"Ugh!" William grumbled as he groggily opened his eyes. He was in excruciating pain, unable to move a single finger.
"I get why he said that I was tired. My mouth won't open properly." He tried to open his mouth, but the aching pain in his muscles forced him to close it.
William stayed in bed for a few hours, reviewing what he had learned in the bubble.
'The man said that I need to look closer, but even then I don't think I am wrong,' he mumbled to himself.
"Let's try that again." He muttered to himself and focused his vision on one of the corners of the room.
His vision changed, and the world turned into particles of light. He could see the wind mana in the air and also the fire mana. He could see ice mana in the jug of water near him and also the earth mana in the furniture.
The fire mana in the atmosphere approached the ice mana on the walls of the jug, but they bounced off the moment they met. There was no change in the mana whatsoever. "Maybe I am doing something wrong." He thought to himself; his eyes were now drooping due to the excessive stress his body had undergone.
William fell into a deep sleep until his body became accustomed to the new schedule. He woke up a few hours later and went to look for his father.
KNOCK KNOCK
William knocked on Ophiscus's office, hoping that his father would be there. "Enter," Ophiscus said from the other side of the door.
William opened the door and entered the room. His gaze fell upon his father, who was working on some documents, with Sebastian beside him. "William! I wasn't expecting you now; what is it? Did something happen?" Ophiscus asked, his brows knitted tightly while watching his son have trouble walking.
William, noticing his father's concern on his face, reassured him, "I am all right, Father. I worked too hard during the training."
Ophiscus nodded his head in reply, yet his brows were still creased. William sat in the chair facing his father. He began, "Father, I need monsters to fight. Amateur and Adept would do."
Ophiscus and Sebastian narrowed their gaze at William. "Why do you need monsters?" Ophiscus questioned.
"The man said that I needed to fight monsters once I completed my training."
Ophiscus began to ponder his son's words. He squinted and asked, "What are you training for, William?"
"I am training to see how different kinds of mana interact and how they transform into one another."
"Hmmm," Ophiscus hummed while bobbing his head. "Well, if it's any help to you, think of mana as a medium rather than the source itself." He advised.
"Mana as a medium?" William muttered to himself while he thought about his father's advice.
"Yes," Ophiscus said, "just like how water acts as a medium for fishes and space acts as a medium for all the worlds to live in."
"And don't worry about the monsters. Sebastian will handle it," Ophiscus mumbled, turning to him.
Sebastian nodded. He noted William's requirements for the monsters. William nodded, lost in thought. He got up and left the room, still thinking about his father's advice.
He got to his room, closed the door behind him, and sat on his bed. His mind replayed his father's advice over and over again.
"Thinking of mana as a medium rather than the source? What does that mean?" William asked himself, confused by his father's words.
He tried to see the mana interacting again, hoping his father's advice would help. William concentrated on the jug of water. He could see the ice mana in the droplets on its outer walls.
The fire mana in the air came closer to the ice mana; it got closer and closer until the two met and then bounced off. William's brows furrowed as he squinted his eyes and glared at the ice mana and the fire mana. 'There's no difference.' He concluded, moving his gaze away from the jug.
'Maybe I am looking in the wrong place,' he wondered before shifting his gaze toward the door. Earth mana in the door formed a precise lattice pattern with fire mana in the space between it. The wind mana in the air hit the earth and fire mana and bounced right back off.
But William noticed a difference. Some of the fire mana was missing. It now hovered in the air with the wind mana.' Maybe this is what I am missing?" he thought and watched the wind mana carry the fire mana around the room.
But he still couldn't see how they transformed into one another. 'Ahh! This is so frustrating!' William exclaimed as he flailed his arms and fell back onto the bed. He closed his eyes, his hands clenched on the bedsheets.
SIGH
He sighed in defeat and relaxed his muscles. His father's advice replayed in his mind like a broken record.
"Mana is a medium rather than a source..." William mumbled as he went to sleep; in his dreams, he dreamt of the conversation he had once had with his aunt, Vela.
In that dream, his aunt was standing in front of him, clad in battle armor. Her silver hair was in a ponytail. She looked at William and said, "Little William, mana reacts to a person's intent. The more powerful the man is, the more mana reacts."
She then raised her sword high. Her lips, like a crescent moon, widened as she muttered, 'Lunar Sword Arts: 1st Phase - The Full Moon.'
A magnificent silver moon rose behind her. It shone with silver light, its edges painted red. The entire area surrounding her shrank into a crater due to the sheer pressure coming off her.
The moon behind her shone as it got bigger and bigger, encompassing the whole mansion. Vela then turned to him and said, "I didn't do anything, William. All I did was provide it with my intent."
"Remember, William. The more powerful the intent, the more mana reacts." Vela's voice echoed as her figure faded away, ending the dream.
William opened his eyes, recalling the dream with perfect clarity. He lifted himself up, swung his legs over the bed's edge, and turned to the water jug. "Mana reacts to the intent, huh! Then..." William's mind raced, thinking about his aunt's words in the dream.
"If mana reacts to the intents of powerful people, then it must be reacting to 'heat' or 'cold.'" His eyes opened wide in an instant. A revelation hit him.
"Mana is the same. It reacts to various intents and takes on several forms."
"It reacts to 'heat' and turns into fire mana; it reacts to the intent of cold and becomes ice mana. So, what the man was talking about would be how the intent shifts from one mana particle to another." William then watched the jug for any changes. His eyes were wide, and his pupils shone as his vision changed.
The mana particles now filled William's vision. He saw one of the wind mana along with fire mana getting nearer to the ice mana in one of the droplets of water sticking to the walls of the jug. He narrowed his eyes at the fire mana, waiting for something to happen. The wind and fire mana hit the ice mana and bounced back, as if nothing happened.
But William noticed something. It was faint, but he noticed it. Some of the 'heat' in the fire mana got transferred to the ice mana. And some of the 'cold' transferred into the fire mana.
William's breath quickened at his discovery; parts of his violet core turned indigo. 'I have to tell this to him!' William mumbled to himself. Then, he collapsed onto the bed and slept, hoping to see the mysterious man.
William's conscience drifted through the void. Then, he stood before the celestial tree. He ran toward the bubble and entered it. The celestial tree scrutinized him; its limbs wavered gently.
William ran toward the waterfall, ignoring the stares from the squirrels and birds. "Hey! I figured it out!" But the man, standing silently with his arms crossed, ignored William's shout.
He stared at the waterfall. He slowly raised his arms high up in the sky and clapped.
CLAP
He then lowered his hands, extended his legs, and spun around elegantly in a perfect circle. The man then raised his right hand while lowering his left and turned his head to the side. The squirrels and birds, reacting to the man's dance, flocked to him and stared.
The man ignored the attention and moved his hands and legs in a smooth rhythm. The ice mana in the water, the earth mana in the ground, the fire mana in the light, and the wind mana in the air formed spheres and flowed around him, following his rhythm.
Sometimes, they would hover above him, rotating around each other. Other times, they would separate and float individually. William watched the man's dance, like before. He fell into a trance and began to dance, matching the man's rhythm. Spheres of mana formed around William, like they did for the man. But the entire place shook abruptly, causing an earthquake.
WOONG WOONG