After washing up, removing the nasty smell, and dressing up, I sat cross-legged on my bed, meditating with my eyes closed.
Inside me (pause), as I concentrated, I could see a deep blue, circular orb, my core. It absorbed and generated mana from the surroundings smoothly.
'This still fascinates me every single time'
I used the breathing mana technique that Uncle Jian taught us. He said that we should use it every single day and circulate our mana every single time in our daily activities.
I felt the warm mana circulating, pouring out of my core and circulating through my body. Then later coming back inside my core and moving back the other parts of my body, just like the human circulatory system.
After meditating a bit more, I opened my eyes, stood up from the bed and moved to the centre of the room.
I concentrated a bit of mana in my right arm and punched the air.
SWOOSH!
The air teared, making sounds.
I enhanced my other arm with mana.
I punched again.
SWOOSH!
Punch after punch.
Faster.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
It didn't even take long for my mana reserves to finish and get tired. I lasted for 2 minutes before sitting down on the ground panting with heavy breaths.
'It seems that is my limit for now, I can only enhance two parts of my body for 2 minutes. If I probably tried to enhance my other part at the same time, I probably wouldn't even last a minute.'
I cleaned the sweat on my face with a towel.
I crossed my legs again and meditated to refill my mana reserves.
After that, I opened the door of my room and stuck out my head to check if Asa was out there. Seeing that she's not here 'yet' to burn me alive, I quickly walked out of my room and out of the mansion carefully.
Thinking about how angry she probably is and what she would do to get revenge sent shivers down my spine.
I smiled and shook my head. "shit, maybe I shouldn't have done it, but it's too late to regret now"
Hmmm...I should go to the library and read more about the channeler rank to learn more about it.
I walked towards the library, which was just behind the mansion. A large, black building with many floors that resembled a set from a horror movie.
I walked inside.
If you were expecting the insides to be black as well, then yes, you're correct. Marble black walls with golden stripes surround the library. Many tall bookshelves with different sections reached towards the ceiling, but not touching it.
I walked to the reception. A woman was at the reception desk. She had pale skin like snow and an air of tranquillity that surrounded her.
Her beautiful, shiny, dark violet hair was cut into a long bob; the hair fell on her shoulders with grace. Her face looked like an angel, despite having a long scar on the left side that cut from her eyebrow down to her cheek.
Her gaze, which had been focused on the book in her hands, lifted—her purple slit eyes under her glasses, which looked like gems, locked onto me. Someone unfamiliar with her would freeze at those eyes that looked like they could see through your soul.
'I still wonder why her eyes are shaped like that, ' he thought.
"Good Afternoon, Lady Umbra ", I respectfully bowed slightly
. She smiled and patted my head.
"Good morning, little Vlad, how are we today? Ready to read more today? Oh, and congratulations on awakening," she asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, ma'am, and thank you. I came to read more about the channeler rank, therefore I wanted to ask what books you would recommend and where I can find them"
"Mhm, good. It's always beneficial to research more about your rank and gain a better understanding. Keep it up, and one day I might give you something nice," she smiled and winked.
I didn't understand what she meant by 'something nice', so I just nodded.
"You can find the books that you're looking for on the first floor, section G", she said
I thanked her and walked up the stairs.
I walked through the shelves until I found section G. I grabbed one book with a brown leather cover with the title 'Tier 1: Foundational grade'
I sat down on a nearby study table and opened the book
"channeler....channeler...Ah! found it" I scanned the book till I found it
The book said :
"This is the rank where potential becomes action. A Channeler has successfully performed their first conscious act of magic but has almost no control over it."
"There are three sub-tiers which are: initiate, Mid and Peak"
'I'm currently at initiate, which is the first sub-tier, ' I thought, and then continued reading.
Capabilities & Strengths
The First Spark: A Channeler can, for the first time, consciously draw ambient mana into their body and release it to create an intended effect. This is a monumental breakthrough.
Basic Manifestation: The effects are small, simple, and tied to their Affinity:
A Fire affinity might create a small flame in their palm or cause a candle to light.
An Earth affinity might make a pebble tremble or cause a handful of dirt to solidify briefly.
I lifted my hand and opened my palm, tried to create a flame by gathering mana around my hand, but nothing formed.
I tried saying "fire" or "ice", but nothing.
I frowned, confused.
"How does one know what element they awakened, or how do I even unlock them?" I spoke
He thought about asking Asa, but then remembered what he did and that he is currently running away like a criminal, and quickly shook that thought away,
'I'll just ask Uncle or Dad. Uncle will probably teach us anyway, but that doesn't mean I have to wait for that, I'm too curious' he thought.
I continued reading.
"A Swordmaster might channel mana into their arm to make a practice swing unnaturally strong.
Proven Potential: They are no longer "Dormant." They have proven they can walk the path and are now eligible for formal training, apprenticeships, or entry into academies.
Physical Enhancement (Martial Focus): Martial Channelers experience the first hints of reinforcement. They might be slightly faster, slightly stronger, or able to practice for longer without tiring when actively channelling."
I stopped reading to rearrange my thoughts.
'So basically, this is the weakest rank, and our mana reserves are too short at this rank, no wonder I couldn't enhance my whole body' I nodded my hand in agreement.
'But if I want to increase my stamina and endurance, I'll have to train my body more like the martial channelers, so that I don't get tired easily, and to increase my mana reserves, I have to take in mana every single day continuously, ' I thought.
There was another question that was bugging me.
"Can an awakener have more than 2 or 3 elements?" I asked
"Yes it is possible", a gentle voice replied
'Well, that changes everything then, if one can have that many elements, doesn't that mean that they would be at the top of the world?' I thought
"But how, isn't that too broken?" I asked
"Well, it is, but not everyone can have that many. It comes down to talent, a blessing or if you have a fateful encounter. If everyone had such capabilities, the world would be in chaos," the gentle voice said
I nodded 'I guess it had to have some kind of handicap'
"Now that makes much more sense. Oh, and how does one awaken their affinities?" I asked
"By having an affinity awakening test. You will soon go through it," the gentle voice replied
"Alright, thank you", I said and continued reading.
Then—
I froze, and sweat ran down my back.
I was too immersed in the book that I didn't notice I was talking to a voice.
Who was I talking to? N-no way that was a ghost, they don't exist!
I slowly turned my neck to look behind where the voice came from.
Red eyes met purple slit eyes.
I felt like my heart fell off a cliff.
"Jesus Christ! For fuck's sake!" I screamed and fell off my chair.
Lady Umbra giggled at my reaction. "Ah, did I scare you? I'm sorry, you seemed to be so invested in the book that I didn't want to disturb you, so I didn't say anything when I approached you, and oh, you already swear at such a young age?"
My hand was on my chest, which hurt from my heart beating too fast, which later calmed down.
I stood and apologised.
"I apologise, Lady Umbra, I didn't mean to; it's just that you caught me off guard"
"Nah, it's okay, I was just teasing you" She waved her hand away
"But what did you just say?" she asked
"Say what?" I wondered while tilting my head slightly
"You said 'Je' or 'chri' something", she said while trying to remember
"Uh, no, I think u misheard, I didn't say anything like that", I replied honestly
She clicked her tongue and murmured, "I guess I'm getting old, but anyway"
"Next time you have a question about something that you're struggling to understand, just ask me, okay?" she said
"Okay, ma'am, thank you", I answered
She said goodbye and left.
'What a peculiar woman, sigh, I was almost a goner right there, ' I thought.
I sat back down to read for a bit more and later left early than usual. Why?
Because he was finally going to see which weapon was suited for him. A bow, sword or spear?
I walked to the training grounds and found Athelstan already there next to Uncle Jian. In front of them were stands displaying a variety of weapons.
Swords, spears, daggers, bows, gauntlets and others.
"Are guys ready to choose their weapons that will be their companions for their whole life?" Jian asked
"Yes, Uncle", At and I replied
"Good, make sure you choose well, try moving around and testing the weapon to see if it suits you", Jian said
"Well, let's see, I'm definitely not picking up a knife, I have too much potential to be wasted on a knife", Athelstan said
I laughed and said, "Don't jinx yourself, Athelstan, you might actually get a knife"
He frowned and then said with a serious tone, "If I get a knife, you're going to be the first person I'm stabbing"
I laughed out loud, "You are not serious, are you?"
I looked at him—he was not laughing.
'shit, this brat is dead serious'
**********
A/N: I didn't upload any chapters on Saturday and Sunday because I wasn't home. I was in a church retreat:). I'll start uploading 2-3 chapters a day from today.