Wesley bid Kellan farewell and made his way to the Manor. After walking through the buzzing streets for a short while, Wesley, who currently seemed to be in deep thoughts about something, couldn’t help but feel some hunger so he immediately looked around and found a small Inn and decided to get something to eat.

After walking into the Inn, Wesley sat in the corner and ordered a small meal, then he started pondering. This caused his eyes to have an odd glaze of thoughtfulness over them, and he seemed to be unaware of his surroundings as he was constantly thinking about the breathing exercises the second elder showed him.

Those breathing exercises were not profound, in fact, one could say that they were rather simple and straightforward, yet Wesley couldn’t imagine how hard it must've been to envision such a technique for the first time. Wesley himself has trained as a mage for almost six years, but not once was he able to imagine that mana could be used to strengthen and nourish his body cells.

Mana is as part of nature as air, however, it is infinitely more complex, as such both mages, swordsmen, and even normal folk have mana in their bodies, and while the stored mana in normal people's bodies is hardly ever noticed or used, mages and swordsmen rely use mana constantly, albeit in different ways. Mages use mana to manipulate their surroundings, they actively collect it and refine it, while swordsmen only passively use mana in conjunction with strengthening their bodies.

These two polar opposite methods of using the same mana leads to different results. Because mages rely on mana to be able to perform their spell, they are able to use more profound abilities however, they are entirely dependant on mana making them defenseless without it. On the other hand, swordsmen use their bodies and skills while only using mana to strengthen their bodies, this makes them more versatile, however, their techniques lack the profoundness of magic.

Even though mana is mana, and there is no difference between the mana used by a mages and swordsmen, it is still impossible for a swordsman to imagine using mana like mages, and it is impossible for mages to envision using mana like swordsmen do. The reason for this is simply because of conditioned points of view.

In the eyes of mages, mana is nothing more than a inanimate tool that enables them to manipulate the elements in their surroundings, they cast their mana outwards and only view it as something that can be used externally. While swordsmen who rely on their bodies, think of mana as something that can be used to strengthen their bodies, so they only think to used internally.

After the second elder introduced Wesley to the breathing exercises, he couldn’t help but feel some thought gnawing at him from the depths of his mind. Wesley was both a mage and a swordsman, but he was mage by nature and a swordsman by choice, so his thoughts about mana was always in line with those of mages.

Yet, now that he saw a glimpse of the other point of view, he couldn’t help but feel puzzled as to which of the two methods was the correct one. The profoundness of a mage or the independent versatility of a swordsman.

Wesley knew that not anyone can be a mage, but anyone can be a swordsman. If a mage wanted to use the mana methods of swordsman like Wesley just did, they should be able to, but a swordsman can never use mana like a mage does. However, no mage will ever bother using swordsman's methods, since their own methods are more profound and powerful.

Wesley, however, felt that this was not right. A mage does indeed have more powerful abilities compared to the simplicity of swordsmen, but the second elder's methods were also extremely profound, this means that the swordsman methods are initially weaker than mage methods, but increase in power overtime.

Two paths, two completely different methods of using the same thing, which is the correct way, which will ultimately prove to be the true way. As Wesley thought about all these things, he couldn’t help but feel some restlessness, the seemingly minor discovery that was those breathing exercises shook Wesley to his core.

Not only was his entire view on mana being only an external force changed, he also discovered that there was a completely opposite method of utilizing it that was possibly as profound. Furthermore, he couldn’t figure out which of the two methods was right. While this could be considered as pondering the size of the sun from the bottom of a well, there was one thing that made Wesley excited about his discovery; If mana can be utilized in two opposite ways, then it is safe to assume that there are other ways of utilizing it as well.

Wesley spent the next few hours sitting in that corner of the Inn while constantly pondering, Wesley was immediately awakened from his deep thoughts as he noticed that it was getting dark outside. Wesley reluctantly decided to put his pondering on hold and head home.

As he walked out of the Inn, Wesley noticed that the streets were now devoid of the masses that filled it earlier. Aside from a few store owners who were closing up and very few people like Wesley who are heading home, one couldn’t catch a whiff of the earlier liveliness of the street. Since Wesley lives in the seventh, he takes small side roads like these to head home because the main road doesn’t reach the seventh district, so most of the stores on these side roads, unlike the ones on the main road, closed as soon as the sun sets, causing the street to seem deserted.

Wesley simply shook his head and started moving towards the seventh district. As he started moving, a few more people also started moving with him. Wesley immediately noticed that these people were following him and he couldn’t help but sigh. Ever since a year ago when a government official came to see him, Wesley was watched constantly.

Wesley simply ignored them and continued his walking. After more than twenty minutes of walking, Wesley reached the Manor.

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In the blink of an eye, a month has already passed.

During this entire month, Wesley continued his attempt to decipher the mystery of mana and its uses. He cataloged the advantages and disadvantages of the two methods as well as their characteristics in his mind, he then tried to utilize mana in ways similar to those two methods.

He first tried casting his mana outwards towards random objects to try and manipulate them like a mage does the elements. Wesley Found out that one can use mana on objects to manipulate them, however, not to the extent of the elements. Wesley could make a book levitate, with some effort, but he can't change the books shape, size or form. Wesley noticed that the amount of mana needed to levitate a book was extremely high, which led him to conclude that with enough mana, one should be able to do more, only it is too wasteful so he didn't bother with it any further.

Next, Wesley thought of ways to use mana inwards. After thinking about the breathing exercises, Wesley tried mixing in mana with foods and drinks. The results of this experiment was just as disappointing as the other one. The mana that was mixed in the food is simply distilled out by the body's digestive processes by the time the nutrients reached the cells, with only small amounts reaching this far. The digestive process is simply too long to allow any substantial amounts of mana to reach the cells.

Wesley also tried numerous other methods, from saturating his surrounding with mana so that the air he breathes in is naturally mixed in with it, to trying to form mana into different shapes, to some too ridiculous to mention. Unfortunately, the results were always the same: Impractical.

Either, the mana needed is too much, or the results are too weak, so everything Wesley tried turned out to be a failure. Wesley originally knew that there was no way he would be able to emulate the two methods that were used, researched and improved for countless millennia in a single month, but that didn’t mean he should stop.

If anything, in this month of experimentation, Wesley discovered that even though his experiments were failures, he still found different ways to use mana. Mana is not only mysterious and ancient, it is also neutral, it has neither affinity, form, or physical state, yet It has so much potential.

After his experiments, Wesley came to two conclusion; first, mana has far more uses that the two main methods; and second, there has to be other people out there who know of different methods of using mana, after all, he never even knew of the existence of breathing there who know of different methods of using mana, after all, he never even knew of the existence of breathing exercises, and yet Kellan has been doing it for years.

Wesley wasn’t too discouraged by his fruitless endeavor, rather he was extremely excited by it. Wesley from a young age didn’t have too many friends or close confidants, he spent most of his time either training or reading. This caused him to become more independent as well as making him more calm and collected, however, it also caused him to enjoy mysteries and oddities.

Wesley, in order to alleviate the boredom caused by his rather gray existence, developed a taste for adventure, for the unknown, and for discovery. And now that he has found what can be considered the most mysterious force in existence, he was instantly charmed and trapped.

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Currently, Wesley was standing in the swordsmanship classroom overseeing around dozen blue-robed students as they struck training post with multitudes of different techniques. Each of the blue-robed students was wearing an armor with numerous springs at its joints, and their movements were extremely slow, almost crawl like.

Wesley simply stood facing the backs of these students with his hand clasped behind his back. On the outside, the red robed Wesley was overseeing the training of these students, but on the inside, Wesley was thinking up a storm regarding mana.

Where does mana come from, why is it able to stimulate and manipulate the elements, can it be destroyed, can it be created. Wesley's mind was buzzing with questions, in fact the more he thought about mana, the more he realized that there was very little he knew about it and the more questions that arose.

Wesley couldn’t help but sigh at how complex this seemingly small thing truly is. Most likely he would need to spend a lifetime studying It, and even then he wouldn’t be able to understand it all. However, regardless of how pointless and bleak this seemed, Wesley felt like he has found something.

Most people would spend their entire lives without finding their calling. Some even start believing that life is nothing more than a pointless existence that has no end goal. They spend their days working, eating and sleeping, so they convince themselves that life really is pointless, however, in the depths of their hearts, they feel that there is something amiss.

It is inconceivable that one is born only to die. If existence is truly pointless, then how and why must we exist. This extremely complex question arises subconsciously in everyone's life, causing them to be disillusioned by this so called 'pointless' existence.

Wesley himself has wondered about this question many times. As a prince, Wesley could spend the remainder of his life sitting on a chair without any worry or need. Yet, he always felt that there was more, there has to be, he always wanted more than simply existing.

This is why Wesley spent so much time and effort training, it gave him a sense of longing to what he might find at the end of the path, he felt like he could find something there, be it a purpose or a quick death. And now, this path which he remained on was at a crossroads. One, he could continue to walk on the beaten path and follow the footsteps of his master and countless others, or he could take this foggy and thorny road, which might not lead anywhere.

Wesley didn't even need to think about it, because perhaps this was his purpose, his calling. Of course he's going to follow it, and perhaps he'll find something. This prospect made Wesley extremely jolly, and filled him with satisfaction. Not only did he find a potential purpose to this pointless existence, he also felt that whatever was at the end of this path was simply unimaginable.

"Senior"

While Wesley was enamored in his pondering, he lost track of his surroundings. But a clear, firm voice that was brimming with respect pulled him back to reality. Wesley immediately looked over at the source of the voice, only to see a golden haired youth standing in front of him.

"Eltier, what's the matter."

This was the youth who challenged Wesley a month ago. After their spar, Eltier avoided Wesley because of pride or shame, but after a short while, he started warming up to Wesley and even started interacting with him more and more.

"Senior, can we spar a little before class ends."

This was a common occurrence nowadays for Wesley. Eltier would approach him almost daily for a spar, at which point, Wesley would try weasel out of it, but be it Eltier's insistence or the second elder's nosiness, Wesley would be pulled in.

Hearing Eltier's words, Wesley couldn’t help but curl his lips to a frown and spoke:

"Eltier, I have to oversee the other students' training. Let's do it some other time."

"But senior, I want to try out a new technique."

"Why don't we do it tomorrow."

"Haha, senior, tomorrow is the weekend, I won't be seeing you."

"Then how about....."

"Senior please, I think you'll like this technique."

Wesley couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This Eltier, although haughty and proud, was extremely hard to turn down, aside from being very insistent, he sometimes guilts Wesley to spar with him, he simply had no conscience and would resort to any means to achieve his goal. Wesley saw the potential for a horrible politician slumbering deep within him.

"Fine, show me this technique."

Eltier was immediately gladdened as he unsheathed his foil while Wesley unholstered his replica dark sword. Eltier seeing that was ready to start, Wesley let out a helpless sigh and spoke:

"Begin."

Without another word, Eltier immediately lunged towards Wesley with the tip of his foil streaking menacingly towards Wesley's chest. Over this last month, Eltier has sparred with Wesley dozens of times, and each time Wesley would effortlessly block his attacks, since Wesley could always block his sword, Eltier wa not going to be lenient so he aimed for the center of Wesley's chest.

Seeing the foil travel towards him in a straight line, Wesley couldn’t help but sigh. This fencing was simply to monotonous, always going in a straight line, unless the person was immobile or blind, this sort of attack will never find its target.

As soon as the foil's tip was within a feet of Wesley's chest, Wesley brought up the hilt of his replica dark sword to where it was aiming towards. This was Wesley's method of choice when dealing with Eltier's fencing.

Wesley was currently looking at Eltier's sword hand rather than his sword. Because Eltier's lunge was extremely fast, it was almost hard to follow, so Wesley opted to look at the sword hand to extrapolate Eltier's target that block. While Wesley was looking at Eltier's hand, Eltier slightly jerked his hand to the right then returned to it's original position.

By jerking his hand slightly, eltier managed to change the foil's trejectory causing Eltier's foil which was about to hit Wesley's hilt curved slightly to the right, enough to bypass the hilt that was obstructing its path and heading straight for Wesley's chest.

Wesley was instantly startled. Eltier's extremely simple fencing suddenly took another form that is far more complex and deadly than its original form. Fortunately for Wesley, he has always been focused on Eltier's sword hand, so he was able to notice the change, but if he was instead looking at the foil, he would have only seen the foil curve outwards then inwards as if it were avoiding his sword.

Wesley's eyes instantly sharpened. He was passively planning to stop the foil with his hilt but now that the foil has passed his hilt, he couldn’t afford to be passive anymore. Wesley immediately swiped his sword to his left colliding against the body of Eltier's foil was instantly thrown off target by the collision and was heading towards Wesley left side.

Unfortunately, the distance between Wesley's body and his hilt was less than half a foot, so Wesley couldn’t avoid the foil's tip from scratching his shoulder as he parried it to the outside of his body. This caused a wound to appear on Wesley's left shoulder, and although it was not deep, blood started oozing from it.

Seeing the wound on Wesley's shoulder, Eltier dropped his foil and stared slack jawed. He has never injured someone before, so seeing his sword draw blood for the first time was not a minor thing.

Wesley couldn’t help but sigh as he saw Eltier's terrified face. The first time he has killed a person was when he was seven; Rale took him outside the castle and told him to kill two thieves he had captured. At that time, Wesley was unwilling to take a life, and his heart ached after he did it, but since then, the number of people Wesley has killed has long reached the hundreds. Wesley himself developed a callousness to the value of life itself, and although he wouldn’t kill for no reason, he has no qualms about killing if he had to.

As for Eltier, he has most likely never killed someone and it seems that he also never drawn blood. Wesley felt some sympathy for him, he believed that the earlier one experienced death, the less the shock would be, as for Eltier, the older he gets, the more society views on life will become ingrained in his mind, and the greater his shock when he kills for the first time.

Rale has told Wesley that the greater the conflict between one's beliefs and their actions, the greater the shock they will receive, so it is better to have someone experience killing when they are young rather than when he's older. Wesley immediately walked towards Eltier and spoke in a concerned voice:

"Eltier, what is the matter?"

Wesley knew what the matter was, but he simply wanted Eltier to wake up from his daze and express his feelings. Eltier immediately looked away from Wesley's shoulder and focused on his face that was smiling at him amiably causing his eyes to be misty. He spoke in a soft voice that was filled with grief:

"Senior, I injured you, you almost died."

Wesley was surprised at this Eltier's kind nature. From first glance, this haughty youth with his extreme pride and sharp tongue seemed anything but kind, but right now, he simply seemed like a different person. Wesley shook his head and laughed loudly as he spoke:

"Haha, this is just a shallow scratch. If I died from such a thing, wouldn’t I be useless senior. Hahaa."

Wesley immediately picked up the foil that was lifelessly laying on the floor and spoke as he handed it back to Eltier.

"Don’t worry over such a small thing, and tell me about that technique you just used."

Eltier's face turned a shade better from his pale countenance as he recalled that his technique was effective against Wesley to some extent. He immediately spoke in an excited voice:

"Senior. You said that the weakness of my style is that it travels in a straight line, but my style has a technique that doesn’t travel in a straight line called Fencing Viper. Only..."

At this point Eltier started thinking about how his sword was still swiped away by Wesley. He did indeed manage to reach past Wesley's sword, but that was because Wesley was only waiting passively. If Wesley wanted to dodge or attack him, then the results would be very different. Seeing the look on Eltier's face, Wesley laughed and spoke:

"Haha, that is indeed a good technique. Next time, wait a little longer before you perform to give your opponent less time and space to react. Now get back to practice."

Eltier nodded his head repeatedly and immediately ran back to practice against the training post. Wesley simply stood there, staring at the practicing Eltier with a look of deep thoughtfulness. Wesley was wondering about what would happen if one mixed in a sword technique with a mage's attack.

At the moment when Wesley faced Eltier's sword, he was surprised at how fast it was, but he wondered what would happen if Eltier also practiced Wind magic. Wind mages have the ability to control and manipulate air currents making them extremely fast.

Combine their speed with the naturally fast speed of Eltier's sword and it would become unfathomable. However, Wesley knew that aside from him, no mage would bother learning swordsmanship since it is simply too weak compared to magic.

Wesley immediately put the matter to rest and started thinking about mana. He really enjoyed his pondering about mana, and although he knew that this only brought more questions than answers, Wesley was still tremendously excited.

The more questions he faced regarding the nature of mana, the more he wanted to find the answers and the more excited he got.

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Heyo good people.

Here's your chapter. Anyway, if you feel that the Philosophy in this one is too strong, then i want you to ask yourself, Why are we here? Hmm, no answer, i thought so. Wesley Knows the answer.

anyway enjoy the chapter, and happy Eid to those of you who celebrate and those who don't.