“The origin of mana. Is it energy emitted from within a star, life force possessed by a living being, or a completely different origin of power… Discussions like this are premature, yes? Let’s remember just one thing.”

I had finished off the sandwiches.

I had eaten a few nutrition bars, so my stomach was full, but since I needed to eat a lot to build my body, I diligently devoured the sandwiches.

“Mana is a resource! It is used and consumed, recharged when you wait, and a resource that causes phenomena through its use!”

After eating and cleaning up.

I sat cross-legged on the grassy field near the lake, keenly listening to Professor Liana’s explanation.

“Everything contains mana, and humans possess it as well. Even ordinary people who have not awakened hold mana. Then what is the difference between superhumans and ordinary people?”

Everything contains mana.

The weeds growing around me, the water in the lake, the vegetation rooted here and there in the park, and the earth damp with the morning mist.

All harbor mana, faint but perceptible if I concentrate.

Professor Liana, right in front of me, also has mana. Near the lake, there exists a colossal mana, enough to dismiss the lake as a mere puddle.

“The difference is exactly… whether you can use mana effectively!”

And I have mana too, me who has never used something called mana in my life.

“Everyone possesses mana, but ordinary people can’t use it! However, superhumans are different.”

Thump – long fingers pointed at my solar plexus.

“In humans, the overwhelming majority forms a core near the heart to hold and refine mana.”

It’s the vessel for mana and the center of life activities.

For humans, the core is located near the heart. Separate from the heart, but undoubtedly connected, is the core.

“Can you draw mana from the core and use it? This is what distinguishes ordinary people from superhumans!”

Ordinary people, the average person.

Superhumans, those who are extraordinary, beyond average.

Can you use mana? Just this one difference changes a lot.

“Now, we’re getting to the important part! Focus!”

Clap – Professor Liana clapped her hands to draw attention and stretched out both arms.

“My left hand. For Lee Hayul, that’s on the right, yes? I’ll flow mana into it.”

Professor Liana’s core, so vast it is compared to an ocean, stirred and flowed like a rippling stream into her left hand.

“Do you feel it? If you have sensitivity, you’ll sense it, otherwise it will just look like a bare hand.”

I felt it. Not solely the mana wrapped around the hand but also the mana flowing smoothly through her entire body and the tremendous mana lying dormant in the core.

I nodded my head.

“Next is my right hand!”

Mana flowed from the core into her right hand. The procession was the same as before.

The changes started in the next moment.

– Humm.

A sound brushed past my ears. Not an actual sound that could be heard, but more like a ringing in my ears, or rather, it was noise made by the spatial perception trembling.

The mana contained within the right hand coiled and clustered. It condensed, coming together to form a certain pattern.

– Humm!

This time it wasn’t just an auditory illusion. In my spatial perception, now distinguishing colors, I could feel Professor Liana’s arm, enveloped from fingertip to forearm in shining blue mana.

Meaning, it was visibly discernible with the naked eye.

“This is qi! A technique that’s essential for students specializing in combat… especially those in vanguard positions. Even the lowest-ranking heroes, if they can master qi, can survive gunfire.”

In this world, guns exist and are used as well.

Grade 4, Grade 3, Grade 2, Grade 1, Special Grade.

Dungeons are divided into these five ratings, where Grade 4 dungeons are handled by the lowest-ranked heroes and hunters, but a considerable number are dealt with by armed soldiers.

Monsters emerging from Grade 4 dungeons are at most of the lowest rank, the 8th echelon.

Though occasionally 7th or 6th echelon creatures appear, they are typically 8th echelon.

At that level, simple firearms can take them down.

Starting from the 7th echelon, hunting them down with guns becomes difficult. In such cases, magical artifacts are used, or a few heroes accompany the troops.

“Qi techniques. You will need to utilize this in the future so remember it well, and now back to the other side!”

She lowered her blue-coated right hand and lifted her left, still wrapped in formless mana.

“─”

A low whisper escaped her lips. And yet, the mana enveloping her left hand stirred.

If the array of qi in the right hand was simple and repetitive, the mana in the left hand was tangled in a complex form.

– Woosh!

The entangled mana burst into flames in an instant. Showcasing the change rapidly, Professor Liana floated the flames above her palm and continued while looking at me.

“And this is magic. Quite different from qi, isn’t it?”

[Yes.]

I nodded blankly. From the operation of the mana to the moment of manifestation, I felt the entirety of the process, which made the difference even clearer.

– Woosh.

“However, we are not learning these today.”

With a clenched fist, the flame and qi disappeared.

“Our learning objective today is the operation of mana! Let’s set aside qi and magic for later and take it step-by-step with simple mana operations!”

Thus spoke Professor Liana, clenching her fists with what seemed like a surge of passion. With a hesitant nod, I acknowledged her.

“Then… let’s start with this.”

She extended a hand holding a fist-sized green sphere. The sphere, a crystal orb crafted from mana stone, was quite filled with mana.

“This is a crystal orb, processed from mana stone. It’s often favored for basic mana operation practice.”

I extended both hands carefully to accept it. With a smile on her face, Professor Liana squat down opposite me.

“Using Lee Hayul’s mana is also good, but in terms of practicing ‘operation,’ there’s nothing like this crystal orb.”

I knew what it was. A device used for mana training that had made brief appearances in the original story.

“Your body’s mana is easy to manipulate because it’s under your control. But this crystal orb is different. It contains mana that is distinctly not your own! Without an owner, it’s like unclaimed territory and harder to manage than your own mana.”

I stroked the crystal orb. Its smooth, cool surface made contact with my fingers. Professor Liana chuckled and tapped my hand.

“First, you insert your mana into the crystal orb. Second, use the mana you’ve inserted as a hook to draw out the orb’s mana. Third, absorb the mana you’ve drawn out.”

We’ll proceed with these three steps.

Having finished speaking, she fixed her gaze on me, probably waiting to see how I’d fare before giving instruction.

After nodding, I carefully observed the crystal orb with spatial perception. The mana filling the orb was rippling like water in a bottle.

After focusing on the orb, I nudged the mana within my core.

“The first step won’t take long. You must start by feeling the mana within your body before you attempt to manipulate it.”

The mana, jolted awake from slumber, rippled tumultuously. The feeling of mobilizing mana for the first time was oddly complex.

Was it the sensation of warmth filling my heart? Regardless, I had managed to awaken the mana and swiftly moved on to the next step.

I cradled the bottom of the crystal orb with my left hand and covered the orb with my right.

I coaxed the mana from the core, guiding it to my right hand. I soothed the mana, sluggish as if just roused from deep sleep, as I moved it along.

“You seem to have the sensitivity for it, so it should only take half a day to manipulate… huh?”

The mana delivered to my hand – it was time to undergo the first process. Somehow manipulating the mana, I shaped its tip into a point like a protruding spike.

– Thud.

“Ek?”

I thrust it into the crystal orb. Not that the orb shattered. Precisely speaking, it wasn’t the orb itself but the mana within the orb that was pierced.

Mana burrowed its way through. Ensuring it didn’t break off, I maintained a constant supply of mana, burying it deeper.

Finally, I stopped the mana pillar that had penetrated to the center of the orb.

Now onto the second process.

I envisioned a straw as I manipulated the mana. And now it was time for it to function. With concentration, I hoped the straw would act like a magnet and drew out the orb’s mana.

– Humm…

“Eh…”

The mana in the crystal orb trembled. It seemed to resist for a brief moment before losing strength and getting drawn out through my makeshift straw.

Mana didn’t just get pulled through the straw; some also spilled out like a burst geyser due to the resultant hole.

It felt unsatisfactory. The mana dissipating into thin air seemed like a waste.

I would gather it all. I had the intuition that I could, given my unique ability of mana affinity.

I collected the escaping mana, attracting everything in the vicinity. With an intent full of greed, the mana was drawn out and absorbed into my hand.

“Er…”

The core is located near the heart.

Just as there are blood vessels extending from the heart to transport blood throughout the body.

There are circuits extending from the core to transport mana.

Like a reverse flow, I brought all the absorbed mana back to the core.

The core was small. Comparing it to Professor Liana, whose core was so large it was indistinguishable, mine was barely the size of a bean.

It was possible. Intuition whispered to me. I could gather it, I could handle it all.

– Thump.

My heart suddenly beat hard. In response, the core also pulsed, expanding its size confidently as if saying it could accept it all with ease.

‘It’s done.’

One by one, I coaxed the mana from the crystal orb into the core. The newly housed mana, awkward like it had just moved into a new home, was soothed by me, blending it with my original mana.

…….

…

– Tingle.

A thrilling sensation swept up my spine. A sudden surge of elation filled me, reminiscent of what I had felt at the welcome event for the freshmen.

“Hoo…”

I exhaled breath that seemed to have been trapped inside. I let out a breath that would fit a body twice my size, which relieved some previously felt tightness.

Yet, my insides still felt stuffed. Like I had crammed food in forcefully. Huh? What was I just doing?

My foggy mind sharply cleared. My spatial perception, which had involuntarily switched to radar mode, returned to its original function.

The dazzling sunlight reflected off the lake’s surface. The dawn mist had vanished.

And there was Professor Liana, squatting in front of me, gawking with her mouth agape…

“Wow…”

Noticing that I had come to my senses, Professor Liana let out a sigh with a twitch of her mouth.

“Is this why you’re a special case…?”

“?”

Mystified by her words.