The Beginning of Mana Manifestation
Wow...
It was wide.
Incredibly, impossibly wide.
Along one wall, every kind of weapon hung in neat rows.
Longswords, greatswords, spears, shields.
Even training wooden swords, all sorted by type.
The opposite wall was covered in densely engraved magic patterns meant for mana training, and the stone floor had several large circular training zones marked out.
The center was a wide dueling area.
Sunlight poured down in long, slanting beams through the small windows near the ceiling.
The air felt strangely heavy, pressing down on my shoulders.
I slowly turned my head.
Whoosh.
Swish.
The sound of air being sliced made my head snap around.
In one corner of the training hall, right where the light fell, someone was swinging a wooden sword.
Swish—
The blade cut through the air in light, fast arcs before stopping cleanly at the final motion.
She's good...
I glanced at Leona.
“What is this place?”
Leona stepped forward.
“It’s my personal training hall.”
Her tone was matter-of-fact.
“A space permitted only to those ranked knight or higher.”
Her gaze flicked over me for a brief second.
“In other words, this is my personal training hall.”
I gave a short nod.
“Yeah. It’s nice.”
I looked around a little more, then turned away.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Leona stared at me.
“We’re starting training.”
“Goddammit…”
“Arin, come here.”
Leona called out.
“Captain!”
A bright, bouncy reply rang out as the girl came jogging over with the wooden sword resting on her shoulder.
She was young. Barely past twenty, with a fresh face and bright reddish-brown hair tied back in a neat ponytail.
She wore simple training clothes. Her frame looked slim at first glance, but a closer look revealed sharply defined muscles across her shoulders, arms, and core.
She stopped right in front of me and scanned me slowly from head to toe.
Her eyes sparkled.
“Oh.”
She tilted her head.
“So this is what a man looks like.”
This? What?
I blinked.
“What…?”
She spoke with complete seriousness.
“The creature known as a man.”
Creature again!!
“Ugh…”
I was speechless.
She leaned in even closer, studying my face.
“It’s strangely fascinating.”
Ha… she’s saying it right to my face…
Completely dumbfounded, I looked at Leona.
“Hey. What’s with her?”
Leona introduced her without batting an eye.
“Arin Beltea.”
“She’s an apprentice knight who just completed her formal training.”
Arin lifted her chin.
“I’m Arin!”
She flashed a bright smile and thrust out her hand.
“First time meeting one. A man, I mean.”
I swallowed a sigh and shook her hand.
“I’m Jun…”
Arin’s eyes sparkled even brighter.
“Jun.”
She rolled the name around once, then nodded.
“Please take care of me.”
She paused for dramatic effect.
“Mister Man.”
I immediately dropped her hand.
“Hey, what the hell is that supposed to mean!”
Arin ignored me completely, twirling the wooden sword lightly as she spoke.
“But have you ever held a sword before?”
She grinned from ear to ear.
A normal person holding a sword…
“No…”
The moment the word left my mouth, Arin’s face lit up like she’d won the lottery.
“Then today is going to be so much fun.”
I shot Leona a glare.
“Hey…”
Leona simply said, calm as ever.
“Training begins.”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head.
“Wha—”
BAM!
The world flashed white.
Then everything went dark.
---
A short while later.
One corner of the training hall.
A warm energy touched me first.
Then the darkness slowly receded.
Leona was holding a crystal orb. A faint light swirled inside it.
“Recovery.”
At her short chant, a gentle glow flowed out.
The soft light drifted down over my head where I lay sprawled on the floor.
Warmth spread through me.
“Ugh…”
I frowned and opened my eyes.
In a daze, I saw the ceiling.
I blinked a few times and pushed myself up.
“Ah…”
My hand instinctively went to my head.
Fuck. What the hell?
I looked around.
Leona, and Arin standing right beside her.
“What just happened—”
My fingers brushed against a large bump.
“Ah…”
I pressed it again.
“Aaaaaagh!”
I yelled immediately.
“It hurts!! I’ve got a huge lump!!”
Arin covered her mouth.
“Pfft.”
She couldn’t hold back her laughter.
I glared at her.
“Hey…”
Arin didn’t look sorry at all. She crossed her arms and tilted her head.
“You’re slow.”
Her voice was completely casual.
“Couldn’t even dodge something like that.”
I gaped at her in disbelief.
“Hey!”
“How am I supposed to dodge if you suddenly hit me?!”
Arin blinked.
“Suddenly?”
She rested the sword lightly on her shoulder.
“I watched you for three whole seconds.”
“What…?”
Arin spoke with deadly seriousness.
“I did it like this.”
She slowly raised the wooden sword.
“Lifted it like this, then brought it down like this.”
She recreated the exact motion.
“It took quite a while.”
I was at a total loss for words.
“Hey…”
That was when Leona’s voice cut in.
“Jun.”
I turned my head.
She was still holding the crystal orb.
“Training has officially begun.”
I stared at her with an incredulous expression.
“This is training?”
“Isn’t this just surprise assault?”
Arin burst out laughing.
“No, it’s training.”
She spoke playfully.
“On the battlefield, the enemy doesn’t politely ask if it’s okay to hit you first.”
I was speechless for a long moment.
Then I muttered.
“Why is everyone here like this?”
Arin smiled and gave her sword another light twirl.
“Don’t worry.”
“Next time I’ll hit you a little harder.”
“Hey!!!”
Leona spoke calmly.
“We will continue training.”
I clutched my head.
“You people are actually insane.”
Rubbing my scalp, I accidentally pressed the bump again.
“Ow, shit… it still hurts.”
Suddenly, Leona’s face turned bright red.
I blinked.
“What’s wrong?”
Leona averted her eyes and asked carefully.
“Jun. You… resonated with my mana, correct?”
I nodded.
“Yeah. Why?”
Leona asked again, as if confirming.
“And there was no change?”
I raised my hand.
“It didn’t work.”
“No matter what I tried, nothing happened.”
I snapped my fingers.
“Activate!”
Nothing.
“Manifest!”
Still nothing.
I shrugged.
“I tried stuff like that, but no dice.”
“I was going to ask even if you hadn’t brought it up.”
A faint smile touched Leona’s lips.
“Mana manifestation requires certain conditions.”
Her voice was calm and measured.
“If you cannot find those conditions…”
“Even someone with tremendous mana potential may never be able to manifest it.”
She took a step back.
Moving into the center where the light poured down.
“In my case, it’s like this.”
She raised her hand and placed two fingers on the back of it.
Physical Enhancement
The moment she spoke—
BOOOOM—!
An enormous wave of mana exploded outward.
The air in the training hall shook violently as a massive pressure surged in every direction.
My hair whipped around wildly and my clothes flapped hard.
“What the—?!”
This is insane…
I stared with wide eyes.
Leona’s body began to change.
Her once-smooth muscles swelled dramatically in an instant.
Shoulders, arms, abs, thighs—every muscle bulged powerfully.
Even her thick braided twin tails shot straight up toward the ceiling.
Holy shit…
Overwhelming power radiated from her entire body.
Even her eyes had changed. She looked like an entirely different being.
Leona let out a long breath.
“Hoo…”
“And with this ability…”
“I rose to my current position.”
She drew her sword.
Shing—
The blade caught the light.
She placed two fingers on the flat of the sword.
Sword Energy Infusion
A low resonant hum rose from the blade.
My eyes widened again.
The air around the sword trembled.
Then a blue glow rose along the edge.
Just like the sword aura I’d read about in martial arts novels, light flowed along the blade.
Swoosh—
She swung it lightly. The air tore apart with a sharp sound.
“Release.”
The humming faded and the light vanished from the sword.
Leona’s body slowly returned to normal.
The swollen muscles subsided, returning her to the sleek, elegant knight’s physique.
The training hall fell quiet again.
A gasp of admiration came from behind me.
“Whoa!”
It was Arin. Her eyes were sparkling.
“Captain, your manifestation is always so cool no matter how many times I see it!”
I was still completely stunned.
“Hey… isn’t that basically cheating?”
Arin rested her sword on her shoulder and grumbled.
“Ugh…”
“I want to manifest already too.”
She pouted.
“Why hasn’t it happened for me yet…”
Leona spoke calmly.
“Arin. Don’t be impatient.”
“Mana resonates with one’s will.”
I rubbed my chin and muttered.
“But… when is it going to happen for me?”
Arin looked at me and grinned.
“Mister Jun should focus on dodging swords first, don’t you think?”
I tilted my head.
“Hey…”
“That kind of comment really hurts, you know…”
Arin’s bright laughter filled the training hall.
Leona slowly sheathed her sword.
Shing—
Then she looked at me.
“As you can see, each person manifests differently.”
She paused for a moment.
“Very rarely, there are cases where two primary abilities manifest.”
Her voice carried a hint of pride.
Arin nodded.
“That’s right.”
“The captain is one of those rare cases.”
Leona studied me for a moment.
“Just in case, why don’t you try it?”
I blinked.
“Huh?”
“Try what?”
“What I just did.”
I let out a sigh.
“I’m not going to get hit again, right?”
Arin waved her hands, laughing.
“I won’t hit you this time.”
I hesitated for a second, then decided to give it a shot.
I raised my hand and placed two fingers on the back of it.
I glanced at Leona.
“Like this?”
“Correct.”
I muttered quietly.
“Physical Enhancement…”
I took a short breath.
“Manifest…”
Physical Enhancement
That was the moment.
KWAAAAAAA—!!
Something exploded inside my body.
“Aaaaaaaaagh!!”
I screamed at the top of my lungs.
My back arched violently.
“Aaaaaargh!!”
It felt like my entire body was being torn apart.
My bones twisted, muscles flipped inside out, nerves screaming as they were wrenched in every direction.
“It hurts it hurts it hurts!!”
My muscles swelled and shrank irregularly, completely out of control.
“What?!”
Leona’s eyes flew wide open.
Arin’s mouth hung open too.
“Huh…?”
KWAAAAAAA—
A violent wave of mana erupted outward.
A fierce wind swept through the entire training hall.
Arin raised her hand to reduce the wind resistance and lowered her head.
Her hair whipped backward and her clothes flapped violently.
Even Leona’s twin tails danced wildly in the gale.
But I had no attention to spare for any of that.
“This hurts so much!!”
“How do I cancel it?!”
I practically sobbed the words.
“Leona!!”
Leona shouted urgently.
“Feel the flow of mana!”
“Accept it!”
I clawed at the floor.
“I can’t accept it!!”
“It hurts so bad!!”
Leona shouted again.
“You have to endure it!”
“Relax your strength!”
“Surrender your body to the flow!”
I gritted my teeth.
“Hoo…!!”
“Hoo…!!”
I breathed roughly, desperately trying to sense the enormous power raging inside me.
It was like a storm.
I forced myself to grab hold of it.
And little by little, very slowly, the pain began to subside.
“Hoo…”
“Hoo…”
As I panted, my body grew lighter.
I slowly lifted my head.
“What the…?”
I looked down at myself.
My muscles were tightly coiled with power.
Strength overflowed through every fiber.
When I clenched my fist, the muscles moved with rock-solid firmness.
“What is this?”
I raised my head.
Both Leona and Arin were staring at me with their mouths wide open, completely dumbfounded.
I blinked.
“Why are you looking at me like that…?”
Arin spoke first.
“Uh…”
The words wouldn’t come out.
She paused, then finally managed.
“Mister Jun. Just now…”
She tilted her head slowly.
“Your body…”
“It got bigger… then smaller?”
I froze solid.
“What…?”
“What do you mean?”
Leona took a step closer.
“Jun. Don’t move.”
I stopped instinctively.
Leona’s eyes slowly traced over my body.
Her voice sank low.
“This is not Physical Enhancement.”
