Well, that’s not good. I knew it wasn’t durable.

Novus looked at the crow with a splinter falling from its neck. Then, he looked at the sword that held a crack running along its base in his hand.

Novus’ eyes spun around as he looked around the courtyard. He let out an internal sigh of relief as he saw nobody nearby notice. In fact, the previously bustling courtyard was nearly silent. A few trainees from the previous crowd were still battling against the training instructor in the distance, but the other ‘crows didn’t hold as many people anymore.

Have I been here that long? It feels like only an hour or so has passed.

Novus looked up and saw the suns approaching dusk with each passing moment. Then, a sudden movement caught Novus’ eyes. Finally out of his training daze, multiple word boxes assaulted Novus.

Congratulations! Due to showing excessive prowess with a sword, the abilities Weapon Mastery and Sword Mastery have been obtained. Congratulations! Weapon Mastery has levelled up! Congratulations! Weapon Mastery has levelled up! Congratulations! Sword Mastery has levelled up! Congratulations! Sword Mastery has levelled up! Congratulations! Sword Mastery has levelled up! Physical training has fully recovered the weakened state of your body. Warning! High fatigue levels have been reached. Food and drink consumables are advised. Player’s Body has activated and lowered your high fatigue levels.

Was it that impressive? I only really trained the basics.

Novus was oddly unaware. His ‘basic’ training was done at a pace that would take others days to get through, his focus unflinching at most distractions and with a real memory and sense of exactly how a sword strike is supposed to be wielded. All of this added together into the form of multiple skill level-ups.

Novus felt the dwindling strength in his arms and realized he was still gripping the damaged sword. With a quick step and a stealthy run, Novus was at the training weapons box, carefully hiding the sword away.

Hopefully, nobody notices that.

Novus stretched his sore muscles as a heaviness accompanied each movement. Finally, with a ferocious pace, Novus drained the water canteen and finished the rest of his stale bread. Soon, he would have to find a way to get more food and water. But, for now, there was still one thing left to do.

My attributes have recovered from dying, and I can move this dreadful body around a bit better. That leaves only one last step.

Novus left for a quiet area of the courtyard and barely sat in a half-lotus position on the ground. His muscles groaned in protest to more movement, but Novus fought through it anyway. He cupped his hands low, steadied his breath, and raised his thumbs together.

With a gentle eye closing, Novus let his senses drift inwards with each breath in and exhale out.

The world without his vision was dark at first.

Then, something snapped into place as the first of many feelings began to tickle Novus’ mind. Those feelings turned corporeal as his senses assigned colours to them, and he felt it as multiple particles of light floated around him. It was like a fathomless night sky was lit up by the glow of the stars.

The coloured light particles were called mana and produced some truly magical effects.

…mana is present. And it’s behaving just like my previous world.

Suddenly, Novus’ hands switched into an interlocking posture. Upon deep inhale, the nearby mana drifted into Novus’ nose. Upon deep exhale, the farther mana drew towards Novus like a gravity-induced pulse.

Ding!

Congratulations! You have unlocked a mana-induced sense and obtained the skill Divine Sense.

Novus promptly ignored the entire notification. Instead, he was more focused on the mana particles entering his body. Once inside, the mana particles were like candy-crazed children as they collided with muscles and rebounded against each other.

Novus frowned before switching hand signs. One palm held his other closed fist, and suddenly, the mana around Novus dispersed. Meanwhile, the mana inside Novus’ body was quickly controlled.

It was like little leashes were attached to each rampaging particle as Novus slowly guided them into an orderly flowing river. Like a circulatory system, the mana ebbed and flowed around muscles and through bones.

These flowing pathways were Novus’ unique mana circuit.

Originally being a dragon, Novus wasn’t entirely familiar with his, let alone a human’s, mana circuit. However, between the introductory body training session and his deep knowledge of mana, Novus could slowly feel out the process. His only regret was the lack of a heart-like pump to guide the process autonomously. So instead, Novus was forced to use another technique: Divine Sense.

Why would they name it after such rotten beings?

Novus let the thought flow past his mind before hurriedly taking control of a few mana particles that tried to slip away.

The term came from the senses that the divine held. To a certain extent, every creature with a mind could awaken the sense unconsciously with enough time and mana density. It relied on the willful extension of the mind to touch upon ambient mana. Using a paired technique could unleash mental attacks, or in Novus’ case, direct mana.

Novus’ hand signs were one such simple technique to gather, then condense the mana into his body.

Grunt.

Novus’ weak mind throbbed from trying to control numerous particles at once, but it was effective as the particles raced around his body. The hardest part for Novus was the particles that met pathways that abruptly ended or pathways that slowed the flow of mana. These were natural limitations that Novus would have to deal with if he ever wanted total control over his mana circuit.

It really is a terrible body.

Despite the conflicts, Novus felt the rivers of mana slowly changing colour as they travelled. The originally multicoloured rainbow of coloured mana, when they finished flowing around Novus’ body, was now a shallow crimson red. A few minutes later, the rivers of mana were one chaotic jumble slightly above Novus’ navel.

Gathering finished—time for condensing.

Novus felt his control tighten as his willpower and Divine Sense worked overtime to keep the pressurized mana inside a small, contained area.

Novus’ hands twirled as one sat with a palm to the sky and the other a palm to the earth. Finally, his hands came together slowly, and the crimson mana inside Novus’ body went wild.

Blood leaked from Novus’ nose as he fought to keep the crimson mana from going out of control. Slight contact between particles caused an explosive burst of energy, and trying to contain the particles in one area was like condensing a balloon of colliding air. Nevertheless, the effort provided results as Novus felt the mana tightening according to his will. Of course, it helped that the mana was starting to feel one with him as the shallow crimson colour rapidly turned deeper shades of red.

Pat.

The sound was light as Novus’ hands met together and slowly twisted to reverse their positions. The mana inside Novus did the same as a sudden spiralling motion began to collide mana together. However, the expected rebounding magnet-like movement from before was now like two pieces of glue clashing together. The two mana particles repelled for a moment, then they suddenly began to fuse together into one fundamental particle once more. But now, the particle was twice the size.

The cycle continued as particles half-collided, half-fused with each twirling motion of Novus’ hands. It took nearly fifty twirls of Novus’ hands to condense most of the mana particles. But eventually, Novus reached a point where the last two mana particles twirled around each other like orbiting planets.

Come on!

Novus felt the strain of his Divine Sense attempting to pull one particle towards the other. It took nearly all Novus’ mind could muster to incite the particle like an enraged bull and pull it towards the other particle. The resulting battle caused an explosion of energy within Novus’ body.

Cough! Cough!

Novus spat out blackened blood that rapidly congealed. Oddly enough, that made him feel better. Or perhaps it was the swirling crimson drop that was slowly settling down in his body.

Ding!

Congratulations! You have condensed a mana drop and unlocked the magic system! Congratulations! The skill Mana Manipulation has been unlocked.

Engrossed with his newly condensed mana drop, Novus hardly noticed the floating word boxes. Instead, a smile adorned his stony face as the crimson drop danced and flowed around the small navel area. Despite appearing solid, it ethereally flowed like water.

The first step for all magic users is condensing a mana drop. It’s a good thing I managed to do it before heading out of town. It would’ve been a pain fighting without it.

Unfortunately, Novus didn’t have the time to savour his accomplishment as a rage-filled intent locked onto him. Unconsciously, Novus willed the crimson drop of mana, and a strange suction force erupted from deep within him. The crimson drop lit up in response, and Novus felt a heat blossom across his body.