Gideon told my dad everything I did, including lifting the hammer and channeling mana. At first, my dad looked shocked, but his expression soon turned to pride. Gideon also mentioned my eagerness to learn more about channeling, convincing my dad to let him train me.
The next day, I returned to the smithy with my dad. After finishing his work, Gideon took me to the testing grounds behind the smithy, a space usually reserved for testing weapons but now designated as my training ground.
"Remember, kid, I'll teach you how to channel mana nature, but it won't be easy," Gideon said as he set up a training dummy.
"I know it won't be easy, but I'm not giving up until I get it," I replied confidently.
"You're confident, but you'll have to prove it first," he challenged.
"I will," I said, holding my ground.
"Alright, lose the sword. Today, you'll be using your fists."
"What? Aren't we practicing mana nature channeling?" I asked, confused.
"We are, but to channel mana nature into a weapon, you first need to master channeling it through your body."
"Channel it through my body? But I can already summon fire on the palm of my hand."
"That's casting, kid, not channeling. There's a big difference," Gideon explained.
"Are they really that different?"
"Sure are. Casting takes longer and uses more mana, while channeling is passive, allowing you to perform bigger attacks with less effort."
"So, channeling is like blood flowing through veins?"
"Exactly. That's why it requires intense focus to master. But once you get it, you'll be able to use it even under stress. Given that you could already channel mana into a sword, you might learn faster than most."
"So, what are we doing today?"
"Today, you'll learn to channel mana on your own," Gideon said with a grin.
"What? On my own?"
"Didn't I make it clear, kid?"
"I barely know anything about it, and you expect me to learn it alone?"
"Of course. Just stay focused and confident."
"As you already know kid channeling is like blood running through your veins, so now replace the blood with mana, you see that dummy over there, punch it without your fist getting stuck to it" With just that said Gideon begins to walk away.
"Just do your best kid, you know slow and steady wins the race, and keep it safe or else your veins will explode, I will be inside working."
"What? You can't just leave after saying that!"
"Oh, I can, and I will. Just know that if I catch you slacking, I'll use you as a hammer for my next sword," he said, walking back to the smithy.
"WHAT?!" I shouted after him, but he was already gone.
Left with no other option, I turned to the dummy. It was made of some strange, sticky material, my hand nearly got stuck when I touched it.
"What is this thing?" I muttered to myself.
I was curious about it but decided to try as I was told. I began to concentrate and tried to channel mana throughout my entire body and veins. After a while, I threw a focused punch at the dummy, but when the punch landed, my hand was stuck to it like glue, and the force of the punch had diminished significantly.
After a lot of thought, I realized that what I had been doing was not channeling but merely body strengthening with mana. I also understood that channeling mana needed to be constant and without any disturbances to be effective, just as Gideon had said. Since I had only been using strengthening, I had grown accustomed to it.
(Narration Break: Let's clarify the difference between casting and channeling.)
Casting is the simpler method of using mana. The user gathers a specific amount of mana in their hands and merges it with their mana nature. Though straightforward, casting takes time and can be interrupted.
Channeling, on the other hand, is passive and faster. It allows the user to keep mana and nature connected automatically. Once mastered, unless there is a massive disturbances it won't be cancelled, making it highly effective in battle.
(Back to the story)
"Wait... body strengthening uses a similar process, though it's not constant. If I could use that same concept for channeling..." I thought.
Sitting down, I focused on the technique I used for body strengthening but attempted to feel the flow of mana through my veins. An hour passed with no progress, though my body strengthening had improved, then a new idea struck.
"Instead of carefully injecting mana, maybe I should try flooding my whole body with it. It's risky, but if I don't take a chance, I might be stuck like this forever."