Chapter 12. Mana (1)

The Enlightened Unified Empire had ruled the Ryment continent for a long time.

But that is now a story from several decades ago.

The unified empire was toppled by the Sword Lord, and the continent was divided into 15 administrative regions.

A new administrative system created by the Sword Lord.

Each administrative region possessed territory comparable to a kingdom, and within it, dozens of fiefs belonged to the new system.

The Crotan administrative region, where the Yurins fief was located, was situated in the northern part of the continent, surrounded by sea on three sides.

Naturally, the sea route heading south developed significantly.

Among them, Chrom, which had been bustling with merchant and passenger ships since ancient times, was the largest port city in the Crotan administrative region.

Dozens of sailing ships left Chrom Harbor every day, befitting its reputation.

The medium-sized passenger ship that Yurin and Johann were on was one of them.

Flap.

The passenger ship, having left Chrom Harbor, swelled its sails to catch the favorable wind.

Whoosh.

The ship cut through the waves and quickly advanced, beginning its four-week voyage to the Nijer administrative region.

Inside the shabby two-person cabin.

Johann was looking down at the unconscious Yurin.

“Mmm...”

Yurin, who was unconscious to the point of not being able to wake up easily, was still moaning.

Johann's eyes showed a mix of exasperation and admiration as he looked at him.

“What a stubborn brat.”

It was a pure expression of amazement.

‘He really did it.’

The day Yurin received the basics of mana and magic power.

Johann had promised to initiate him into the world of mana if he could reduce the four-day journey to Chrom Harbor to two days.

At the time, Johann had set the condition of two days, but he had thought it was practically impossible.

Reducing a four-day journey to two days was only possible if one ran day and night without a moment's rest.

Even though Yurin had recently gained considerable stamina, it was still an almost impossible task for someone who hadn't yet accumulated mana.

But Yurin accomplished the impossible.

Through sheer willpower alone.

‘He must have sacrificed his health, but his determination is commendable.’

Yurin, who had covered the four-day distance in two days, fainted dramatically the moment he stepped into Chrom Harbor.

A slight smile appeared on Johann's lips as he recalled this.

But the warm smile quickly turned bitter.

“Hmph, such an innocent kid.”

Yurin, the young brat, probably didn't know that even if he hadn't pushed himself to reach Chrom Harbor, Johann had already planned to move on to the next stage of training after completing the physical conditioning.

If Yurin were to learn this fact while unconscious, he would probably grind his teeth in frustration.

The thought of this made Johann's face soften into a warm smile.

“He reacts to every little thing, which makes it quite fun to torment him.”

At first, Johann had teased Yurin to stimulate his motivation.

But now, he continued to tease him because Yurin's reactions, which made his hair stand on end, were entertaining.

It had become Johann's only pleasure in recent times.

“Is this why old masters raise disciples? This kind of fun would certainly make one's later years less boring.”

If Yurin had heard this, he would have gone mad.

Johann wiped the smile from his face and extended his hand toward Yurin.

Soon, Johann's hands began to knead Yurin's entire body.

His face, body, arms, and legs.

Johann's hands moved without hesitation, each touch filled with careful deliberation.

Steam began to rise from Yurin's body.

Sizzle.

The steam, which emitted a pungent odor, quickly dispersed into the air.

At the same time, Johann's touch became even more cautious.

Crack.

Strange sounds began to emanate from various parts of Yurin's body.

Torn muscles from excessive exercise were being reconnected, and twisted bones and joints were gradually realigning.

A process that would have taken a long time was being rapidly shortened by Johann's powerful mana.

Moreover, this was not just about saving time.

Crack.

The newly formed muscles and bones were positioned in a way that would be advantageous for Yurin to learn martial techniques in the future.

This was a highly advanced and dangerous procedure that required an enormous amount of mana and a deep understanding of the human body.

It was a technique that prestigious families kept secret, only revealing it to the heir of the family.

Johann performed such a task effortlessly, and every time Yurin fainted, he would repeat the procedure.

Yurin's body becoming healthier and recovering each time he fainted was thanks to Johann's efforts.

Crack.

As time passed, the sounds from Yurin's body gradually diminished and finally disappeared, prompting Johann to withdraw his hands.

“Phew...”

Johann, slightly fatigued, let out a sigh.

Even for him, the procedure he had just performed was quite draining mentally.

However, despite his tired appearance, Johann's eyes shone brightly.

“...A natural warrior.”

A body born with innate strength, elastic muscles, good eyesight, and other such qualities could be called a natural warrior.

But Yurin's innate qualities were a bit more peculiar.

‘A truly remarkable body.’

At first, Johann was quite disappointed with Yurin's ordinary physique.

But as time went on, he began to feel a sense of unease.

And when he finally realized the nature of this unease, he was shocked.

‘How can a human body be so perfectly symmetrical?!’

People have different left and right faces.

They are also divided into left-handed and right-handed individuals.

The same applies to their feet.

Of course, there are those who use both hands and feet equally, but they tend to use one hand or foot more frequently and unconsciously.

This leads to differences in development.

But Yurin was different.

He used both hands and feet with similar frequency, and their development was also nearly identical.

Even more amusingly, Yurin was doing all this unconsciously, without realizing it.

Moreover, with each repeated procedure by Johann, Yurin's body became even more symmetrical.

‘Symmetry in the human body means balance.’

This was a significant advantage in learning martial techniques.

‘Although his body isn't perfectly symmetrical yet, if he can achieve and master it in the future...’

If he can do that, it will become a great weapon for Yurin.

It was a good sign.

But not everything was optimistic.

‘His condition is worse than I thought.’

On the day they first met, Johann had noticed Yurin's condition while examining his unconscious body.

Yurin's body was in a more serious state than expected.

But now, it was several times more dangerous than what Johann had initially assessed.

‘How has this kid... managed to stay alive until now?’

If his body was in such a state, he would have died on the street long ago.

It was almost miraculous that he was still alive and breathing.

‘I managed to stabilize his precarious life force...’

But that didn't mean Yurin was out of danger.

The adjustments he made while Yurin was unconscious were only temporary measures.

If the fundamental issues of imbalance were not resolved, the balance he had barely maintained would collapse again.

‘His physical deficiencies have been somewhat compensated for by the procedures so far, so now it's time to fill him with energy.’

Energy.

That is, if he could fill Yurin with mana, he could overcome a significant hurdle.

With this thought, Johann looked intently at Yurin.

“...Why are you staring at me with such a lecherous look?”

Yurin, who had woken up, was squinting his eyes.

“When have I ever looked at you lecherously?”

“Just now.”

“Don't worry, I don't have that kind of taste.”

“What kind of taste?”

“The kind you're imagining.”

“But I didn't imagine anything.”

“...If you didn't imagine anything, why are you slowly trying to escape?”

“Because of the reason you're imagining?”

As Johann said, Yurin was slowly moving his buttocks to distance himself from Johann.

It was a skill in itself to wriggle away while lying down.

“This brat...”

Johann's eyebrows twitched, and Yurin stopped his antics and looked around.

“Where are we?”

“You ask so quickly.”

Johann, letting out a slight sigh, informed Yurin that they were on a passenger ship heading to Nijer.

Yurin, nodding his head, suddenly jumped up and shouted.

“Oh, right! The promise!”

“Huh?”

“You said you'd tell me if we arrived in two days! About mana!”

“Tsk, I haven't forgotten, so sit down.”

“Really?”

“I'll tell you now.”

There was no reason to delay what he had intended to tell Yurin.

“Wow!”

Yurin, excited, immediately ran to Johann and knelt down.

“Hurry, hurry!”

Johann, who had never seen such bright and eager eyes since meeting Yurin, felt a bit awkward.

He cleared his throat and began.

“Ahem! Mana is the source of all things and exists everywhere in the world.”

“Mm-hmm!”

“Furthermore, only when energy is imbued in the form of ordinary martial arts can it be called magical martial arts. Therefore, the foundation of magical martial arts is also mana.”

“Mm-hmm!”

“...Do you understand what I'm saying and nodding your head?”

“Yes!”

Yurin nodded enthusiastically.

Seeing Yurin listening so intently, Johann became a bit curious.

‘Just how much talent does this kid have for mana?’

The rank of a soul that could summon a divine body.

A body with perfect symmetry.

Yurin's talents in both soul and body exceeded Johann's imagination.

If he also had exceptional talent in mana?

No, even if his talent in mana was just above average...

‘His growth rate might be much faster than I thought.’

Johann, swallowing slightly, began to speak.

“Then I'll start now. Sit in a comfortable position.”

“Here?”

“Yes. Straighten your back and breathe comfortably.”

“Should I close my eyes too?”

“If it feels comfortable to you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yurin closed his eyes and sat in a meditative position.

Sigh, sigh.

Yurin's small breathing sounds continued, and over them, Johann's calm voice resonated.

“Initiating into mana begins with recognizing it. I will release mana around you now. Try to feel it. Feel the mana.”

A very few geniuses, born with an extraordinary sensitivity to mana, can feel and understand it on their own.

Such individuals instinctively accumulate mana in their bodies from a young age.

Unfortunately, Yurin was not one of them.

Currently, there was no mana in Yurin's body.

If Yurin had possessed mana, Johann would have been the first to know.

Therefore, Johann intended to use a common method to help Yurin recognize mana, assuming his talent was ordinary.

This method involved the caster increasing the density of mana around the initiate.

The lower the density at which the initiate could feel the mana, the higher their talent for it.

‘Come on, show me. What kind of talent you have.’

Johann, his eyes gleaming, released mana around Yurin.

The density of mana increased instantly.

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

‘...?!”

The mana Johann had released...

Suck.

Was being absorbed by Yurin.

And at an incredible speed.