Ragna stared at the System’s notification, the words [Dormant Gene Awakening and Recovery I] flickering in his vision. His chest still hummed from the residual energy of the battle.

“Dur** Gene returned,”* the System had said.

" It's still there...? " Ragna muttered, looking at it and scoffing happily.

" The Divine Curse didn't manage to destroy it all... " Twelve tells Ragna.

" Congratulations, if it's restored, even without Gift Powers, your physical body can now become any harder than any kind of rock in the realms, like it used to. "

" Aside from that, try looking at the other gene that you might recover... "

[ 'Manahuman' Gene returned ]

[ 'Manahuman'—A race of humans from the time they could freely channel Mana from nature to perform magic, not from the gods' Grace or Gifts. ]

" Magic? " Ragna asks Twelve as he sees this.

" Yeah, Magic... " Twelve calmly replied.

" Look at what you did just now. you just evocate water, summoning out of your sword that shouldn't even make sense in the first place... "

" Tell me, Ragna..., What do you call those things like that? Do humans normally do that? " Twelve asks Ragna, but Ragna suddenly shivers as he mentions.

" But based on what I know, 'Magic' is forbidden; it's a 'Demonic Craft'... " Ragna tells that while shivering.

" For the Gift Powers are the manifestation of the gods' very power, they sacrifice parts of their power to humans to empower them and release us from the treacherous sin of magic, and... "

" Really? " Twelve asks back while raising his eyebrows.

" What kind of 'Treacherous Sin' they mentioned about..., I wonder? "

" Is it something like doing things for harm, for evil? "

" Or perhaps making humans to cocky and egotistical as they think themselves as gods if they hold such power? " Twelve asks Ragna the question, and Ragna simply nods.

" Something like that, even in fiction, we all know those who use 'Magic' are more likely to do evil. " Ragna simply responded by mentioning characters like Sh*ng Ts*ng, Qu*n Ch*, A*rav*s, V*ldem*rt, S*ur*n, D*rth Sidi*us, D*rth V*der, and many more...

" I get it, I get it, ugh! Those Pop Culture references... " Twelve says after hearing all of those honorable mentions.

" I can see why the gods and the government often put their money on entertainment; the effectiveness of their propaganda is off the charts... "

" Let me guess, if we're talking about fictional references, the 'good' thing to do is basically to 'train' like crazy, be humble and found a tutorship under some sort of 'great master' or some 'god', serve them 'blindly', and lose all individual desires as you did sh*t things for them, that's the 'good thing' to do that their telling you, isn't it? " Twelve asks Ragna, wondering if this kind of mentality that he was 'poisoned' with.

" Yes, that is what I think it should be... " 

" Isn't that what we're doing right now? " Ragna tells Twelve, using his brain to make sense of all of the things.

" Yes, I might do things like that, but... "

" At least I gave you some space for your own desires, right? My Current Timeline Self, or Variant? " Twelve mentions the word 'variant', courtesy of him had to watch 'that franchise's movie back then.

" If you feel like your wishes are not heard, then tell me, Ragna..., I'm you, your previous life, not like grandfather who will scold us if we did wrong! "

" Grandfather...? " Ragna asks as Twelve mentions that.

" Yes, but in my Timeline, I only met him during my baby years, unlike you, who happened to have met him a little bit longer. "

" But aside from that, return to our talk about your 'pop culture '- based mindset... "

" Let me tell you, things don't work that way... " Twelve tells Ragna.

" Those who tell you to 'train hard', learn more, find 'tutorship' and stuff, let me tell you this... "

" They cheat too...! "  Twelve says the System interface shows Ragna off the people who are using their Gift Powers around the world right now.

" Look at them, they're all using powers that do not belong to them..., yet they claim they gained it through 'effort'. " Twelve mentions 'effort' sarcastically.

" Despite of me still loving the word 'effort' (being a boomer), I'm smart enough to tell that kind of 'word' meant nothing if the gods and demons just poured power to use like it's nothing and just take it from us, leaving us nothing but scraps after years working with those 'Gifts'. "

" So don't be ashamed or be guilty if you do things that others might deem wrong! " Twelve tells Ragna.

" Keep believing what you believe, that is how you should live..., how I should've lived...? " Twelve says he suddenly getting flashbacks from his past*

" So are you saying to level up or getting stronger..., I should be 'Moral-es'? " Ragna asks Twelve about it, and Twelve simply tells.

" As the 'Ragna Kent' from the Previous Timeline, your previous life... "

" I only have this advice, this old-man phrase of wisdom regarding this... "

" Do what you want, f*k morality before it's too late. "

" No one cares about it but the result of your life, even the Diviners (gods) or Deviants (demons). Don't be like me, Ragna. "

" I have been loyal in giving my service and even my granddaughter, Carla, to the gods, and what do they gave me... " Twelve says as he shows everything again to Ragna with his 'Twelve Eyes of Time'.

" Just a full-scale insult and betrayal to me and my family! " Ragna says while shedding a bit of tears as he remembers it.

" So what should I do, Twelve? " Ragna asks. Being the concerned teenager he is, he should be. Confused, weary, worrying even, he asked Twelve, his 'Previous Self' a guidance on what to do next.

" Since we technically have another life cycle in the next timeline, if we fail to stop the Universal Reboot, then I suggest you do whatever you want with the Twelve Years you have left, My Current Timeline Self. " Twelve, told Ragna, which made his eyes widen.

" Be stronger, be smarter, be victorious, be successful as a man... "

" Do not let yourself submit loyalty to others, 'they' should be the ones submitting themselves for you. "

" Enjoy every moment, every experience, enjoy everything as much as you can... "

" Only with that, the Universe itself will remember you and respect you for living as what you're always are... "

" Whether we see it with bad or good perspectives, in the end, those are just perspectives or others, it meant nothing. "

" For you're the one who experienced it, not them, not even the gods. " Twelve, said it, which widened Ragna's eyes as he then looked down for a bit.

"( Twelve sounds just like Uncle... )" Ragna suddenly remembers.

"( Unlike many others who taught me those things mentioned, he always told me to trust my instincts and strategy to achieve success, he..., he believed in me... )"

"( So what have I been taught and criticized with are wrong...? )" Ragna says as he then remembers some bit of his past before becoming a B-Rank.

Back then, when he's mastered the 'Divine Curse', he once taken the challenge of a event where he had to fight an S-Rank, he shows promise, doing whatever he could do to defeat the S-Ranks using his powers and skills, by any all means, even doing things outside the box that might be considered cheating.

"( If I did that, I could've been an S-Rank right now... )"

"( If I only..., grrrhh... )" Ragna grunts in his mind as he slaps his face for his past decision.

"( I could've won, I could've won, I could've won! )"

"( F*k this, I've been deceived... )" Ragna tears in regret, realizing things could've been better if he had done what he should've done in the past.

" I should've been more self-righteous, not selfless... "

" In the end, everyone and everything will only see me from results, not for what I am... " Ragna chuckles as he claps his hands, finally getting some motivation, some hype.

[ Hype +20% ]

" I'm now getting the hype now, Twelve... "

" Now, I really wanna level up. " Ragna smiles.

" Do you still have more records for me, more holographic monsters I could use to gain more levels? " Ragna asks as Twelve responds by starting the next session.

[ Quest Info: ]

[ <Incomplete> Do some training sessions with Ragna Twelve (1/9) ]

[ Session 2 Start ]

_______________

Extra:

* Read Vol. 0, from Chapter 1 to 8.