Chapter 20: Different Manuals Necessary

"What?!" Tuly was taken aback for a moment. "Who the hell cares about that silver coin?! Explain it already! How did you do that? First of all, weren't you supposed to have Fire Affinity? How were you able to use a Lightning-based attack that easily?!"

Lian raised his hand, telling him, "Alright, calm down for a bit. One question at a time, please? First, I already told you what I did, didn't I? Didn't you hear what we were talking about?"

Tuly's mouth twitched in response. "You don't really believe that I understand anything of what you said, right? Are you trying to pick a fight?"

Carol sighed when she heard that. "That's a problem, then. I obviously understand what Lian did. However, the issue is that people from your world have never gone to school to learn these kinds of things. I can try to explain it as well as I can. However, I still think you guys will be left confused."

*Growwwwwl...*

Suddenly, Carol's stomach started to make some noise, much to her embarrassment. "Ahem... would you mind if we talked about it while eating something?"

Well, Lian and Duran couldn't agree more. "We would love that as well."

Tuly sighed in response and nodded before he brought their group to the restaurant. It was indeed nothing special, but the meal was good at least. Naturally, Tuly didn't waste time asking Carol, Lian, and Duran to explain.

Carol pondered over it for a bit as to how she should explain the concepts behind what Lian did. "Well, first, you have to understand what an atom is..."

Their conversation lasted hours as Tuly, Grisa, Hira, and the others' heads began to grow hot. Carol really did her best to make things as simple as possible. Nevertheless, for people who had never lived in a modern world before, accepting her explanation was really hard. Let alone understand it.

"Everything is made up of these tiny things called atoms... just... how small are they that we can't see? Would we be able to see them if we pay close attention?" Grisa decided to at least give it a try.

Carol smiled after hearing that, asking, "Up to what number can you count?"

"Up to what number I can count? I believe I know how to count up to the 'million units,' I guess?" Grisa answered. Even though she knew how to count to that amount, she couldn't remember the last time she used such a high number unless it was in some jokes.

Well, Carol was already satisfied with that. "That's good enough. So, that means you can tell what this number is, right?" Carol then drew on the table 999,999,999.

"Errr... Nine hundred ninety-nine million, nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine? Now that I think about it, I don't know what comes after the million units," Grisa replied.

Carol smiled before touching the water in the cup with her finger and pulling it out. Soon after, a drop of water fell from her finger. "This single drop of water has more or less this number of atoms." She then drew on the table once again.

-600,000,000,000,000,000,000,000-

Seeing their shocked expressions, Carol could not help but giggle. "If the number before used millions, this number represents a number called sextillion. Specifically, six hundred sextillion. So, since a single drop of water has around this number of atoms, do you think you'll be able to see them?"

"Impossible!" Hira immediately shouted in response. "There's no way that something can be this small!"

Duran shrugged his shoulders in response. "It has nothing to do with whether you believe it or not. It's simply the truth. In our world, such knowledge is basically common sense." Duran then looked at Carol and said, "Well, I don't think there are many people who know how many atoms a drop of water approximately has, though."

Carol didn't mind. "It's part of my job, after all." However, her expression saddened a little after that. "Or it was, at least..."

Tuly didn't like the mood, so he immediately went back to the second question. "What about your Elemental Affinity? It's not like people can't use two different elements. However, it takes many years to become proficient with an element that you have no affinity for. Not to mention that this second element will never reach the level of the one you have an affinity with. At most, they could be used to complement your main one. How come you used fire and then lighting?"

Lian shook his head, telling him, "Even if you ask me, it's not like I have an answer. I simply looked at the guy who used Lightning Element on the streets and tried to use it myself. When I saw it, I didn't find any issues in bringing it out. Of course, the amount of Lightning Element I can use can't compare to the guy I saw. It's just that thanks to our knowledge of our previous world, I was able to use it many times more efficiently."

Tuly still found that even more unbelievable. He then thought about something as he pointed at the window, asking Lian, "Look, that guy over there. Can you use the same element as him?"

Lian looked through the window as the people passed by. One of them just seemed to be practicing his Wind Element manipulation as he walked, so Lian paid attention to him this time.

'What do you think, Lugg?'

-Shouldn't be a problem, right? He's basically using his Star Energy to attract the air around him. You, on the other hand, can do even better.-

Lian nodded and concentrated. He had to try several times, but ultimately, a gust of wind started to come out of his hand as he focused on that point. "Seems like that's fine as well."

By now, Tuly's group was forced to believe it, even if they didn't want to. "Someone with an affinity to all elements. Well, that's unheard of."

Duran shook his head, though. "Not exactly. You don't seem to have traveled the world or anything like that. Perhaps there are more people out there capable of doing the same thing."

Tuly at least agreed with that. "True." He then looked back at Lian. "Does that mean I'll have to get different Star Energy Manuals of different elements for you?"

Lian nodded, replying, "Without a doubt, my use of fire is much better than Lightning and Wind. That's because your manual explained very well how I should use my Star Energy Channels. I made a few tweaks on the go, but the manual truly was the base for my improvement. If possible, I really want to get my hands on Star Energy Manuals with other elemental affinities."

"Wait! Are you saying that blue ray attack you used a while ago wasn't the best you could do?!" asked Hira.

Lian could only nod in response. "I believe so?"