There was a grim silence around the arena; my heart dropped all the way to my ass, and tears began flooding into my gaze.

Whether the tears came due to my weaker toddler mind or because my actions finally settled, I’m not sure.

Eventually, Flower burst into tears; her mother quickly ran to her, embracing her.

I slowly put down my hands while Hume powered down his machine and began walking with my father.

“Whoa, Damian! How did you do that??” Lucia asked reverently.

“I-I’m not…sure”.

“That was wind magic”, my mother stated.

“Since when did Damian unlock his mana core?”

My father shrugged, a dubious expression evident on his face.

“This is the first time I’ve seen him use mana”.

My mother crouched down to match my gaze, looking sweetly at me and patting my head.

“I think we should get inside now”, Hume said.

“It’s best to check on Damian’s mana core; there could be quite a few defects if he just unlocks it so early”.

“Not to mention”, he said, then looked down at me with a smile. “He just saved Flower, accident or not”.

Whilst I expected to be met with far more judgmental gazes, I was met more with worry and care. 

They didn’t even seem like they suspected anything; they just seemed troubled.

After both families entered back into the mansion, we walked back into the open living room. 

Hume stood in the centre of the living room and stretched out his hand; sparks began forming in front of them.

Those sparks then formed into a physical form; a blinding flash of light enveloped the room, and a slight shockwave swept through.

Not long after, a large lion formed. It had a deep black mane, two icy blue eyes, smooth fur and slick giant black wings.

There was a slight glow emanating from it; it hovered slightly in the air before landing firmly on the floor.

I would say it was immaculate; rather, it was immaculate and would stay so if not for the reminder of the Fat Hamster.

“You’ve summoned me, Master”, the Griffin spoke, its voice reverberating.

“Whoa, Lucia said in awe. Must have been a rather crazy day for him.

“Ah yes, Hugmoth, can you check in on the mana core of Damian here?”

“As you wish”.

The Griffin turned away from his master and looked down at me; there was a new veil of pressure on my shoulders now, while its eyes shot daggers at me.

Admittedly, I was very scared. If the Griffin says I unlocked my mana core a while ago and even goes as far as to tell them about me, a grown man who knows the issues it may form.

I could lose the family I finally got.

The life I sought to have.

Or even a life at all.

There was a slight silence that fell once more, then the spirit spoke, “This boy seems to have just unlocked his mana core, perhaps due to some form of sudden panic”.

“So you mean he unlocked it after watching our battle?”, my father questioned.

“Indeed, whilst rare, it is possible to unlock your core in such situations”.

“To do it so young only means he’d probably become quite powerful, not to mention it formed with no defects”.

“If he makes sure not to overtake his Mentalia, then there should be no issues”.

The pressure of the altercation seemed to finally be lifted, almost like everyone let out a small sigh.

“That’s great then”, my mother said while carrying me into her arms.

“Don’t be scared, Damian; Mama is here”.

Her words sent relief through my body, my shaking hands covering her in an embrace.

“Well, that’s something to look out for”, my father said with a chuckle.

“It’s probably best we start heading back”.

“I suppose, hopefully your next visit isn’t so eventful”, Hume joked.

While my father and Hume went off to talk, my mom set me down and went off to get the servants ready.

“Don’t cry, Damian; magic is cool”, Lucia said with a grin. 

Then he held my arm calmly, “Who knows, maybe one day you can be as cool as your older brother”.

I looked up at his bright smile and gave him a weak nod before shifting my focus to the Griffin.

Hugmoth didn’t reveal my identity to his master, but why??

At the blink of an eye, my environment changed. The pristine mansion now switched to a boundless white void, which only had me and Hugmoth.

There was no one but us, no objects or floor and even Lucia, who was just standing beside me, was nowhere to be found.

“Hugmoth, where ar-”, I paused, deciding that there was no need for the question. 

“Thank you”.

“No no, I should be thanking you”.

“Even though you really are a man-child, if you hadn’t saved Miss Flower, I don’t think my master would ever forgive himself”.

“He’s doing a good job putting his emotions in check, but since we share senses, I can tell he’s really distraught about the thought of it”.

“So thank you, Damian Simmons; I am truly in your debt”.

“It seems I really did make the right decision”.

He nodded, “I believed you lacked true conviction, and I still feel as though you do; however, you may not be as lost as I thought”.

“But I do have one final question: what do you want to do?”

I thought of his question carefully, reaching into the very depths of my mind for an answer.

“Since I came into this world, this is the first real world event that has really shaken me, but I’m all the more glad I saved her”.

“I had and did nothing worth personally noting in my past life, so saving someone, at least someone right in front of me, makes me feel a sense of pride even if it was to my expense”.

“It also made me realize just how easily one could lose their life in this new vast existence”.

“But…honestly, death no longer scares me”.

“I realized that during my first few months here”.

“Now I think about it. I don't think I fear anything, so I wanna see everything and do everything and maybe even help others”.

“In simple terms…”.

“I want to live”.

“Your answer is acceptable”.

His body swiftly morphed with a bright light, changing back to its hamster form, then he flew in the air, only stopping in front of my face.

He plastered his face on top of my forehead, giving me a kiss??

Immediately, I felt a surge of sweet warmth emanating from the depths of my mana core.

“What are you doing??”, I questioned while touching my temple.

“Just a little kiss, nothing special. It’ll help you grow your mana along with a few other things”.

“Oh uhh, thank you. I guess”.

“It’s only a small parting gift; who knows when next we’ll get to see each other”.

“But I’m looking forward to seeing how you grow, kid”.

END OF CHAPTER 11