My Level Zero System

"Huh? What?"

"Just give me your hand."

Kain shook his head slightly, he didn't wait for Mera to return but pulled her arm to him, then his fingers began to gently massage it.

Kain didn't just knead randomly, but was intentional with certain positions on the arm.

Very quickly, Mera felt her arms suddenly become much lighter, the stiffness and fatigue from the training sessions seemed to disappear in an instant.

Mera waved her arm, which was now free of obstruction, in surprise.

"That... awesome! Kain, how did you do that?"

"Acupuncture point."

Kain explained, massaging Mera's other hand, then did the same to the back of her neck, making the pain around Mera's neck disappear.

Mera tried to move again, she couldn't believe how quickly she recovered. However, Kain opened his mouth to warn her.

"It's not that miracle, your energy is being released now so you feel full, but after a while it will be gone."

"If you want to truly recover, you should still rest and eat properly."

Suddenly, Mera asked a question.

"Kain, sorry if this question is too sensitive, but I'm really curious."

"What's wrong, just ask."

Kain tilted his head, looking confused.

Mera took a deep breath, and her voice rang out.

"How do you know so much, Kain?"

Others might not understand, but as someone who had been to Kain's village and knew a part of his past, Mera knew that that peaceful place could only nurture a kind Kain, and absolutely could not bestow that knowledge upon Kain.

"I… don't know."

Kain's eyes rarely revealed a look of confusion.

Yes, that knowledge had appeared in his mind very early, so that he could understand and apply it skillfully.

However, Kain did not know whether it was a blessing or a curse.

He turned to Mera, who had been staring at him for some time.

"Why do you ask this question?"

"Because you've shown your weakness, Kain."

Kain was stunned for a moment.

He showed his weakness? When?

Kain's mind began to flash back, but that was unnecessary since Mera had already spoken the answer.

"This morning."

"You failed to perform [Fire Magic] again. In that moment, I seemed to see you… doubt, perhaps you were doubting yourself."

"That's right."

"I've always been very confident in my intelligence, you know that, right?"

Kain smiled, but it was filled with fatigue.

"But when faced with this, there was nothing I could do. There was only failure upon failure, and intelligence was of no help."

"To the point that I doubted whether I was really as smart as I thought. Because this was a problem that was beyond my scope of knowledge, I could not consult it, nor could I verify it."

"I thought this was a puzzle, and I would figure it out like always. But no, I'm still stuck at the starting point."

"So in that moment... I thought if I didn't have this knowledge, would I…"

Mera interrupted Kain.

"No, you'll still be smart."

She said in a firm tone.

"Although there are many things that can influence a person, human nature is not one of them."

"You are smart because you are Kain, not because you have those knowledge. Even without it, I believe you would still be as wise as you are now."

"It's like my sister and I, same living conditions, same knowledge, but in the end we are still different. External factors can change us, but what shapes us in the end is still ourselves."

Mera whispered, her voice fading.

"That weird, isn't it?"

"No Mera! You are a genius!"

Kain suddenly became unusually excited.

It seemed like the knot that had been tied for so long had been untied, it seemed like the hunch in his head had exploded.

The pieces of paper, the information frantically arranged in an instant. In Kain's mind, a wall was built from imagination, a total of 138 pieces of paper filled with words were quickly combined and arranged. Finally, all were arranged into a circular grid with the only missing part in the middle.

As always, Kain when reaching this step will simulate failure and the image will collapse, however, Kain now knows what the missing piece is.

Ego.

By this time, the whole thing was connected into one line.

He found what he wanted.

"I know I'm so smart."

Mera puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips, feeling very happy to be praised by Kain. Although she didn't know why he was praising her, Mera didn't care, as long as she was happy.

The two of them then left that spot and walked towards the center of the park.

There was a rather large fountain, with a raised center section of meticulously sculpted statues spouting water.

"I heard if you make a wish and throw a cent into the fountain, your wish will come true. Wanna try?"

"Maybe, let's do it together."

Kain took out a Cent, Mera also took out a Cent.

Both of them closed their eyes for a moment, then simultaneously tossed a coin into the fountain.

Actually, Kain didn't have any wish. Because he didn't believe in such things.

But, when his gaze glanced at Mera beside him at that moment, when she closed her eyes sincerely, the corners of her lips curved up as if remembering something happy…

Kain suddenly wished that this moment could last a little longer…

…

It was already late, so Kain took Mera back to the academy.

When Kain returned to the dormitory, he still hadn't gone to sleep. He rearranged all the pieces of paper on the wall like in his simulation. Then he took out a new piece of paper, wrote the words "ego" on it, and pinned it in the middle.

Just like what Mera had suggested to him, same circumstances, same knowledge, but different in the end.

Isn't this just describing how magic is different for everyone?

And thanks to that trait, Kain was able to deduce the reason why a Magus could be completely proficient in one magic but completely ignorant of another.