Chapter 16 — Not Yet

  Seraphine did not rush the explanation.

  After separating the students into two groups, she walked slowly between them, her staff resting lightly against her shoulder.

  Her expression was relaxed.

  I stood with Izuo among the second group, while Latris moved to the first.

  “That division is not about talent alone,” Seraphine said. “It is about compatibility.”

  She stopped between the two groups and tapped the ground once with her staff.

  “The first group will work with external mana.”

  She turned slightly toward Latris and the others.

  “Your Sigils are designed to interact directly with mana. That means you require a larger supply than your bodies can naturally produce.”

  That made sense. Latris never struggled with using her ability, but it was obvious that what she did was not limited to her own internal reserves.

  “The environment here solves that problem, the density of mana in this place is abnormally high. You are surrounded by it at all times.”

  A few students in that group nodded, already understanding where this was going.

  “You will not draw mana into your bodies, you will control it as it is.”

  She raised her free hand slightly, and a faint distortion appeared in the air in front of her fingers.

  “Think of it as material.”

  Her tone remained calm, but precise.

  “Mana in the air can be shaped. It can be compressed, stretched, and stabilized.”

  The distortion shifted, forming a small, imperfect sphere before dispersing again.

  “Your training is simple.”

  She looked directly at them.

  “You will sense the mana around you and attempt to mold it in front of your bodies.”

  “The objective is not power."

  “The objective is control.”

  That was the important part.

  “If you cannot control shape, you cannot control flow. If you cannot control flow, your output will always be unstable.”

  She paused briefly.

  “You will start with geometric forms.”

  A few students exchanged glances.

  “Cubes. Spheres. Lines.”

  Her gaze hardened slightly.

  “Nothing complex. Nothing creative. Precision comes first.”

  “The more stable your forms become, the more efficiently your Sigils will draw mana during actual use.”

  So this was not just training for technique.

  It was training for efficiency.

  Seraphine turned away from them and faced our group.

  “The second group will not touch external mana.”

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  Some students reacted immediately to that.

  “I expected we would finally use external mana,” one of the students said, his voice carrying clear disappointment.

  “Yeah, seriously.”

  “Isn’t natural mana way stronger? Why can’t we use it?”

  A few students in the back groaned openly.

  “This sounds like basic training again,” another muttered. “How is this supposed to help in actual combat?”

  Izuo crossed his arms and clicked his tongue.

  “So we’re just going to sit here and circulate mana inside our bodies?

  "That sounds boring.”

  Seraphine smiled.

  “It is the opposite.”

  She walked closer to us.

  “Your bodies are not built to handle the density of mana in this environment. If you attempt to absorb it directly, you will damage yourselves before you gain anything useful.”

  That explained the restriction.

  “Instead, you will work with what already exists inside you.”

  Her tone shifted slightly, becoming more focused.

  “All living beings possess mana.”

  I already knew that. We had learned to sense it before.

  “What you have not learned, is how to use it.”

  That was the difference.

  “Sensing is passive. Usage is active.”

  She stopped in front of us.

  “You will take the mana within your bodies and circulate it.”

  “From your core outward.”

  “You may think of it as starting from the heart.”

  That analogy helped.

  “Your objective is to move that mana through your entire body.”

  She raised a finger.

  “Not in bursts. Not in isolated areas.”

  Her voice remained steady.

  “Continuously. Like blood through veins.”

  That comparison made it clear.

  “If you succeed, your body will begin to change.”

  A few students shifted slightly.

  “Your muscles will receive reinforcement. Your senses will sharpen. Your endurance will increase.”

  So this was physical enhancement.

  “But, only if the flow is stable.”

  There it was again.

  Control.

  “If your flow is uneven, the effects will be inefficient. In some cases, it may even disrupt your balance.”

  I took a slow breath.

  This is not about forcing power.

  It is about maintaining structure.

  She looked at all of us.

  “This environment makes everything clearer.”

  That was true.

  Even standing still, I could feel the difference.

  “The task is simple” she concluded.

  “Circulate your internal mana through your entire body and maintain that flow.”

  She stepped back and lightly tapped her staff against the ground again.

  “You will begin now.”

  I closed my eyes.

  I already knew what mana felt like.

  The difference now was intent.

  I focused inward.

  The sensation was faint at first, but it was there.

  Not outside.

  Inside.

  I tried to isolate it.

  Then guide it.

  From the center.

  Outward.

  The first movement was unstable.

  It did not spread evenly.

  Some areas responded faster than others.

  That is expected.

  I adjusted.

  Less force.

  More control.

  If this is like blood, forcing it will only disrupt the flow.

  I steadied my breathing.

  Then tried again.

  This time, the movement felt smoother.

  Not perfect.

  But consistent.

  It spread through my chest first.

  Then my arms.

  Slowly reaching further.

  My body reacted almost immediately.

  Not dramatically.

  But noticeably.

  There was a subtle change in how my muscles felt.

  Lighter.

  So this is how it works.

  I maintained the flow.

  Beside me, I could hear Izuo shifting his stance.

  “...This feels weird.”

  “Izuo,” I said, keeping my eyes closed, “you say that about everything new.”

  “Yeah, but this one’s different,” he shot back.

  “It’s like something’s crawling inside my body—wait, that sounded way worse out loud.”

  “It is working,” I said calmly.

  “Working?” he scoffed. “If this is working, I don’t even want to know what failing feels like.

  I continued.

  The key is consistency.

  If I can maintain this…

  Then improving it becomes a matter of time.

  I opened my eyes briefly.

  Seraphine was watching all of us.

  Not speaking.

  Just observing.

  That confirmed it.

  She was not going to correct us immediately.

  This part was on us.

  I closed my eyes again.

  Then focused.

  This is a foundation.

  And if I get this right now…

  I will not fall behind later.

  I maintained the flow for as long as I could.

  It was not stable, but it was no longer collapsing instantly either. The mana moved through my body in an incomplete path, reaching parts of my arm before fading away.

  Not enough.

  I slowly opened my eyes.

  My breathing was steady, but my body felt different. There was a faint heaviness in my muscles, like they had been working in a way I was not used to.

  Beside me, Izuo stretched his arm and rotated his shoulder.

  “…Alright, I take it back.”

  “This isn’t boring. This is just annoying.”

  “You are forcing it again,” I replied.

  “I am not forcing it,” he said immediately.

  “I am just… speeding it up.”

  “That is the same thing.”

  He clicked his tongue.

  “Then how are you doing it?”

  “I am not,” I said. “Not completely.”

  He stared at me for a second, then let out a short laugh.

  “…Great. So we both suck at this.”

  That was accurate.

  I looked back at my own hand.

  The difference from before was clear. I could feel the mana faster now, and guiding it had become more natural. But maintaining a full circulation through my body was still out of reach.

  Every time it reached a certain point, it faded.

  Just… incomplete.

  So the issue is not starting the flow.

  It is sustaining it.

  I closed my eyes again.

  One more attempt.

  This time, I did not rush the beginning. I let the sensation settle first, confirming its presence before doing anything else.

  Then I guided it.

  Slowly.

  From the center outward.

  The flow formed again, smoother than before. It moved through my chest and into my shoulder without resistance.

  Better.

  I continued.

  Elbow.

  Steady.

  No interruptions.

  I focused on maintaining the same pace, resisting the urge to push it further too quickly.

  Upper arm—

  The flow weakened.

  I felt it starting to slip.

  I opened my eyes, exhaling quietly.

  “…Still not enough.”

  Izuo grinned.

  “Good. I would hate to be the only one struggling.”

  I ignored that.

  Around us, the other students were reaching similar limits. Some managed short bursts of reinforcement, others barely maintained any flow at all.

  No one had full control.

  That confirmed something important.

  This is not something you master in one attempt.

  Seraphine was still observing from a distance, saying nothing. She only intervened when someone made an obvious mistake.

  Which means this part is intentional.

  She wants us to figure out our own limits first.

  I looked down at my hand again.

  I can feel it more clearly now.

  I can guide it further than before.

  But I still cannot complete the cycle.

  That was the key.

  Without a full circulation, everything remained partial. Temporary.

  Incomplete.

  I closed my hand slowly.

  Trying the same thing again would only lead to the same result.

  The problem is not effort.

  It is understanding.

  I lifted my gaze slightly, thinking.

  I think there was a library in the academy.

  The academy would not teach something like this without leaving records.

  Which means—

  …Library.

  That was the next step.

  I lowered my hand.

  For now, this is as far as I can go.

  But not for long.

  Ending of Chapter 16