C263 - Study

'The mana anomaly is a rare condition that can have multiple causes,' Khan read without using the mental technique. 'An excessive purity of the mana, a trauma that involves the mana core, or different mutations can alter the natural azure color and add unwanted features.'

The book went on to explain that the change usually wasn't abrupt. Changing the nature of the mana so radically and permanently was hard even when relying on external methods. Reaching Khan's current state would typically require long months or years of specific procedures. Only traumas could cause something so drastic, but he had merely activated the Wave spell. That didn't sound enough.

'The anomaly can have multiple effects depending on the depths of the changes,' Khan continued to read. 'The different features can affect the normal functioning of the mana or even the user's behavior.'

The book followed that description with a few examples of known cases of mana anomaly. Emotional instability seemed to be a common problem in the harshest cases, and the same went for a general difficulty in controlling the energy. Still, the condition could also bring benefits if the changes ended up suiting certain spells or techniques.

Khan found himself in a strange spot after reading everything the book said about the mana anomaly. He felt almost sure that his energy had gone through something similar, but he didn't experience most of the listed effects.

The desperation that occupied his mind wasn't exactly unstable, and he didn't feel any difficulty controlling his mana. Actually, Khan even found it easier to move his energy around after the changes.

The current red-purple color put Khan among some of the harshest cases of mana anomaly, but he felt normal. The differences with what the book described made him wonder whether he had found the right condition, but he couldn't see anything else that caused similar effects.

'I can't fix the anomaly either,' Khan concluded after reading the cure to his condition.

The book stated that it was extremely hard to fix an anomaly, and reverting the mana to its previous state was basically impossible. The treatments involved expensive procedures and long years in which the patients couldn't use their energy at all. Khan wasn't only broke. He wouldn't even accept to slow down his growth over something that didn't cause any immediate problem.

Reading about all of that made Khan think about his father. Bret would probably be able to tell him something more about that new mana since he was aware of his son's physical condition. Yet, Khan didn't want to rely on him for now. He wasn't even sure whether he could trust him.

'The anomaly might be good for me,' Khan eventually thought as he put his phone down and massaged his temples. 'My mana seems to express the nature of the chaos element now. I might have an easier time learning the new spells. Also, it can't be bad in battles to have my element's destructiveness unless I start hurting allies.'

Khan summoned a bit of mana on his left palm. Except for the color, everything felt normal. He could move his energy quite freely and even affect its nature through the exercises learnt on Nitis.

The problems started when Khan tried to make his mana harmless. He wasn't a master when it came to manipulating his energy, but he had been able to achieve something decent recently. Still, now it was harder to make the mana obtain features that went against its aggressive nature.

That wasn't necessarily bad, but Khan felt a bit worried about his two alien techniques. The [Blood Shield] and the [Blood Vortex] required specific uses of his mana, and its constant destructiveness could cause problems there. However, Khan eventually put those thoughts in the back of his mind since his skill had yet to reach the point when he could deploy the two abilities on his own.

Knocking noises came from the entrance while Khan was immersed in his thoughts. He opened the door only to find Delia carrying two trays full of food. She limited herself to smile, and Khan made way for her while shaking his head.

"You should be happy that someone is taking such good care of you," Delia complained while reaching the couch and placing the trays on her lap.

"I am happy," Khan admitted. "I simply have a lot in my mind."

"Don't tell me that you have already studied everything the Captain sent you," Delia said in a scolding tone.

"I'm only at the first book," Khan complained while sitting on the couch and taking one of the trays. "Well, I've finished it."

"You already went through the reading technique, right?" Delia asked without hiding her faint surprise.

"It turned out to be quite easy to learn," Khan revealed. "The Niqols' teachings are paying off."

"Shouldn't you be exhausted by now?" Delia wondered. "I mean, I believe you had to practice for a bit before learning the technique."

"My brain isn't too happy about my training schedule," Khan admitted.

"I was talking about your mana," Delia explained. "How can you learn a mental technique and use it on the same day? Shouldn't you have run out of energy hours ago?"

"I have a good mana core," Khan half-lied. Truth be told, even he ignored the limits of his mana capacity.

The answer didn't convince Delia, but she didn't probe any further. The matter wasn't too important compared to Khan's feats. He had shown once again how amazing he was, and she couldn't stop smiling thinking about that.

"It's already quite late," Khan exclaimed after finishing all the food on both trays. "Are you planning on sleeping here again?"

"I'd feel lonely otherwise," Delia replied in a cute voice while laying her head on Khan's shoulder.

"I still need to study," Khan calmly announced while grabbing his phone. "I want to get over all the books before receiving the new spells."

"You are the only man on this planet who would choose to study over sleeping with me," Delia scoffed.

"That's why you like me so much," Khan winked at her before unlocking his phone and checking his books.

"You don't have to use mana, right?" Delia sighed.

"I'll use the mental technique, but it should be safe," Khan explained.

"Then you won't mind this," Delia said while lying down, throwing away the trays, and placing her head on his lap. "Move a bit too."

Khan shook his head but did as Delia asked. He made sure to give her more space so that she could lie comfortably, and she didn't hesitate to adjust herself. She even took one of his legs between her arms to hold it like a pillow.

Khan's eyes inevitably fell on Delia from time to time. Her short hair seemed soft, and part of him wanted to caress it. Still, he held himself back and tried his best to focus on the books to avoid thinking about Liiza.

The "simulated mental battle" would clearly need a long time, so Khan preferred to deal with his large amount of knowledge obtained from Lieutenant Pouille and Captain Clayman. His phone now contained many books that dealt with various topics, and some of them didn't even involve mana or alien species.

It turned out that Lieutenant Pouille was preparing himself for a test that would have probably brought him to the rank of Captain. His books covered multiple topics connected to battles, management of armies, and general knowledge about the Global Army.

Khan could finally learn things that had always been unclear in his mind. He understood the difference between the various levels assigned to the soldiers and even read how to obtain the stars on his left shoulder.

Soldiers became first-level warriors after their attunement with mana crossed fifty percent, and the army considered them as evolved beings after that stat went above one hundred percent. The book didn't say much about that mighty level, but it gave detailed descriptions of the previous stages.

'I'll become a second-level warrior when my attunement with mana reaches sixty percent,' Khan summarized in his mind. 'The third level arrives at seventy percent, the fourth at eighty, and the fifth at ninety, but these stages don't bring great changes.'

The book explained how soldiers mainly experienced a growth in their physical prowess by raising their attunement with mana. Their reflexes, muscles, and thinking speed would reach true inhuman levels by the end of that journey, but they would remain mortals.

Instead, evolving would bring a true transformation. The book stated that the difference between evolved beings and normal soldiers was immense. Their actual power was also hard to evaluate since they would have gone past the limits of their species by then.

Needless to say, Khan grew quite interested in the evolved beings. He had seen how humans without mana couldn't do much against proper soldiers, so he wanted to learn more about the level that stood even above that. Still, the book didn't say much about the topic. It only mentioned those powerhouses from time to time without ever explaining anything.

Getting acknowledged as a mage was as easy as Captain Erbair had once explained. Spells had grades like the magical items, so a soldier only needed to learn a few of them to receive a suitable number of stars.

'I only need to learn another first-grade spell to become a first-level mage,' Khan summarized in his mind after going through the whole book and taking a short break to deal with his headache.

Khan was getting better at the mental technique, but he kept making mistakes that intensified his headache and lingering tiredness. Still, a short meditation usually appeased those sensations and allowed him to get back to his studies.

The night passed quickly while Khan remained immersed on his screen. He couldn't read everything even with the mental technique, but it was easy to decide which topics to leave for later.

The general description about the known alien species was interesting, but Khan didn't need it right now. Khan found the various battle tactics rather boring, so he left them for later too. He didn't even know if he would ever pick them up again since he didn't really need them for his goals.

The book about the uses of mana was also quite boring since it was nothing more than an updated list of human achievements. Still, Delia had insisted on that topic, and Khan knew that his knowledge couldn't have such big holes, so he forced himself to go through every page.

The humans had achieved a lot with mana, and their experiences with alien species had even allowed them to replicate some techniques. His current "enhanced reading" was something developed by the Guko that the Global Army had adapted for its soldiers.

Countless similar techniques existed, but the book was clear about their inferiority to normal spells. Those abilities didn't require any specific mana, but that made them weaker.

The list also showed many examples of magical items, but they could literally be everything, so Khan found it hard to become invested in them. He read about special clothes that could defend against powerful spells, rings that could turn into shields, swords capable of shooting rays of mana, and much more. Yet, everything felt too distant for him. Also, none of them could ever replace a soldier's real strength.

Khan felt drained after spending the whole night reading. He had gained a vague idea about basically everything there was to know. Lieutenant Pouille's books had even given him a proper understanding of the requirements needed for eventual promotions or specific roles inside the army.

'I might really become a Lieutenant this year,' Khan thought as he put his phone away and tried to come up with plans for the future. 'I should also start studying multiple alien languages to solidify my path to become an ambassador. I need to request more books.'

Khan had to admit that his future inside the army appeared quite bright. He was young, but his growth had been incredible, and he had also added amazing feats to his profile. Still, his young age went a bit against the chance to get promotions since the army might believe that he was too immature to get them.

The need to sleep assaulted Khan's mind while he remained immersed in those thoughts. Delia had long since fallen asleep, and her hair inevitably filled Khan's vision while he considered his situation.

A faint urge made Khan caress her head softly. It felt good to fondle Delia's hair, but that only filled his mind with guilt. He knew that he had no actual reason to experience that, but his emotions worked against him.. His everything still belonged to Liiza, and his brain knew it.

To be continued