attribute though. And they measured my Potential after that," I informed her.
"I see, interesting...anyway, to continue, a lower Mana Level in respect to Potential means they have greater physical potential and are thus Combatants, and a higher Mana Level means lower physical potential but greater Magical potential, making them Mages.
Arcane Mages have more or less equally high Mana Levels and Potential, this similar physical and Magical potential, but they're classified as Mages.
I came up with my theory after I heard about the Magical abilities you displayed in your raid. Since you were classified as a Combatant, that meant you have a low amount of Mana, but since your Magic abilities don't fit in any of the existing Hunter Classes, that means you have an Arcane Class.
But, then, all previous Hunters with Arcane Classes have had high amounts of Mana, and all of them possessed at least Ace Potential. So, your case is pretty unique in a lot of ways. Do you mind telling me about your powers, if that's okay?" She asked me curiously.
"Sure. I don't fully understand it yet, but I'll tell you what I have figured out. My low Mana isn't much of a problem because one of my abilities-...I just refer to them as Skills for the sake of convenience, by the way...-lets me absorb and replenish Mana.
I basically have two Skills, I call them Devour and Drain. Drain lets me absorb Mana by swallowing up Magical attacks or consuming a target's Mana directly. And Devour consumes physically, and replenishes my stamina," I remarked, as I took a sip of a rich, creamy hot chocolate I'd ordered.
Mm, this is good. Think I'm on a bit of sugar high.
"Huh, I see, fascinating...is it just those two Skills?"
"Yeah, at least at the moment. I discovered them pretty recently, I might be able to use more abilities if I keep experimenting with channeling my Mana in different ways," I answered, as I dipped a cookie fry into the hot chocolate.
Mm, not bad, this combo works well.
"Interesting...I look forward to seeing your Skills in action when we spar," She grinned eagerly.
"Sure, I'll whip 'em out. But like I said before, I doubt I can put up much of a fight against you," I replied with a wry smile.
"I don't know, I think there's more to your powers than meets the eye. Not sure if you've noticed, but I'm pretty sure you've gotten stronger after your last raid. Like, during our Practical Training classes this week, it looked like you were moving a bit faster and hitting a bit harder than you did before," She mused thoughtfully.
Crap.
"You think so? Well, I did fight a High Level Monster by myself, I had to strain myself past my limits to kill it, maybe that helped sharpen my technique and stuff," I responded with a nonchalant shrug.
"Maybe...but I don't think that's it, at least not solely. Wait, you said that Devour and Drain replenish your stamina and Mana, right? Hm...what if that's not all they do? What if they actually increase your physical prowess and Mana capacity?!" She suggested with a gleam in her eyes.
Oh, fuck. Are you serious?
How the hell did she hit the nail on the head?! She's way too sharp, I need to be careful around her.
"Wow, that'd be pretty cool. But I doubt it's that convenient, isn't it impossible for Hunters to increase their Potential?" I pointed out.
"No, unprecedented isn't the same thing as impossible. Hey, you should get your Power Level and Potential measured again, that'd confirm it!"
Okay, I need to end this conversation ASAP.
"Actually, the Hunters Union did reassess me after that raid. My Power Level had increased a bit, but my Potential was the same," I lied, hoping she didn't have any way of finding out the truth.
With the privacy laws in this era, I doubt the Union would give out that info, so it should be fine. At least, I hope...