Awakening (5)
In the center of the lake, Zeke crossed his legs into the lotus position.
Sinking his consciousness deep, he opened the acupoints of his Mana Roads.
Immediately, the dense mana energy tried to invade his body.
If he accepted this energy as-is right now,
his Mana Roads wouldn't hold and would shatter in the end.
'Half-cripple status confirmed.'
Zeke blocked the mana attempting to enter through the open gate.
'What I need to do now isn't recover the body or boost mana.'
Drip.
A single bead of cold sweat welled on his forehead, trickled down his chin, and fell into the lake.
'Ngh.'
Forcing back the massive brute took every ounce of strength in his body.
His face flushed beet red, veins bulging on his forehead.
Blood trickled from his tightly clenched lips.
Normally, inscribing the Mana Purification Method on the body
involved drawing out internal mana to seize the external mana wholesale
and simply guiding it in the desired direction—a straightforward task.
But the body's pitiful mana reserves were the problem.
Compared to the thick, heavy external mana, what Zeke could muster
was barely enough to thinly coat a baguette or spark a tiny flame—
about a cup of water's worth.
The current situation was like trying to tame a wild, violent monster
by tying a single thin thread around its neck.
'Literally.'
Huu—
Zeke exhaled deeply.
Even so, a problematic body didn't make it impossible.
He was Zeke, who had once climbed to the top in a world where power was everything.
The experience honed rolling through that dark fantasy realm.
His mastery of mana manipulation offered viable paths even for the seemingly impossible.
'The key is not to fight the flow.'
He suppressed the frustration and impatience bubbling up.
Sharpening his consciousness to a razor's edge, he pushed his focus to the limit.
In the depths of his imagery, the formless external mana took on the shape of a savage beast.
It glared at Zeke, drool dripping from its maw.
"Grrr."
They were locked in a standoff against Zeke's firm refusal.
'Take the long way if needed, but stick to the right path. Only one shot at this.'
Slither.
Zeke drew out two strands of mana from his body.
One was thread-thin but densely compressed for maximum toughness,
the other thick enough to irk the beast, but hollow inside.
The thick mana strand crept cautiously toward the beast,
so slowly it seemed frozen, barely disrupting the flow.
"Grrr!!!!"
But once it entered a certain range, the beast bared its teeth in irritation.
Zeke made the strand hesitate half a step back,
then poke just into the boundary again,
dragging the beast's gaze along the edge.
The beast treated the strand like an annoying fly hovering nearby.
Too insignificant to devour outright, yet too bothersome to ignore.
That ambiguity stalled the external mana's movement.
'Good... just a bit more...'
Seizing the moment while the beast fixated on the thick strand,
the ultra-thin, tough strand circled widely through the cavern.
Soon, the beast's patience snapped.
"Kheung!"
The instant it lunged to snap up the thick strand—
Snap!
Not quite a tight grip, but too intrusive for free rein—a collar linked to the external mana.
And while the beast panicked, the thick strand connected too.
"Kahaang!"
The beast, yanking violently at the line, twisted as if tickled.
The thin strand took control, while the thick one scraped at the clumps of murky energy.
Of course, this was all in Zeke's imagery—
in reality, far more intricate processes unfolded.
Zeke's thin strand ceaselessly devoured pure mana,
while the thick one moved to expel the tainted portions.
Forming a loop externally,
absorption and expulsion happened simultaneously without passing through his body.
The external mana, once fiercely resistant,
gradually yielded to Zeke's feeble collar.
'Alright, time to reel it in.'
Zeke tugged the thin strand, drawing it toward his body—
to his back.
For intricate runes, the chest's curves were tricky;
the relatively flatter back was better.
'You're the first to see my back.'
Finally, the external mana reached Zeke's back.
It tried to force into the narrow acupoint again,
but Zeke yanked the thin strand with subtly greater force.
'Not that way.'
The beast grumbled on,
as if complaining why detour when the path was right there.
But Zeke coaxed and commanded, firm at times, soothing at others.
Sizzle!
The mana stamped its first mark on his flesh.
Smoke rose as skin burned.
'Stay sharp!'
Now, weave the tattoo through the body's acupoints without using them,
ultimately linking to the Mana Road's core—
while taming the beast's wild temper throughout.
'Easy, I get it. Hang in there. I've been through it. You think I don't know thirst?'
Scrape-scrape!
The external mana raced across his skin, gouging roughly.
Pain like flesh peeled by a chisel knife continued, but Zeke's face remained unchanged.
In his mind, the Mana Purification Method runes taught by the Saintess shone vividly.
And on his back, a glowing blue tattoo etched itself bit by bit.
The rune formed a large circle enclosing
intertwined shapes and auxiliary characters.
The Mana Purification Method, to filter only the purest essence, leaving impurities behind.
Step 1: Triangular rune to shatter the external mana's bulk.
'Erosion'
Step 2: Square rune to retain purifiable portions from the tainted mana.
'Deposition'
Step 3: Circular rune to blend shards from the triangle with retained essence from the square.
'Fusion'
Finally: Dot rune to purify the amalgam and forge the path to the Mana Road.
'Pathway'
"Khup!"
Zeke's eyes snapped open.
Wuuung—
The Mana Purification Method on his back activated.
Sucking in all the lake's dense mana.
Overwhelming pressure crushed his body.
Light burst from his back, illuminating the cavern.
And a thin membrane formed over his skin.
"Hah... did it... work?"
Only then did Zeke speak in an exhausted voice.
Still seated, he drew in surrounding mana experimentally.
Now, all Mana Road acupoints were sealed;
external mana entered solely through his back.
'The runes sucked up most of it; not much left.'
Still, the Mana Purification Method was properly inscribed—he confirmed it.
Of the drawn mana, about a tenth seeped smoothly inside.
"Hm. Better filter than expected. Plus one point. Now -998."
For this body, it was the most efficient, ideal form.
Drawing mana no longer drained him as before.
'No more passing out for real now.'
Zeke stood, loosening up.
Crack. Crack.
Tension released from his stiffened body with pops of joints.
He extended a hand, igniting a flame.
What was once a match-sized spark now roared into a fist-sized blaze.
"From lighter to torch now."
Zeke pulled Yutra's mana stone from his discarded clothes.
In his hand, the stone automatically morphed into a small ring via the Mana Purification Method.
'Use this for the Conversion Rune.'
Body runes maxed at three, ideally two for stability.
More, and mana tangled between them like a live bomb.
With such limited slots,
Zeke chose the Conversion Rune without hesitation.
Unlike the grueling inscription of the Purification Method,
Yutra's stone liquefied instantly, etching a tattoo on his hand's back.
Freely wielding external mana was a game-changer in efficiency.
'Nothing beats it for utility.'
Mana properties varied by individual,
making intervention between people inefficient.
'But Conversion assimilates mana.'
This aided intervening in Soy Spoon's Berserker for training,
teaching Serena the women-only rapier art, Heavenly Flow Sword,
erasing traces,
or disguising mana patterns as enemies' to sow chaos.
Zeke tested by altering the cavern's mana pattern.
Yutra's habitat, now drained dry and ordinary.
Blue light rippled from his hand's back, shifting residual traces.
'Wonder if anyone's analyzing crime scene mana patterns.'
Harmless if not, so Zeke shrugged it off.
'Leftover stones... battery use is possible, but wasteful.'
Multiple body runes burdened him,
so Zeke pondered their fate.
'Once the kids' basics improve, use for mana cultivation methods?'
The seven pea-sized stones were too few for cultivation,
but with his Mana Filter, Zeke could procure more efficiently.
He mulled suitable mana cultivation methods for each student.
'Need to check mana patterns first. Start with Serena.'
They lived in the same mansion anyway,
and confirming patterns required baring the upper body and placing a hand on the core.
Serena made the perfect first target.
'Serena, lemme see your back.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Bam!
"About three hours left."
Zeke gauged the path back to the mansion, hair whipping in the wind.
He kicked off toward the capital.
Each landing and push propelled his form surging forward.
Bam!
"What the hell was that?!"
"New monster?!"
Adventurers startled by one shout, grabbing weapons.
"Something pass by?"
"D-Dunno... could be a bird..."
"Dangerous!?"
"Seemed to pass. We're good."
Unable to track Zeke, the adventurers blinked in confusion.
"Heard the Guildmaster got badly hurt this time."
"Yeah. Whoever did it—"
"Attacked, but why keep quiet? We adventurers would protect him."
"Dunno, he seemed terrified. Someone we can't touch."
"Ah, then no choice. Give up."
Zeke's sharpened ears caught their chat.
'Ah, that bastard. One more warning on the way.'
Their needless worry for the Guildmaster extended his hospital stay.
◇
The Adventurers' Guildmaster, swaddled in bandages in a private high-end clinic room,
clutched his head, groaning.
"Damn. Damn. What do I do!?"
The recording crystal was stolen by some lunatic.
Its price was one thing, but the giver was worse.
Papers left as evidence were bad, but the crystal was another level.
'If that lord finds out, I'm dead.'
Just recalling the face made him shudder.
After the thief left, he'd sent secretly raised assassins to kill and retrieve it—
but less than an hour later, only heads returned,
with brutal threats attached.
"What kind of monster is he... Hiding in the academy."
"Monster, huh. Talking about me?"
"Yeah! That creepy voice..."
Huh?
The Guildmaster cracked his eyes, peering ahead.
"!"
Poke.
A baguette was already jammed in his throat.
'Guards!!!!!!!!!'
He tried to scream, but palate crushed his windpipe—
no sound escaped.
"Guhhh..."
Only a thin whistle leaked out.
"I did say 'next time,' but truth is, my grudges linger. Understandable, right?"
Smirk.
To Zeke's curled lip, the Guildmaster could only goggle wide-eyed.
"And since I'm here, might as well listen to that crystal too."