Mason observed the boy's expression for a few seconds more before he unleashed a bit of his aura. It crushed into Alex from above like someone had just turned the dial on gravity.
"Mm!"
He groaned the moment the pressure fell on him as his feet staggered to adjust his chance.
Hunter Zol noticed what Mason was doing and was about to move when Mason starched his left arm to stop him.
"Wait! The kid is not going to get hurt. I just want to confirm something." He explained.
"You could have just asked the kid without resulting to this, you know?" Zol retorted but stayed still.
"Maybe… But the kid may not know himself. Just watch, I'm sure you'll be surprised."
Zol remained silent and watched as Alex struggled to resist the pressure from a Class S hunter.
'What the hell…?' Alex gritted his teeth in as the strain of the pressure continuously pushed him lower and lower, yet he refused to take a knee.
He understood what Lord Mason was doing. 'What exactly does he want to achieve? How does he expect me to overcome this?!'
Even though he still felt overly powerful from whatever state he was in, the pressure was still too much for a Class F hunter… Well, Class E if you're looking at his physical body.
In an attempt to soften the pressure that was pushing him down, he channelled his energy and the moment the void energy responded to his call, his form set ablaze and the pressure disappeared like a breeze.
"Huh?" Alex echoed his surprise. It was not the form he took that surprised him as he had been trying to replicate this form on command for a while now, but never succeeded when he actually tried to do so.
Moments ago, he had even thought that he could use his void energy to shut down his overpowered body, but the void energy instead ignited this form and while welcomed, what surprised him was the aura that disappeared like a lie.
His gaze shifted to the Class S hunters and noticed their expressions of disbelief, especially Lord Mason who had not seen this form in person.
Mason was in disbelief as he felt the aura around Alex.
'I knew it! He's just like her!' The realization that his hypothesis was correct made him consider a lot of things about Alex's situation.
'Him surviving the cosmic mana wave was no accident. It must have been some kind of awakening. And my aura…'
He narrowed his eyes at Alex's form that devoured his aura like it was nothing!
'Let's increase it.'
Slowly, Mason increased the output of his aura with no visible change in Alex's stance. Zol observed quietly by the side, watching as Alex showed no signs of being affected whatsoever.
'That pressure is more than enough to bring a Class B to their knees…' He noticed with a grim look. Who would have thought his void aura and energy had that ability?
He never thought of trying this out since he didn't want to harm the boy in any way. But it seemed his holding back had made him ignore certain things he could test out to determine where Alex's abilities started and ended.
Alex was a whole package of curiosity waiting to be unlocked and anyone would have a field that just learned from all the things he could do if pushed right.
Humanity still lacked a proper understanding of the workings of the energy known as mana, even with centuries of research, what they knew now was less than what they began with.
Mason continued increasing the pressure until the very building they stood on began to creak under the weight of his presence, yet Alex remained in place, watching the gloomy expressions of the two mortal gods.
'Is he still applying the pressure?' He wasn't sure as he couldn't feel anything besides the blazing energy that circulated through his system. But then, he noticed that his mana was depleting faster and faster.
"Enough." Zol placed a hand on Mason who quickly called back his growing aura that was rising to the Class S level.
"The kid just completed his event. I'm sure he is tired." Zol added and then turned to Alex. "Can you deactivate that form?"
"I'll try…" His response made Zol realize Alex's control over his abilities was nonexistent.
Alex took a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling the mana burning through his cells. Slowly, he stopped the channelling of his energy as the blazing form slowly died down.
But the overpowered cells remained as powered as ever, showing no signs of returning to normal.
'Don't tell me there's no way of shutting this down? I can't walk around like this…'
When his void energy receded, his body still felt overpowered.
"Alex?" Zol called out softly and approached him. "What's wrong?"
"I can't depower the mana in my cells... They are still burning." He explained and looked at Zol who narrowed his eyes and then scanned Alex's body with his senses but detected nothing wrong.
"Let me see…" Zol muttered and placed his index finger on his forehead taking a closer look into Alex's s body.
'The mana stores are slowly running out of mana and should die down on its own, but that would also leave him drained and weakened. '
He continued to study Alex's system in silence. Mason approached the dual and had his eyes fixed on Alex, staring at the miracle boy with a satisfied gaze. He was everything he imagined and if his guess was right, he would be the key to lead them to a higher realm.
The thought filled him with excitement. 'Maybe I should take him under my wing?' He thought in silence and his eyes fell on Zol.
'Nah… He wouldn't agree even if I sold him my soul.'
Because Alex had mentioned in the past that he virtually had no control over the mana stored within his cells, Zol guessed that was where the problem stemmed from.
Alex could refine mana just like everyone else when he was dry like a well, but after that, his mana appeared to lie dormant until he did something with his void energy whose trigger was still a mystery to them.
'If his void energy is the only thing he can circulate right now, that must be the key to controlling his mana as well…'
"Channel your 'mana' again," Zol instructed and Alex understood the message. He channelled his energy through his system and it took the blazing form once again.
Observing closing, Zol witnessed how the void energy blended with the mana and brought forth his blazing form.
"Now direct your mana towards the storage organelles…"
Alex did as instructed and slowly drained the energy flowing all over his cells back into them and to the manitoria. Like energy being taken from an excited electron, the cells slowly lost their charged state and returned to normal.
His blazing form died down along the mana returning to their organelles, leaving only the void energy he recalled back.
Zol removed his finger and stepped back. What he did right now had given him a lot of information about how to activate his blazing form on command.
'The key is getting his mana flowing first. But that shouldn't be too much of an issue. I believe it is something everyone can do,' He thought in silence as he watched the out sigh in relief.
"You can return to your room now. We'll call for you once the academy concludes the academic year."
"Yes, Lord Zol." He bowed slightly to him and then to Mason before leaving the roof.
"…"
The two hunters watched his disappearing form, each with their own thoughts.
"It was a wise decision to come here today," Mason muttered with a small smile.
"Come on, we have some things to discuss," Zol said, then took to the skies, disappearing over the horizon.
With one last look in Alex's direction, Mason also took off.