Early Years

by TurtleMe

  In this world, instead of ki, it seems to be called mana and the more surprising thing is that it exists in the atmosphere of this world. Thus, Practitioners, or Mages, would use the surrounding mana and draw it into their body and condense it in their mana core. In my old world, Earth, ki only existed and was formed inside the body. Whether ki never existed on Earth in the first place or ceased to exist because of the pollution caused by humans, we didn’t know.

  On Earth, while practice was incredibly important, your innate ki center size was extremely important because of the limited amount of ki you have in your body is all that you can work with, does that mean one’s innate mana core size doesn’t matter as much because of the available mana in the atmosphere?

  The bigger the cup, the more you can hold right?

  While in my old world, even though my ki center wasn’t that large, I was considered a prodigy at channeling and utilizing my ki effectively to make up for my not so big ki center. With the way I utilized every bit of my ki, I was able to become the strongest of the elite division of Duelists, earning the right to become King.

  Now, if I can still practice the ways ki practitioners use their ki, but do it with mana that is both innate inside the mana core and in the surrounding atmosphere, can’t I essentially double? No triple the strength that I had before?

  The book that I next managed to pull from the bottom shelf, explained a couple of questions for me.

  “Beginner’s Guide for the Privileged Mages”

  “While the power to control mana is largely genetic, there are many cases where children of Magi come out as unable to sense the mana around them. A recent census shows that roughly 1 in a 100 children are able to sense mana but can only be tested to show the extent when the mana core first completely develops, which can be anywhere from early adolescence to late teen years. It is apparent when Magi first awaken by the initial repellence of the surrounding mana around them when the mana core first forms. This results in a translucent barrier formed around the awakened that lasts a couple of minutes.”

  Flipping through the pages, I find something that catches my attention.

  “…Mana can be used in a couple of ways. The two most common methods of utilizing mana comes through enhancing of the body through mana use (Augmenter), and emission of mana to the outside world (Conjurer)…”

  “…. Augmenters are most commonly seen among warriors, utilizing mana and channeling it around their body to strengthen their body and attacks.”

  “… The practice of Conjuring is seen in Mages, who, after utilizing their mana, can cast spells to give it a certain effect on the surrounding area or directly on the target.”

  Weaknesses and Limitation

  “While Augmenters can possess incredible strength, defense and agility, their weakness lies in their limited range…”

  “Conjurers possess unfathomable powers, being able to bend their surroundings at will. However, such powers come with limits. Unlike Enhancers who utilize most of the mana used from their own mana core, Conjurers need to borrow mana from the outside world in addition to their own mana core to exert mana into the surrounding in a form of a spell.”

  “While both types of Mages, or Mana Manipulators for the more scientifically accurate term, depend on and is categorized by their mana core, Augmenters and Conjurers also have different ways of measuring their aptitude.”

  “flip”

  “An Augmenter’s prowess or talent is measured by the power of mana channels in their body, which measures the speed and efficiency in exerting their mana from their mana core into various parts of the body...”

  “…A Conjurer’s power and talent, comparatively, is measured by the power of their mana veins, which indicates the speed and effectiveness of absorbing mana from the outside world to cast a spell.”

  “flip”

  “…Mages (Mana Manipulators) are typically categorized into one of these two divisions since attempting to be proficient in both is incredibly time consuming and inefficient. Most are born with a skewed difference in their mana channels and mana veins…”

  “…Augmenters do not need very strong mana veins because they mostly utilize the mana from their core, while Conjurers do not need very powerful mana channels because they do not spread their mana into their own body.”

  Hmm… So my idiot father seems to be a competent Augmenter and a less than average Conjurer.

  That healing light though… What was my mother?

  “flip, flip, flip”

  AHA!

  “There are a few, rare deviants. While there are still some undiscovered, ones that are highly sought after are the Emitters, more commonly known as healers. Healers possess the rare ability to cast their unique restorative mana unto others, directly, recovering injuries and impairments.”

  Wow… mother is the best.

  Fundamentals of Conjuring

  “The proper steps for utilizing the mana for Conjurers is to gather the surrounding mana in the area, drawing it into your body, then, after circulating it into your mana core to stabilize and purify the atmosphere’s diluted mana, you channel it into an appropriate conductor (a staff, wand, ring, of some sort) with the incantations as a mental controller for your will into shaping the mana to whatever spell you want…”

  “flip”

  “…The more powerful the spell, the longer it takes to draw in from the surrounding mana, store it in your mana core where it condenses and purifies it, and finally channel and release…”

  “flip”

  “Because Conjuring involves exerting focused mana into a particular spell, Conjurers will notice that they have a special aptitude of certain elements (Air, Water, Fire, Earth). But with proper training, can become adequate in the basics of all elements.

  “flip, flip”

  Fundamentals of Augmenting

  “Unlike Conjuring, much less time can be spent gathering the surrounding mana. Efficient use of Augmenting requires speed and precision in the use of the mana from your core and less from the mana in the atmosphere..”

  This is where it clicked…. Augmenting was very close to using your ki except you can also draw mana in from your surroundings. The reason why there weren’t any kinds of conjurers in my old world of Earth was because there was no mana in the atmosphere to draw in and create a phenomenon.

  My gaze tensed as I read on.

  “…Augmenting requires proper distribution of mana into different parts of the body depending on how the user sees fit. While it seems simple at first glance, Augmenting requires much insight into the individual’s own body. Being able to utilize the mana channels efficiently requires years of both mental and physical practice.”

  “flip”

  “Because Augmenting involves extracting the user’s mana core, the purest form of mana, there are no highly notable distinctions in an elemental sense. However, Augmenters are able to control their mana more freely, resulting in vastly different forms of fighting through Augmentation.”

  “flip”

  “The phenomenon called ‘Backlash’ occurs in both types of practitioners. For Augmenters, it occurs from depletion of the mana core, causing extreme bodily pains depending on how strenuous the damage to the mana core is. For Conjurers, backlash occurs from overfilling of the mana core. This is caused by overuse of spells beyond the practitioner’s capacity or using a spell too powerful for his or her mana core to handle.”

  Closing the book, I propped myself up to my butt, digesting the overload of information that I just read.

  Because of the uncanny similarities between the ki center from my old world and the mana core in this world, I found it hard to believe that you needed to be a young adolescent to manipulate mana. In my old world, children started meditating and sensing their own ki scattered inside their body. Once the ki migrates into a single place, the ki center forms.

  Testing my hypothesis, I began meditating, trying to sense the mana in my 7 month old body when…

 
“There you are! Art honey, are you having trouble taking a poopy?”

  Mother! I’m about to begin my journey to become the greatest Mage in this world! Do not make me out to be a constipated infant!

  Picking me up and gently placing me in her arms, I was forcibly taken away to have my diapers changed, which, surprisingly, were full by the time I noticed.

  Chapter 3: Head Start

  ALICE LEYWIN’S POV:

  Arthur has to be the most adorable baby, and I’m not saying this as a doting mother.

  No.

  Him and his scruffy little patch of glowing auburn hair and playful eyes that almost radiate a blue light, while his gaze, at times, seem almost... intelligent.

  No no, I told you, I’m not a doting mother. I plan to be a strict and just mother. I can’t rely on my husband to teach little Art any common sense. For God’s sake, he tried to teach my baby how to fight when he can now barely crawl.

  I know this little rascal will turn out just like his father if I leave him be. As soon as he started crawling, I was so proud I was on the verge of shedding tears, but I didn’t know how much of a handful he’d be as soon as he became mobile.

  I swear, there’s not a single moment where I can take my eyes off of him before he crawls into the study room. How weird. We made sure to buy him lots of stuffed animals and wooden toys to play with but he always ends up going back to study room. THAT, at least was directly opposite of his father, seeing how Reynolds almost gravitates away from texts longer than the weekly newspaper.

  Looking at how excited he gets when we go out to town, I’ve decided to go shopping for food once every other day instead of twice a week.

  No no, I told you, I’m not a doting mother. This is for his education of the outside world and for fresh food in the house. Yeah haha...that’s it.

  My son seems to be interested in a lot of things. I can’t get enough of his head that seems so disproportional to his little body turning left and right, trying to take in everything around him. He seems particularly intrigued by his father’s practices.

  Reynolds was a pretty competent adventurer back in the days. Being a B class at the age of 28 is actually pretty fast. Becoming even an E class, the lowest rank, required taking a test so we don’t send eager but ignorant adolescents to their deaths. As for the higher ranks, I’ve only seen a couple of A class adventurers in my years of working there and I’ve yet to see a S class adventurer, assuming that they actually exist.

  Working at the Adventurer Guild, or what we just called Guild Hall, back then in Valden, I got to see too many eager teens. I swear, I was surprised they didn’t float off from their ego inflating their heads.

  At least they were ambitious.

  One time, I was assigned to proctor a basic practical exam where the examinee just had to demonstrate fundamental competency in their mana manipulation, but before even the test began, the kid crashed straight on his back because the sword he was carrying was too heavy for him.

  Talking about airheads, Reynolds back then sure came off as one. The moment he saw me in the Guild Hall, his jaw literally dropped and he just stood there until the guy behind him in line elbowed him to hurry up. He wiped his drool and managed to mumble a “... h.. hi… can I trade in th...the stuff for the mission?” I just giggled as he turned beet red from embarrassment.

  He managed to gather up the courage to ask me out for dinner and we just hit it off from there. Even now, I can’t help but smile when I see his droopy blue puppy eyes looking at me.

  Art somehow wound up with both our redeeming traits, making him that much more adorable. You should see him when I have to change his diapers. I don’t know why, but he starts turning red in his cheeks and he covers his face with his tiny little fingers.

  Can babies his age even get embarrassed?

  The next landmark that made it to my baby journal, which is purely for educational purposes by the way and not because I am a doting mother, was when he first said mama.

  HE SAID MAMA!

  I told him to say “mama” again and again just to make sure I didn’t hear wrong. Reynolds sulked for the day because Art said “mama” before “dada.”

  Haha, I won!

  The rest of the year went by pleasantly with my son sticking by me wherever I went and oftentimes looking out the window to see his father practice after dinner. I’m glad Reynolds gave up being an adventurer and took a post as a guard nearby for our town. Being an adventurer may bring more money but not knowing when or rather if my husband comes home is not worth any amount of extra money.

  To our relief, Little Art never got sick, but oftentimes, I would find him sitting still on his butt while closing his eyes. At first, I thought he was having trouble relieving himself but after checking the first couple of times, that didn’t seem to be the case.

  How strange, I didn’t know how to really make it out. I thought babies his age were supposed to be energetic but after his episodes of escaping to the study room, he seems spend a lot of time sitting still, almost meditating.

  I was worried at first but although it happens a couple times a day, it only lasts for a couple of minutes and Art seems strangely happy afterwards. The way he holds his arms up and looks up at me makes me just want to gobble him up.

  *Ahem* Not a doting mother.

  ARTHUR LEYWIN'S POV:

  About two years has passed since I made my difficult journey to the study room.

  Since then, I’ve been constantly trying to gather the little bits of mana spread out in my body and focus it to try and form a mana core. Let me tell you, it is a slow and arduous task. I would find myself having an easier time trying to learn how to walk on my hands and eat with my feet in this damnable body than trying to will my mana together.

  I can see why the book says that it’ll take until at least the adolescent age for a person to ‘awaken.’ If I let the mana particles in my body move by themselves, it’ll take at least a decade for them to gravitate towards each other to form anything remotely close to a mana core.

  Instead… A perk in having the mental capacity of an adult means I have the cognitive ability to consciously will my mana particles together. This was something I did as a child in my past life, where they teach you from youth in schools to learn how to control ki. Essentially, it’s being able to sense the ki, or mana now, in your own body and force them together near the solar plexus. If left alone, the particles will eventually slowly float towards each other anyway, but I’m just grabbing the feathers and shoving it down to the ground instead of waiting for them to float down by themselves, figuratively speaking of course.

  Daily rituals consisted of trying to spend as much of my limited energy into gathering my mana while avoiding suspicion from my mother and father. My father seemed to think that throwing a child into the air would be quite enjoyable. While I understand there is a kind of adrenaline effect that may excite some people, when mana is used to reinforce his arms, and I am thrown into the air like a high-speed projectile, the only feeling I get is nausea and a traumatic fear of heights.

  Fortunately, my mother has a pretty firm handle on my father, but my mother scares me as well sometimes. I oftentimes catch her staring at me, half drooling, looking at me like I’m some kind of premium meat.

  I tried to adapt myself to my body by only talking in very simple sentences. After I first said “mama” to let her know I wanted more food, she almost burst into tears of joy. It’s been a long time since I received this sort of motherly affection. Since then, I limited myself to just trying to talk enough to get the point across, no grammar necessary.

  Besides that, the pace of my training was strenuous and slow, but I was getting a pretty big head start from everybody so I wasn’t complaining.

  I was in the middle of gathering the mana particles. These past two years, have not gone to waste for I finally gathered all of my mana into my solar plexus and was in the middle of condensing it into a mana core when… BOOM!

  Chapter 4: My
Life Now

  REYNOLDS LEYWIN’S POV:

  My baby boy!

  I was so happy we had a son. When can babies start training? When did I start training again? Man, I can’t wait to teach my baby boy all about magic. I hope he turns out to be an Augmenter like his old pops. I may know the basics of Conjuring, but I can’t do anything practical with it except use it as a form of mental exercise.

  Alice, on the other hand, is one of the most talented people I’ve ever seen. Even as an Emitter, she’s exceptional. Back then, after she agreed to date me, she joined my party and we went on missions together. Her restorative powers were amazing in it of itself, but what shocked me the most was when she used an area of effect spell which healed allies inside. Talk about one of a kind! And I’m her husband!