Joren got up and dusted himself coughing in the process. He stretched his body and then checked to see if he had any injuries.
"Well, that didn't turn out like I thought it would. Probably too much pressure. I need to figure out the right amount of pressure I need in order to make the aura blade stable. I don't wanna have it blow up in my face again."
Joren spent the next three hours attempting to get the right amount of pressure for his aura blade and after many explosions, he finally succeded. Not only that, but he also managed to make the aura around his hands function like gauntlets and even the aura around his legs as boots. He then made the aura around his chest and face function like armor. Since the physical aura is still thin, it just looked like he had a thin white layer around himself.
"This truly is better than the misty aura. Well that does make sense, this is the next level after all. Now, let's move on to the next part, separating my mana from myself."
Before he could move on, he heard someone call his name. As he turned around, he saw Lauren waving him back inside.
"Come inside sweetie, it's time for lunch."
"Coming Auntie!" he shouted as he ran inside.
...
After finishing lunch, Joren went back outside to continue practicing. He's always enjoyed working out, now adding magic to his routine was something he looked forward to even more than normal workouts. Who wouldn't? Imagine how jealous the people back on Earth would be if they learned that Joren could practice magic.
"Okay, now that I've got the hang of making my aura physical, now it's time to separate it from myself. What does the book say about this part?" He opened the book and turned to the corresponding page.
"The next level is to separate mana from oneself. This process will allow someone to utilize long-range spells for attacking at a distance." He read.
"Y'know, these explanations really suck. This shit doesn't even tell you how to separate your mana. *Sigh* I really need a teacher." He tried to use his own understanding to achieve his tasks but even after an hour, he wasn't able to separate his mana. Feeling stumped, he decided to continue reading.
"To control mana outside of the body, one must know the limit of their range of mana. Knowing the range will allow one to know the influence of their mana. Once separated, the mana should float freely in the area the person wants it to appear."
"Range of mana? The fuck does that mean?! UGHHHHH!!!! This is so frustrating!!"
'Should I wait until Uncle Glenn gets back? No no no, I don't have the patience for that. As frustrating as this is, it's still very exciting and I'm way too excited to stop now. But how do I even separate mana from myself? At least have proper explanations you stupid book.' Sighing in defeat, Joren sat down and started meditating to clear his mind.
As he meditated, he started absorbing mana from the surroundings to replenish what he had used up a little while ago. He envisioned his dome of mana and started grabbing all the mana particles around him. Thirty minutes had passed by quickly and he was about to stop until something caught his attention.
'Wait a minute! The dome I use to absorb mana is that the range of my mana's range?' He questioned himself.
He started focusing on everything that was in his dome. The trees, the rocks, the dirt, the bugs, everything that was in his dome, he could sense, he could feel it. Marveled by this revolution, he attempted to feel the area that wasn't in his dome, and to his amazement, he couldn't.
'They say enlightenment only comes when you least expect it. The range of my mana is as far as I can sense. Currently, my dome spans about a 10-foot radius. That will probably increase as I grow stronger. So if my range of mana is a 10-foot radius, then would that also be my range of influence? And if it is my range of influence, that still doesn't explain how to separate my mana.' He began to contemplate hard
Joren continued to absorb mana trying to see if he could gain further enlightenment. His mana kept grabbing the particles of all colors bringing them into his body and strengthening it further. He wasn't able to absorb every single one though. The absorption process was like trying to scoop up sand with your hands, some will still fall back down to the ground. Absorbing mana functions very similar to this concept.
After another thirty minutes, Joren had a second epiphany
'Wait! My mana is absorbing the mana from nature. MY MANA! Every time I absorb mana, I'm separating it from my own body. Therefore, I should just follow the principle when trying to achieve the next step!'
Joren immediately rushed to his feet and began concentrating. If his dome was already a type of mana separation, he just had to combine this with the knowledge of making his mana physical. So he put it into practice. Focusing on his hand he imagined a dome similar to the one he uses to absorb mana. After a few seconds, a small white ball of mist appeared in his hand. He then applied pressure and made the ball dense then after another few seconds, the ball became physical. The ball had a misty hue around it making it look like a ball on fire.
"I DID IT! I ACTUALLY DID IT!" He ran around the backyard waving his hands in the air celebrating his achievement. But he ended up tripping on a tree root and faceplanted onto the ground causing his nose to bleed.
Getting up, Joren wiped the blood from his mouth with a smile on his face. He ran back over to the book and began reading once more.
"The mana ball is the most elementary spell of all types of magic. This one spell paved the path for many more to come. The mana ball's constitution is so basic that it can be shaped into many different spells to aid in certain situations. Please refer to the list below." Joren looked at the list of spells
"Mana Arrow. Mana Ball (Projectile version). Mana Sword, oh that sounds cool as fuck. Mana Shield. Having an element can further strengthen these spells." He read. "Oh cool, so if I create a mana arrow and have the fire element, I can make a fire arrow, that's good to know. Let's try some of these shall we."
Joren formed a mana ball and went to the tree that he tried to cut earlier.
"Tree! I have come for my revenge! Prepare yourself!" Positioning his hand to fire the ball, Joren applied more mana to it causing it to glow brighter. He took a deep breath and circulated the mana in his hand pushing the ball forward causing it to crash into the tree.
*CRACK* The tree had a circular scar that ran deep in its bark. Cracks appeared around the point of contact which had then spread around. The tree creaked as if it was cursing Joren for using it as a practice dummy. 'You should have died when you were blown up' The tree probably wanted to say.
"Hmm, so it's a concussive force, like a punch. Let's try the Mana arrow."
Gathering his mana, he formed the mana ball again but this time, he shaped it into an arrow. It wasn't hard at all. Mana felt like controlling a limb, once you get the hang of it, you can operate it without any effort. Positioning himself in front of the tree again, he fired off the arrow and as he suspected, it pierced the tree.
Moving on to the mana sword, Joren had a bit more trouble with this spell. He had to use more mana and concentration to make the sword, but after a few trials and errors, he eventually got it down and formed a mana sword. When he went to slash the tree, he got the expected result. After that, he spent the next few hours practicing the other spells which he managed to perform with minimal effort, and practiced increasing his casting speed so he could form the spells without making the mana ball first. When it became evening, Joren had succeeded in all his tasks.
"Seriously! Is Aura supposed to be this easy?" Feeling tired he went back inside and took a bath.
[A/N: There is a reason why Joren can learn magic at a fast pace. It will be revealed in later chapters.]