"My name is Ali Saifeddine. Some strange things have happened in my life, where I was dragged by a portal to this place called the True Realm, which is a world existing in a different dimension from the normal world, and the people here who can use mana are called warriors. I met several kind people on this journey. Today, the time has come for me to become a warrior as well."
After Adam and I headed through one of the mobile warp portals to a vast rocky area devoid of any humans to begin the training.
"Sit."
"Hmm?"
"I said sit. You will now learn how to meditate to first feel the initial energy."
"Oh, I see."
I sat in the way depicted in movies for meditation, while he sat behind me.
"Close your eyes and focus on the area below the navel, this is where the energy is stored and is called the mana core. Also very important, don't forget to breathe properly."
I closed my eyes and focused on my teacher's words, then I felt him putting his hands placed on my back.
"Concentrate," the man said.
I started focusing on the area my teacher called the core for a few seconds, but...
"I don't feel anything..."
"Shut up and focus!!" Adam interrupted angrily.
'Okay,' I continued focusing for moments with no result, but then I started feeling a strange sensation, a slight increase in temperature in the core area.
"Do you feel it now?"
"Do you mean this strange heat?"
"Yes, good, very good actually, now don't move and keep focusing on that heat. That is what you always hear about, the thing we call mana. Now, let's try to move it around your body now."
"A-Alright," a strange feeling of happiness hit me as I felt this weird sensation.
I continued focusing on the hot mana core, feeling it grow gradually for some reason, I knew then this was Adam's Mana.
"Now try to move it."
"Huh?! How do I do that?!"
"Just try to imagine your ability to move it."
"What?"
'What is he talking about now?' is what I thought, I mean this was like hey just believe you can do it and it will work.
"Try to move it slowly, and I'll assist you. Don't rush."
I didn't know how to imagine my ability to move anything. Then an idea came to me that might work, I saw it in anime.
'What about imagining it like a part of my body?'
I tried to imagine it as one of my limbs and repeated the attempt. After several failed attempts... it moved a little like a snail.
"Y-you did it?! Keep going, don't stop," Adam said seeming so shocked as if he didn't believe I would do it.
Even if he had not told me, I wouldn't have stopped. The feeling of excitement that came from this small success gave me a strong will to continue.
I continued trying to move the mana, and after a while of repeated attempts, the movement speed increased more and more. It was a really weird feeling, I felt it touching my eternal organs and moving through blood veins.
"Alright, let's move on to the next stage of training. Try spreading it around your entire body this time."
"Okay, I'll try."
Honestly, I didn't think I could do it, as it seemed much harder, but to my surprise, it only took a few minutes until I managed to do it, now I had a sensation that my whole body was covered by a thin layer of.... something.
***
Adam stood behind Ali looking at him covering his body with mana successfully on the first try.
'I didn't expect him to achieve all this on the first day. Even the talented ones take about three days of training to successfully spread their energy around their bodies for the first time,' Adam thought as he was observing his student succeed, then he showed a cold and emotionless stare for a moment.
"You did well. Now, try to return the mana you spread to yourself back into the core. Focus well, as this will be much harder," the teacher said, looking at his student.
'And they call me talented.'
the boy tried for a second but lost control over his mana and it all disappeared into the air.
Ali sighed disappointed.
"It's easy to let go wild but hard to control it back home, don't worry and try again."
"If you say so."
Ali then spread his mana around again covering his whole body before trying to retract it back to the mana core. But each time he tries he loses focus.
***
After one hour, the boy finally succeeded in retracting the mana into the core correctly.
"Now try to release it again and bring it back after completely releasing it, and continue like this until you can do it in one second."
"ONE SECOND?! you are joking right?"
Adam smirked and said, "No."
'I look forward to seeing his choice later.'
After several hours of repeating the process, I finally succeeded in releasing the mana in five seconds and retracting it completely in ten seconds, let's be serious I honestly didn't think I would actually get to this point, why the hell is this so quick? of course I didn't feel the hours passing as the excitement of me achieving this magical improvement kept pumping adrenaline.
I suddenly felt Adam putting his arms on my back again.
"Okay, this is the last thing we'll do today. This time, don't try to release your energy slowly like before, instead, press on it and burst it out in one go, it will be weird the first time but I'll assist you as usual."
"Uhh, I'll try." it was a weird sentence but since he will assist me by pushing his mana into me to guide me I can't do anything but comply as he is my teacher.
I took a deep breath and tried to do what Adam asked me to do.
"Focus, focus, focus... now."
Adam's mana that entered my mana core made my own mana surge out from the inside like an explosion, and I felt like every part of my body literally exploded, but with no feeling of pain. every cell changed with a new better one, a really weird sensation, my body felt so powerful, that I believed I could punch a hole through a boulder.
"W-Wow!!! That was a wonderful and scary feeling at the same time!!"
My body was overflowing with energy, and I felt my muscles becoming much stronger than before.
"Congratulations on reaching the Level nine."
"Level nine?"
"Yes, let's say it's a way to rank warriors based on their level, ordinaries that never used mana are in level ten but as you just broke through you are now in level nine, you can call yourself now a warrior," Adam smiled and said, "Alright, let's stop here for today."
I was a little disappointed when he decided to end it here it was all so exciting, but here what's shocking is I was still closing my eyes I felt like if I opened my eyes I would lose the great feeling of mana flow forever so unconsciously I didn't open my eyes until now.
"Okay," I opened my eyes after closing them for a long time. I expected the strong sunlight to blind me for a while, but it didn't. In fact, there was no sun in the sky, "Has night already fallen?"
"Hahaha, I guess you were really enjoying the training, you didn't feel that hours have actually passed did you?"
I felt a small embarrassment, "w-well.."
Here, I felt a severe hunger in my stomach, placing my hands on my stomach, I was a little embarrassed.
"Seems your stomach is asking for some care, well sometimes, when you're immersed in training, your body forgets to alert you about things like time and hunger," my teacher laughed. "Take this and eat it."
Adam threw something small, and I quickly caught it.
"What's with this speed?!" I was surprised by this improvement in my reaction speed.
"The transition from stage to stage significantly enhances your physical abilities," the man replied to my question with a smile. "Alright, take that pill and let's go back."
I took the yellow pill in my hand, and in an instant, my hunger disappeared.
"W-What is this thing I just took?!"
"It's a type of nutrient pill, like a medical supplement, and this type can satisfy you for a short period, like the one you gave me when we first met, now let's go."
I got up from my place, but as soon as I tried to stand on my feet, I began to fall losing balance.
'Huh?!'
Here, Adam caught me before reaching the ground and said, "The pills remove hunger, not physical or mental fatigue."
"what? But I haven't done anything all day except sit," I said in confusion.
"Mana training takes more stamina than you think little boy, now let's go."
Adam opened the return portal, and we entered through it.
The next day.
When we arrived at our training place, I sat down, and Adam sat in front of me this time.
"It's time for you to understand the nature of mana and how it works. Listen carefully."
"Okay."
"First, mana is the energy of the soul within the body, and anyone who uses this energy is called a warrior. I assume you already know these things, right?"
"Yes."
"There are two types of warriors, martial arts warriors and Magic warriors."
"Magic?"
"Yes, the difference between the two lies in the fact that martial artists perform attacks based on physical weapons, and in our case, you and I use our fists, while magic warriors rely on launching their attacks from a distance, their basic weapons can be their staffs."
"But what determines which category someone falls into?"
"What you choose to train in, and what determines your talent is your physical structure, whether it's suitable for close combat or ranged combat, or being a mage or martial artist."
I was confused is it really this simple? I can choose anything? but..
"And how do I know if my physical structure is suitable for something in particular?"
"No one can."
"What?!"
"There's a limit you can reach after training, and that limit decreases the further you stray from the right path, for example in case you are suitable for being a sword user and you go to train in the bow path your limit will be in level 4, while if you train in sword you may even reach level 1. Well, that's not something you need to worry about."
"Why?"
"Let's say that my teacher and those before him have been developing this secret body-strengthening technique for hundreds of years. I finished its development a few years ago."
"body strengthening?"
"Yes, from the beginning, the first masters travelled across the True Realm, gathering knowledge about other mana usage techniques. They integrated the best techniques together, and each generation evolved until I made it to this point. Now it's time to pass it on to you, but remember, this martial art is passed on to only one person per generation, and it must be someone from the outside world."
"Like an ordinary? but why?"
"Don't worry about that for now. I'll explain later."
"....So, does this thing have a name?"
"I called Elemental Body Technique for Martial Arts."
"Elemental Body Technique for Martial Arts?"
"Yes, look, there are a lot of body-enhancing techniques in the True Realm, but this is the only one that will transform your body from an ordinary one to one suitable for any martial art you choose, don't worry about it for now."
"That's why you said not to worry... But wait," I continued in astonishment, "It transforms the body?"
"Yes, in fact, it strengthens the person's body by using mana to regenerate cells completely, you will understand it later"
"S-So, will I learn it now?" I asked eagerly.
"No, are you stupid?"
"What?!"
"You won't learn it until you reach the end of the eighth level."
"Huh?! W-Why?!"
"You won't benefit much from it now."
"And when will I reach this stage?"
"Why are you in such a hurry? We have two full years of training ahead of us."
"Two years? What do yo...?"
"Alright then," Adam stood up and continued, "You will fight me."
"What?!" I was a little surprised by my teacher's words, but I also got up because I was excited about the idea of finally fighting since I felt an increase in my strength yesterday, honestly, I was cocky I forgot how he burnt a giant centipede when I first met him by his bare hands.
"Alright, let's do it," I said to him with an enthusiastic smile.
Adam grinned back and replied, "Now that's the look of someone called my apprentice."
I advanced towards my teacher, running, and raised my fist to attack him as I unconsciously spread mana throughout my body to strengthen my attack. It felt like I was imitating an Anime character.
"Excellent! You used mana to strengthen your attack without me explaining it to you. Not bad, but..." Adam stopped my fist with the palm of his hand and said, "It's not enough."
I tried to break free from his grasp but couldn't.
Bang!
Adam lightly flicked his finger on my forehead, sending me flying several meters back.
"What just happened?! I swear it did but it didn't hit me," I quickly got up, trying to comprehend what had just happened, but I couldn't find Adam anywhere.
"Looking for me?"
I quickly glanced behind myself to see him smirking, with his hands placed behind me to prevent me from hitting the large rock behind me. The rock was the size of Hans's restaurant.
"W-what?! What is happening here?!"
I was seriously confused, shocked and scared.
"don't dwell too much into it just know that this is the strength difference between us."
"W-Wow!!! Can you show me your strongest attacks? What can you do?"
"Hmm? Well... Alright."
Adam confidently stepped towards the previous boulder and said in a low voice yet I heard him, "10% should be more than enough."
The man began to fly up in the air as he said to me, "Watch carefully, my dear student. The element I'm training in is..." He raised his hand upwards, and a huge cloud of flame began to emerge from his arm. "...the fire element."
"Whoa!!!"
A massive ball of fire formed, causing me to open my mouth in shock.
Adam threw the fireball towards the giant rock, causing it to explode the moment they touched.
BOOM!!!!
a huge explosion happened I closed and ears for a second, but then when I opened my eyes I just remained stunned for minutes, not even noticing when my teacher used his abilities to move the rocks away from me.
After the explosion subsided, my teacher approached me, saying with a proud smile, "What do you think of your teacher's strength, my dear apprentice?"
I replied in awe of what I had just witnessed, "Is that just 10%?!!"