Hey, Why Are My Skills so Weird!?

One day had passed since I woke up, and I was still lying on a hospital bed to recover.

My mother had returned to her work after she confirmed I was alright. She had left an important meeting behind when she heard about my situation, and now that she confirmed that I was alright, she needed to go back.

Meanwhile, I had been thinking about the words the demon told me yesterday.

[The current you have almost zero chances of becoming a powerhouse.]

“… What did you mean by these words, demon?”

[Finally in the mood to talk to me?] The demon chuckled in amusement. [It’s just as I said, boy. Your talent for mana is so crappy that it’s amazing. I mean, most living beings can passively absorb mana even if they can’t use it, but in your case, your body refuses to absorb it.

[However, there is something strange. With your condition, your body should be unable to absorb mana by itself. But when I met you, I’m sure that your body had a very tiny amount of mana in it. It was very tiny, but it was there.

[That is why I find your condition strange. Something like that should be impossible considering your body’s rejection of mana, but it happened… Thus, I reached a conclusion.]

“… What is it?” I asked with a suspicious expression on my face.

[Your condition is not inborn, right?] The demon asked with a smirk in his voice.

I was startled, and involuntarily, my mind was brought back to the memories of that day.

Ten years ago, when I was about to die, and the Duke Protector saved my life.

[… Heh, so that is the reason.] The demon chuckled.

My expression stiffened. Wait a moment…

“… Did you mention it on purpose to read my thoughts?”

[What do you think?] The demon smiled in amusement. [However, it explains many things. You are truly an unfortunate bastard.]

“Please stop reading my thoughts. I don’t like it.” I said in an ice-cold tone.

The demon just grinned without answering.

Obviously, he did not care in the slightest about my words.

Most likely, to him, I was nothing but a handy tool and a fun toy.

To be honest, I disliked it a lot. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can get rid of this demon easily.

[You can’t. Our souls are tightly connected and separating them would kill you. Of course, trying to kill me will get the same result.]

“Tsk…” I clicked my tongue in displeasure.

[Hahahaha, boy, you should stop being so hostile towards me. Didn’t I save your life before? Plus, the fact that I chose you as my host is the greatest fortune you can have received.]

I fell silent for a few seconds before opening my mouth.

“… You said that I can’t become a powerhouse in my current condition. Does it mean that you have a solution?”

[I do.] The demon nodded. [The simplest solution is remaking your body completely, unfortunately, something like that is impossible in my current state. I need to be ten thousand times stronger than now to do that.]

“So is it impossible?” I was a bit disappointed.

[Worry not. There is another solution.]

“What is it?”

[Do not use mana.]

I was stunned.

Not using mana? But then, how am I going to become stronger?

[Idiot, do you really think that mana is the only way to become stronger?] The demon laughed in disdain. [Mana is nothing but a kind of energy. It’s very gentle and suitable for living beings, but it’s not the only kind of energy you can use.

[There is also soul energy, antimatter, elementium, or even the electricity that your world’s technology uses. Any of them can be used to become stronger.]

A stunned expression appeared on my face.

Electricity?

I mean, I have seen people using lightning and things like that, but they only achieve that by using mana as a medium. Even the Lightning Seed that the demon gave me is like that.

[I told you, boy. Mana is just a kind of energy. I know of many extremely powerful people that use other kinds of energy. The only reason most people use mana is that it is very suitable for living beings, but if it’s not suitable for you, then you can just switch it for another kind of energy.]

I fell deep in thoughts. Although it is my first time hearing about using other types of energy, the words of the demon sounded very convincing.

But, how much can I trust him?

He said before that making me stronger was necessary for him to recover his peak strength, so from that perspective, his words about making me a powerhouse should be true.

But, is that his only goal?

After hesitating for a while, I finally sighed.

“… What do I need to do?” I asked.

[I knew you would not reject me.] The demon laughed amusedly. [As expected, you are an ambitious boy.]

I smiled bitterly in my mind.

Yeah, perhaps I am ambitious.

I don’t know if this demon is trustworthy, but no matter how I look at this, he is my only hope to become strong.

Thus, I asked again.

“Tell me what I must do.”

[Relax, boy. All in its due time. For now, you should strengthen your mana and soul energy to your limit. After that, we will think about finding a kind of energy suitable for you.]

I frowned and was about to say something, but just then, I heard the angry voice of my sister coming from outside the room.

“You… How do you dare to appear here!?”

“… I came to visit Jane. Please, Ley, can you let me in?”

“Do you think I will!? It was your fault that this happened to my brother! Get lost!”

“Ley–”

“I said get lost!”

I was surprised by my sister’s outburst, but when I heard the other voice, I understood why she was like that.

Heaving a sigh, I opened my mouth.

“Ley, let her in.”

“But, brother–”

“This is not how you should treat a guest, Ley.”

I could hear Ley gritting her teeth in frustration, but in the end, she nodded.

“I understand, brother.”

After saying that, she snorted and walked towards me.

One second later, I saw a familiar face entering the room with a bitter smile.

“… Long time no see you, Jane.”

“It has been only two days.” I smiled wryly. “Thank you for visiting me, Karime.”

Yes, the girl in the door was called Karime.

And she was my ex-girlfriend.