Chapter 21: Insane

Noah looked at Asher like he was trying to decide whether he was insane or just completely disconnected from normal logic.

"...That sentence alone is exactly why people fear you."

"I don’t think fear is necessary," Asher replied calmly.

"Of course you don’t," Adam muttered while rubbing his nose. "You’re the one casually removing body parts during a conversation."

Asher glanced at his restored hand again. "It’s efficient."

"There are many words for that," Noah said. "Efficient is not one of them."

Aria stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking.

"...How painful is it?"

The others looked toward her in surprise.

Asher answered without hesitation. "Very."

Adam blinked. "Then why are you acting like it doesn’t matter?"

"Because pain and damage aren’t the same thing," Asher replied. "If it can be healed, then fearing it too much only affects your judgment."

Noah stared at him.

"You genuinely think like a machine sometimes."

Asher tilted his head slightly. "Emotions during battle slow reactions."

"No," Noah immediately replied. "Panic slows reactions. Emotions are normal."

The group remained quiet for a few moments.

The tension from the training battle had faded, but the atmosphere felt heavier now for an entirely different reason.

Asher finally broke the silence.

"...Are we done for today?"

"No," Adam replied instantly. "We’re definitely not ending the conversation there."

"I agree," Noah said while pointing at him.

"You don’t get to say disturbing things and then casually try to leave."

Asher looked genuinely confused. "Why not?"

"Because normal people need time to process whatever is wrong with you," Noah answered.

Aria sighed softly and leaned against a nearby wall.

"You’re wasting your time," she said. "He clearly doesn’t understand why his behavior is abnormal."

"I noticed," Noah muttered.

Asher crossed his arms. "You all keep calling it abnormal, but none of you have explained why."

Adam stared at him for a second before laughing once in disbelief.

"You cut off your own hand without blinking."

"And healed it afterward."

"That does not improve the situation!"

Asher looked toward Aria instead, as if expecting a more logical explanation.

Aria stayed silent for a moment before speaking.

"...Most people instinctively fear injury because their bodies are fragile. Even trained fighters hesitate subconsciously when facing serious damage."

"Because losing an arm usually ends the fight," Noah added.

Asher glanced at his restored hand before replying calmly,

"But my mana coating already makes damaging me difficult in the first place."

The others went silent for a moment because that part was true.

During the spar, even direct attacks had struggled to properly injure him.

Adam clicked his tongue. "That’s honestly the annoying part."

Asher looked at him.

"Your defense is already ridiculous," Adam continued. "And on top of that, you can heal injuries that do get through."

Noah nodded immediately. "You’re basically removing the fear of damage entirely."

"I still avoid unnecessary injuries," Asher replied. "Regeneration consumes a large amount of mana."

Aria narrowed her eyes slightly.

"So your healing isn’t the problem," she said. "Your mindset is."

"You trust your defenses too much," Aria replied. "Your mana coating is powerful enough that you’ve become comfortable fighting at extremely close range."

Asher didn’t deny it.

"Most opponents can’t break through your defense quickly," she continued. "Which means you’re used to overwhelming people before they can threaten you."

Noah crossed his arms. "And when someone actually can hurt you, your first instinct probably won’t change fast enough."

Asher remained silent.

Adam then added, "You fight like someone who’s used to being untouchable."

"That’s exaggerated."

"No, it’s accurate," Aria said immediately. "Even during the spar, you ignored several attacks because you knew your mana coating could handle them."

Asher thought back briefly but didn’t respond.

"You rely on efficiency too much," Aria continued. "Strong defense and healing are tools, not excuses to abandon caution."

A short silence followed.

Then Asher spoke quietly.

"...Against stronger opponents, overconfidence becomes predictable."

Adam blinked. "Wait, you actually agree?"

"I’m not overconfident," Asher replied calmly. "But predictable habits can become weaknesses."

Noah looked surprised.

"That’s probably the most reasonable thing you’ve said today."

"But they don’t know this is only one of my vessels. Even if it gets destroyed, why would I care?" Asher thought internally before leaving the training room.

Noah watched Asher leave for a few seconds before speaking.

"...Did anyone else feel like that conversation somehow got worse near the end?"

Adam let out a tired sigh. "It definitely did."

Aria remained leaning against the wall, though her eyes stayed fixed on the doorway Asher had exited through.

"He understood our point," she said quietly.

Noah frowned. "Then why does it feel like he ignored it?"

"Because understanding something and valuing it are different things," Aria replied.

Adam scratched the back of his head. "That’s honestly the creepy part. He listens normally, responds normally... but sometimes it feels like his priorities are completely different from everyone else’s."

Noah nodded slowly.

"Yeah. It’s like he’s pretending to think like a normal person rather than actually thinking that way."

The room fell silent again.

Meanwhile, Asher walked calmly through the hallway outside the training room.

His expression remained unchanged, but his thoughts continued quietly in the back of his mind.

This vessel still relies too heavily on direct defense.

During the spar, he had noticed several attacks he intentionally chose not to avoid because the mana coating could withstand them.

Against weaker opponents, it was efficient.

Against stronger opponents, repeated patterns became exploitable.

He understood that.

But fear still felt unnecessary.

Even if this body suffered irreversible damage, it wouldn’t truly be the end for him.

Still... losing a vessel carelessly would be inefficient.

Do they really think my fighting ability is just talent? No, it isn’t. I fought through countless life-and-death battles with my other vessels and trained in spatial magic to reach this level.

"Whatever. It’s time for a nap."

Then Asher headed toward the dormitory, and as soon as he reached his room, he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.