Chapter 37: My Instincts are Great for Reading People
My Instincts are Great for Reading People
Hearing his question, Kris hesitated, and it was at this moment that Mike realized just how misleading people’s expressions could be.
Without his instincts, Kris looked almost annoyed at the prospect of being questioned, and he totally understood how others could find him difficult to approach if they took his reactions at face value. While his face wasn’t particularly scary, the lack of expression and blank gaze tended to be quite off-putting, as more often than not, it made one feel like they were having their souls stared at.
However, it didn’t feel that way to Mike.
With his instincts, he had a pretty good grasp on how Kris was feeling, and what he felt did not match his expression in the slightest.
As stated before, there was a constant, ever-present underlying fear that seemed to persist oddly. Mike couldn’t quite explain it, but he felt like one wrong move could set Kris off, and not in the ’ticking time bomb’ way.
Moreover, there was also the way he spoke which, once more, was misleading.
If you didn’t have senses as sharp as Mike’s you’d guess he was simply not bothered enough to speak properly. His words were slow, not quite deliberate, but it gave one the feeling that his attention wasn’t fully on them, making it look like he wasn’t fully paying you attention, or deemed it unnecessary to pay proper attention to you.
But again, to Mike, he just seemed oddly shy and meek, like speaking was a difficult and potentially dangerous venture.
The way his heart started pounding whenever Mike looked at him directly was another indicator of his true feelings.
’He’s a total anxiety bomb.’ Mike thought and resisted the urge to shake his head as he regarded Kris who was still struggling to respond to his question. He didn’t try to urge or rush him, as his gut told him that even the smallest bit of pushing would have negative results.
"... You keep trying to brute force it... With how... little your aura is... forcefully condensing it won’t work." Kris finally said with a slight shake of his head, and Mike raised a brow.
He wanted to tell him that this was nowhere near his maximum output, but he remembered his goal was to make Kris open up, not to show off.
’Besides, the guy who was hailed as a prodigy probably knows more about auras than me even though that isn’t his ability type.’ He thought vaguely as he replied.
"I won’t say I’m brute forcing it. But I will admit that my approach is pretty straightforward. What’s wrong with it though?" He asked, both to further his plans and due to genuine curiosity.
Kris once more took an agonizing amount of time to formulate a response, and Mike–for all his obliviousness–was genuinely baffled at just how timid he seemed. He was a bit glad that his instincts made him aware of just how dangerous Kris truly was, otherwise, he might have seriously doubted the claims about him being a prodigy.
But a small part of him was also a bit sympathetic.
"You... keep... just trying to condense it... by folding it in on itself... which isn’t exactly wrong... but it can only go so far," Kris mumbled while averting his gaze, and to an outsider, it would have looked like he just didn’t feel like staring at Mike directly.
Mike nodded thoughtfully, genuinely considering his words.
’When Theresa showed me how her energy moves in her bow, I realized my control over my energy was all over the place, which was why my aura was so inefficient. I’m not totally hopeless anymore, but I still don’t know any techniques aimed towards auras specifically. I also don’t know if these techniques include ways to condense it to make it better.’ He mused as he thought back to one of the stars he and Theresa had.
"To be honest while your aura is impressive, it’s still lacking in many ways and is–in more ways than one–quite crude. Sure, you managed to condense it like smoke, but it’s clearly unpolished. You just make up for your lack of finesse with sheer output as your aura is especially potent. If you can figure out how to properly polish your Aura, the improvements will be immense. Sadly, I can’t help you on that front as my knowledge on Aura-type abilities ends there."
Theresa gave him that brief lecture after he tried–and failed–to concentrate his aura into a specific part of his body to enhance it even more than normal.
She then beat the hell out of him shortly after.
Anyway, Mike truly considered Kris’s anxious yet correct words.
"I see. Well, what do you suggest?" He asked curiously, his desire to make Kris open up slowly taking the back seat as he truly wanted his input.
"I’m... not the person to ask..." Kris mumbled again.
Normal (wrong) person translation: "Stop bothering me. I don’t have all the answers to your problems."
Mike’s (right) translation: "I don’t think I’m qualified enough to answer that. You’re better off getting someone who can actually guide you."
Mike smiled.
"You don’t have to answer anything. I’m just asking because you seem pretty knowledgeable, and while I could just meet someone who deals with auras, it’s always nice to hear input from my peers." He said genuinely, and he saw a flicker of surprise flash across Kris’s eyes, which would have gone over most people, but to Mike and his oddly high perception despite it being his lowest stat, he caught it easily.
It also didn’t help that his instincts told him that Kris was utterly dumbfounded.
Why?
Well, as mentioned before, Kris’s demeanor can very easily be misunderstood. Chances were that he was so used to people misinterpreting his words that he sort of just... gave up.
And it was pretty obvious as to why he didn’t try to clarify what he meant.
So the fact that Mike had managed to almost perfectly interpret his words most likely came as a big shock to him.
"... There’s no use..." Kris mumbled again.
Normal (wrong) person translation: "It’s pointless to try and explain it to you."
Mike’s (right) translation: "I don’t think my input will make much of a difference."
"Aw come on, you can’t know until you try. Besides, in the end, it’s just the two of us here, and there are a few hours until someone else comes. Might as well, right?" He practically chirped before tilting his head.
"By the way, why were you so early? I thought I was early, but you got here before me, so I’d imagine you’ve been here for a while." Hearing this, Kris didn’t respond and simply averted his gaze, but Mike sensed his embarrassment.
He blinked before chuckling.
"Oh, I get it. You were too nervous to sleep." He said, and once more, he felt Kris’s shock, which slowly gave way to suspicion.
’Not surprised. Everyone has been treating him like royalty for a while I’m guessing, so interacting with someone who isn’t just casual, but also knows how to interpret his words and read his intentions is a bit shady.’ Mike noted. Unfortunately, the ship had already sailed, so might as well commit, right?
"I’ll take that as a yes. And honestly, that’s exactly why I’m here too." Mike smiled and looked upwards.
"I won’t go into detail, but I expect trouble to find me soon in this place, so I was both nervous and excited. Hence, I couldn’t sleep properly. But hey, I feel a lot better with some company, especially when it’s someone who can sort of relate." He flashed Kris a smile, and the guy just stared at him blankly, and this time, it wasn’t just his expression, as it seemed like his brain had genuinely short-circuited from having his unintentional facade get peeled apart with such ease.
Mike didn’t stop talking, though, as despite his apparent deactivation, Mike knew he was listening.
"I don’t wonder what this class will entail. Well, close-combat, obviously, but what will be the process? Will we spar first? Are we learning any specific techniques? Will we need to show off what we can already do? I hope it’s not the latter. I barely know how to fight." Mike shuddered. Then again, he was fully prepared to be put in some embarrassing situations a few times due to his lack of things such as formal training while growing up.
He turned to Kris and looked at him directly.
"What say you? Is this something you’re good at? Or is it just a necessity?" Mike asked, and Kris blinked, his initial reluctance slowly being replaced by an odd sense of validation.
At least, that’s what Mike thought it was. Translating emotions was weird, especially when they weren’t his and were emotions he rarely felt.
"I... prefer to fight from mid-range... but that means I’m susceptible to having the distance get closed... so I need to be good at close-range, too," Kris answered, and Mike noted the lack of pauses in his words.
Progress.
"Nice. I saw those chains from earlier, so I guessed you were a ranged fighter, but there’s nothing wrong with brushing up weaknesses." Mike said before tilting his head.
"Well, in my case, completely scraping them away, considering the number I have." He smiled, and he felt Kris’s gaze land on him, his gaze oddly intense.
"What’s... your name...?" He suddenly asked, and Mike tilted his head.
"Mike. Just Mike. You?" He asked back, and he felt Kris be taken aback a bit, not by the question, but his response. Still, he responded.
"Kris... Fulgur." He hesitated, then he spoke again, his voice a bit stronger this time.
"Nice to meet... you." He faltered a bit at the end, but Mike found it nice that he tried.
"Well then, Kris. Nice to meet you." He nodded and opened his mouth to keep talking.