Chapter 13: Mana Core

After a long search through the books, some of which were unreadable like the rest of the diary, Naemon was finally able to find what he was looking for.

A yellow book lay on the table in front of him. The cover of the book had the inscription "Introduction to the Foundations of Magic" written in bold letters.

"This is it," Naemon mutterd, his lips curved into a smile. He flipped open the yellow book with trembling hands.

"The diary said that this was the legacy of the Fledertod family. The founder of the Fledertods himself wrote the contents. He was one of the strongest magicians in his time."

Naemon's eyes almost shone with enthusiasm.

"This is my key! Who needs the Aura Legacy of the Three Family when I can become a magician? This is my chance to wield real magic!"

He opened the book and started reading it. Minutes passed and he frowned. The book was tougher and more complicated than he had thought! Furthermore, Sebastian's notes were all over the margins. Apparently he had written down his own thoughts and improvements. This is helpful, but it made things more complicated!

Naemon spent the next few days or weeks, he wasn't sure, reading the yellow book. He read on the cold stone floor, on the soft bed and at the desk. When he wasn't reading, he spent his time eating the glow mushrooms, talking to Sebastian or sleeping.

Eventually, Naemon had learned the book inside and out. His head was full of new knowledge. He now knew what some of the symbols in the other books meant. Apparently these symbols come from various ancient languages ​​that no one speaks anymore.

Every culture and language has a different understanding of magic. This is because no one really understands what magic is. Different concepts that either work together or are complete opposites. Only through complex and dangerous experimentation can one explore such concepts in more depth. Experimenting that usually ends in death.

"Finally. Father and mother wouldn't believe what's in this book." Naemon said at first with a smile on his lips, but the smile quickly disappeared behind a painful look.

"I definitely have to get out of here!"

Naemon leafed through the book until he got to the page he wanted. When he got there, he pulled out a hidden piece of paper that was lying between two pages.

Then he got up from the desk and went to the middle of the room, where he sat down on the cold stone floor.

He put the piece of paper on the floor in front of him.

"So this is a so-called talisman," he said in surprise and took a closer look at the heavily charred talisman.

This work is hosted on mananovel.com

"And according to the book, it can be used to measure my potential for magic. However, this one isn't accurate. Well, never mind, at least I'll know roughly what to expect." Naemon encouraged himself. To be honest, he was a little nervous. He did not want to suffer the same fate as his predecessor Sebastian Fledertod.

"Mhm it's time"

Naemon put his finger on the drawn circle in the middle of the talisman and closed his eyes. He knew what to do. He concentrated on the talisman until he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his finger. Naemon recoiled and opened his eyes.

He couldn't believe his eyes. Reading the process was completely different from seeing magic in real life!

The talisman, which looked like normal paper just a second ago, was burning brightly in a bright blue.

Naemon's eyes reflected the blue flames. Although he was afraid at first, the fear was quickly replaced by fascination.

"Hmm A light blue flame? The book said that a yellow flame represents magically unloved people, which is a rarity but not impossible." Naemon turned around and looked at his bony friend

"Sebastian was unloved by magic, even though he loved magic more than anything. Luckily, my flame is not... yellow. My flame is light blue, which indicates that my talent is in the lower range of the blue flame. Blue means average, which means that you are no better than any peasant. Last but not least, you have the purple flame, which is rarer than the yellow flame and indicates that you have a talent for magic. According to the book, the difference between the three respective flames is like worlds."

Naemon paused and watched as the talisman slowly burned, leaving only a small mound of ash, which he blew away, lost in thought.

Although it did him no good to know his magical talent, the whole thing had given him courage. At least he didn't have the same talent as Sebastian, because unlike Sebastian, Naemon was not a genius. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

The quiet young man sighed deeply and continued with his plan. Now he can take the first step towards magic, because no matter how much talent you have, you don't automatically become a magician. Being a magician means work.

He grabbed the book "Introduction to the Fundamentals of Magic" from the table and sat down on the soft bed.

"At least I don't have to sit on the cold stone floor this time," he mumbled as he put the book on the bed in front of him and imitated the figure from the book. The pose looked like a normal half-lotus pose, but Naemon had to pay attention to a lot of details. For example, how his arms had to be bent, which direction his palms had to face and how he had to breathe.

Once he had prepared his body, it was now his inner self's turn. He not only had to say a very specific mantra in his mind, but also keep a certain image in his mind's eye.

After reading the book one last time, he closed his eyes and began to recite the mantra. Having got into the right rhythm, he could now begin with the mental image. He imagined blue particles floating around him and he slowly pulled them into his body, one particle at a time.

After the first few minutes, Naemon began to sweat. It was harder than he thought. The physical exertion was bad, but the mental exertion was even worse! Reciting the mantra and keeping the imagination going at the same time felt like he had to split his head in two.

*Huff* *Huff*

"I can't do this anymore," Naemon croaked in a hoarse voice and fell backwards out of bed.

He raised his right arm in front of his eyes and stared at his forearm. "Something has definitely changed!" He clenched his fist. "It feels denser? As if I'm full... but for my whole body."

He didn't stay awake long and then fell asleep.

And so his meditation sessions began. Every day, he meditated and reread "Introduction to the Foundations of Magic", worried he might have missed something important.

The book said he had to meditate until nothing else fit into his body. Days turned into weeks as he practiced. Looking back, his first attempt felt laughable. It was like packing a bag: at first everything fit easily, but towards the end you have to press the things into the bag with all your strength and hope that the last piece somehow fits in.

So far, Naemon had only devoted himself to the "Introduction to the Foundations of Magic" and hadn't taken a look at Sebastian's research. It wasn't that Naemon wasn't interested in Sebastian's research, he just didn't have the time. He didn't know what was going on outside. He didn't know what had happened to his mother and the butler Manfred. So Naemon meditated like a madman, without even taking the slightest precautions against his body.

"Finally!" Naemon shouted, sitting on the ice-cold floor.

His body was finally full. Nothing else would fit inside him. Was he slow or fast? He didn't know.

"Hah, one more step. One more step and then it's done," Naemon mumbled to himself.

"According to the instructions, my body is now saturated with mana and what's left is to concentrate all the mana in one place, namely in my stomach. In short, I use the mana in my body to form a mana core."

Naemon breathed in and out deeply.

"The problem with the whole thing: The instructions don't describe how I should do it! There aren't even any notes from Sebastian about it!" Naemon groaned and slapped his cheeks encouragingly.

"It's no use philosophizing about it, I just have to try!"

Naemon got up from the stone floor and went to his bed to sit in a meditation position.

He closed his eyes and imagined his whole body glowing blue. In his mind he started to pull the blue thing into his stomach.

"HM?!"

The blue did start to move towards his stomach, but much too slowly and much too strenuously. Even though the whole thing was only happening in his mind, it felt like he was moving mountains. His whole body started to shake!

Naemon didn't want to give up.

*Clap*

He pressed his palms together and increased the pulling.

The more blue flowed into his stomach, the more difficult it became. As if you were trying to squeeze water together!

'Just a little more, come on! I can't give up here!'

His whole body was tense. His veins were about to burst.

"Ahhhhhhhhh" Naemon screamed at the cave ceiling while deep red blood flowed from his nose.

*C l i c k*

A silent, almost ethereal click sounded from Naemon's stomach, where a mana core had formed at the same moment. His mind at the edge of consciousness

Before the darkness overtook him, a dominating smile escaped his lips. He had done it--a mana core.. his mana core now lay silently within his being,

Naemon's limp body fell back into the bed as the cave fell silent once more.