ICETF 14🌻

Chapter 14…

 Mana (3)

Mol-ah

It wasn’t a state one could enter simply by having high concentration.

It was a state of forgetting even oneself and observing one’s own existence from an objective perspective.

If one could freely manipulate Mol-ah, they could enter the realm of mental imagery.

Through imagination, it would even be possible to train beyond spatial constraints.

“And if that reaches mastery and the Spirit Vein opens, you’d be able to manifest your mental imagery in the real world.”

This was one path among the many ways to manifest a Huashin (Avatar).

Of course, if it were easy, the world would already be overflowing with masters.

Even if one somehow reached the stage of Mol-ah, it would take a long time and grueling training to learn how to control it deliberately.

“Of course, even if I taught them the way to enter Mol-ah, most idiots still wouldn’t manage it.”

But Yuri was different.

Even without anyone teaching him, he had found his own way and fallen into Mol-ah.

Even if it wasn’t deep Mol-ah, entering it on his own was no simple feat.

“What kind of kid is this?”

At only seven years old, he had awakened his Huashin.

A body so unnaturally symmetrical it seemed bizarre.

And, without being taught, he had discovered Mol-ah on his own.

The more one came to know Yuri, the more it seemed as though he had been born to master martial arts.

Which made it all the more tragic.

“Heaven stole the one talent that really mattered. Tch.”

If his talent for sensing mana had even been ordinary, he could have become the next Sword Master.

That regret lingered again and again.

Yohan quietly supported him, continuing to guide Yuri’s mana.

Hoping the boy would soon jump up and shout that he had succeeded in sensing it.

But contrary to Yohan’s hope, Yuri remained silent.

Time passed.

One day, two days, three, four.

By the 25th day of the passenger ship’s voyage, the storm that had lasted so long vanished like a mirage as the four-week schedule neared its end.

Though the voyage now sailed smoothly, Yuri still couldn’t grasp mana.

“I have no idea. What is mana?”

Even when he tried to erase his senses and feel it, there was no real impression.

“What’s the problem?”

Yohan had said that while he couldn’t feel mana himself, his body was still receiving it—even without him intending to.

“Then shouldn’t I at least feel something?”

Yet Yuri felt nothing.

As he wrestled with his frustration, Yohan’s voice drifted over.

“Let’s stop.”

“Stop? No way! I can still do more.”

“Kid, who said stop? I just mean take a break. Do you know what you look like right now? One poke and you’re gone. Tch.”

Ever since he first entered Mol-ah, Yuri had consistently stayed in the state, not by luck but by will.

Maintaining Mol-ah for long periods drained considerable mental energy, and Yuri was visibly exhausted.

“Eat something, rest a bit, and clear your mind. Concentration is good, but overdoing it is worse than moderate effort. Go get some fresh air.”

“…Finally taking care of me?”

“Haha, even when I care, you complain.”

“Alright. I’m hungry anyway. I should eat something.”

Muttering this, Yuri stood.

As he swayed from dizziness and reached for the wall,

Thud—

“Ah!”

He let out a shout, as if he had realized something.

“Hungry? An empty stomach?”

Yuri’s eyes sparkled.

“Right. If I empty myself… I just need to empty myself, right?”

If he couldn’t sense what already existed, he could erase it.

If the mana around him was zero,

and he could perceive the difference between when it was present and absent—

“If that works, I might get a sense of what mana actually is!”

Yuri hurried back to Yohan.

“What is it?”

Yohan frowned at the sudden action.

Yuri explained what he had realized.

Yohan nodded.

“Oh? That’s actually… makes sense.”

“Right? That’s it?!”

“I think there’s a place where they train like that to heighten mana sensitivity.”

“…You only remembered that now?”

“Why should I remember? I didn’t know what it felt like to not sense mana. That kind of training is for those with poor sensitivity.”

“……”

“My sensitivity was already close to perfect without that crude training. Ahem.”

“…Annoying.”

A master’s talent was never ordinary.

So Yohan had never deeply considered how someone should train if they couldn’t feel mana.

Though Yohan was clearly a master himself…

“Hmm… Teaching someone is trickier than I thought.”

He was extremely talented at learning and practicing, but in teaching others, he was still a beginner.

He could teach martial arts better than anyone, but in other areas, he lacked subtlety.

“Ah, filling in the gaps while teaching… that’s true.”

Yohan smiled awkwardly to himself and spoke.

“Shall we start right away?”

“Of course!”

Yuri quickly sat properly.

His heart thumped lightly.

“If this works… it might be possible.”

No, it had to be possible.

Determined, Yuri closed his eyes and began to focus.

Seeing this, Yohan moved mana.

Not by spreading it around Yuri as usual, but by absorbing it from his surroundings to lower its density.

“No need to lower it gradually.”

Extreme change is easier to perceive.

With that, Yohan sucked the mana around Yuri at once.

In an instant, the area around Yuri became a vacuum of mana.

And then—

“Gah?!”

Yuri’s face went pale in shock.

“Ughk!”

He clutched his throat, gasping for air.

Seeing this, Yohan hurriedly restored the mana.

“What happened?!”

“Ughk!”

Yuri couldn’t breathe.

When Yohan lightly pressed on his chest and back, he finally inhaled sharply.

Thirty seconds later, Yuri had recovered and glared angrily.

“Are you insane?!”

“……?”

“I said to remove mana, not to stop me from breathing! Are you trying to kill me?”

“What are you talking about? When did I—”

“Just now!”

Yohan’s face froze as he realized something.

“Again… let’s try once more.”

“This time, do it right! Don’t mess with me!”

Ignoring Yohan’s reply, Yuri settled into proper posture.

Yohan watched silently.

“No way…”

Seeing Yuri enter Mol-ah, he reached out his hand.

Unlike before, he controlled the mana gradually this time.

The density around Yuri lowered slowly.

Almost immediately, Yuri’s face twitched.

“Already noticed?!”

Yohan’s eyes widened.

He increased the rate of absorption gradually.

Yuri’s expression shifted constantly, showing irritation and frustration.

Yohan could now be certain:

“As expected… he wasn’t unable to sense mana!”

Simultaneously, astonishment spread across his face.

“He’s always been sensing it?!”

Yuri had always sensed it so naturally he didn’t even realize it.

Like breathing air.

Only when the air disappears do we notice it; only when mana vanished did Yuri become aware.

Realizing this, Yohan was shocked.

“This kid… how long has he been sensing mana?!”

From what age had he been aware of mana without even knowing it was mana?

“Probably since the moment he could even think deliberately.”

If that were true, Yuri’s mana sensitivity was beyond imagination.

Yet Yohan had a lingering question:

“But with sensitivity like that, shouldn’t he have noticed when mana density increased?”

Even untrained, Yuri should have sensed changes in the flow of mana around him.

He reacted strongly to decreases in density but not at all to increases.

Then Yohan had a thought:

“Of course… this kid always absorbs mana whenever its density rises, doesn’t he?”

Almost as if he was controlling the density around him.

Yohan formulated a hypothesis:

“Maybe that’s why he seems unable to sense mana.”

The phenomena Yuri experienced were new even for Yohan.

Better to observe than jump to conclusions.

While Yohan reached this conclusion, Yuri was lost in thought.

“Why is this happening?”

His chest felt tight, his breath shallow.

As if the air around him was slowly disappearing.

“It’s suffocating.”

Even taking deep breaths didn’t help.

As time passed, the suffocation only intensified.

At that point, Yuri realized it wasn’t simple shortness of breath.

His eyes flashed.

He looked at Yohan’s peculiar expression and asked seriously,

“Could it be…?”

“Yes, you’re thinking correctly.”

“This… is mana? This suffocating feeling?”

“That suffocation isn’t exactly the mana itself…”

“……?”

Yohan explained what he had discovered.

Yuri’s face went blank after hearing it all.

“So I’ve… been sensing mana all along?”

“Yes.”

“But I still don’t know what it feels like?”

“Don’t worry. You weren’t unable to sense mana in the first place. With a little effort, you’ll awaken the sensation quickly.”

“Really?”

“You will. I guarantee that.”

Yuri brightened.

Though he didn’t show it, he had struggled silently with mana until now.

Relaxing his tense eyes, he smiled naturally for the first time in a while.

“Good! Effort is nothing! Take effort away from me, Yuri Holland, and I’m as good as dead!”

“Don’t just talk big. Enough chatter—let’s start now.”

“Alright!”

Yuri nodded and closed his eyes.

Silence returned.

Yuri focused to sense mana.

Yohan continued adjusting the flow of mana.

Not a word passed, yet both worked harder than ever.

The mana in the cabin fluctuated violently, vanishing and returning repeatedly.

At the center of this fluctuation was Yuri.

“Ah…!”

He grasped a peculiar realization.

A sensation that disappeared and reappeared in a cycle.

“This… is mana?”

It felt strangely familiar.

Yet also unfamiliar.

Like discovering a new side of a friend you’ve known every day.

“Oh, right. I don’t have friends, do I?”

Chuckling to himself, Yuri welcomed this long-lost “friend” anew.

“Anyway, nice to meet you!”

Mana responded.

As if saying, “Why are you only noticing me now?”

Whoooosh-

The mana around Yuri surged violently.