Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Mana (1)
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For a long time, the Enlight Unified Empire had ruled the Layment Continent.
But that was now a tale from several decades ago.
The Sword Lord had toppled the Unified Empire, dividing the continent into fifteen administrative districts.
This was the new governing system established by the Sword Lord.
Each administrative district held territory equivalent to a kingdom, encompassing dozens of domains—a brand-new structure.
The Krotan Administrative District, home to Irons Domain, lay in the continent's north, surrounded by ocean on three sides.
Naturally, sea routes to the south flourished as a result.
Among them, Chrome had been a bustling port for merchant and passenger ships since ancient times, the largest harbor city in the Krotan Administrative District.
True to its fame, dozens of sailing ships departed Chrome Harbor each day.
The mid-sized passenger ship carrying Yuri and Johan was one of them.
Flutter—.
The passenger ship, having left Chrome Harbor, caught a tailwind and swelled its sails grandly.
Splash—.
Cleaving through the waves, the ship surged forward, beginning its four-week voyage to the Niger Administrative District.
And inside a shabby two-person cabin.
Johan gazed down at the unconscious Yuri.
“Urgh…….”
Yuri groaned in his sleep, out cold enough that he wouldn't wake easily.
Johan looked at him with utter disbelief.
“Damn, what a stubborn little punk.”
It was genuine admiration.
‘He actually pulled it off.’
The day he had taught Yuri the basics of mana and mana power.
He had promised that if Yuri cut the four-day journey to Chrome Harbor down to two, he would introduce him to mana.
Johan had set the two-day condition himself, but he had considered it practically impossible.
Halving a four-day distance required riding without rest, day and night.
Even with his recent gains in stamina, it was near impossible for Yuri, who hadn't accumulated mana yet.
But Yuri had accomplished the impossible.
Through sheer willpower alone.
‘He threw away all his composure, but his resolve is something else.’
The moment Yuri set foot at Chrome Harbor's entrance after traversing the four-day distance in two, he collapsed spectacularly on the spot.
Remembering that, a faint smile tugged at Johan's lips.
But the warm smile twisted into a sly grin in an instant.
“Pfft, what a naive kid.”
Yuri probably had no idea.
That even if he hadn't pushed himself to reach Chrome Harbor, Johan had been planning to move on to the next phase after finishing the stamina training anyway.
If the fainted Yuri learned that, he'd probably grind his teeth in fury.
Imagining the scene brought a contented smile to Johan's face.
“Every time I poke him, he reacts so perfectly—teasing him is endlessly entertaining.”
At first, he had prodded just enough to spark motivation.
But now, he did it because Yuri's bristling reactions were simply fun.
It had become Johan's sole amusement lately.
“Is this why old folks take on disciples? If it's this entertaining, retirement won't be boring.”
...Johan casually mused words that would drive Yuri mad if he heard them.
He wiped the smile from his face and extended a hand toward Yuri.
Soon, Johan's hands began kneading Yuri's entire body.
Face, torso, arms, and legs.
Johan's hands roamed Yuri's body without hesitation, each touch infused with meticulous care.
With them, steam began rising from Yuri's whole body.
Sizzle—.
The foul, murky steam that billowed out dispersed into the air and vanished.
At the same time, Johan's touch grew even more precise.
Crackle—crunch—.
Strange sounds soon emanated from various parts of Yuri's body.
Torn muscles from overexertion were reconnecting anew, twisted bones and joints slowly realigning.
What should have taken a long time was being accelerated by Johan's vast mana.
Moreover, this wasn't merely shortening the recovery time.
Crackle—crunch—.
The newly formed muscles and bones were positioning themselves ideally for Yuri to learn body arts in the future.
This was an enormous mana expenditure, a perilous procedure requiring profound knowledge of the human body.
Even renowned noble houses guarded their secret techniques jealously, performing them only on select heirs to carry on the family line.
Yet Johan performed such feats casually, every time Yuri fainted.
It was thanks to these efforts that Yuri felt his body not just recovering but growing healthier with each collapse.
Crackle—snap—crunch—.
As time passed, the sounds from Yuri's body dwindled, and only when they ceased entirely did Johan withdraw his hands.
“Whew…….”
Johan exhaled, his face slightly fatigued.
Even for him, the procedure had demanded considerable mental strain.
Yet contrary to his weary expression, his eyes gleamed brightly.
“...A natural martial prodigy.”
Innate physical strength, resilient muscles, keen eyesight—there were many traits worthy of the term “martial bone.”
But Yuri's innate quality was a bit more unique.
‘What an extraordinary body.’
At first, Johan had been quite disappointed with Yuri's ordinary physique.
But as time went on, he sensed something off.
And when he finally pinpointed the anomaly, he was stunned.
‘How can a human body achieve such perfect symmetry?!’
A person's left and right faces differ.
They're divided into left- and right-handers.
The same for feet.
Of course, some use both hands and feet equally, but everyone has a dominant side used unconsciously more often.
Development follows accordingly.
But not Yuri.
He used both hands and feet with similar frequency, and their development was evenly matched.
Even funnier, Yuri did all this unconsciously, without realizing it.
And with each of Johan's treatments, Yuri's body grew even more symmetrical.
‘Symmetry in the body means balance.’
This was a tremendous advantage for learning body arts.
‘His body hasn't reached perfect symmetry yet, but if he achieves it one day and masters it completely…….’
That alone would become Yuri's greatest weapon.
It was a good sign.
But not everything was optimistic.
‘It's worse than I thought.’
The day he first met this kid, while examining his fainted body, Johan had vaguely realized it.
That Yuri's condition was more severe than expected.
But now, it was several times worse than he had grasped then.
‘How has this kid... stayed alive until now?’
In this state, he should have dropped dead on the roadside long ago.
The mere fact that he was still breathing was miraculous.
‘He's barely clinging to his frayed lifeline…….’
That didn't mean Yuri was out of danger.
The tweaks Johan made while he was out were just stopgaps.
Without addressing the root disharmony, the fragile balance he'd patched together would collapse again.
‘I've filled the physical deficiencies to some extent with the treatments so far. Now it's time to infuse him with energy.’
Energy.
In other words, filling him with mana should get him over the major hurdle.
As Johan gazed intently at Yuri with that thought.
“...Why are you staring at me with such a creepy look?”
Yuri had woken up, squinting at him.
“When did I ever look at you creepily?”
“Just now.”
“Don't worry, I don't have those tastes.”
“What tastes?”
“The kind you imagined.”
“I didn't imagine anything?”
“...Then why are you sneaking away?”
“For the reasons you're imagining?”
As Johan said, Yuri was shuffling his butt to inch away from him.
Squirming sideways while lying down was a skill in itself.
“You little brat…….”
As Johan's brow twitched, Yuri stopped joking, sat up, and looked around.
“Where are we?”
“You sure ask fast.”
Johan let out a small sigh and explained they were on a passenger ship bound for Niger.
Yuri nodded, then shot up from his seat with a shout.
“Oh, right! The promise!”
“Hm?”
“You said if I made it in two days, you'd teach me! Mana!”
“Tch, I didn't forget. Sit down.”
“So?”
“I'll teach you now.”
No point dragging it out since he planned to anyway.
“Woo-hoo!”
Ecstatic, Yuri scampered over and dropped to his knees in front of Johan.
“Hurry, hurry!”
It was the first time Johan had seen such sparkling eyes since meeting Yuri, leaving him oddly awkward.
He cleared his throat lowly and began.
“Ahem! Mana is the origin of all things, an energy present everywhere in the world.”
“Yeah!”
“Also, only when this energy infuses the forms of ordinary body techniques can they be called mana body arts. Thus, mana is the foundation of mana body arts.”
“Yeah!”
“...Are you even understanding what I'm saying, or just nodding?”
“Yessir!”
Yuri nodded vigorously.
Seeing his unprecedented eagerness, Johan grew a bit curious.
‘Just how great is this kid's talent for mana?’
The soul rank that summoned an avatar on its own.
A body with perfect symmetry worthy of a martial prodigy.
His soul and body talents exceeded Johan's expectations.
If his mana talent was exceptional too?
No, even if it was just above average……
‘His growth might be far faster than I think.’
Johan swallowed dryly and spoke.
“Then we'll start now. Sit in a comfortable meditation posture.”
“Here?”
“Yes. Straighten your back and breathe easily.”
“Eyes closed too?”
“If it's more comfortable.”
No sooner had he finished than Yuri closed his eyes and assumed the posture.
Hoo—hoo—.
Yuri's soft breaths continued, overlaid by Johan's calm voice.
“Entering mana begins with perceiving it. I'll release mana around you now. Feel it. The mana.”
A rare few geniuses born with exceptional mana sensitivity perceive and awaken it on their own.
They instinctively accumulate mana in their bodies from childhood.
Unfortunately, Yuri wasn't at that level.
His body currently held no mana.
If it did, Johan would have noticed first.
Thus, assuming average talent, Johan planned the standard mana perception method.
Having the caster increase mana density around the subject.
The lower the density required for perception, the higher the subject's mana talent.
‘Come on, show me. What kind of talent do you have?’
Eyes gleaming, Johan released mana around Yuri.
The mana density spiked in an instant.
At that moment.
Something Johan hadn't anticipated occurred.
‘......?!’
The mana Johan had spread...
Ssssh—.
Was being sucked into Yuri.
At an astonishing speed.