Age: 12
March 8th, 1259
Cedric and I walk down to the training fields
for our second day out training with Mrs. Dygler. Today, we're supposed to learn how to use actual mana for the first time—not elemental magic, but pure mana manipulation.
"You think we'll learn how to strengthen ourselves with mana first or learn to use it defensively?" Cedric asked.
"Probably to internally strengthen ourselves, I read mana manipulation is way more difficult than internal manipulation." Internal mana manipulation was about making you stronger, reinforcing your internal body, speed, slight mental increase, and small regeneration.
We step into the open training grounds, the morning sun already heating the packed dirt beneath our feet. Two worn leather mats sit side by side, their edges scuffed and faded.
"Sit down boys, like I said yesterday you will learn how to control pure mana. Your core passively converts mana into your element—but only when it's being stored. If you want to use elemental mana directly in combat or manipulation, you have to align it intentionally. First we are going to start with visualizing your core, this is how you progress in core stages and become stronger, next you will learn how to draw in mana from your surroundings, and lastly circulation of mana. Now sit down and close your eyes until you can picture your core and tell me when you can." Sitting on the left mat I close my eyes and thanks to my trait - spatial visionary - being able to see all of my body I can also see my core right in the middle of my torso, it's a deep dark purple that has a diameter of half a meter, extending from it are millions of pathways and I assume those are my mana channels.
"I can see it Mrs. Dylger."
"What? It's only been a few seconds, how? Usually it takes half an hour for new awakeners."
"My trait lets me see every detail of my body perfectly, not just the feelings I get from the outside, but literally see my whole body. From my core, mana channels, mana, my whole body is visible to me."
"Why am I even surprised anymore? Okay we'll just sit there and wait for Cedric for now and stay quiet. We don't want to ruin his concentration." Just a couple minutes go by until…
"Mrs. Dygler, I can see my core now! It's definitely bigger than yours Kade!" Does he know the smaller the core the better it is?
"You two are little monsters, one sees it immediately with his trait, the other sees his in under three minutes." She sighs and takes a deep breath before talking again.
"Now, I'm going to teach you how to draw in mana since your cores are empty. To change mana into your elemental mana you must have the intent to change its nature to yours, if you don't then it will just be pure mana which can strengthen/reinforce you but it won't go into your core it can only be manipulated in your body, for now." Interesting, so pure mana is all about physical strength and defense that can't help you progress in your core, but elemental mana can only progress the core and allow you to use your elemental abilities.
"First take a deep breath and open your pores, try to visualize taking in the mana from around you and making it your own think about what your element is and apply it to that mana while guiding it into your core."
Thanks to my trait once again I'm easily able to sense the mana around me, but getting it to move that's the hard part. I tried all kinds of ways, encouraging it with nice words, cursing it, trying to 'grab' it but nothing worked. Wait, she did say to visualize our element, what if I just visualize a black hole in my body that sucks mana into me? Not seeing a problem with my perfect reasoning I slowly imagine a super strong suction force coming from my chest, slowly the mana begins to move towards me I even feel it taking it from the mana around Cedric. Suddenly it starts to get faster exponentially, a wall of mana slams into me as my core tries to absorb it all and make it space mana but it's too much. Seeing my situation Mrs. Dygler rushes over, forces me out of my concentration and absorbs the excess mana from around me. I take a quick look at my core and a dark glowing purple ball slowly rotating in my body. I can feel that I'm about 15% full already just from those few seconds of absorption.
"What did you just do Kade!? You shouldn't have been able to even pull that much mana towards you, much less try to absorb it. Do you have a death wish? A newborn core can't handle that much mana without bursting—do you want internal ruptures? Mana overload?" She scolds.
Sorry I didn't think that would happen, how would I know that I could pull that much mana towards me?
"Mrs. Dygler, I didn't know that would happen, this is our first time trying to absorb it and you said to try ways to do it. I didn't know I would be such a genius in absorption." I don't need a teacher who won't scold me for her own directions.
"You think you're such a genius huh. Dumb ass you ain't shit, if you think you can bypass training just because you are better than average in talent then you can leave. I don't want a student who will kill himself from his own arrogance."
I flinch—not from fear, but from the truth in her voice. Yeah… a part of me does think I'm better. Who wouldn't, after everything I've seen? But if I'm so smart, why did I almost pull Cedric's mana? Why did she have to save me?
But still… There's a difference between confidence and arrogance. Right?
I grit my teeth and look her in the eye. "I wasn't trying to skip training. I just… thought faster progress was a good thing."
Mrs. Dygler crosses her arms, eyes like twin iron hammers. "Faster isn't always better. Not with mana. You think a glass can handle a river just because it's empty?"
Cedric coughs awkwardly behind me. I realize his aura feels faint, like my black hole stunt sucked the energy out of the air around him.
"You nearly pulled from Cedric's surroundings too," she says, voice lower now but no less dangerous. "If I hadn't stopped you, you would've ruined his training. You would've fed your own core at the cost of his."
I go cold. I didn't think of that. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone.
"I didn't know," I say, softer now. "I didn't mean to—"
"Intent doesn't matter when the damage is done," she cuts in. "You want to be strong? Fine. Then learn control. Power without control is a blade you hold by the edge."
There's a silence. Even Cedric stays quiet.
Then, slowly, Mrs. Dygler steps forward and puts a hand on my shoulder—not gently, but not harshly either.
"I've seen a lot of 'geniuses' die young. If you want to live to see sixteen, you'll shut up and listen."
I nod, swallowing my pride.
"Good. Now sit back down and breathe. You've still got 85% left to fill."
POV: Cedric Elowen
Dumbass, why would you talk to the person who is training us for the mage academies, whatever I'll make fun of you later for being scolded. Sighing I turn back to my core.
Roughly half a meter across, a glowing molten gold color pulsed with steady warmth, millions of paths extending from it into my body. Now how do I absorb the mana in the air? It's not like I can feel it. I try breathing it in first and while that does kinda move mana to me it's mostly just mana stuck to air. The sun really does feel good today… wait the sun. Can I use the rays to guid mana to me? Sunlight is the main part of my trait so I should be able to pull some to me right?
Slowly, I bask in the sun's rays this time though with the intent of pulling mana towards me. For a second, I thought it wasn't working. Maybe I was wrong about the sunlight. But then… I felt it. The warmth thickened. The mana came. My perception slows as I continue absorbing the sunlight and mana I can feel my body being rejuvenated through the combination of light and mana. After what feels like hours it's finally at 10% but after asking Mrs. Dygler I find it's only been a couple minutes since my new method of absorption.
"Cedric, did you find a way to absorb mana?"
"Yes ma'am," I try to be more respectful —Kades scolding is still fresh in my mind, "I discovered I can use the rays from the sunlight to guide the mana to me with my trait."
"Wonderful, that's much less dangerous than someone else's I know," she says and glares at Kade who lowers his head meekly, "and it seems to have a high rate of absorption from looking at your core, good job."
"Thank you!"
She's terrifying, I don't know where Kade found the courage to talk back to her.
POV: Kade Thalore
I'm glad Cedric didn't seem that effected by my rash absorption but I really need to find a way to limit its power so I don't hurt other people's progression.
I close my eyes once again and find my core, carefully I picture a much smaller black hole. At first the mana barely moves towards me but I slowly increase the size of it until I'm absorbing enough without damaging my surroundings.
Finally after forty five minutes it's full and I notice that Kades is as well.
"Good Kade, you learned to control that technique. Now you both will try to circulate the mana through yalls body. This is the easiest part: you just need to release the mana from your core and into the mana channels and guide it around your body until it reaches your core again. First go through your left leg, then left arm, head, right arm, right leg, and finally core again. What circulation does is slowly remove the impurities from your channels, and strengthen them so you can push more mana through them faster." She takes a deep breath then continues.
"Since you both awakened a mythic affinity rank your channels should be naturally stronger and have less impurities than people with lower affinity ranks, thank your luck for that as you won't have to really improve them until the next core progression stage which you'll do at an academy."
Following her directions Cedric and I easily learned how to circulate our mana through our bodies and like she said it didn't really improve anything but I also learned that circulating mana is great for fighting off the cold or heat and fills you with comfort.
After we do it a couple more times Mrs. Dygler ends the training for today and warns me to keep my absorption method in check even when I'm by myself.