"You have progressed quite well over short amount of time the System Introduction has been going on for. Just over fifty days since the countdown towards the end of the System Introduction has passed, and yet you have already managed to obtain four Mana Cores Jon," Rana's voice echoed throughout the riverbank, in her manifested state, the enormous bodhi tree stood at a height exceeding twelve metres, and her diameter more than double that.

Standing underneath her enormous canopy, Jon practiced his thrusts and slashes. With the additional length granted to him through Assail, Jon felt the need to revise the movements he could perform during combat, targeting the leaves that Rana willingly severed from her branches.

"I'm not reacting fast enough. There is a limit to how much I can learn from fighting targets that do not hit back!" Jon replied, twisting his hips and extending his dominant arm forward, piercing through two leaves with one strike.

Slightly overloading his [Monstrous Intuition] and Minerva-Sagacity Eyes, Jon's visual and sensory capabilities were pushed towards their limits, seeing just how fast Jon could react to external stimuli. If Jon was being completely honest, he wished that Rana possessed a method of striking back at him, but he settled for merely training his senses and reaction speed.

With the addition of both the [Stance Of The White Star] and the [Dance Of The Cold Star] into his repertoire, Jon needed to find a balance between the overwhelming strength that accompanied his Fragment Of Destruction, or the blindingly fast speed that was born from his Fragment Of Hunt.

There were instances where bursts of speed were more suitable than a gradual increase to his acceleration. The [Stance Of The White Star] seemed more appropriate for striking enemies or evading incoming blows. While the [Dance Of The Cold Star] allowed Jon a greater manoeuvrability and dexterity while in close combat, allowing him to inflict or generate more instances of [Cold Requiem] and [White Rhapsody].

With so many passive and active physical enhancements available to him, Jon knew that he had long since exceeded the limitations of regular humans. He could hit harder, run faster, dive deeper and even think better than humans that had not integrated fragments or Mana Cores.

Not to mention that with five abilities with the Mutation Trait, and his distinct lack of a Human Mana Core left Jon with a harrowing thought within his mind. Looking down at his hands, the faint traces of callouses forming from his constant training with Assail.

'If I leave the System Introduction, will I still be considered human?' Jon suppressed a shudder at the thought.

Rana, capable of sensing Jon's emotional state through the appearance of his Sea Of Knowledge, bathed the human in a soft golden-green glow. Lifting his head, Jon noticed the change in his summon, rolling his eyes before reaching towards his water bottle.

"You are worried about something," Rana stated, not alluding to anything specific.

Jon nodded but did not verbally respond.

"I assume that it is not about your form or the speed at which you are progressing. If that was the case, then you would not be here practicing your form on leaves but rather hunting or searching for more rare and powerful fragments."

"I am then forced to assume that it is about the nature of your development. You, who are one of the first of your Race to become exposed to spiritual energy and granted the opportunity to grow beyond the limitations of your mortal coil. You are worried that the introduction of so many foreign elements into oneself with somehow… change you, into something you will be unable to recognise," Rana said, watching as Jon's expression twitched, eliciting a reaction of shock from the bodhi tree.

Jon was a self-sufficient individual. His desire for a more rounded set of abilities reflected that. He wanted to be able to move fast and strike hard. To regenerate from wounds sustained during combat. To conceal his movements and traces of his existence. To store enough food, water and supplies for himself to last several weeks if need be.

That was Jon's initial plan before meeting with Avahni and Wilheim. And to a degree, it was the focus of his attention when integrating fragments and Mana Cores.

Despite these desires, Jon found himself, attracted, for lack of a better word, to certain abilities.

Those abilities were ones with the Mutation Trait.

Although he was wary of them in the beginning, Jon had to admit, those abilities with the Mutation Trait were often powerful and had little downsides considering his selection of Mana Cores.

In recent days, Jon had found himself hoping that certain fragments would provide him with such an ability. The integration of a Fragment Of Spirit into his Spear Mana Core and the birth of his Longinus-Lancea Spirit did nothing but provoke this small kindling of desire, stoking it into something far greater, and far more dangerous.

Letting out a loud breath of air, Jon placed his water bottle down, leaning against one of Rana's enormous roots.

"Will I still be human after leaving the System Introduction?" Jon asked, resting Assail against the trunk of the enormous bodhi tree.

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"That depends Jon," Rana spoke, her tone still as warm and gentle as ever, "On whether or not you still feel human after leaving the System Introduction."

The human raised an eyebrow, turning towards the bodhi tree, a somewhat disappointed expression on his face. Answering his question with another question. Not quite the solution to the philosophical conundrum he was looking for.

Nevertheless, the bodhi tree continued to speak.

"You are… or you can become rather whatever it is you want to be Jon. You mentioned before that you first wanted to choose a Dragon Mana Core during your time in the Pure Room, why is that?" Rana queried.

Jon felt his cheeks turn pink, as the eighteen-year-old let out a self-deprecating chuckle.

"I thought that it would be cool to have a Dragon Mana Core. Dragons are strong, sometimes even the object of worship. Mythically, spiritually, and even conceptually. Dragons are something that I have always thought was synonymous with strong." He admitted, causing Rana to flutter her branches in return.

"However, you did not desire strength in the beginning, did you? You desired knowledge, so you chose the Knowledge Mana Core as your first Mana Core, correct?" she asked once more.

Jon nodded, and Rana continue with her train of thought.

"There is absolutely no difference between the you who was chosen to become a participant in the System Introduction, and the "you" that stands before me right now. Back then you wanted to obtain the strength and might of a dragon, yet you chose the certainty and truth that comes with knowledge."

"Well right now you are faced with another decision Jonathan Randall Guilliman. Regardless of whether your physical appearance is that of the average human, you have already exceeded the limitations of what a human is capable of. If a genetic mutation caused a human to be born with one arm, or a different skin pigmentation, or even a predisposition to certain neurological or psychological disorders, would they still be considered human?"

Jon remained quiet throughout the entirety of Rana's argument. The eighteen-year-old lowered his head slightly, looking down at the traces of winterish-white blood on one of his burst callouses.

Jon had long since discarded some of the physical traits that identified him as a human being.

Even if it was not obvious, the fact that the blood than coursed through his veins was white, and not red, made him different from everyone he knew on Earth. Even if they too could obtain Mana Cores and integrate fragments into themselves, there was a chance that no-one else would manifest the same mutations as himself.

A unique existence, amongst infinite possibilities and permutations.

A unique Path, amongst an innumerable number of winding roads and forgotten dreams.

Jon felt something settle within him. Nothing quite as grand or lifechanging as the mutation of his heart into a Seir-Glacial Heart or his spirit into a Longinus-Lancea Spirit. Nor the mutation in his Hades-Sagacity Shadow or his Murmur-Glacial Marrow.

It was an understanding.

Of his place in this universe.

Rana could hear Jon release a long, deep breath of air. The movements of his Sea Of Knowledge had changed, the surging waves and crashing tides had subsided, leaving nothing but the image of still and tranquil ocean behind.

The bodhi tree smiled, feeling the shift in Jon's mind.

Rana knew that this was a common thought amongst most mortals from newly integrated universes. Even amongst the previously integrated universes, there were those mortals who managed to manifest a rare or powerful first Mana Core, faced with the realization that they were no longer just another face in a crowd.

It was good that Jon understood this so quickly. While he was still young and somewhat immature, Rana knew that he was the rational type, so having him come to this conclusion on his own would only strengthen the concept of individuality within him.

'It is important that he can find his Path before ascending to Knighthood. With only four Mana Cores and fourteen integrated fragments, while Jon is not in the lead regarding how close one can be towards Knighthood, his gradual progress is laying the foundation for something even greater. Perhaps Jon will even be able to reach Lordship before the end of the System Introduction?' Rana rustled her bright green leaves, adjusting the position of several of her branches so that Jon would not be distracted while meditating.

While Rana knew the importance of patience and gradual development during the formative stages of an individual's Rank and Tier, the bodhi tree knew that this speed of progression would not last forever.

With the introduction of spiritual energy into the 37th universe, the inhabitants of Earth, Svarlfin, Concordia and hundreds of thousands of other planets would experience an upheaval of unprecedented scale once the System Introduction was concluded.

It was not uncommon for Races to go extinct during this period of time. War and conflict at a magnitude most mortals could not comprehend would inevitably occur, fighting over the new resources and opportunities that would appear before them.

While rare and powerful fragments and Mana Cores were always abundant within the System Introduction, what Rana desired Jon to obtain were precious Mortal Title Fragments, Wonder Fragments scattered throughout the System Introduction, and above all else, the first-place reward for the completion of the twelfth mandatory task.

'If Jon could obtain a Memento Source Fragment, it would be unlikely that anyone within this small realm would be his equal. Perhaps that green-haired one, Avahni might be an exception, or those that have managed to obtain one of the new fragments born within the 37th universe. I cannot foresee what manner of ability such a thing would manifest, so I would be helpless in assisting Jon against such a thing,' Rana glanced towards the campsite several hundred metres up the river.

The one that her summoner referred to as Wilheim stoked their campfire, skewering several mutated fish, adding several stalks of Indigo-Saffron to the flames, releasing a deep, complex scent throughout the campsite. The one called Avahni, was giving her newest successful summon, Huo Liyu, a gentle pat on the head, the nine-tailed carp rolling around in the palm of the lutin's hand.

While perhaps weaker than a redwood tree, or most conifer species for that matter, the senses of a bodhi tree were significantly better than the average tree. Even without the use of a fragment enhancing her senses, Rana was still capable of perceiving the faint movements of living beings through the roots she had buried deep within the ground.

While the effect was limited without the integration of a Fragment Of Sound or a Fragment Of Senses, through the manipulation of her spiritual energy, she was able to work around this apparent limitation.

The bodhi tree changed the position of her roots so that they curved around Jon's form. It left Rana somewhat vulnerable, having her roots above ground like this, but the bodhi tree was willing to die if it meant that her summoner could survive.

The greatest advantage of becoming a summon, was that the destruction of your physical form was not the end. So long as your summoner remained alive, there was always the possibility of being brought back.

So long as the ritual requirements were also available.

'I wonder if Jon will let me choose the fragment I can integrate next,' Rana thought to herself, bathing her summoner in her gentle golden-green glow.

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