Chapter 26: Theoretically

"Before you woke up, those agents spoke to me. They’re endorsing your participation in the License Exams," Dr. Reid explained.

As Eren expected, this incident had forced her to change her mind. He’d finally get to participate in the License Exam.

He knew it when the agent told him that they’d like to see him very soon. With the United Governments looking to start the Expedition, they’d take any talent they could get.

And as Geister nicely explained, a mortal bleeding an Awakener was a very good prospect.

"Don’t worry! I’ll train him," assured Geister. "Give me a week, and I’ll whip him up to shape for the exams."

"It’s exactly what I’m worried about."

"Tsh. Come on. Give me some credit, will you? I taught him that Primal Strike, you know! His talent may have gotten the better of it, but I still gave him the foundations."

Dr. Reid glared at him. "By punching him in the head."

Guilty, Geister cowered a little.

She then turned to Eren. "I would have preferred it if you waited until next year for the License Exams, but you make your own decisions. And you’ve proven that despite your... tendency to choose self-inflicting hurtful choices, you’re able to overcome it and become better.

I still don’t know how your Dantian recovered so fast, but it seems to indicate that you’re doing something right."

She put his hands on his shoulder. "I just have one piece of advice for you. Don’t choose Treacherous Martial Manuals and Ascension Arts."

"Hear, hear!" Geister agreed with an animated nod.

"Not all Martial Manuals are safe." Dr. Reid said carefully. "Some promise explosive growth in power, but you don’t know whether or not there’s an insidious seed hiding underneath all that glamour."

Her words rang true, both in this world and the cultivation world.

The more powerful the advantage given by the Martial Manual, the more dire its consequence to the user. High risk meant high reward.

The [Masochist’s Dream] was the prime example of that.

It had allowed Eren to walk and eventually rebuild his Dantian in more or less a single month. Miraculous, they called it.

But in truth, it had required an equal exchange.

For him to receive Ræzoň’s aid, he had to put himself in situations that endangered himself.

He had to seek pain in any and every opportunity he had.

And at the end of the month, the danger he faced must reach a crescendo. He must put himself in a deadly situation. Do or die. Come face to face with death itself, and come out alive on the other side.

If he didn’t, he’d die anyway.

All the vitality Ræzoň gave him would withdraw out of his body, turning him into a shriveled, desiccated corpse within moments. That would be the price for reneging on the promise he made to Ræzoň at the start of it all.

That was the danger of his Martial Manual.

"We call them Treacherous for a reason. They lead their users to death. If you eventually choose to use them, you’d be risking your own life. Yes, it will give you power and strength unlike no other, but it isn’t worth it if you die.

The lethality rate with these Treacherous Martial Manuals and Ascension Arts are way too high. No one will know how to help you. Just like what happened with our erratic Awakener.

He used a Treacherous Martial Manual called the [Berserker’s Dream]. His performance improved drastically. But it was too powerful, too fast. And in the end, it cost him his sanity."

Eren didn’t doubt it.

That’s the thing about Athan’s Manuals. Some were masterpieces, while some were masterscams.

It gave miraculous results, provided you completed its requirements.

Fail, and it will lead to disastrous consequences. Exactly like what happened with the psychiatric patient.

The [Berserker’s Dream] provided its user enhanced, physical strength. In return, its user must act erratic. Insane. Moving and acting with a deranged drive. However, there must always be a method to the madness. Otherwise, it would be mindless violence and destruction.

The psychiatric patient didn’t know that. He misunderstood its essence.

The [Masochist’s Dream], on the other hand, required its user to embrace pain. But it didn’t lead its user to mindless suffering. Its essence laid in the instinct for pain, allowing its user to detect it long before the attack came.

This world considered these Martial Manuals as Treacherous simply because no one taught them how to properly execute it. No Martial Manual was inherently evil. They were just. You had to pay the price for the power they give. If not, their due debt will come knocking.

But in truth, the psychiatric patient already had a small chance of completing the Martial Manual.

The [Berserker’s Dream] was already flawed from the beginning. It was experimental and crude, for Athan created it while he was almost black-out drunk.

Its flaw stemmed from the fact that its user became too susceptible to outside stimuli.

For example, bombarding its cultivator with hot air for days at a time could cause them to completely lose their grip on reality, making them truly demented.

This meant that, theoretically, a person who had access to the HVAC systems of the hospital could tamper the temperature of the psychiatric patient’s room and push them onto the path of madness and true insanity.

Theoretically.

It was truly unfortunate that the Awakener found himself in those same coincidental conditions.

"Eren, are you listening?" Dr. Reid asked.

His face was blank, giving them no sign of his true emotions underneath.

"This world is already corrupted," she said. "Don’t let it corrupt you too."

Eren smiled and nodded. He acted normally as Geister and Dr. Reid had their usual banter. He could tell they were trying to lighten his mood, making him more comfortable with his current situation.

But in truth, his heart still burned with ambition.

He was driven.

He needed to reach the peak and return to Immoræ. To his friends. His family.

And he’d accomplish it at all costs. Even if he had to dirty his hands to do it.