My theory was taking shape: a Mana Root System, not a Circle. But to build a new path, I needed to fully understand the old ones. My research turned to the majority: Aura Users.
SUBJECT: The Path of Aura
Over 70% of people have Aura affinity. They cannot directly absorb mana. Instead, from G to E-rank, they laboriously gather dispersed Mana Fragments, using them to strengthen their bodies passively. At the peak of E-rank, they face their breakthrough: forging a Dantian in the abdomen. This core then actively refines raw mana into potent Aura.
Their progression is a cycle of physical reforging:
· D-rank: Forge the Dantian. Begin active refinement.
· C-rank: Refine the skeletal system. Double the Dantian's size.
· B-rank: First Metamorphosis. A complete bodily rebirth, expanding the Dantian fivefold.
· A-rank: Further refinement and tenfold Dantian growth.
· S-rank: Second Metamorphosis and the creation of a Domain.
ANALYSIS: The Aura path is one of internal transformation and consolidation. Power is centralized in the Dantian, and the body is the primary instrument, repeatedly hammered into a better vessel. It's slow to start (G-E), accelerates mid-game (B-rank), and matches the mana path at the peak.
CONTRAST: Mana vs. Aura - Strengths & Weaknesses
· Mage (Early Game Advantage): Fast growth (direct absorption). Powerful ranged and multi-target attacks. Weak body, poor close combat.
· Warrior (Late Game Stability): Slow start, but superior close/mid-range power and durability. Difficulties with long range and area denial.
The existence of hybrids like Magic Swordsmen proves the boundaries can be blurred, but they are rare exceptions that often master neither path fully.
THE EXCEPTION THAT PROVES THE RULE: Alan Lionheart. Son of the Empire's strongest Duke. One of the Five Monster Protagonists. Born with both Mana and Aura affinity—a true dual-core system from birth. A freak of nature the world already calls a monster. His path is one of overwhelming genetic privilege, not something that can be replicated.
SYNTHESIS & HERESY:
I am not Alan Lionheart. I cannot have two cores. But I am also not a pure mage or warrior. I am a hybrid by circumstance, with a Plant element and a Growth-Type skill tied to life and distribution.
The Aura path's principle is refinement and consolidation into a single, mighty core.
The Mana path's principle is integration and command, also culminating in a single, fortified core (the heart).
My potential idea inverts this. What if I aimed for distribution and interconnection?
Instead of building one powerful core (Circle or Dantian), what if I grew a network?
· Anchor Points: Not my heart, but key points aligned with my Plant element—perhaps the solar plexus (stem), the palms (leaves), the soles of the feet (roots).
· The Roots: Using Plant Creation, I would attempt to grow permanent, living channels of mana within my own meridians. These wouldn't just carry mana; they would be mana, sustained by my life force.
· The System: A decentralized web. Damage to one root could be compensated by others. Growth would be organic, spreading through my body like a symbiotic vine.
The risks were existential. I could cripple my mana channels forever. I could trigger a cancerous growth of wild energy. I could simply die.
But the conventional paths led to a ceiling of C-rank. A preordained death.
The first experiment would be small. Insignificant. A seed.
That evening, after my body was exhausted from sword drills and my mind calm from mana breathing, I sat in the center of my cottage. I activated Mana Eyes (F). My own body glowed before me, a map of faint, flowing currents.
I focused on my solar plexus, the body's central energy hub. Gently, using Mana Control (E), I guided a thread of mana there, not to circulate, but to settle. I imagined it as a seed. Then, visualizing the principles of my Plant Creation (G) skill, I willed that seed to sprout.
Not outwards. Inwards.
I imagined a single, hair-thin root extending from that point, creeping slowly down the central meridian towards my right foot.
A jolt, like a static shock mixed with a muscle cramp, shot down my leg. I gasped, breaking my concentration. The mana thread snapped back.
But for a second, I had felt it. A new pathway, a foreign presence inside my own energy flow.
It wasn't pain. It was potential.
I looked at my Status, heart pounding. No new skill. No rank increase. But in the dim glow of my Mana Eyes, I thought I saw a faint, verdant shimmer trace the path the root had taken for a fraction of a second before fading.
The first seed had been planted. Now, I had to learn how to make it grow without killing the host.