The dry sound of wood against wood echoed across the grassy field. A circular, open space, where the wind carried the smell of living earth and cut leaves. In the center, Nora and I exchanged blows with training swords. Or rather... she struck me, and I tried not to die.
With a loud crack, I felt the impact of the wood against my abdomen. The air rushed out of my lungs as if it had been sucked into a vacuum. He falls back onto the grass, panting, his entire body throbbing.
"You're doing very well, my lord. For your first day, it was admirable."
Nora's voice was firm but sincere. There was nothing ironic about it. I wondered how many acolytes had collapsed from exhaustion under her cold gaze. Maybe I had gotten lucky.
As I tried to catch my breath, Niryn approached me with the same serenity as always. She knelt down beside me and began to wipe the sweat from my face with a cool, slightly damp cloth. Her presence was strangely comforting.
"Do you think I have the talent to learn quickly?" I asked between gasps.
"Yes, master. You have no technique or experience yet, but you have instinct. And instinct is essential. Yours is... remarkably keen."
I nodded slowly, still lying down. Every time Nora attacked, something inside me tightened, as if I sensed the pain before it arrived. It was almost like a seventh sense.
This is the Node... it has to be. This sense of impending danger, this automatic response... This is good. It can save me many times.
I took a deep breath, trying to regain control of my body. My muscles ached, but there was a strange kind of satisfaction in it. The pain told me I was alive.
I stood up with some effort, handed the wooden sword to Nora, and faced Niryn.
"Okay. I'm ready for class sis."
She smiled slightly. It was a restrained gesture, almost imperceptible. But there was something of pride in it.
"Then let us begin, master."
She rose with silent grace, her robes sweeping softly over the grass. Nora walked away, silent as a satisfied sentinel. I followed Niryn, feeling a new kind of anxiety wash over me. It wasn't fear. It was… anticipation.
Earlier, Niryn had said that her gift was mana control. Nora nodded curtly. If one was my trainer in combat, the other would be my mentor in manipulating the essence of the world.
And if I wanted to survive in that damned cave or this world... I would need both skills.
Niryn led me to a discreet room off one of the lower corridors. He opened the door with both hands, and as soon as I walked in, I felt the difference.
The air there was... different. Lighter. Purer. Breathing became easier, as if each breath washed away the tiredness from the body. There was something subtle but undeniable: a strange peace.
"This place is designed to draw in ambient mana and stabilize it," Niryn said, stepping in after me. "It calms the body and mind, which is essential to working with mana. Without concentration…you could injure yourself. Or worse, corrupt yourself."
I nodded slightly. The walls were covered in simple runes, carved around pots where small plants grew, alive even without direct sunlight. The floor was covered in short, soft grass, as if the temple wanted to imitate a sacred field.
Niryn sat in the center of the room with the precision of a ritualist. I sat in front of him.
"As you know, because of the fusion with the Node, your body is already at Rank 0," she began patiently. "Which means you are unconsciously absorbing mana. Your body is already being shaped by the energy."
He paused, watching my expression.
"Now, I'm going to teach you how to do this consciously. This will accelerate your growth."
She pulled a small book from beneath her cloak and handed it to me. The volume was thin, bound in dark cloth with worn edges. The cover read:
|Mana Absorption Technique - Rank 0|
I looked up at Niryn. She answered calmly:
"This book has the basics. If you have trouble, I'm here. When you're ready to try, let me know."
I nodded and opened the book. The first few lines were simple:
Mana is omnipresent . It is in all things: in the air, in stones, in plants, in living creatures. To come into contact with it is to begin the path of ascension . The conscious absorption of mana is the first step.
I continued reading.
To absorb mana, you must first silence your mind. Your breathing must become rhythmic. Your body must be relaxed. Over time, you will feel a slight chill and tingling in your extremities. This is the entry of mana into the meridians. Allow it to flow.
The text explained how to direct mana to the " vital center "—a point just below the navel where the mana core would eventually form. It also outlined simple flow routes, called primary pathways.
Avoid distractions. If there is too much internal noise, mana may circulate incorrectly. And if it is pulled with excessive force, it may injure the body or cause rupture in the mana channels.
I read for about an hour. The book was not complicated, but it was detailed. It required attention.
Every now and then, I would ask Niryn questions. And she would always answer patiently, explaining with examples or gentle gestures.
The information in this book is basic but will be my basis for everything.
And I need to build a solid foundation to survive as long as possible.
"Okay, Niryn. I'm ready. We can begin."
She smiled softly—the kind of smile that came not just from her mouth, but from her eyes, from her gestures, as if her entire soul breathed relief and purpose. Her voice was low, almost reverent:
"Good, master. I'm going to infuse some mana into your body. This will help you feel the flow for the first time. Once you can recognize the sensation on your own, you can start pulling it yourself. Alright?"
I nodded and settled myself on the grass, crossing my legs, trying to relax my shoulders and jaw, but I still felt an involuntary tension, as if something inside me was resisting what was coming next.
She knelt behind me and placed both hands on my back. A cold heat—if that makes sense—ran down my spine. The energy flowed with a blue-white hue, like a glowing liquid mist that dripped from her palms into my skin. At first, it was just a tingling. Then, a cold and gentle current began to spread through my veins as if pure water was running inside me.
Is that it... is that sis?
I closed my eyes. I focused entirely on that feeling. It wasn't like a muscle or a bone, it had no concrete form, but still... it was there. It flowed. It was pulsating.
After a few minutes, Niryn's hands moved away. The mana's presence in my body began to fade, but a spark remained. Something faint, like the trail left by a candle that has just been extinguished.
I grabbed it with my mind. Slowly. Like someone learning to move a finger after a long sleep.
There... I can feel it... pulling...
And then, the unexpected happened.
The Node , dormant within me like a forgotten seed, shuddered. Not with pain or violence—but with an organic awakening. As if it had sensed something familiar and opened its eyes for the first time in ages. An internal heat, unlike ordinary mana, began to spread through my body, along with an instinctive contraction that pulled mana from the environment around me with an unstoppable voracity.
The Nodule expanded.
It didn't grow like a tumor, but like roots that plunge into the earth in search of depth, sustenance, and space. At no point did I feel pain—just a constant discomfort, like putting on clothes that didn't yet fit my body.
And then, he began to devour .
The mana in the air disappeared like mist in the sun. Niryn gasped behind me, as if the air had grown thicker. I could feel the mana rushing in, forced, pushed into me like a dammed river. But the strangest thing was what came next.
My skin… grew thicker. Then my muscles tightened, as if tightened from within. Then my tendons. Cartilage. Bones. Heart. Lungs. Liver. Brain. It wasn't just strengthening—it was refining. As if my body were being reshaped from within.
And after the flesh... the mind.
As if the fog that had always covered my thoughts began to dissipate, revealing clear contours that I had never known were there. I saw connections. Logical ones. I felt more. I understood more.
And then... I felt her.
My soul.
Something that had never been under my control. Something that was beyond flesh, beyond reason, beyond breath. It pulsed faintly—like a spark—but with the influx of mana, it took shape. Bright. Firm.
It was like that for three hours.
And when I opened my eyes, my forehead was sweaty. My hands were shaking. But I knew— I knew —that something had changed. Something profound. I looked at Niryn.
She was kneeling on the grass, her face pressed to the ground, trembling. She was mumbling incoherent sentences.
"The Node... I felt... I felt the presence of the Node..."
It was as if she had glimpsed a god. Or an ancient nightmare. And in a way, maybe both.
And then, there, deep in my abdomen, a spot below my navel, I felt it: firm, warm, pulsing with mana. Like an embryonic star. My core .
I had surpassed Rank 0.
I was now at Rank 1: Awakened .