'Is this the king's ring? How did it become a tattoo? Thankfully, it is rather faint; I don't think anyone will notice it. Even if they did, having a tattoo is not a big deal.' After reassuring myself a little more, I try to get some sleep. The next day, I repeat my training routine. Have breakfast, head to the association, warm up and exercise, and wait for the instructor. When he arrives, we all begin to sperate into the usual sections, but we are interrupted.
"Don't separate yet. I'm going to explain something to everyone first," says the instructor.
Despite the surprise, we all group up near the instructor and wait for his words,
"Today, I will introduce mana utilization into your training. I know, the mages have been using mana already, but you should still pay attention to what I'm going to say."
"Until now, you have been taking advantage of the improved physique of a hunter, but only doing that will leave some performance on the table. You need to learn how to actively use mana during combat. Adding mana to your weapon, using 'Reinforcement' on yourself, and sensory enhancement. All of those are basic mana techniques you will need to be proficient in to become a hunter."
"The first step to using mana is to sense the one inside your body. All of you should've already noticed the mana coming off other hunters, now you need to sense your own. The way one feels their own mana is highly personal, but a good way to start, is by recalling your awakening."
I do as the instructor says and try to remember my awakening. 'That would be when I used the stone right?' The images resurface in my mind, the feeling of mana being absorbed by my body. 'What if I do the same with the mana in the atmosphere?' I focus on my breathing, trying to identify the mana flowing in and out of my body. 'I can see it.' Tendrils of mana lace the air that I inhale. 'But… do I need to breathe to absorb mana?' Shifting my focus, I open my eyes and observe the instructor. The other trainees just leak mana, but the instructor, his mana is flowing in out. Through every part of his body, like he is breathing.
I close my eyes and return my focus inward. I imagine the tendrils of mana entering my body through my pores. With every inhale, they rush in and as I exhale, they come out.
"Would you look at that," I hear the instructor say this.
Curious, I open my eyes to see what he is referring to. Only, it seems he is looking at me.
"To think you'd figure out enhanced mana absorption on your own. Although, you have to remember, you only let the mana flow out if you are already full. If you want to actually recover mana, you can't let it leave as you exhale," he says.
"Enhanced mana absorption?" I ask in confusion.
"Yes, let me explain. Everyone, pay attention, I'll only say this once. Everyone inhales in mana as they breathe. With that mana, we replenish any that we may have used before, however, if you only recover mana like that, it can take a long time. Enhanced mana absorption is when you use your whole body to absorb mana. It's even better if you learn to do it subconsciously instead of needing to focus so much. If you can do it that, it will greatly increase your stamina, even in combat," he explains.
"Well, seeing as you can do this much, you should be able to learn some techniques now. Anyone else who finds out how to feel their inner mana should come up to me. Don't take too long."
The instructor then approaches me and says,
"First, try and focus your mana into a fist."
I close my eyes and focus on my mana…
"Uh, how the hell do you move mana?" 'Oops, I said that aloud.'
"Just do it like any other body part, you think of where you want it to move. It should feel rather natural." The instructor replies.
Doing as he says, the mana moves just like the instructor said.
"But, rather than natural, it feels more like moving a limb that fell asleep," I say.
"Hm? Oh right, your mana control must be terrible," states the instructor.
'Thanks man.' I grumble inwardly.
"Don't worry, you can improve that with practice," he says.
'Did I say that aloud as well?'
"Anyway, try punching a dummy with the mana surrounding your fist."
I stand up and head towards a dummy, the instructor following behind me. 'Here goes nothing.' I throw a punch towards the dummy, and when it connects with its chest…
BAM!
The dummy flies back a couple of meters.
"Looks like you have some talent with mana reinforcement. Its good you chose to be a fighting type. Next, practice reinforcing all your body at once. When you do that successfully, you can brag about being able to use Reinforcement. Also, spreading your mana will obviously mean your punches won't hit as hard. The trick is to know when to focus everything on a single part and when to spread it around," the instructor walks away after saying that.
'To think I could be this strong…'
BOOM!
Turning towards the explosion, I see the redhead kid. 'Did he say his name was Ron?' In front of Ron, the remnant pieces of a dummy can be seen strewn around. The steel base is lodged halfway into the wall. I turn back to my dummy, only to see it doesn't even have a scratch. 'Show off. What rank is he?' I try to gauge his strength but realize he has no mana leaking. 'To think his control is already that good. I should keep practicing.'
Closing my eyes, I focus on spreading my mana throughout my body all at once. I thought it would be as easy as focusing it on my fist, soon realize my mistake. 'Its like trying to put on bedsheets. Getting one spot is easy, but when I try to a different one, the first gets undone. Hm… does that mean I should try to anchor them in place?' I reinforce my fist once more, this time, trying to anchor the mana to it. Then, I attempt to do my other hand, but before I even reach my wrist, the reinforcement on my other hand snaps off. 'Dammit, this is going to be hard.'
I spend the rest of the session trying to cover both my hands at once, only ever managing to do my entire right hand and a single finger on the left. 'If doing two hands is this hard, how can I do my entire body?' Despite those pessimistic ideas, I continue to practice. When class ends, the instructor waves me over.
"I noticed you spent all day trying to pull of Reinforcement without much progress. Didn't I tell you? Your mana control is pretty bad, you need to improve it first before trying to do something as complex as Reinforcement," he tells me.
"Ah! Right, I'm so stupid. Why didn't I think of that?" I say.
"Hahaha, don't worry, that's what I'm here for. Try practicing enhanced absorption, it will improve your mana control."
I thank the instructor and head home. At first, I tried to practice while walking, but quickly found myself running into other people. With that in mind, I wait until I get on the subway to begin practicing. When I get home, I notice Tom has yet to arrive, so I make some food myself. I'm not as good as he is, but cooking is an essential skill for every broke college student.
'Even though I only did my regular exercise today, I'm even more tired than usual. Manipulating mana takes so much mental effort, I really need to improve my control. It would be impossible for me to use mana during combat like this.' The image of a pair of scarlet wisps appears in my mind, they still haunt me. I imagine myself dying at the hands of the living armor. Its emotionless wisps staring into me, and I'm incapable of defending myself.
"Will! What the hell man? You okay?" I jump at the sight of Tom in front of me.
"Woah! Don't scare me like that!" I say.
"Its not my fault you are daydreaming like this. Everything okay?" He asks.
"Yeah, just thinking about something the instructor told me."
"Did he bully you again? If he's targeting you, we should tell the association," he says.
"What? No! He isn't bullying me! Also, I'm the older one here, don't treat me like a kid!"
I reach out and start messing with his hair, he frantically tries to pry me of.
"Get off of me!" he yells.
Another day, another dog fight…
The next day, the routine continues. This time, on my way to the gym, I try practicing sensory enhancement. Last night, I searched some guides on how to do it, and it seemed rather easy. 'All I have to do is focus my mana on a sensory organ, likes this.' Directing mana to my ears, the sounds of my surroundings get impossibly loud.
"Ahhh!" I scream and clutch my ears. Rolling around on the ground, I remember what I was doing and withdraw the mana from my ears.
'Shit! I did the same as my fist and focused all my mana onto my ears. That was too much.' Everyone around is staring at me like I've gone crazy. 'Why do I always end up getting into embarrassing situations.' Pretending like nothing happened, I scurry towards the subway entrance. 'I guess I'll need to wait until my control gets better, that way I can lower the amount of mana that gathers on my ears.' Arriving at the gym, I do the same as every other day. Warm up, exercise then practice.
While I continue to attempt Reinforcement, Ron approaches me and says,
"Hey man, up for a spar? Using mana during combat will help your control."
"Huh? A spar? Sure, but I was wondering. What rank are you?" I ask.
"Oh, I'm just A rank," he states, nonchalantly.
"What! A rank!? Why are you even here?" I ask.
"Well, just because I have a lot of mana doesn't mean I know how to use it. Although, I've gotten a lot better," he answers.
"Then, how are we supposed to spar? I'm just rank E."
"Obviously, I'll hold back," he says.
'Hold back!? Like with the guy you almost killed the first day?'
He seems to notice my reluctance, because he says,
"Look, the incident in the first day was me loosing my cool. Besides, you heard what the instructor said, if I do that again, I'm out. I promise I just want some practice."
Seeing some sincerity in his face, I sigh and agree to the spar. We head towards the dueling area and get ready. 'Ron is a swordsman, my spear has more reach, I should keep my distance and prevent him from getting too close.' Before we start, I notice his sword gains a faint red glow.
"What is that?" I ask.
"Oh, my sword? I'm reinforcing it with mana, its red because of my attribute affinity," he replies, pointing at his hair.
I stop myself from complaining. 'Is it really unfair? He is simply better than me.' I grit my teeth; the world seems hell bent on showing me my inferiority.
"Oh, this might be interesting," I turn to see the instructor standing to the side of the sparring area.
"I see, holding back is quite the exercise for control. I'll step in if I notice you losing focus, okay?" he says.
"Sure thing," replies Ron.
'Shit… what did I agree to.'