"Of course, we should just try again," Heimer looked at the old man, a tactical understanding was agreed upon between the two. Slowly, they approached Kayden with a friendly smile.
Han had a long lifespan and knew how to hide his intentions easily, but Heimer didn't have that ability. Kayden could feel his murderous vibes aimed at him.
He even tried to move away but found himself pinned to the ground. When his gaze was directed downwards, he saw a circle of runes rooting him in place. As soon as he turned his vision upwards, he saw a Heimer with a satisfied smile in front of him.
"It looks like you've lost respect for your big brother," Kayden started getting spanked.
Their screams could be heard from outside the house.
"Father, won't you help me? It was a small mistake," Kayden would never admit that he pranked them both. The old man looked to the side as if he hadn't seen Heimer's abuse.
"I think I'm going to have to paint the wall in a few months," his tone sounded like he was considering it at the moment.
After a few minutes of spanking, Heimer finally found himself satisfied. Han didn't care, he was happy to see Kayden letting go and making jokes, they were rare, very rare.
"Wow, I didn't even see you two here?" Han had a smile that made Kayden think it was worth electrocuting them both.
...
But what does this have to do with Kayden watching lightning on a mountain peak? That little game showed the boy two things. One that shouldn't mess with Heimer and that different people make different lightning.
His question was: why? He could feel that Heimer's lightning was disorganized and Han's was clean and gave a feeling of purity. The boy couldn't say why that was, nor could he even distinguish very well the sensations that the magic gave him.
It was similar to human instinct. There was no way to explain certain sensations, you just felt them. Therefore, he had the idea of seeing natural rays, which came from Mother Nature herself.
Thus, he solved two problems with one stone. He would learn the reason for the difference and would also deepen his understanding of his element. The only problem was that lightning rarely struck in specific places.
So he looked for the highest mountain he could find. Fortunately, it wasn't too far from the orphanage, it was only 4 kilometers. The problem was that there was no train line to get there.
Again, Kayden had the idea of doing the route using acceleration. His focus was to further improve his execution and control of this spell. It may seem silly, but in 2 months, he reduced his mana expenditure by 20% while maintaining a 15% acceleration, all because he got used to using the spell without thinking.
But was that all he improved? No. In those two months, he reflected on the epiphany he had. It took him literally dozens of hours to discover something very simple. His epiphany was divided into two phases.
First, he utilized the outer mana that came from the guide; he circulated the mana countless times, probably numbering in the tens of thousands. But eventually, he broke the rank barrier and advanced.
At this time, the guide stopped supplying him with mana, because if Kayden continued cultivating without stabilizing his foundations, he could be permanently injured. This is where the main part comes in, Kayden didn't know what had happened.
He remembered to circulate his inner mana, but this should not affect his cultivation progress. At least that's what he believed. When I was in the second rank, I had already tested this. He spent a few days circulating mana through his veins.
But what is the difference between these two experiences? Kayden could only think of one thing, the first time he didn't circle enough. Your veins should be polished under an incessant flow of mana.
After getting so much rain these days, he made an association. How did rain open holes in paved roads? Time and constancy. That was the answer. It was hundreds of thousands of drops hitting the same spot for days for negligible progress, but within months that progress would accumulate into something unbelievable.
His veins were the same. His mana should pass through each possible point thousands of times. Since the epiphany had already polished his body, he had no way of testing this hypothesis, but he was sure this was the answer.
And what did he gain from it? His veins were able to withstand a greater amount of mana without bursting and, in addition, his speed was ridiculously superior. As he only polished it once, his body was performing the same as if he was at the peak of the 5th apprentice level.
If he had done this on every level, where would he be? At the peak of the 6th rank? That would be... unbelievable. But there was no point crying over spilled milk.
Of course, that wasn't his only gain during that time. Your spells and battle power have seen a huge increase in performance, more specifically not in the quantity of power, but in the quality.
Kayden understood how lightning formed scientifically. He studied every nuance he found in public archives. It might sound silly, but it made him feel closer to his element.
His concentrated lightning was able to form much faster and reach a speed incomparable to that of old. Furthermore, most importantly, he no longer needed to use it on his body.
You see, it is very difficult for an apprentice mage to manipulate mana outside his body. Why? Very simply, Kayden blamed it on an ability that was only acquired in the next realm, spiritual sense.
It was like a sixth sense that encompassed everything around a mage, it was almost as if it were an extension of their own body. Was Kayden an unprecedented genius? In truth no.
What he did was leave pre-programmed spells. Unfortunately, his control over them was non-existent. The moment they were released, they would go to the last place he chose. This technique was based on forming a potential difference with a timer, which when it reached the highest point, resulted in lightning.
That was all Kayden could get out of 2 months of reflection, at least that was all he was ready to discuss with himself. What about the psychological outcome of your test?
Kayden subconsciously refused to think about it. He didn't want to face the reality, that he never cared about taking human lives or committing unethical acts.
But that's a conversation for another time.
Kayden stood up, his little seclusion finally coming to an end. He had finished digesting everything he could about his latest training. His focus now was on life and death struggles.
His heart raced at that simple thought. This time, he would face real fighters, not mere psychopaths who had never fought head-on in their lives. Fear? Yes, he had, but he knew it was necessary.
He started down the mountain.