"I need you to take off your shirt."
I was a bit caught off guard by this statement and moved away from him.
He sighed and said, "Trust me, it's easier this way."
I hesitated but eventually I did as he asked, pulling off the oversized hoodie and sitting down.
He whistled appreciatively and said, "Not bad." to which I responded by shooting a glare back at him.
"Oh, come on. Didn't expect a tough guy like you to be so shy."
"Please stop."
"Alright, alright. I'm starting." He spoke while laughing.
I felt his palm land on my back, causing me to flinch but I didn't move away. I had to bear with it for at least the next 15 minutes. After some time, I felt a stinging sensation from where he had placed his palm.
"Alright, I'm gonna tell you the basics of mana circulation and this process so listen up."
He began in a lecturing tone " As soon as a person is awakened, their body forms a core location and a circulatory system for the input and output of mana, but they lie dormant until they are kickstarted by the awakened themselves, which is why newly awakened can't use spells or control mana actively. The core location and system is unique for each person which is why there is not one standardized technique. The way to kickstart it is to focus on accumulating mana in the core and then controlling that mana to spread into the mana vessels, but this is hard for newly awakened like yourself as it is difficult to detect the traversal of mana in our own bodies."
He then said after a pause "Which is where I come in, while the body can't detect its own mana, it can easily detect foreign mana and so I can help you locate your core and vessels and then you transfer mana into it, so when I begin the process, focus on detecting my mana and then follow it. Got that?"
I nodded and then immediately felt the stinging sensation from before get worse. I attempted to focus on that and felt my conscious disconnect from my body, being able to see myself from a different perspective, along with a trace of orange in my own body.
"I see it."
"Oh, that was fast! Nice job kid! Now take a long inhale and only exhale when I tell you to."
Doing so, I saw a trail of blue mana flow into my body which was guided to my lower abdomen by the orange light.
"Now!"
I exhaled and saw gray particles disconnect from the blue streak and be removed from my body.
"Nice! Now you know where your core is, lets focus on supplying it with mana to kickstart it."
So, for the next few minutes I continued to do so, until the region in my lower abdomen had accumulated a large amount of mana and was glowing blue and then began to condense and formed a pitch-black orb.
"Thats odd, I've seen many different colored cores but never black. Anyway, exhale once again and Ill trace out your mana vessels. Control the mana from your core and follow mine."
Doing as he said, I then saw the orange light moving in an erratic manner, drawing lines connecting the core to the rest of the body. I attempted to draw out mana from the pitch-black core, which lead to a trail of black mana that I had control over. For, the next few minutes, I closely followed behind the orange streak tracing countless lines throughout my body. I had lost track of time but then I saw the core pulse and the mana began flowing like a viscous black liquid through the lines I had traced, and the orange light disappeared.
"Phew, good job kid!" I heard him say as the pressure at my back was finally released. I immediately distanced myself and put my clothes back on before facing him once again.
"Thank you."
"Ah, no problem. It's the least I could do for you but if you don't mind me asking-"
He paused before leaning towards me and asking.
"Are you human Ajax?"
I was stunned for a moment but replied "No."
'Or at least not anymore'
I didn't know what a vessel was, and I seemed like a human but apparently, he had found it out during the process.
"Thought so, while the patterns vary for each individual, A race has some similarities in their mana system and yours is unlike what I've seen in humans."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hide it."
"Ah don't worry about it. Anyway, now you should check if you're a mage or a warrior, do you know how?"
I nodded but first I wanted to check something first.
'Status'
=========== Basic Status ===========
Name: Ajax
Age: 16
Species: Vessel (Incomplete)
Completion percent: 1%
Attributes: Dark, Wind
Rank: G
Strength: G-
Agility: G+
Constitution: G+
Perception: G+
Mana capacity: G+
==========================
My perception, constitution and capacity had all advanced a sub rank. That and the fact that I could control mana now, made me feel slightly better about my chances of surviving in this world. Anyway, as Adam instructed, I should probably check if I'm a mage or a warrior now.
"Grimoire" I spoke aloud causing Adam to look up with expecting eyes.
======Grimoire========
=====================
An empty translucent blue window popped up in my peripheral vision which I dismissed shortly after.
"Well, looks like you're a warrior like me kid." Adam spoke with a smile.
Yes, if I was a mage, a physical spell book should have materialized instead of a system window, as that's how mages are able to command the natural mana surrounding them. I was a warrior meaning I was better at enhancing my physical body with mana and channeling it into other mediums such as weapons, but it would be difficult to command the mana outside of my body. I was happy with this as I had planned to steal weapon arts from villains and didn't know the location of mana arts. However, this meant I needed to learn how to use a weapon properly, which would take quite some time.
"Well, are you happy about that? I can't tell with that constant impassive face you have."
"Yes."
"Alright! Once we get back, I'll try to get you into the academy, if you want to of course."
"Thank you."
Although I was pretty sure I wouldn't be let in. I appreciated his enthusiasm and willingness to help me, I wasn't used to it but it felt nice.
"Ok, I think I can walk now. You can try out your powers on the way to the border but we should get to safety first."
I nodded and picked up the bag I carried supplies in. Adam got up shakily but after stretching his legs a few times, he gave a wide smile and looked back at me.
"I'll go a bit slow, you better keep up!"
He kicked the ground hard enough to form a crack in the marble, before launching from his position, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. I sighed and channeled the mana to my legs and began to chase after him.