Types Of Mana - 85
Marc immediately opened his eyes.
His head was covered in sweat, and his heartbeat was racing. His body felt strange, almost as though he couldn't breathe—or rather, as if he had been holding his breath the entire time.
"Wo—...augh... My body is shaking..."
He bent forward, placing both hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
…
Juro smirked, looking satisfied with what Marc had just demonstrated with his mana. He walked over to him and asked, "Do you wanna sit down for a bit?"
Marc looked up and noticed Bell in the distance, running around while continuously exerting mana whenever he managed to recover some.
Seeing Bell continue to train made Marc feel even more determined. "No... I'm fine. Haha, I need to train together with Bell," he replied, straightening his torso before taking a deep breath and exhaling. He then started running ahead.
"Bell! Wait for me!" Marc shouted as he ran towards him.
Bell turned to look at Marc and smiled. He slowed down a little, allowing Marc to catch up. Once Marc was beside him, he said, "Alright, Bell! Let's train together!"
Bell smiled before replying, "Alright. Try not to fall down."
And so, the two continued their training together.
Each time they ran and recovered some mana, they would immediately exert it again. Bell had the quickest way of outputting his mana, while Marc managed to release the greatest amount each time. Despite growing increasingly tired, neither of them took a break. They continued running and exhausting their mana until, after around ten to fifteen minutes, Juro finally called out to them.
"Alright, stop."
The moment those words left his mouth, both Bell and Marc immediately stopped.
Bell was breathing heavily, but managed to keep his breathing under control. He bent forward slightly, resting his hands on his knees. Marc, on the other hand, was barely able to catch his breath. He dropped to his knees before eventually lying down on the ground.
"Ahaha... I didn't think I'd ever get this tired from training before... I feel like if I closed my eyes for just five seconds, I'd immediately fall asleep," Marc said in a faint, exhausted voice, though a smile remained on his face.
Juro slowly approached them with a smile of his own.
"Niceee You two did well on your first attempt at this training."
Still catching his breath, Marc lightly commented, "It was already exhausting when my mana ran out... Running made it even more difficult for my legs..."
Juro laughed as he arrived beside them. "Mhm, that's good. It's all part of the training, hehe. Is there anything you're curious about regarding what we're doing?"
Marc thought for a moment before asking, "Won't we eventually pass out if we keep exhausting our mana, Teacher Juro?"
Juro smiled before replying, "Nope. Actually, no one passes out just because all of their mana has been depleted. That's because mana still exists within your body. It's both on and inside your body."
"Woaa... On and inside my body?" Marc repeated, growing even more curious.
Juro nodded. "Mhm. Hmm... Actually, there are three types of mana. The first is what almost everyone across the continent of Demanas calls mana. The second is Pure Mana, and lastly, True Mana."
Marc's eyes lit up. He immediately sat up, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten.
"Whaaaat?! True Mana?! What's the difference between the three of them?!"
His excitement and curiosity were unmistakable. Meanwhile, Bell lightly sat down on the ground as well, preparing to listen to what Juro was about to explain.
Juro chuckled before sitting down with them as well. "Alright, here come some Teacher Juro lessons for today! ദ്ദി( •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) hehe."
Bell simply stared at him with a blank expression (¬_¬) , while Marc looked genuinely excited.
(˵ •̀ ᴗ •́ ˵ ) ✧
Juro cleared his throat before beginning. "So, let's start with mana first. I think all of us already know what mana is. We use it almost every day. Mana is something that exists throughout our bodies, and everyone has it. However, even though everyone across Demanas possesses mana, not everyone is capable of using magic or mana manipulation magic."
Juro rested a hand on his chin before continuing. "Now, Pure Mana is like a superior version of normal mana, I guess that's the simplest way to put it. If you have Pure Mana coursing through your body, developing diseases or illnesses becomes very rare. On top of that, Pure Mana has around 2.5 to even 5.5 times better enhancing capabilities than normal mana."
"Woah... It sounds really powerful," Marc commented.
Juro nodded. "It is. Only a few people are capable of using Pure Mana."
Marc smiled before asking, "Could The Greatest Mage use it?"
"Of course he could."
Both of them smiled and laughed together, while Bell simply watched them, quietly laughing to himself.
"Haha..."
"But actually, when it comes to fully utilizing Pure Mana, there was someone even better than The Greatest Mage," Juro added.
"Oooo! Is it his best friend?" Marc immediately asked.
"Yup," Juro replied.
"Woaahh, I knew it! The books I've read about The Greatest Mage usually mention the name 'Miracle' alongside him, too!"
Juro nodded. "Yup. There are even official statements confirming that he was The Greatest Mage's best friend."
After hearing their exchange, Bell lightly smiled to himself.
"My best friend, huh... I wonder how he's been doing."
Juro continued his explanation. "So, Miracle, The Greatest Mage's best friend, was actually the only person capable of utilizing Pure Mana to its fullest, with complete mastery over it. That's why he was given the title 'The Strongest.'"
He paused for a moment before adding, "And honestly, I don't think anyone else could ever achieve what he did. Unless you're The Greatest Mage himself, or Miracle happens to have a child... Or perhaps someone truly gifted..."
As he said those last few words, Juro's gaze subtly shifted towards Marc. A faint smile appeared on his face before he continued.
"Now, as for True Mana... It's impossible to use."
He said it so bluntly that Marc immediately reacted.
"Ehhh?! Like, no one can really use it? What about The Greatest Mage?"
Juro rubbed his chin, considering the question. "I mean…I don't know whether he could or not, but from everything I've read and heard, using True Mana is supposed to be truly impossible."
Bell thought to himself. "I need to get him to explain more... That way, Marc can learn as much as he can."
He then spoke up. "Is it because True Mana is rare or difficult to find?"
Juro casually replied, "Nope. It's literally all around us right now."
Marc immediately shifted his body, turning his head from left to right as he tried to look around. "Ehhhh? Where? I don't sense anything…."
Juro placed a hand on Marc's head, stopping him from turning any further, before letting out a laugh.
"Pff. It's not something we can sense or feel. In fact, sensing True Mana is almost impossible. The only reason it was even discovered in the first place was because of the research conducted by The Greatest Mage and Miracle."
"Hmmm..." Marc muttered.
Juro released his head and continued explaining. "They said True Mana exists everywhere around us. As long as we're on the continent of Demanas, True Mana is always present. And that's also the reason why everyone has mana, even when they feel like they've completely depleted it."
He paused briefly, considering how to explain it more simply.
"Hmm... To put it simply, our bodies faintly absorb True Mana. However, since having True Mana within us would actually cause people to die, our bodies have somehow adapted to dilute it, slowly converting it into normal mana."
Juro crossed his arms.
"So even when we've exhausted all the mana we can use, faint traces of True Mana inside our bodies continue to get diluted, replenishing our normal mana in the process. We can't use the True Mana itself, though. And that's probably the best way I can explain it."
"Woa... There's really so much to learn about mana..." Marc replied.
Juro smiled. "Wanna know a fun fact? An average adult from Demanas can fall flat onto the ground from a height of 7.60 meters and only end up with some soreness or a light bruise. But an average adult from some continent falling from that same height would suffer severe brain damage, broken bones, and possibly other injuries."
"Ohhh, what? Really?" Marc reacted.
"Yeah. It's because our bodies have adapted to mana, making us sturdier than most people from some continents. And it's not just our bodies, either. Even the materials around us are affected. Something as simple as this rock right here is much harder than an ordinary rock from another continent."
"Ooo! Hearing all of this makes me even more curious about exploring other continents!" Marc said before smiling. "I hope that one day we can all explore them together."
Both Bell and Juro smiled at his words.
Juro then reached into his pouch, took out a steel flask, and handed it to Marc.
"Here, drink some water. You need to stay hydrated after that intense training. Just pass it to Bell afterward."
Marc accepted the flask while Bell quietly reflected on Juro's explanation of the three types of mana.
"There were some major details he didn't mention... I can't tell whether he left them out intentionally to keep things simple or if he genuinely doesn't know. But what matters most is that he's quite knowledgeable. From the looks of things, he doesn't seem like a graduated mage. And the fact that he somehow almost always has an answer to Marc's questions... He's certainly a knowledgeable man."
"Bell, here."
Marc's voice brought Bell back to the present.
"Oh, thanks," Bell replied, taking the steel flask from Marc before drinking some water.
As Bell finished, he handed the flask back to Juro. Juro accepted it and made a comment about something he'd noticed during their earlier training.
"There's a few things I've noticed about you two when it comes to mana," he said.
He paused briefly before continuing.
"The obvious one is that Marc has more mana than Bell."
Bell nodded in agreement.