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Episode 12: Mana (Part 1)
For a long time, the Enright Unified Empire had ruled over the continent of Rymant.
But that was now a story from decades past.
The Empire was destroyed by the Swordmaster, and the continent was divided into fifteen administrative regions.
It was a new governing system created by the Swordmaster.
Each administrative region was equivalent in size to a kingdom and contained dozens of smaller territories within it—a new hierarchy.
The Croton Administrative Region, to which the Irons Territory belonged, lay in the northern part of the continent, surrounded on three sides by the sea.
Naturally, maritime routes to the south had flourished.
Among them, the city of Chrome, where merchant and passenger ships had come and gone since ancient times, was the largest port city in the Croton Region.
True to its reputation, dozens of sailing ships departed from Chrome Harbor every day.
The medium-sized passenger ship carrying Yuri and Johan was one of them.
Flap—
The passenger ship left Chrome Harbor, catching a favorable wind that swelled its sails.
Swaaash—
Cutting through the waves, the ship sped forward, beginning its four-week voyage to the Niger Administrative Region.
Inside a shabby two-person cabin—
Johan looked down at the unconscious Yuri.
“Urghhh…”
Even in his faint, Yuri groaned as if the exhaustion was bone-deep. Johan’s eyes held a trace of disbelief.
“Good grief, what a stubborn brat.”
It was a statement of pure admiration.
He actually pulled it off.
The day Johan had explained mana and magical energy to Yuri, he had promised to initiate Yuri into mana if he could cover the four-day journey to Chrome in just two days.
Though Johan had set the two-day limit himself, he’d thought it practically impossible.
Cutting the travel time in half would require running day and night without rest.
Even though Yuri had recently grown stronger, it was essentially impossible for someone who hadn’t yet begun cultivating mana.
And yet Yuri did it.
Through sheer willpower alone.
He threw away manners, but he’s got plenty of grit.
The moment they arrived at the entrance of Chrome, Yuri had collapsed dramatically and fainted on the spot.
Remembering this made Johan’s lips curl slightly in amusement.
But that warm smile quickly turned sly.
“Pff, naive kid.”
Yuri probably didn’t know this—
Even if Yuri hadn’t pushed himself to arrive early, Johan had planned to end physical conditioning soon and start the next stage of training anyway.
If Yuri found out about this after all that effort, he’d probably grind his teeth in frustration.
The thought alone brought a broad grin to Johan’s face.
“He reacts to everything I do, which makes teasing him a lot more fun.”
At first, Johan had provoked Yuri just to spark motivation.
But recently, he was doing it simply because Yuri’s bristling reactions amused him.
It had become Johan’s only real source of entertainment lately.
“So this is why old men like raising disciples. With this kind of fun, old age must not be boring at all.”
It was the kind of line that would have made Yuri blow a fuse if he’d heard it.
Johan wiped the smile off his face and extended his hand toward Yuri.
Then he began pressing and massaging Yuri’s entire body—face, torso, arms, and legs.
His hands moved without hesitation but with meticulous care.
As he worked, steam began to rise from Yuri’s body.
Chiii—
The smoke gave off a faint burnt odor before dispersing into the air.
Johan’s movements became even more delicate.
Crackle—Crunch.
Strange sounds echoed from Yuri’s body.
Torn muscles were being stitched back together. Twisted bones and joints were being realigned.
Normally, this would have taken a long time, but Johan’s powerful mana drastically shortened the process.
And this wasn’t just healing—it was reconstruction.
Crackle—Crunch.
The newly formed muscles and bones were being shaped to make it easier for Yuri to learn martial body arts in the future.
This required an enormous amount of mana and an extremely detailed understanding of the human body—an advanced and dangerous procedure.
Even prestigious noble families guarded such techniques as family secrets, passing them down only to chosen successors.
Johan, however, performed this complex treatment casually and repeatedly whenever Yuri fainted.
Yuri’s miraculous recoveries after every collapse were entirely thanks to Johan’s behind-the-scenes efforts.
Crackle—Crack—Crunch.
Gradually, the noises from Yuri’s body subsided.
Only when they had completely disappeared did Johan finally withdraw his hands.
“Phew…”
Johan exhaled deeply, looking slightly tired.
Even for him, the procedure was mentally taxing.
But his eyes gleamed brightly.
“…He’s a natural-born martial prodigy.”
Strength, resilience, sharp senses—many qualities could make someone a “martial prodigy.”
But Yuri’s case was something different.
What a peculiar body…
At first, Johan had been disappointed by Yuri’s seemingly ordinary physique.
But over time, he had sensed something strange.
And when he finally realized what it was, he had been shocked.
How can a human body be this perfectly symmetrical?!
No human body is perfectly balanced—faces differ left to right, dominant hands and feet develop unevenly.
Even ambidextrous people subconsciously favor one side.
But Yuri was different.
He used both hands and both feet with nearly equal frequency and development.
Even more astounding, he did so unconsciously.
And with each of Johan’s procedures, Yuri’s body was becoming even more symmetrical.
A symmetrical body means perfect balance.
That was a huge advantage in learning martial body arts.
He’s not perfectly symmetrical yet, but if he ever reaches that point and can control it perfectly…
It would become a tremendous weapon.
A promising sign.
But not everything was positive.
His condition is worse than I thought.
Back when they first met, Johan had noticed Yuri’s body was in poor shape.
But now he realized it had been far worse than his initial estimate.
How has this kid even survived until now?
With a body this broken, it was a miracle Yuri hadn’t died in some alley long ago.
I’ve temporarily patched things up, but…
Yuri’s current state was only a temporary fix.
If the underlying imbalance wasn’t solved, his condition would deteriorate again.
His body’s deficiencies are mostly covered now. Next, we need to replenish his energy—his mana.
Filling him with mana would help Yuri pass the upcoming critical stage.
Johan was looking down at Yuri thoughtfully when—
“…Why are you staring at me like that, all gross?”
Yuri had woken up, squinting at him.
“When did I ever look at you grossly?”
“Just now.”
“Relax. I don’t swing that way.”
“What way?”
“The way you’re imagining.”
“I wasn’t imagining anything.”
“…Then why are you scooting away like that?”
“For the reason you’re imagining.”
As Johan pointed out, Yuri was slowly inching away on his back, scooting sideways—a talent in itself.
“You little brat…”
Johan frowned, and Yuri stopped fooling around and glanced around the cabin.
“Where are we?”
“Took you long enough to ask.”
With a sigh, Johan explained that they were on a passenger ship headed to Niger.
Yuri nodded, then suddenly sprang up.
“Ah! The promise!”
“Huh?”
“You said you’d tell me about mana if we got there in two days!”
“Tsk, I didn’t forget. Sit down.”
“So you will?”
“I’ll explain now.”
There was no reason to delay.
“Woohoo!”
Excited, Yuri dashed over and knelt in front of Johan.
“Come on, hurry!”
It was the first time Johan had seen Yuri so eager, and it felt a bit awkward.
He cleared his throat and began.
“Ahem! Mana is the source of all things and exists everywhere in the world.”
“Uh-huh!”
“Also, only when physical techniques are imbued with mana can they be called martial body arts. Thus, the foundation of martial arts is mana itself.”
“Uh-huh!”
“…Are you actually understanding any of this, or just nodding?”
“Yes, sir!”
Yuri nodded enthusiastically.
Seeing Yuri so focused made Johan curious.
Just how much mana talent does this brat have?
He already had a soul capable of summoning a divine avatar, and a perfectly balanced body.
If he also possessed strong mana aptitude…
His growth might outpace even my expectations.
Johan swallowed dryly and continued.
“Let’s begin. Sit in a comfortable position.”
“Here?”
“Yes. Straighten your back and breathe slowly.”
“Do I close my eyes too?”
“If it helps.”
Before Johan even finished, Yuri had closed his eyes and sat cross-legged.
Rustle, rustle.
His small breaths filled the room. Johan’s calm voice followed.
“Entering the realm of mana begins with perceiving it. I’m going to release mana around you. Try to feel it.”
A rare few prodigies were born with extreme sensitivity to mana, able to sense and cultivate it on their own from a young age.
Yuri wasn’t one of them.
There was no mana in his body yet—Johan would have noticed otherwise.
So Johan decided to use the standard induction method: increasing the mana density around the student.
The lower the mana density at which one could first perceive it, the higher their innate talent.
Show me what you’re capable of.
Johan’s eyes sharpened as he released mana around Yuri.
The mana density rose sharply.
And then—
Something completely unexpected happened.
…?!
The mana Johan released—
Zzzzzp—
—was being sucked into Yuri.
At a tremendous speed.
