After over two grueling weeks of strict training and endless repetition of routines, mana breathing had become second nature to Ardiel. The Elder had insisted on practicing it constantly, sparing only his sleeping hours.
"Don't think I can't sense you even when you return to Azure Hall," the Elder said, keenly aware of Ardiel's thoughts.
Now that the training session had concluded, Ardiel hoped for a well-deserved break—or so he thought.
"You have approximately ten days to form your mana core. By then, you must ace the admission test. I don't want my students to be mediocre," the Elder added, increasing the pressure Ardiel already felt.
In addition to mastering mana breathing, Ardiel now faced the looming deadline of forming his mana core.
He had nothing to say—or rather, he didn't want to say anything. Speaking up might provoke the Elder into adding even more to his already heavy burden.
He left the cottage and walked his way home with heavy steps.
He left the cottage and trudged home with heavy steps as he recalled what has happened for the past 3 days.
The past two weeks have been incredibly hard. The Elder had even taught him a 1st Rank Magic spell, Light Step, which allowed him to reduce the pull of gravity on himself, making him significantly more agile.
Light Step is one of the few known spells that Gravity Magic users have restored from ancient manuals. Not much is known about it, as its structure is even more complex than the famous Space and Time Magic.
Gravity Magic users are incredibly rare, like coming across a rainbow-feathered peacock. The highest-ranking gravity user was a Rank 4 Aura user who augmented his body using the force of gravity, making his moves more lethal.
"This is a manual for the light step spell," Alentor handed him a worn, aged book. It really looked old, like a book that has been ignored in the archives for centuries.
"I won't be teaching you this time, you have three days," he remembered that it was probably the hardest three days of his life. He received the manual the day after forming his first mana ring, and life couldn't get harder than that.
The manual was nearly falling apart, with only five tattered pages.
While understanding the spell was straightforward, executing it proved difficult.
Everything is subject to the pull of gravity, the clouds may have been floating in the sky, but they too are affected by the force of oscillation. In the sea, buoyancy allows creatures to counter gravity, or sometimes at the expense of energy, through swimming; the same principle applies to birds.
He doesn't have fins to swim, or wings to fly, but he has something that could act like those for him and it was mana. It's like an extension of his body and spirituality.
The principle of Light Step is to lessen gravity's influence on the user. It's a lower-tier version of the Levitate spell, which completely frees the user from gravity's pull.
Ardiel understood that to master Light Step, he needed to synchronize his body with gravity, allowing him to manipulate and neutralize its force. This is where his mana ring would play its role.
To understand gravity, he needed to experience it to a certain extent. The hardest part of this process was when he synchronized his body with the force, which amplified the pull of gravity on him.
The closer he synchronized his body, the stronger the pull, and from this point on, he would have to carefully control his mana to neutralize the force slowly.
The manual briefly discussed syncing the mana inside the body with the force of gravity present in nature. With his dragon mana's innate gravitational properties, this part was the easiest. The real challenge was synchronizing his dragon mana with the gravitational force with extreme precision. It had to match the exact frequency and resonate with it, or it would backfire, causing him to crash repeatedly.
It was a slow, painful, and arduous process. He would sometimes slam on the ground at a slight moment of dissonance. He couldn't count the times his face had met the soil; he could even tell by now how the grass tasted in the backyard.
As Ardiel struggled, he couldn't help but reflect on the gravity of his situation—literally and figuratively. If just a Rank 1 magic spell of Gravity Magic was this hard, what more would it be for higher-tiered magic spells?
The thought of facing more complex spells filled him with a mix of dread and determination. He knew he had to persevere, not just to master Light Step, but to prove to himself that he could rise to any challenge, no matter how impossible it seemed.
Meanwhile, Alentor observed from the veranda, enjoying his usual tea time. He didn't expect Ardiel to learn the spell in three days. It was more of a challenge to see how far the boy could push himself. If Ardiel succeeded, it would be impressive. If not, it was also fine.
Alentor didn't want Ardiel to become too reliant on his mentor. He wanted the boy to learn to stand on his own, preparing him for his future at the academy.
As he watched Ardiel stumble and accumulate bruises, Alentor knew this was part of the process. A diamond in the rough needed more than just pressure—it needed heat. Blood, sweat, and tears would forge Ardiel into the figure he was destined to be.
Ardiel repeated the cycle of draining his mana and crashing into the ground. The manual wasn't user-friendly; it was vague and showed how gravity magic was still a developing field compared to others. He could only rely on his own understanding.
In a sense, the process of engulfing his body with dragon mana and use it to resonate with nature's gravity was almost similar to how Aura users augment their body with mana, while this would help him have a better grasp on being an aura user, for now, it was a bad call for him who had started as a magister.
He persevered with only sleep and breakfast as his break. He improved by a notch after 2 days that felt like a week.
"Okay, one more," he mumbled to himself.
He stood still, calmed himself, and began enveloping his body in a gray, almost transparent mana. It started from his upper body, then slowly crawled down to his feet. Once his entire body was covered in his mana, he began to sync it with nature's.
This process was like two opposing currents of water meeting, like a surging river flowing into the ocean.
To achieve resonance, he needed to blend with the outside force. As the two mana sources collided, they swirled around him, causing shifts in gravity. He felt moments of near weightlessness, then sudden crushing heaviness. This went on for a few minutes until he finally achieved harmony.
"I did it!" he thought, but he couldn't afford to lose focus, or all his effort would be wasted.
Now that he was perfectly synchronized with gravity, he controlled his dragon mana to flow in reverse. His mana ring spun counterclockwise like an overheating engine, gradually lessening the pull of gravity on him.
He managed to reduce gravity's influence by 25%, allowing him to move with only three-quarters of the natural gravity's pull.
What he needed to do to be able to call this a successful attempt is to maintain this form while moving. He took a slow deep breath before slowly taking a step forward.
He was a bit taken aback with how light his footstep was when he moved his right foot. As he completed a whole step, he proceeded to do another, until he did around 5 light footsteps.
"You've done it," a sudden voice from behind startled him, causing him to lose focus and crash to the ground.
"Arggh!" he groaned, frustration bubbling up inside him. He lay there for a moment, feeling the cool earth against his cheek. He had been so close.
"Why did you have to say something?" Ardiel muttered as he pushed himself up, brushing dirt off his clothes. He turned to see the Elder standing there, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Well, I couldn't resist. Your face of pure concentration was too priceless to ignore," Alentor said, chuckling.
"You know, if you keep this up, I might start thinking you enjoy watching me eat dirt," Ardiel replied, trying to suppress a grin.
"Maybe a little. But look at the bright side—now you're well acquainted with the taste of determination," Alentor teased, his eyes twinkling.
"Was that supposed to be a compliment, cause I felt so grounded right now," Ardiel sighed helplessly.
"Ha, you young ones are so weak willed that I'm starting to worry about your generation. Remember, achieving balance is only the first step. Maintaining it under any circumstance is where true mastery lies," Alentor added, his expression becoming more serious.
Ardiel took a deep breath and nodded. He would master Light Step, not just to pass the test, but to prove to himself that he could overcome any challenge. With a final nod to the Elder, he turned back to his practice, ready to face gravity once more.