The next stages of training focused mainly on the basic skills that, according to Seraphina, every mage should have.
They were five in total: magical perception and detection, reinforcement, protection, and bodily enhancement.
To that was added the most important one: the mana core.
But first, Aelion had to learn to feel the mana in the air.
A few instructions were quickly given by Seraphina, who didn't dwell on them, because if he had already managed to manipulate his blood, then this step would be nothing more than a formality—he had already achieved it unconsciously.
Aelion took a long breath while clearing his mind.
He closed his eyes and focused.
At first, it was his senses that were stimulated, but he shouldn't focus on them. What he was trying to feel was less tangible, deeper—something hidden in the invisible.
By ignoring all the thoughts and sensations that distracted him, he finally managed to feel something in the empty world into which he had plunged.
Little by little, tiny particles of light began to tint his outer perception of the world.
They were warm and comforting.
Aelion didn't immediately realize that he was moving, raising his finger to touch one of the particles.
Seraphina watched the scene, a faint smile forming on her face. He had succeeded in the first step.
The more he refined his perception through his awareness, the more a new sense of his environment blossomed in his mind through the mana in the air.
This time, he no longer saw only particles, but also interwoven streams of many particles forming countless flows in space, each heading in a different direction.
« Beautiful, isn't it? Feeling the world from a new angle? » she asked, satisfied.
« Yes… It's strange, but also very comforting and peaceful, » Aelion said, getting used to the sensation.
« Good, you can open your eyes now, » declared Seraphina, patting his shoulder.
Aelion opened his eyes. However, Seraphina could sense a certain tension in his body and mind, even visible on his face. She then understood what was happening.
« You can relax. The goal of this exercise isn't to overlap your mana vision with your normal sight yet. What matters is being aware and conscious that mana surrounds you, and that you can feel it effortlessly. So don't rush. It will come naturally—just remain aware enough not to forget its presence, and it will soon become a reflex, » explained the vampire, feeling her student's body relax.
She then revealed the second step, complementary to perception: capturing and gathering mana within his body.
Strangely, he found it quite easy, as he felt the mana was being drawn toward his body—and that he could exert a certain will over the particles approaching and entering him.
At first, it was slow and deliberate, but once Aelion understood, he no longer absorbed particles but full streams, directing them toward himself—a feat in itself.
However, the speed and the way the flow was being pulled in seemed abnormal.
It looked like a black hole absorbing without limit.
And soon, the problem began to show.
Veins of bluish mana started appearing across his body, each new mark extending and filling him with pain, though moderate.
« STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW!!! » shouted Seraphina, alarmed.
Startled, Aelion stopped abruptly, though not without effort, feeling burning sensations spread across his skin.
Seraphina instantly moved behind him and struck his back with a mana-infused palm, immediately dispersing everything he had accumulated.
He coughed from the impact rippling through his whole body, but he was fine now.
« What happened? » asked Aelion, confused by her reaction.
« I should be the one asking that! Are you insane? What kind of concept did you associate with absorbing mana from the environment? » she demanded, both worried and offended.
« Associated concept? I don't really understand what you mean! I just imagined the mana flow being absorbed by me, » Aelion said innocently.
« What kind of image? »
« A black hole? »
« What kind of—ugh, never mind. That's my fault, I should have been clearer. In magic and mana manipulation, certain actions require an associated concept to make them easier—kind of like using a cane to help you walk.
As you grow and sharpen your visualization, it becomes either unnecessary, so instinctive you don't notice it, or it evolves.
The black hole you used as a concept is far too dangerous, considering it's a celestial body that pulls everything nearby and casts it into nothingness or another dimension.
A black hole can never be filled. Do you see where I'm going with this? » said Seraphina, her tone deadly serious.
« Not really, » replied Aelion, lost but attentive.
« The human body, alongside the soul, is only an intermediary to express magic. It isn't meant to serve as a direct vessel for mana, which is why mages possess a mana core and a circuit for distribution.
When you used the black hole as your concept, your body became the container into which the mana poured—like the hypothetical dimension where the black hole ejects what it swallows.
And, as I told you, a black hole theoretically has no limit to its absorption. Your body became a handicap for accumulation. You suffered from mana overflow… and with that concept, you could've simply exploded. »
Aelion listened, not only fascinated but also awed by the depth of knowledge Seraphina had been displaying since the beginning.
And still, he felt like it wasn't over—that she had much more to reveal.
Was this knowledge from her life as a vampire? That would be surprising, since the Eye of Compassion system only recorded about twenty years of her existence.
That ability had its flaws too—it only added information when he grew closer to or learned more about his target.
Conclusion: mages were truly scholars.
« It's just visualization, isn't it? » asked Aelion.
« And look where that got you! If you treat that notion so lightly, I can already tell you won't get anywhere.
What's the point of visualization if you can't picture yourself winning a battle? Or becoming stronger than you are now?
Planning strategies based on your opponent's future actions and reactions—all of that falls under visualization.
Luckily, you didn't have a mana core yet, and I managed to purge what was left in your body, » she said, at first irritated but then more understanding.
« I see… what technique did you use to save me? »
« Oh, that!? It's a technique I copied and reinvented after observing monks in the high mountains.
It's not really sophisticated—I actually find it quite outdated compared to the original.
Anyway, enough talk. Start over from the beginning, and focus. Step by step, without rushing.
Only draw in the particles, » warned Seraphina, watching him closely.
The task was more complicated now, as he not only had to pay attention to how he visualized the absorption of mana, but also remain aware of himself as the container—to know his limits.
He succeeded after thirty grueling minutes, using the image of himself collecting floating dandelion seeds in the air and placing them into a jar representing his body.
Finally, Seraphina whispered the last instruction: gather all the mana in your body into a single point and compress it under high pressure.
Instinctively, Aelion gathered every particle of mana toward his chest, where his heart was, and began the process.
Seraphina watched closely, ready to intervene in case of an accident.
Under his mental command, the cluster of particles compressed more and more.
Each time he felt he couldn't go further, Seraphina ordered him to push harder.
His breathing grew heavy and forced, yet he kept pressing—again and again—like the myth saying that coal under immense pressure gives birth to diamond.
The moment that image appeared in his mind, he succeeded.
[ Congratulations! You have acquired the skill Mana Core ]