Kai's eyes halted over Killian.
The latter's curiosity was written all over his face. His eyes widened slightly, thinking about what just Kai said. His finger was tapping on his chin, thoughts written all over his face.
Kai gave a subtle smile.
"You must be wondering how it all happens." He looked in between Killian and Francis. "Mana. Everyone has it. And everyone can absorb mana. I shouldn't emphasise that even normal people can absorb mana, but only a few can use it for something greater. Do you really think only Mages can manipulate mana?"
"Yes," Killian said. "If it were possible for others to do it, then Mages wouldn't have such privileges around the world."
He shook his head. "Think of mana like a seed," Kai explained. "The Mana Heart is like the soil. It stores and provides the raw energy, the potential. The brain is like the gardener. It senses the mana, directs its flow, and shapes it into something useful. Grow the right crop. The mana veins are like irrigation channels. They carry the mana from the heart throughout the body, distributing it where needed, like to your palms where spells manifest."
His fingers traced something in the air as lines appeared. It was an easy display of mana, one that made a diagram of a human in front of them.
Francis and Killian gasped at it.
"Now, if you have three of these, you are good to go. Unless there's something like a vein blockage or a defective heart, you would be able to become an able Mage."
Kai paused, then drew a shape in the head, like a crude image of the brain. He connected it to the Mana Heart and left out the veins. "Now, there are cases where one has two organs out of the three. Out of a hundred people, one will have all three organs, but around ten will have at least two. If it's brain and heart, then they could be Enforcers. Obviously, there are uses if they have veins and a heart too, but it's not generally effective since sensing mana is important to do anything with it."
"If there are no irrigation channels, how will it even work?" Killian asked, and Francis nodded in agreement.
"Not every crop or plant grows with irrigation, few grow under the soil, few don't even need water. The irrigation channels don't need to be present until the soil is apt and the gardener knows what to do with it," Kai said, smiling. "In easy words, there's not one way to manipulate mana. Humans aren't meant to be rigid."
"Lord Arzan, your words make sense, but if there's a way like that, then I don't know why no one knows about it," Francis muttered. "Your words sound good as a theory, but I don't think it's practical enough."
Kai clapped his hands together, knowing they understood what he was trying to explain. "It is practical. It's not about how much mana you have or whether you can use it like a Mage. It's about how the power inside you chooses to manifest."
"I'm sorry, but that sounds as plausible as finding a dragon's lair in the mountains," Killian grumbled, his voice rough and sceptical. He roughly raked a hand through his hair, looking at Kai with a confused expression plastered on his face. He blinked as he bit his lips and frowned. "I'm sorry for my words, Lord Arzan. What exactly are you talking about? Your words sound like something out of a dream and they… aren't real."
Kai looked at Francis. He seemed to grasp some of what Kai explained, but Killian's confusion was growing vividly.
It made sense since he had heard that Killian was a candidate to be a Mage, but had failed in the testing. Not being able to wield mana must have been a stinging wound for him.
Now, Kai was talking about how he could manipulate mana. If he was in his steps, he might have even lashed out.
Fortunately, he had a way to prove his words.
Kai grinned. "Have you ever heard of the Ashari Desert? A place where they say there's barely enough mana in the air for a Mage to come up? A literal wasteland."
Killian nodded slowly. "Yes, I have heard of the place. It's a place beyond Lancephil Kingdom. I have heard tales of it being a cursed land, ruled by the sand clans."
"They don't have Mages. How do you think they protect themselves against the sand beasts?"
A glint flashed in Killian's eyes and he visibly struggled to put words out. Finally, he spoke. "They call themselves sand knights, right? I heard the story from one of my instructors. They use mana to strengthen their bones, some form of spells it is and gain supernatural strength."
"Exactly," Kai said. "But you are wrong. It's not spells. They don't call themselves Mages. Although a few of them might be Mages, they don't have enough mana in the air to do spells higher than 1st circle. So, they focus on their bodies and become Enforcers."
In history, it wasn't known when the first Enforcer had emerged, but from what Kai had read, their techniques had always been there. Different clans in different parts of the world would hide them and won't reveal them to outsiders.
It was only by the end of the Golden Era of Magic that Enforcers became popular.
Originally, Kai had thought that Enforcers were always a part of society, but just became popular in the Golden era of magic. One reason was also that the records before it were hard to find. Even the ones dating back to the Golden Era were rare.
"Even if I agree with what you are saying, that sort of secret could change the whole world. I don't think clans from the Ashari desert would agree to hand over their techniques." Killian frowned, glancing at Francis who seemed to be thinking of whatever he knew of the desert clans.
"We don't need them to hand over their techniques. I just used it as an example," he said and looked at the arm of the knight.
Without a warning, Kai grasped Killian's battle-scarred hand with a surprisingly firm grip. "Relax, Killian," he murmured, his voice low. "Let me show you something."
"Yeah?" Killian relaxed under his orders.
A warmth flowed from Kai's palm into Killian's, a faint pulse of energy snaking up his arm. It was subtle, yet undeniable, like a heartbeat thrumming underneath the skin.
Killian stiffened, his gruff expression morphing into one of startled curiosity.
Kai released his hand, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. "I was checking your organs and you have got both. Heart and brain, I saw you sensing mana back when the merchant came to bother us and I wasn't wrong."
"Yes," Killian said slowly, rubbing his arm as if the warmth still lingered. His frown deepened, "My family paid for the testing when I was a child. A Mage looked for my organs and announced that I had two, but lacked veins to do magic properly. My family was disappointed and off to knighthood training I went after that, under the Duke."
His eyes clouded like he was back to a bad time in his life. Kai guessed that his childhood had been rough. It might just be his expectations of being a Mage or his family pushing him to be one due to the prestige. Probably the latter.
Kai nodded in understanding. "What if you have the power to defeat even a Mage inside of you?"
Killian snorted, the scepticism returning to his face. He shook his head immediately.
He doesn't believe me… Yet. Well, time to prove it.
Kai turned his head around and saw the papers he brought with him. In a swift motion, he picked it up and handed one of them to Killian.
"Don't dismiss me so quickly," Kai said. His eyes were firm on Killian. "Read, learn, and then we'll talk."
Killian took the papers in his hand.
Kai looked between the duo and sat in a seat that was opposite Francis's chair.
He saw Killian reading up what was on the paper with Francis craning his neck to take a peek at it. Time passed like that.
Each rustle of papers was punctuated by grunts of surprise, a deep frown etching itself between his eyebrows.
"Well, I'll be..." Killian muttered, tracing a finger over a crude diagram that seemed to chart invisible lines within a human form. "This... you're saying this is inside me? All this time?"
"Yes." Kai nodded.
"It can't. It just can't!" His voice rose, tinged with a mix of awe and denial.
The room fell silent as he kept reading. Kai didn't argue.
He simply slid another page forward, a set of meticulously detailed exercises unlike anything seen in a book in the library.
Killian stared, the words blurring before his eyes. This wasn't about casting fireballs or weaving illusions. Because the pages were of different diagrams with careful instructions laid out to awaken as an Enforcer.
Kai slowly observed their expressions.
"I still don't..." Killian began, his voice thick with confusion, "How? How can this make me..."
Kai cut him off, "Awakened. That's the word. And if you do awaken as an Enforcer, you could take down that blasted necromancer on your own. Don't you want that kind of power?" His voice lowered. "To protect this city, to protect everyone. You are getting older and you know it. Your strength should serve you for ten more years before ageing will make you weaker. That's the natural process of a human, but with this, you would rise above it."
A long silence fell over the table. Killian stared at the diagrams. Kai was trying to make him see the future with the diagrams and the promise of an Enforcer.
He was already too old to start as an Enforcer, but they had to take the risk.
Finally, Killian gave a slow, deliberate nod, his eyes still clouded as he held the papers, but that was enough for Kai who smiled.
***
They walked back to Kai's room to begin the process. Killian sat cross-legged on the floor. Opposite him, Kai knelt, his eyes bearing on Killian.
He had dismissed Francis since he didn't want to be disturbed and the old man had promptly left.
Now, only the quiet rasp of Killian's breath and the soft glow of the candle filled the room.
The papers that Kai previously brought lay on his small study table. And the rest of the room was neatly cleaned.
"Alright, Killian," Kai began, his voice low and measured. "This is the first step. We need to awaken your Mana heart and then…" he paused, searching for the right words, "force it to push the mana beyond its natural limits."
Killian grunted. "Sounds simple enough." The gruffness in his voice seemed forced, laced with a hint of nervousness.
"It won't be," Kai countered gently. "Think of your Mana heart like a well. It collects energy from the air, but it's stagnant. Now, imagine…" he reached out, placing a hand on Killian's broad chest, directly over his heart, "Imagine me pouring water into that well."
He closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling.
"This is mana," Kai continued; his voice a steady guide. "I'm giving it to you, but you need to take control. Feel it flow, feel it fill the well. Now, picture it as swirling the water in the well. Don't worry about perfect circles, just…" Kai gestured with his other hand, tracing a loose, swirling pattern in the air, "Keep it moving, circulating the core."
Killian gritted his teeth, concentrating on the warmth spreading within him. Kai knew that he could almost feel a resistance, a pressure building as his heart neared capacity. But there was more to it.
He needed to let Killian know everything related to the awakening.
He briefly stopped pushing mana and kept his palm over Killian's chest.
"You felt that?" he asked Killian who simply nodded. "The process will take longer than that, but it was just a small depiction of how it'd be. Now, you need to know that there are seven points," Kai explained, his fingers tapping specific locations on Killian's torso and limbs. "Vaults. They were always there but considered useless. Now, we believe if you can push the mana towards them and…" his voice trailed off, filled with cautious optimism.
"Open them," Killian rasped. "That's what you're saying, right? If I can force the mana to these… Vaults, that's the awakening?"
"Yes," Kai said, the single word heavy with anticipation. "It won't be easy. Without the natural channels Mages have, it's like forcing water through cracked rock. But if you can do it, Killian… if you can awaken those Vaults, you'll be something entirely new. Something stronger."
Silence descended again, broken only by the ragged rhythm of Killian's breathing. His eyes remained closed, his entire being focused on what Kai had told him.
Kai leaned closer, his eyes locked on Killian's. "This is important," he said, gravity heavy in his voice. "An Enforcer, it's... different from a Mage. They feel the world through their mana and amplify themselves with it. This awakening, if it works, will hurt. It will push you harder than any battle you've ever fought."
Kai pointed one by one at those key points on Killian's body— shoulder blades, both sides of the chest, wrists, a spot just above the navel. "It's a method of awakening that should be sufficient."
For the past few days, he had been busy looking through the records, trying to find one mention of Enforcers. When he found nothing, he had become sure that they weren't mainstream and even if there were Enforcers present, they were in clans that were closed off to the rest of the world.
So, he had thought back to his talks with Enforcers. He had a few of them in the Sorcerer's Tower and he had asked about their method of awakening.
After writing down everything he knew, he had made a whole process to awaken. There were a few gaps that he had filled with his knowledge of the human body and it wasn't foolproof, but it should be enough for Killian to awaken.
"Okay, I'm ready," Killian said and Kai started the process.
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