Zeha tried to focus on doing exactly what the grandma told him. He closed his eyes to concentrate better. A few seconds later, a faint stream of magical energy began to flow out from his body.
"Good, keep it up," said the grandma, and Zeha obeyed without hesitation.
The longer it went on, the stronger the stream of magic became. But it took a great deal of effort for Zeha to maintain it. His face twisted in discomfort, sweat dripping down endlessly. It was getting harder and harder to endure.
The grandma could clearly see his condition but kept her eyes on him.
Pain began to creep into parts of Zeha's body, and breathing properly became difficult. It felt like something inside him was about to explode, and he was doing everything he could to hold it back.
"Don't hold it in! Let the mana flow naturally through your whole body! You'll only hurt yourself if you try to resist!" the grandma shouted.
"G-got it!" Zeha replied nervously. As she said, he tried letting go, allowing the mana to flow freely.
"Uukh!" It was like a powerful current of water rushing through every part of his body. At the same time, his magic surged, growing larger and stronger.
The mana also began to press against his body, like being trapped in the eye of a storm.
"Ukh!" His jaw clenched as he tried to endure the mounting pain.
"That's enough! Stop!" the grandma commanded at last. The moment she spoke, Zeha halted. He was gasping for breath, his body drenched in sweat.
The grandma stepped closer. "See? You can circulate mana freely. That means you don't suffer from mana blockage at all."
Zeha didn't respond, he was still too out of breath to speak, but his expression showed his surprise.
"But… there's something strange about the way your mana flows," she said, touching her chin in thought. "It's as if something is restricting your mana at a certain limit."
Once again, Zeha was shocked. "What do you mean, Grandma?"
"I can't say for sure yet. I'll need to check directly."
"Hm?"
"Sit down," she instructed. Zeha was a little confused at first, but brushed it off and obeyed. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, he waited as the grandma positioned herself behind him.
"Stay still, and just focus on feeling." She placed both hands on his back, closed her eyes, and began channeling her magic into his body.
The first thing Zeha felt was cold. The chill slowly spread through his body, gradually turning into warmth.
The grandma's focus was on his mana core, located at the heart.
She could feel it clearly, an incredibly dense mana core, shaped like a shield protecting the heart. No mage she had ever seen possessed a core this dense. It was as if something was holding it tightly in place. Normally, a mana core was made up of small spheres rotating around the heart area, called mana circles.
The most powerful mages had no more than twenty mana circles. But Zeha's case was different, his mana core had no circles at all.
The grandma finally withdrew her hands, exhaling a long, heavy sigh.
"What's wrong, Grandma?" Zeha asked curiously.
"Dear, have you ever met a dark mage?"
"Dark mage?" Zeha's eyes widened in surprised. He hadn't expected such a strange question. "Why are you bring up dark mages all of a sudden?"
"It seems your magic has been sealed."
"What?! My magic… sealed?!" Zeha was stunned. The idea sounded absurd.
"Yes. It would be strange if you couldn't use magic when your core is perfectly fine. The problem is, you have no mana circles. And you know the purpose of mana circles, don't you?"
Zeha nodded. "To produce magic."
"Exactly. The more mana circles you have, the stronger your magic becomes. The speed at which they spin depends on how you use your magic."
"So you're saying I can't use magic because I have no mana circles?"
"Not exactly 'no' circles, it's more like your circles have stopped working. Think of it like a wheel that's stopped spinning because it's broken… or locked."
Zeha understood her explanation clearly. Now that he knew the reason his magic couldn't grow, he felt anxious and uneasy.
"Can I use my magic again, Grandma?"
"Are you stupid? I just told you, it's sealed. That means it's impossible." She smacked him on the back of his head. "Unless the seal is broken. Then maybe you could return to normal."
At those words, Zeha's face lit up, his eyes sparkling with hope.
"But breaking it would be very difficult. It requires an enormous amount of magical energy. In this entire country, maybe only three people could do it."
Zeha's face immediately fell again.
"If I were still as strong as I was forty years ago, I might have been able to break it. But now… I'm too weak," she admitted.
"Grandma… were you once the strongest swordsman mage?"
A proud smile crossed her lips. "Of course. Even the professors at your academy couldn't match me."
"Wooow!" Zeha's eyes sparkled again, and he clapped enthusiastically in admiration. The grandma smiled smugly at the praise.
"Ahem! Ahem!" She forced herself back to the topic. "So, dear, what will you do now?"
"Hm?" Zeha tilted his head, confused.
"You know why your magic can't grow. Will you give up on becoming a swordsman mage?"
He went silent for a moment. He was disappointed. He had hoped coming here would give him a real breakthrough. But it seemed nothing had changed.
"I… want to become a swordsman mage," he finally said.
The grandma's eyes widened in surprise.
"But if it's impossible right now, then I'll postpone it and focus on swordsmanship first."
She was even more surprised. She hadn't expected Zeha to have such determination. "You want to master swordsmanship first?"
"Yes," he answered firmly.
"Even though it'll make things harder for you when your seal is eventually broken?"
"No problem!"
The grandma grinned. "Good."
_
_
That night, after dinner, Zeha and the grandma went back to the underground training room. She had already told him earlier they'd be training after the meal, and he had agreed.
The grandma picked up two wooden swords and tossed one to Zeha.
"Before we begin special training, I'll test your skills first." She stood tall, pointing her sword forward. "Don't hold back, attack me with everything you've got."
Zeha hesitated. He wasn't confident in his sword skills. He had learned swordsmanship at the academy, but without magic, it had never been very useful.
"What are you doing? Move and attack me!" she barked when she saw him frozen in place.
Zeha gripped the sword so tightly that it trembled. He was gathering his courage. Once ready, he planted his feet firmly and prepared to strike.
Seeing this, the grandma smiled proudly. "Good."
From his expression, his eyes, even his stance, everything changed. Zeha had committed himself to the attack.