“Welnir, if we ever meet again, I hope we can…”

It was a woman. Welnir looked as he surveyed his surroundings. From his observation it seemed like he was in a completely different world. Though as he awoke he saw a woman run away with bright blonde hair.

“Who, who was that person?”

Walking in the white plains he saw nothing but light everywhere. A void filled with nothing but white light. Having nothing to follow a lead on, Welnir walked towards the area the woman ran towards. Though as he did so nothing happened as it felt like the path was infinite and wasn't going anywhere. Being persistent though, Welnir continued the path as no matter what he did he always came back to the same place if he went away in another direction.

“Haha, why are you so silly, Welnir! You focus like this!”

As he walked suddenly he saw the environment warp as he saw a woman. It was the person who appeared when he had woken up in the void. Though as he observed further he saw a man, specifically himself, a younger him in armor.

“You know A—- why are you even trying to cheer me up? You know I can’t even become a mage!”

Though as he listened for some reason whenever he said her name it was blurred as if he didn’t remember.

“If I remember correctly this is when I became a soldier for the kingdom, but this woman, why can’t I remember who she is?”

Though as he tried to look further in the scene his vision darkened as the world before him disappeared.

“Wait, let me go back!”

Suddenly in bed a boy lunged to his side as he tried to grasp for something. Grasping though, Welnir woke up having his face smashed right into the hard wooden floor.

“Ah, fuck my fuckin’ face!”

Having woken up, Welnir wondered about the dream, but as he cleared his head he looked around as he remembered what happened before he fainted.

“Old man Gulious, where did he go? Did he seriously leave me here without waking me up after that chaotic shit happened to me?!”

Though as he said this suddenly the door to the room opened abruptly and afterward the door broke into wooden splinters everywhere. As Welnir looked at the idiot who broke the peace and quietness, it was Gulious.

“Ah, you’re finally awake, Welnir!”

“Could you at least not break anything when I wake up?”

“Well, anyway what happened? How long was I out for? That shit was crazy!”

Having remembered the catastrophe that happened, Welnir knew something crazy happened as he never knew mana had such mental control over their user.

“The sentience of a mana affinity. The more talented one is, the more powerful it is against its owner. The sentience comes from their awakening and it’s never a good idea to do this without being prepared. In the process of a strong force suction a mana affinity will align its connections.”

“So, you’re telling me you did this? You having let go of that ball you basically activated the mana affinities to align?”

“Well, I did. It wasn’t like I did it without preparing properly though.”

Hearing this Welnir looked at Gulious who was slightly holding a laugh. Realizing this Welnir frowned as he knew Gulious was an absolute nutcase pushing limits to its very end.

“Anyway, since you’ve been knocked out, a whole day has passed. Since I know your affinity except for that mist I should be able to train you now. Also, you don’t need to tell me that mist affinity, the less people know about this the more advantages you will have. The chances of someone awakening 2 mana affinities is extremely rare too. I also suggest not using that mist and use your other affinity since most fully aligned affinities tend to try to control the user. So, be careful and use your weaker affinity.”

As Gulious said this he instructed Welnir to follow him as they walked into the Rocky Plains. Entering the Rocky Plains suddenly Gulious released his mana affinity as it appeared before his hands.

“This is mana affinity and I’ll teach you exactly how to train magic. Firstly, like I said the stronger a mana affinity is the harder it is to control. If I’m not wrong they always state a desire to be wielded by their masters. My fire itself requested me to prove myself by feeling the temperatures around me.”

After explaining this Gulious took his stance as sudden bursts of fire enveloped his whole body. Demonstrating his mana affinity Gulious knelt down as he gripped onto a tiny shattered rock. As he touched the rock suddenly Welnir felt an extreme heat enveloping the entirety of the area around Gulious.

“A beginner who is new to their mana affinity should train to the point where they are able to manipulate all its properties. This demonstration is me changing the temperature and slowly melting the rocks with a series of manipulation. If one doesn’t control their affinity correctly you’re going to consume more than you should, like this.”

As Gulious finished his sentence suddenly the surrounding area burst into flames as the whole area suddenly started melting. Before Welnir realized it the circumference surrounding Gulious melted as it turned into molten lava.

“Composure and control is the key, though I suggest learning what your affinity asks of you before getting too complicated. What they ask for is a guide, not a chore. Though before that you need to focus on your mana. The feeling of mana is like a hammer pumping in every vein and nerve in your entire body.”

Saying this Gulious stuck out his arm as he suddenly projected an arm of fire beside his. From the projection it showed various lines linking from one another as every end pointed out a release.

“The body has specific ends that can release mana and at some point you can increase the amount of end releases. Once you feel an end release you will be able to project your type of mana outside of your body. Though beware end releases are quite narrow when it comes to someone who has never used mana. The more narrow it is, the more likely you will damage those end releases.”

As Gulious said this he took on a fighting stance as he suddenly started punching and kicking in the air. From his first punch a wave of fire extended as his kicks had also done. After observing this Welnir saw that as Gulious kept moving and kicking his explosion of fire became larger and wider. This resulted in completely melting the area Gulious had demonstrated on.

“Every kick, every punch, a release point is always focused upon. Never let go of that focus, if you do, you will damage your whole body from exertion from your mana spewing out. Now that I’ve demonstrated for you, go try focusing on your mana affinity.”

After attentively listening, Welnir started to try feeling for the lightning affinity. Though as he tried suddenly his hands jolted as it shook. Though strangely from the effect he did not feel any pain, but he knew he had to remember what his mana attribute had said.

‘Those only committed to strike will wield me…’

Focusing on those words Welnir felt for his mana as he felt for a release point.

‘Commit to striking a target…’

As Welnir did this suddenly thin sparks of lightning released out of his hands, then in confirming his target Welnir pointed both his index and middle finger towards a small rock on the ground. Releasing the mana suddenly a high pitched crackle resounded and it made contact with the small rock. From the result the small rock split apart as the point of contact exuded extreme heat from the high condesity of mana.

“Did I do great? It seems pretty weak compared to yours doesn’t it? Why is it so small…”

Hearing this Gulious was wide eyed as he was in shock. He had never seen a person even do that in their first try. How could it not impress him? To circulate and feel that mana, let alone knowing how to exude just enough mana through the release points to prevent damage. Gulious himself spent a long time training to get the right amount to release and not damage himself. If one had just taken the words of their mana affinity they would still take weeks to have the proper technique to feel the ends properly.

“Hahaha, you’re really talented, you did great! Even though it was small what you did there a lot of mages would take weeks to execute.”

Looking at Gulious, Welnir was surprised as he could tell he wasn’t lying. As he came to this conclusion Welnir was exhilarated as this was the first time he had experienced the feeling of being a mage. Though as Welnir celebrated secretly he suddenly felt empty and off as he instinctively opened up his status panel.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[STATUS PANEL]

Name: Welnir Baudelaire

Race: Human/Demon Seedling [PURE 100% BOTH]

Rank: None

HEALTH: 460/460

STAMINA: 550/550

MANA: 2/10 [Low Supply - Fatigued]

[STATS]

Strength - 10.3 [Increases Physical Power]

Defense - 9.8 [Increases Health & Nullifies Damage]

Endurance - 9.5 [Increases Stamina]

Agility - 9.3 [Increases Speed]

Intelligence - 1 [Increases Mana & Ability Power]

[TRAITS/SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES]

Demon Circulation [Mage Talent] -> Intelligence Stat Increases 10x Faster

Demon Affinity [Mana Talent] -> Special Affinity Only Demons Possess (100% PURE)

Lightning Affinity [Mana Talent] -> Lightning (75%)

Demon Resilience [Physical Talent] -> Defense Stat Increases 10x Faster

Demon Transformation/Inheritance [Special Talent] -> LOCKED CONDITIONS MUST BE MET

Demon Speed [Physical Talent] -> Agility Stat Increases 5x Faster

Disciple of The Feeling [Special Trait] -> All Weapon Skills Are Learned 50x Faster

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh, I forgot to tell you that executing your abilities with your mana will plummet it heavily. As a beginner it’s natural for you to be fatigued.”

As Gulious said this he suddenly tossed a black pyramid the size of a small pebble towards Welnir.

“Uh, what did you just give me?”

Saying this Welnir suddenly felt a connection as his mana suddenly attached towards the black pyramid. A little surprised, Welnir nearly dropped the black pyramid as suddenly right after a panel showed the details of the pyramid.

—----------------------------------

[Spatial Storage Pyramid]

Would You Like To Be The Owner?

[Yes] - [NO]

—----------------------------------

“It’s a storage pyramid, the basics of how mages store their items and weapons. Go and try opening it.”

Following his instruction Welnir tried the most obvious method as he inserted a tiny bit of his mana towards the pyramid. As he did so suddenly his vision was consumed as he looked around to find a white space with 2 items on the ground. Examining the items he found a crystal ball exuding mana and a regular steel sword. Intrigued of the space Welnir let go of his insertion of his mana as his vision came back.

“That empty space you just entered isn’t actually transporting you, it's just your vision. So be careful someone might attack you if you aren’t cautious enough. Well, enough said what you just picked up is a Memory Crystal. It basically lets any memory from a person be transported in. I specifically put in a Mage Circulation Technique I bought from someone. It acts as a way to regenerate mana and further explains mage fundamentals.”

Hearing this Welnir questioned as he was confused.

“Wait, just regenerate? How about leveling up my intelligence stat?”

Welnir asked as he observed that not even the slightest of his intelligence stat increased at all when he exerted his mana that destroyed the small rock.

“Well, I’ll explain. Mages are bound by their Mage Base. Every mage has one and most of them have a Mage Base that’s usually given by some sort of mage academy. These Mage Bases are special as they provide the user advantages that result in faster progression and give users unique traits. Though I suggest not increasing your intelligence yet as Mage Bases are permanent, if you chose one that is bad you won’t be able to go back.”

Explaining this Gulious lifted his arm as his body was covered in flames in a peculiar blood red color. Doing this suddenly his body exuded heat beyond comprehension as the rocks from afar turned to dust immediately.

“This is a result from my Mage Base. I found this Mage Base Technique in the Swirling Tornado Mountains while I was in my younger years attending the mage academy of the Divine Kingdom. These Mage Bases are rare, but I know a loophole in the Swirling Tornado Mountains that enabled me to enter the Great Treasury. Once you succeed in the Mage Selection I will tell you about this loophole, for now train the basics and use that memory crystal right now.”

Hearing this information and firm stand of not telling him how to increase his intelligence stat Welnir gave up as he looked onto the Memory Crystal. Using his mana Welnir’s vision blackened as his body froze in daze.

In the memory Welnir looked as suddenly a man with black hair and red eyes appeared before him. The man was skinny as he wore a normal mage robe and had mysterious looking tattoos around his body.

“Whoever is listening to this, I hope you have a great journey. I will be teaching you the basics of mana. Every being is made of mana and…”

Listening to this person Welnir followed it as an hour casually passed. It had instructed Welnir to feel the flow of how mana releases at the last second. If one were to feel this they would understand that mana is all around as they interact resulting in the effect and change. As the memory ended, Welnir tried to do what it had said.

“To replenish mana is to feel the mana all around and take it in for yourself…”

Though as Welnir tried it, it felt off as he couldn’t feel any of his mana replenishing at all. Trying things, Welnir tried to move his hand around the air.

“To feel, to take it in for yourself…”

As hours passed and many tries were taken, Welnir sat cross legged as he closed his eyes trying to feel the mana around himself.

Seeing this Gulious was surprised again as Welnir figured it out before he could advise him again. For one to feel the mana around, one must free himself of all connection to the chaos of interactions. If one does so the slightest thread of feeling would enable oneself to see the broader picture.

Though as Welnir did this he was once again stuck. You can feel it all around, but how do you turn this mana into your own nourishment to replenish oneself? Welnir wondered, as droplets of sweat dripped as he focused on the hot sun beaming on him.

“To take it in for yourself, wait…”

As he recalled suddenly Welnir felt an end release on both of his hands as he tried to let a slight amount of his mana outwards. Discovering this Welnir suddenly felt a huge wave of mana enter his body as he succeeded in taking the mana around him to replenish his own.

“Hahaha, kid you did it! Excellent! To discover this without the lessons of the mage academies you’re truly a genius!”

Replenishing his mana Welnir was surprised as his mana slowly filled up. As 30 minutes passed

Welnir looked at his mana to find it full once again. Getting up, Welnir noticed that the feeling of fatigue was completely gone. Additionally, from replenishing his mana he felt that the feeling of mana had relaxed his tense body and made him less strained from his rough training.

“Well, genius boy, how about our next lesson, eh?”

Smiling, Gulious picked up the steel sword that Welnir had placed on the ground before pointing the sword towards Welnir.