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Chapter 26
A week had passed since I began learning from Master Cesare how to manipulate mana. Unfortunately, I still couldn’t feel any mana.
Seeing me so discouraged, Master Cesare explained that even those with magical talent typically need about two weeks to two months to sense mana.
Moreover, he added, this usually applies to those in their early teens—the ideal age for a budding magician. Since I had started late, it could take even longer for me.
So, by ordinary standards, it wasn’t unusually slow that I hadn’t felt mana after just a week.
But what I wanted wasn’t to become a magician. I wanted to calm the mana within my body and rid myself of the aftereffects of Trinz’s disease. Since I couldn’t sense mana as easily as I had hoped, I couldn’t help feeling anxious.
Even with the relief medicine, the aftereffects still hit me occasionally, and it was exhausting. The excruciating pain that gnawed at my body, the overwhelming weakness—it was all too much.
Sometimes, I panicked, wondering if I could smell blood with each breath, and my head would pound so hard I couldn’t think clearly.
Experiencing such frequent pain in just a week made life miserable.
Normally, I had no choice but to rely entirely on the relief medicine, but when I was with Master Cesare, he could forcibly guide the rampaging mana in my body.
Miraculously, the twisting pain and the splitting headaches vanished instantly.
After experiencing that twice, I realized just how extraordinary it was to directly manipulate mana to suppress its chaos.
Naturally, I wanted to learn quickly so I could control mana myself and overcome the aftereffects. That way, I wouldn’t need help from anyone else.
Just the thought of that made me happy—at least, I would worry less about the pain.
I exhaled deeply without realizing it.
“Don’t think about it too urgently. Try to feel it calmly. Mana won’t run away,” Master Cesare encouraged, seeing me sigh with a restless heart. I smiled faintly and nodded in response.
He was helping me without expecting anything in return. It would be rude to show such a dispirited face to someone like him.
“Yes, I won’t be impatient.”
“Good. Now, let’s begin again.”
Master Cesare infused the surrounding air with mana. Feeling the weight of it, I slowly closed my eyes.
As I remained with my eyes shut, I suddenly sensed a subtle flow, unlike the wind.
It was faint, soft, and uninterrupted—a peculiar texture that didn’t waver even in the slightest breeze.
I opened my eyes and looked at Master Cesare. When he saw my surprised expression at suddenly opening my eyes, he tilted his head.
“What is it?”
“I… just now, I felt a strange flow.”
“A flow? What did it feel like?”
“It was a little different from wind… I don’t know how to explain it. It felt like a stream of flowing water.”
I tried my best to describe exactly what I had felt. Master Cesare’s face broke into a wide smile as he listened.
“My goodness! Marquis Marbes! You finally felt it!”
“Really? Could it be…?”
Hearing his words, a small hope arose in me. Could that faint flow I felt actually be mana?
“Yes. Based on your description, I’d say you are indeed sensing mana. You can finally feel it. And you’ve done so faster than anyone I know. Congratulations.”
When Master Cesare even applauded, it finally hit me: I could feel mana, just as I had longed to.
The thought that I could truly sense mana felt almost miraculous.
“I knew it,” I murmured.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve been using mana stones constantly to treat your illness, right? That must have heightened your sensitivity to mana compared to others. That’s why I came when you requested my help. Didn’t you recall?”
I remembered when Master Cesare had first visited my manor.
“Yes, I remember,” he said.
“In any case, it’s fortunate. Feeling mana will ultimately benefit you. I believe your aftereffects will heal much more quickly now.”
“Do you really think so?”
Hearing this from Master Cesare, the lord of the magic tower, I couldn’t help but feel hope.
“Of course. It would be best to concentrate again so that you don’t forget the sensation you just felt.”
“Yes! Got it!”
Before I could even celebrate feeling mana for the first time in a week, Master Cesare advised further focus. I closed my eyes again to confirm that what I had felt wasn’t an illusion.
The surrounding air grew heavy once more. Master Cesare had infused the area with denser mana. I strained to detect the faint, breeze-like flow I had sensed earlier within this weighty atmosphere.
How long had I concentrated? Through the dense air, I felt the subtle, foreign flow again.
This time, I didn’t make the mistake of opening my eyes impulsively in excitement. Instead, I focused on tracing the flow.
At first, it felt like a thin thread, but the more I concentrated, the larger the flow became. Soon, it coiled around me like a thick serpent.
Apparently, this was how the mana Master Cesare had laid out around me moved. It had condensed so strongly that even I could perceive the air as heavy.
I raised my hand while keeping my eyes closed. The mana surrounding me dispersed at my gesture, only to converge again into a single, large current.
My hand felt the weight of the air. It seemed silly to describe it that way, but that’s exactly how it felt.
“You seem to be able to sense it to some degree, correct?” Master Cesare asked, his voice cheerful. I nodded in confirmation.
“Good. Let’s advance a bit. Keep your eyes closed and try moving the mana yourself.”
“Move it? Me?”
“Yes. You need to control external mana before you can control the mana inside you.”
As Master Cesare explained, the flow of mana began to shift. Previously, it had felt like a single serpent, but now it collided and swirled like interweaving breezes.
“Let’s start by connecting the dispersed mana into one, like before. Don’t rush—just try.”
“Okay.”
I tried to gather the scattered mana, but no matter how hard I tried, it didn’t move according to my will.
In the end, like standing blankly for a week to feel mana, I was left helpless, waving my hands around like a fool.
“All right, we’ll wrap up for now.”
When Master Cesare withdrew the mana, the air lightened. I opened my eyes with disappointment, my shoulders slumping.
I had finally sensed mana after a week, but moving it was a completely different challenge.
“Don’t be too disappointed. Feeling mana in just a week is already a remarkable achievement, Marquis Marbes.”
“Really?” I asked weakly. He nodded as if it were obvious.
“I couldn’t sense mana in a week myself. You’re doing very well. You might even set a record for becoming a magician in the shortest time.”
I chuckled at his joke.
“Thank you, Master Cesare. Perhaps I’m absorbing it quickly because you’re a good teacher.”
“Your words are an honor.”
“Would you like some tea before you go? Rivet has probably prepared refreshments.”
I said this to Master Cesare, who had taught me to manipulate mana without accepting any payment. I wanted to give him at least a small token of thanks.
He hesitated for a moment, then smiled awkwardly and nodded.
“May I?”
“Of course. This way, please.”
I smiled at him as if it were natural and led Master Cesare to the parlor.
