…

“Hmmm~ It tastes delicious.” Kael gave a compliment after taking a bite of the bread.

“Thank you, I’m flattered!”

“Where did you learn to make these?” he asked before eating another chunk of bread and sipping tea.

Tasha had a brief smile on her face while staring at that basket, her eyes closed. “I learned it from my mom. When I was little, she did these every day. Well, the ones she did use to taste better. I still don’t know how.”

“Your mom? Thought you were a slave.” Commented Vyra who ate while flipping the page of a book.

“Yes. I was born one… I’d rather not talk too much about it.” Tasha turned her head, grabbed a small piece of bread, and walked away. She sat at a nearby table, eating alone.

“Rough life it must be. Should I—?” Kael inquired.

“No, leave her alone. If you can’t offer true help, it’s better to stay quiet,” Vyra said, flipping another page.

“Okay. I don’t know much about this world still, but it must be pretty rough from what I’ve heard so far.” He murmured.

“It is not that I have great experience with the struggles of the common folk.”

“Did you have an easy time?” he asked with a smirk.

“No. My struggles came from the high expectations of the great magic academies. Life there is different. It can be even more cruel if you don’t adapt,” Vyra spoke and then closed the book. “But we don’t have time to cry about the past.”

She stood up and went outside. “You two, follow me.”

The newcomers understood the assignment. Kael had no time to waste. He needed to be ready in two weeks. Tasha also had to protect herself from her past masters.

They both set foot until they reached the front yard of the inn, which was covered by a tall stone wall. From outside, it seemed more like a fortress.

“Since you two are beginners, it doesn’t make sense to go to the training grounds. This should be enough,” Vyra spoke, raising her fingers. “So since I didn’t explain this to Tasha, I’m going to explain it again. Kael, pay attention, you too.”

… … …

… …

…

After half an hour, Vyra introduced the same concept of mana to Tasha that she had to Kael.

Wait, so now she’s going to kiss Tasha too?

He kept looking between the two girls, expecting them to act. Then, she raised her hands, and a gas escaped from her body.

“Ahhhh— So you have it. Just as I expected,” Vyra commented while glancing at Tasha.

“What does that mean? Isn’t she new to it?” Kael looked perplexed, with his eyebrows raised.

“I don’t know, some time after I got here I simply noticed that. But I didn’t know what to do with it,” Tasha replied, staring at her hands.

“Good, that speeds up the process. Kael, you’d better get ready too.”

Isn’t she impressed? What could possibly have triggered that?

“Is something on your mind, Kael?”

“Nothing.”

“So, you had better start now.”

…

The first step was to maintain the mana within their own bodies.

Like yesterday, Kael struggled to keep his mana from leaking out. He glanced over at Tasha, wondering if she was faring any better. All he could see, however, was her closed eyes and her face set in concentration.

He didn’t want to fall behind. So, he closed his eyes again, took a deep breath, and focused on feeling his heart as the core of that energy.

But he couldn’t maintain the energy that leaked from his body.

If simply containing it inside me isn’t possible, what can I do? If I don’t find a way to hold it inside me, I won’t be able to train…

Thinking about whether the Mana is seeking to leak from my body. It perhaps is seeking movement, or an outlet – seeking motion.

Thinking of those specific words, Kael. Instead of letting him keep his Mana compressed as far away from his skin as possible. He found another solution, one that required the art of Convey.

If convey is what improves the control of the Mana, it means to manage it I have to rotate it. Oh, like blood? Perhaps that’s why the core is also close to the heart. Or maybe? Neuron systems.

I send my mana across my body, and then pull it back to the core while releasing it to another place. That might work!

With that in mind Kael. Fluctuated his mana to the edges of his body, and before it leaked, he pulled it back to the core in a circular motion.

This feels good. I have never felt so much energy in my body before. I still feel that I have room for improvement; not only that, but some of the mana inside me is leaking from my body. But that should do.

“thump.”

After hearing the sound of someone falling onto the floor, he opened his eyes and saw Tasha’s unconscious body lying there.

“Hey Tasha! Are you okay?” He rushed over to her to check if she was still alive; he noticed that her breathing was fine.

“She’s fine. She did the same thing you did yesterday! Just let her rest.”

Vyra replied, shrugging her shoulders.

“And why didn’t you tell her about it? If you know the answers, why not explain that?” inquired Kael while holding the unconscious girl in his arms.

“Because eventually, you will reach a point where Mana will answer to you specifically.” She responded. “If I teach you the basics, which are easy to understand, you may struggle when things get tough.”

“I suppose that makes sense. But don’t you want us to train faster?”

“No. Only you are required to improve faster. She can take her time and rest, and even if you passed out, I would wake you up with mana.”

“And why not say the same to her?”

“Because I know your body responds well to my mana, I don’t know if her body will do the same. So it’s better not to take the risk.”

“Wait a moment.”

Kael held Tasha in his arms and walked inside the tavern, moving up the stairs. In that, he noticed something unusual. She was really light, like carrying a schoolbag; it wasn’t too difficult for him to connect the dots.

Wait, is this the mana influencing my body?! It feels amazing; it feels so easy to move. It’s almost as if gravity has no effect on my body.

He placed her on one of the beds and came back running to Vyra.

Each step he took felt like taking a small jump. Along with empowerment, he sensed great comfort as well.

Once in front of the mage, he couldn’t hide his smile, with a small smirk on his face.

Vyra likewise gave him a smile. “You are now ready to take the next step in the training.”