Magnus
It was finally time.
Granted, it had taken longer than I'd anticipated—two years too long. But at last, I was ready to awaken my magic. I'd wanted to be able to use magic the moment I finished the book, but there was one problem: my body. Usually, when a person begins to sense mana and form a container for it inside themselves, the issue is that their mind can't comprehend what's happening. In my case, my mind wasn't the problem. In my previous life, I'd already experienced wielding an unnatural force—Ki.
According to the book, once you sense mana, it flows into your body like water soaking into a napkin. That's where my knowledge of Ki came in handy. Once the mana was inside me, I'd have to move it around my body and then contain it by forming it into a sphere. But that was the problem—my body was too underdeveloped to maintain the mana. So there was nothing I could do but prepare myself: eat, nap, and run around as much as possible.
A month after I revealed I could talk, I started walking. My family was surprised, but they accepted it readily. Dad seemed the happiest. He'd take me outside to the backyard so I could watch him train. That answered one of my lingering questions: what did my parents do for a living?
"Your mom and I are adventurers, Magnus. Technically, I'm an adventurer while your mother's on leave. I go down to the guild in town and take up jobs—sometimes it's hunting monsters, escorting people, or just tracking game. It's a great gig. Dangerous, but your old man is pretty strong."
The mention of guilds, monsters, and adventurers caught my attention, but something else was even more interesting. While watching Dad train with his bow, I noticed him conjuring arrows not just from water magic, but from earth magic as well. The book had said that using two elements was already difficult—anyone who could do that was considered extremely strong. Some people could control three components, and in sporadic cases, more than four. It made me even more curious about my potential.
I spent my time watching Dad train, which also became my own training. I focused on a single task: seeing the mana around him. The book described mana as particles of light—tiny beams invisible to the naked eye. As for how mana felt or smelled, it was different for each person. Truthfully, the book said you'd see it randomly—on the toilet, during a walk, whenever. There were still mysteries to mana, but I didn't have time for mysteries. I wanted to try something.
According to legend, Gaia created mana to help humans withstand the wrath of the gods. It was supposed to be everywhere, waiting for us to call for it. The books had it backward—it wasn't mana choosing us; we had to call to mana. Easier said than done. I couldn't just shout at it.
I watched Dad conjure water arrow after water arrow, straining my eyes, focusing on his hands, but I couldn't see anything. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see mana. I kept at it until nightfall, growing more and more frustrated.
Letting out a tired sigh, I felt the frustration leave my body. I glanced up at the dazzling night sky. The best thing about living in the countryside was seeing the bright stars, even in this new world. Being out here, just watching them, reminded me of simpler times in my first life. A smile crept onto my face as I remembered my star—the one I'd picked out one night long ago. I never knew if it was the same star every time I looked up, but my gut always told me it was. Looking up, I couldn't help but feel that my star wasn't here. It was stupid to feel sad about it, but I hoped it might have followed me.
I laughed at myself.
"A star following me," I said to no one.
Then I froze, staring up at the sky. Suddenly, the words from the book echoed in my mind: Mana is particles of light. What if I imagined mana as stars? Like in the sky, I could picture mana as stars scattered worldwide, hidden but present.
"That's it!"
I turned and bolted inside to find Dad. I had to test this out.
"Dad! Dad!"
Of course, just as Dad burst outside, I tripped and fell flat on my face. It didn't matter—my whole family hurried out, anxious and worried. I grabbed Dad's arm.
"Dad! Arrow—make an arrow!"
Dad blinked, confused by my request. He glanced at the others, then back at me. Seeing his hesitation, I pressed on.
"I'm fine, I swear, but please—just conjure anything!"
"Okay, okay."
I stepped back and prepared myself. Dad extended his hand and conjured a water ball. Perfect. A simple shape was better than a complex one, like an arrow. I stared at the water ball, adjusting my mind to see past its form.
I glanced at the stars, then back at the conjuring in Dad's hand. It wasn't water. It was a bundle of lights—a cluster of stars.
"Undo it, please," I said.
I didn't hear Dad's reply. All my concentration was on the ball of stars as it unraveled. Then, like a meteor shower, the stars scattered in every direction. I watched them fly, tiny yet burning with light. Something clicked in my mind. Suddenly, the night lit up—myriad stars flooded the world, illuminating every corner. It was as if the day had come to greet me. I spun around, taking it all in. The closer I looked, the more I understood what they were: mana particles.
Once I acknowledged that, I felt the mana call to me, yearning to be noticed. Grinning, I focused on them
Come, I thought.
Like a vacuum sucking in dust, my body began to absorb mana. The mana surged inside me like a raging storm, threatening to tear me apart. I gritted my teeth—it felt like my body was being ripped apart and rebuilt at the same time. My mind burned with fever. I could vaguely hear my family screaming, but I had no time to think about them. I concentrated on the mana within me, feeling each particle as clearly as a hair being pulled. I placed my will on the mana, guiding it as I once did with Ki. Obeying my command, the mana began to flow like water in a stream, gathering near my sternum. Once enough had collected, I willed it to circle. At first, it just spun, then, as more streamed in, it began to fill. I pushed the mana to take shape. Slowly, a sphere began to form.
At last, a mana core was born.
Gasping for air, I opened my eyes—only to find myself staring at the rooftop from above. You've got to be kidding, I thought. Looking down, my suspicions were confirmed. Somehow, I was in the sky—or rather, falling. To make matters worse, I could feel my mind slipping.
Ah, fuck.