A large clearing expanded before our group. Some gently sloping hills sprawled across the area. The ground was covered in a thick layer of snow that reached my knees.
Louis stood before the class. "Nature… Mana… They go hand in hand, creating a beautiful symphony. Exposing yourself to the raw purity of nature is the best way to grasp an understanding of mana. You must comprehend the flow, the interactions between the elements, the ways that the flow of mana affects the elements."
Hanako then cut in, gesturing to the clearing. "Everyone should spread out and secure some personal space. Then you should get comfortable so you can enter a meditative state. You have one minute to do this." She stopped talking but no one moved. "55 seconds."
I started rushing over to an area on the edge of the clearing. I wanted to secure a spot that had exposure to as many elements as possible. I didn't notice at first but a lot of people were quietly following me. I realized this fact after hearing a large amount of footsteps behind me. I chuckled internally.
Once I reached a spot on the edge of the clearing, I took a deep breath before pointing my palms at the ground in front of me. I released a steady stream of flames, melting the snow before me. As the snow retreated down to the grass, I stopped the flames. I raised my hands in a gentle fashion, lifting the water off of the grass to dry the ground. I then threw the orb of water I formed into the forest.
Now that my spot was ready, I sat down. I closed my eyes, ignoring the mixed gazes of my classmates. I decided to get a head start so that I could get in tune with the elements. This was the best idea for me as I had more elements to comprehend than the others.
Having an affinity isn't the only way that a mage can use an element. The affinity just makes it easier and more natural. Those without affinities for an element can still use that element but to a lesser degree due to their bodies.
Louis looked around and noticed that everyone had gotten comfortable. "Good, everyone has completed their first task. I will let you all know now, this won't be the only trip like this we will do. Since this environment is mostly conducive to water, wind, and light, the other elements won't be as strong here. Thus, we will be making trips to other places in order to help those with other affinities improve their comprehension."
"If you do not have an affinity towards any of the elements currently present, you should still try and grasp an understanding of them. It will be more difficult for you, but it will still improve your skills as a mage. A mage with versatility among the elements will often outshine a one trick pony."
"You have all learned the breathing technique. Start using it now." He waited about twenty seconds for everyone to get started. "Feel the natural energy, feel the raw mana. The balance between the elements will be different depending on where you are. This balance will even change throughout the day. Analyze the flow of the mana when the wind blows. Analyze the slow moving flow of the water mana in the snow. Analyze the refraction of light in the snow and compare the mana flow to how it is normally. We will do this for the rest of the day. If you have a question or think you have made an interesting observation, raise your hand."
I suddenly heard a soft feminine voice from behind me. "Callum, would you mind coming with me?"
I opened my eyes and turned around. Hanako Sensei was observing me with a curious expression. I nodded and got up.
Hanako led me into the forest and out of the clearing. After a few minutes of pushing through the deep snow, we arrived at a very small clearing. Its size was comparable to a shed.
The trees around it were thick and tall, providing a thick cover of pine needles overhead. Being circular in shape, the trees almost formed a wall around the clearing. In the center was a large boulder that was almost flat on the top. Shining down on it was a beam of light that pierced through the canopy of trees.
Hanako leaned against a tree and pointed to the boulder. "Go sit up there and meditate. I will guide you through some things."
I was curious about this. I decided to ask her a question while walking over to the boulder. "Why am I not doing the exercise like the rest of the class?"
Hanako shook her head. "For someone the faculty considers a genius, you can be quite dense. You aren't the rest of the class. Thus, I wouldn't be doing my job as a professor of magic if I didn't accommodate your special circumstances." By this time, I was sitting in the lotus position on top of the boulder. "Are you ready?"
I nodded. "Yes, Hanako Sensei."
Hanako nodded and smiled. "Good. Start by using the breathing method. Once you are stabilized, we will continue."
I forced all of the air out of my lungs. Then, I inhaled slowly but deeply through my nose, filling my lungs with the cold winter air. I held it in, feeling the natural energy flowing throughout my body. Then I exhaled slowly, purging my lungs of the air. Now that it was warm, it formed a fog as it departed my mouth.
As I was holding my empty lungs closed, Hanako spoke. "Interesting."
I opened my eyes and was about to speak but was surprised. Hanako's eyes were glowing gently. "What are you doing with your eyes?"
Hanako smirked. "Similar to how you can empower your body using the elements, you can also do the same to modify your senses. The technique I'm using right now is called arcane eyes."
I tilted my head in confusion. "Arcane eyes?"
Hanako nodded. "Yes, arcane eyes. You will learn about body enhancement in the future as well as arcane magic. Arcane magic will likely become a useful tool for you. Your affinity with all six elements compounded with your massive mana pool makes arcane magic the perfect fit for you. Unfortunately, you are not ready for it yet."
I sighed. "Awwwww. Arcane magic sounds cool."
Hanako chuckled. "Resume your meditation. You have much to learn, Callum."
I nodded and returned to the breathing method after closing my eyes. Out, in, hold, out, hold, repeat. I did this for a few minutes. I felt totally energized and full of power. It felt as if I could take on the world.
Hanako interrupted feelings of grandeur. "Continue your breathing and only focus on that and my words. Traditionally, the elemental mana concepts are taught through focusing on each element and then progressing to their interactions. These are the basics and these concepts have been taught this way for several millennia. Due to most people not having more than three affinities, this method works quite well."
"Unfortunately, you are not like most people. With six affinities, you can't learn the same way others do. Think about it like this. Let's say you were a prodigy in crafting. You had natural talent in every profession that exists. Would you learn the same way as everyone else? Doing so would be a waste of your talents and prevent you from reaching your potential. The best approach in these circumstances is to learn how the various specializations are related and then branch out from those common points. This will make you a jack of all trades rather than a half baked master that can't reach their full potential."
"We will start by having that breathing become a mindless process. I don't want a single inkling of your mind focusing on your breathing. This will take some time. We will proceed when you are done."
I was internally a bit confused. Wasn't breathing already an unconscious behavior? I then realized the problem. Breathing normally and square breathing are not the same. My body is accustomed to breathing normally so obviously I have to coerce my lungs into breathing how I want them to. The question was, how do I make it automatic?
Thinking about this, I recalled some memories from my previous life that had been tucked away. Although we still observed some major holidays, my family was never what I would consider religious. However, my mom was very spiritual. She was a huge proponent of meditation and other things that help you get in touch with your inner self.
Every Sunday after dinner, mom, dad, and I would gather on the floor in the living room and meditate. We would sit in silence for an hour, clearing our minds, calming our bodies. As I thought about that experience, an idea came into my head. Clearing my head through meditation was when I could do the best thinking. Maybe that state of clarity is what I need to accomplish this goal.
This plan was put into action immediately. Rather than trying to not think about the breathing, I followed the process I used in my previous life to clear my head. The only thing I focused on was my breathing. The counting, the holding, the inhale, the exhale, each step was the focal point of my attention. With each cycle, the white noise that made up my thoughts were gradually drowned out, getting quieter and quieter.
Eventually my mind was empty, completely devoid of anything other than my breathing. In… hold… out… hold… I repeated over and over.
I am not sure how long I was sitting there for, but the square breathing started to feel more and more natural. It felt as if my body was starting to yearn to never stop breathing like this. Maybe I'd start doing this in my sleep eventually.
Upon noticing that the breathing method was taking less effort, I decided to attempt to clear that from my head as well. Then I hit a wall. What should I focus on? I can't just focus on nothing.
Then it hit me. I felt so stupid. Why else would we be doing this training out in the wilderness? The flow of mana is pure and undisturbed!
With this realization, I honed in on the flow of the elements around me, allowing them to drown out anything occurring in my mind. The elemental mana around me was flowing gently with me as the focal point. Gradually, I stopped thinking about the breathing and it became automatic. As this happened, a change occurred around me.
The mana that was flowing began to converge on me. With each breath, I felt the natural energies growing stronger and stronger, accumulating within my body and around me.
A familiar voice then spoke. "Amazing. The mana is attracted to you like moths to a flame. Let's take advantage of this state you are in. The next step will broaden your horizons in terms of knowledge and understanding. Rather than honing in on the flows of mana, focus on the interactions between the elements and their flows of mana. I would recommend starting with a tree. You might find something interesting."
Heeding her words, I found a tree using my awareness of the mana around me rather than opening my eyes. I focused on the flow of mana within the tree and discovered something amazing. There were two types of mana within the trunk of the tree. There was earth and water. The earth mana was guiding the water mana throughout the structure of the tree. It was fascinating.
Instead of continuing to focus on a small portion, I decided to move up towards the top of the tree. Something else even more interesting caught my attention. Within the pine needles was not two, but four types of mana! Aside from the earth and water, there was also air and light.
Upon taking a close look, it started to make more sense. The air and light mana were just flowing through the needles and not moving through them to the branches. This made sense. I remembered learning in biology that leaves have small holes to allow air to enter. They also absorb light using their pigments. These two components are critical to their metabolic process. I was, yet again, amazed at how mana contributed to this world's physical laws rather than breaking them.
Hanako laughed. "It seems that you made quite the discovery. You will learn how to manipulate it in the future, but combining elements can create different types of magic. In this example, earth and water makes wood. There are other combinations as well but I won't go into those right now. It will be better for you if you discover them on your own. Let's return to the group."
I opened my eyes, feeling full of vigor. "Am I going to be participating with everyone else now?"
Hanako laughed and shook her head. "Nope. We are heading back to the academy."
I was gravely confused. "Heading back? How long has it been?"
Hanako nearly choked. "Ummmm, it has been about seven hours."
Hearing that made me scramble. I even fell off the boulder, landing on my face. I quickly got up due to my surprise. "SEVEN HOURS?! I THOUGHT I WAS SITTING HERE FOR LIKE THIRTY MINUTES!"
Hanako shook her head. "You must have been in quite the state for time to pass so quickly."
I was in sheer disbelief. "Have you just been standing here the whole time?"
Hanako laughed. "Nope. I came back to check on your every hour but you were still sitting there breathing. Only after I came back for the seventh time were you in perfect synch with the breathing. I'm honestly surprised you made so much progress with it. It usually takes months for a mage to be able to naturally breath like that. I will leave you to figure out that process on your own. Come see me when you have achieved it."
I nodded. "Thank you, Hanako Sensei."