CHAPTER 22: MANA GATHERING

Chapter 22: Mana Gathering.

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The room, still filled with the lingering scent of burnt wood from the training dummy, grew quiet as Instructor Bale walked to the center. His gaze swept over the students, a stern but focused look in his eyes. He had their attention now. The display of Phoenix Flames had been more than just a demonstration; it had been a wake-up call, a blunt reminder of the power they were meant to wield.

"Today, we move on to the foundation of all magical and martial arts," he announced, his voice carrying clearly to every corner of the spacious hall. "Mana gathering."

He then took a mediation posture and began to steady his breathing, what followed was a soft, ethereal blue light beginning to spiral into his body. It wasn’t a sudden burst, but a gentle, steady spiral of energy that flowed from the outer area to him.

The light intensified, the blue deepening into a rich sapphire hue. The air grew still, and the temperature in the room dropped slightly, replaced by an invigorating coolness. He knelt there for a few moments, the aura swirling around him, a show of his control.

Then, his eyes, which had been closed, snapped open. A massive wave of mana burst forth from him, an intangible force that made everyone in the room feel a sudden, intense chill down their spines.

Gasps and shivers rippled through the students as they instinctively recoiled from the sheer power. It was like standing in front of a raging waterfall, feeling the spray and the immense force of the water without being touched by it.

"This is the mana of a Spirit Refiner," Instructor Bale said. ’Spirit Refinement’ was a stage of cultivation so advanced it was almost mythical to many, a level of power most people would never even dream of reaching.

He let the aura fade, the blue light dissolving back into his body until he looked normal again. The students let out a collective breath they hadn’t realized they were holding. The air returned to its normal temperature, but the memory of the immense mana remained.

"Mana gathering is the cornerstone of your journey," he began to explain, his tone now a serious lecture rather than a display of power. "It’s the process of drawing in the ambient mana around you and refining it within your body. This is a continuous process, a discipline you must practice every single day. The mana you gather is the fuel for everything you will do here. It is what allows for Core Formation—the accumulation and condensing of mana within your body to create a core. This core is your reservoir, your wellspring of power, which you can later use to perform complex sword arts and cast powerful spells."

He paused, letting the information sink in. The faces of the students were a mix of awe and a dawning realization of the work ahead.

"However," he continued, "your ability to wield certain techniques and spells isn’t only dependent on your cultivation but sometimes in your elemental affinity."

He walked over to a table and picked up a device—an intricate tablet with an extremely wide screen and a place at the side designed for the placing of hands.

"This device measures your elemental affinity, which is determined by your bloodline," he said, holding the tablet. "For those of you from noble houses, your affinity is likely already known. But for many of you whose families don’t practice magic or swordsmanship, this will be your first time knowing your affinity."

He gestured to the students to come close, mostly those who were not from noble houses did. "Line up and we’ll have you all checked."

As the students began to form a line, a thought ran through Arios mind. Arios knew his last name—Pureheart—was that of a noble house, but he had never bothered to learn to check his elemental affinity.

He had been occupied with many things from just literally transmigrating to another world, to gearing up Greg for the combat aspect of the upcoming test and, of course to fucking Liza hard.

The original Arios in the series was a side character who didn’t play a significant role, so this information wasn’t in the plot. He actually never thought he would get something powerful, something that would obviously befitting of a main character.

Suddenly, a series of notifications popped up in Arios’s vision, a familiar system message.

[Initializing your affinity.]

[Detecting Pureheart bloodline.]

[Affinity: EAR | WND.]

Fucking fuck, I literally got one of the worst pairs

That means my secondary attack would be Sandstorm

He stared at the words. Earth and Wind. Earth as his active element, and Wind as his dormant. His secondary element was Sandstorm.

This feels so useless, fire and wind would be nice, would had love to wrap myself in lighting.

No need complaining, have to make the best of it

Arios stood there, lost in his own thoughts, as the other students began to get their affinities checked. A student in the front of the line placed his hand on the tablet side. It screen began to analyze the various DNA composition it could gather from it.

ANALYZING HAND

BLOODLINE DETERMINED

LOADING AFFINITY PAIR....

LOADING ACTIVE ELEMENT...

WATER

LOADING DORMANT ELEMENT....

FIRE

"Water and Fire," Instructor Bale announced. "A good pairing. Your secondary element will be Steam."

The student’s face lit up with a proud grin. Another student stepped up. The tablet analyzed again. "Fire and Earth. Magma." A murmur of awe went through the crowd.

The process continued, each new affinity eliciting a new reaction. The students who knew their affinities stood aside, a silent show of their status. I noticed Javier and Elisa among them, their names and affinities already common knowledge in the academy.

But for Kyousuke, He was a commoner, a loose background inserted into the plot simply to sweeten it. Based on the anime, his innate skills aren’t even close to what a commoner should have; in fact, they’re greater than those of the greatest nobles."

He placed his hands and got Fire and Wind, giving him the secondary element of Lightning— a perfect match for a protagonist. Elisa didn’t place her hands but Arios knew her’s was just Water, giving her all the secondary elements paired with water— Ice, Steam and Mud. That was the extent of the Ravencroft bloodline.

"Instructor Bale, what do the pairs mean?" a girl from the back of the line asked, her voice timid. She was a commoner, and her ignorance on the matter was understandable.

Instructor Bale nodded, a patient look on his face. "A good question," he said. He walked over to a whiteboard and picked up a marker. "For those of you who aren’t familiar with magic, let me explain."

He began to draw on the board. "Your elemental affinity pair consists of two of the four primary elements: Fire (FRE), Earth (EAR), Water (WAT), and Wind (WND). The first element in your pair is your active element. This is the element you can directly use to form elemental magic and study martial manuals that fall under that element."

He drew two circles on the board, one labeled FRE and the other WND.

"The second element is your dormant element. This element can only be used to fuse with your active element to form a secondary element. For example," he said, drawing a third circle and connecting the two. "If your elemental pair is Fire and Wind, you can form Lightning as your secondary element. If it’s Water and Fire, you get Steam. If it’s Earth and Wind like some of you, your secondary is Sandstorm."

"You can also cultivate martial manuals that follow your secondary element, but only once you have mastered your primary and dormant elements."