Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Learning the Mana Circulation Method
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After the bet with Alexar ended.
Jeon collapsed into bed and fell asleep the moment he returned to his room.
He had no experience squeezing out every last drop of mana like this, so he couldn't overcome the crashing wave of fatigue.
Still, I gained a lot.
Setting aside whether he won or lost the bet.
Through this experience, Jeon had gained quite a few insights.
Especially about his current level, which hit him the hardest.
My peak is definitely high, but my sustainability is terrible.
Right after the bet yesterday.
Jeon's usable mana was so depleted that he could barely cast any magic at all.
He had drawn every bit of mana from the manastones and silver-infused artifacts, and even poured in the mana flowing through his arms without holding back.
Rune Magic is basically impossible to use properly right now.
In other words, after hitting that one peak yesterday, he was now in an extreme low point.
It would recover somewhat after a week or so.
But it was still inefficient.
The Mana Circulation Method has to come first.
Jeon felt the necessity of the Mana Circulation Method more acutely than ever.
And so, today.
The moment he woke up in the morning, he headed straight to the training grounds.
"You're out early, sir."
And soon after.
A middle-aged man entered the training grounds where Jeon was.
He had an ordinary build, but his long beard gave him a dignified, mature charm.
And as if to prove he was from the Silvermont Family, his hair, beard, and eyes were all silver.
Though the shades of silver vary a bit among the Silvermonts.
Unlike Alexar, who had bright, pure silver hair and eyes.
This man's silver was slightly duller.
Come to think of it, Lena's hair was white too, so even within the same family, there were subtle differences in color.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Gilad Silvermont, a mage of the Silvermont Family, here to assist you starting today."
"Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you. I'm Jeon."
Anyway.
After a light exchange of greetings, Jeon got straight to the point.
"I want to learn the Mana Circulation Method."
"Mm, I can teach you that, but first, there's something I need to confirm."
"Confirm?"
"Yes. You can't learn multiple Mana Circulation Methods overlapping. I understand you've already been using magic... Have you not learned a Mana Circulation Method at all? Or is yours incomplete?"
As Gilad said.
Without a proper Mana Circulation Method, using magic was nearly impossible.
No matter how talented you were, you needed one to accumulate the mana used in magic.
If I say mana just accumulates through my arms on its own... they'd think I'm crazy.
The biggest reason Jeon could use magic.
Was because his arms constantly absorbed a trickle of ambient mana.
But even he didn't know why or how it happened.
Guess I'll gloss over it.
Jeon had anticipated this and prepared an answer in advance.
"The person who taught me magic only stayed briefly before leaving, so I learned some special spells but not the Mana Circulation Method."
Of course, it was a lie.
He had no teacher and had never learned magic from anyone.
But he had told Lena and Risar that he received secret magic from them, so he tailored his story accordingly.
As he naturally recited his prepared line, Jeon pulled a manastone from his pocket.
"Still, thanks to the book on artifact crafting my master left behind, I've been supplementing my mana with artifacts until now."
"So, not a grimoire with the Mana Circulation Method, but one with artifact crafting methods?"
"Yes. My master said he only had that grimoire at the time and apologized. He promised to teach me the Mana Circulation Method next time we met... but we haven't crossed paths yet."
This was a lie too.
But he had no other way to address the doubts raised.
So Jeon kept a brazen expression while lying.
"...You made the artifacts yourself?"
"Yes. It took some time since I was self-taught."
"I... see."
But for Gilad, hearing this was a shock beyond shocks.
I thought maybe his Mana Circulation Method was just unstable.
The Mana Circulation Method was basic yet profound.
Sometimes, those with incomplete versions sought a complete one.
In such cases, replacing the old incomplete parts required immense effort.
So Gilad had vaguely assumed this was similar.
But he hasn't learned any Mana Circulation Method at all?
Yet the boy before him claimed he hadn't even learned an incomplete one.
Theoretically, you can craft artifacts without a Mana Circulation Method, but only if your mana sensitivity is genius-level.
That meant the boy had genius-level talent for sensing and handling mana.
No, just from what he's accomplished, 'genius' doesn't even cover it.
Crafting artifacts without a Mana Circulation Method was impressive enough.
But skillfully using the mana in those artifacts without one was incredibly difficult too.
Mana wasn't naturally attuned to the human body.
Without stabilizing it via the Mana Circulation Method, proper use was impossible.
Yet this boy Jeon had crafted artifacts and wielded their mana masterfully without one.
A possessor of unbelievable talent...
In truth, Gilad couldn't easily believe Jeon.
If he hadn't heard that Jeon blocked Alexar's strike yesterday, he would have dismissed it all as lies.
The boy's talent was that unbelievable.
I see why Lord Alexar told me to pay extra attention.
At this point, Gilad was curious too.
How far could Jeon's talent bloom with a proper Mana Circulation Method?
"Very well. Then I'll teach you the Silvermont Family's Mana Circulation Method right away."
"Yes."
"First, a few precautions. Due to security, I can only transmit it orally. So please understand you can't write it down or record it anywhere while I explain."
"Yes, I understand."
Even general magic spells were like that, but especially Mana Circulation Methods.
Jeon knew this well, so he didn't ask questions.
"Normally, we'd only teach the very basics. Advanced parts touch on family secret magic, restricted from outsiders... but you have no such restrictions, Sir Jeon."
Alexar had promised full support.
And it seemed he'd even share parts only family could learn.
"Of course, that means I can teach you the family secret magic too, if you wish."
"Is that... allowed?"
"The family head approved it. Though with the time limit, you'll only take what you can learn."
Even sharing secret family magic.
This was even more full support than Jeon expected.
Anyway.
After the brief precautions.
Gilad began the lesson on the foundational Mana Circulation Method.
"Since you use magic, your mana sensitivity is already active, right?"
"Yes, correct."
"Good. Halfway there. The Mana Circulation Method basics involve absorbing the sensed mana through breathing, then accumulating it in your body via a set process."
With that, Gilad sat in a lotus position on the ground to demonstrate.
"Just focus on my breathing from now on."
And as he breathed.
The ambient mana is gathering toward him.
Following Gilad's breaths, the surrounding mana flowed into his body.
A faint silver light emanated from his half-closed eyes.
It looks like cultivating inner energy from those wuxia novels I read in my past life.
The posture and accumulation via breathing.
It resembled inner energy cultivation from wuxia novels Jeon occasionally read in his previous life.
It felt familiar, like he could do it easily.
"Fuu... That should suffice for the demonstration. Shall we have you try now, Sir Jeon? Sit like me?"
"Ah, yes."
"First, visualize drawing in the ambient mana through your breath. The Magic Language words for that are these two."
Gilad wrote two Magic Language words on the ground.
"Inhale and Accumulate. Use these to infuse mana into your breathing."
Jeon nodded and sat, closing his eyes.
Sense the ambient mana, right?
Mana was familiar to Jeon now.
Focusing with eyes closed, he sensed the surrounding mana immediately.
In its raw, natural state.
"Once you sense it, focus on your breath to draw it in. Not too fast—slowly, very slowly."
Following Gilad's advice, Jeon breathed deeply, concentrating on absorbing the mana.
This should work right away.
The mana was clear, his understanding of the words solid.
His focus was sharper than ever.
Mana seemed ready to flow in with his breath.
Gilad watching thought the same.
A once-in-a-generation genius who crafted artifacts and cast magic without a Mana Circulation Method.
Accumulating via breath should be trivial; he'd just teach stabilization and storage next.
"...Um, the mana isn't coming in through my breath."
"...Pardon?"
Both their expectations missed the mark.
"Wh-what seems to be the problem?"
"Well... I can sense the mana clearly, but it just won't follow my breath."
"...That can't be. Think of it like casting magic: infuse the sensed mana with the words and will, then guide it into your body..."
"Yes, I get that... but it's not working."
He knew the feeling, but it wouldn't happen.
He can already cast magic but can't accumulate mana via breath?
Casting required control far beyond what a Circulation Method needed.
So Gilad had never seen someone who could cast but not cultivate mana.
Stumped, he was at a loss for words.
No, but seriously, if breath won't work, what do I do?
Jeon was equally frustrated.
He sensed mana, infused the words with will.
But when trying to draw it in via breath, the mana resisted and slipped away.
As if refusing to settle in his body through breath.
"Sh-shall we try again?"
Gilad suggested another attempt after a pause.
"...No luck."
Same result.
Even after several more tries, the mana wouldn't follow Jeon's breath.
"......"
Silence fell between them.
Well, Gilad was speechless, but Jeon had a dissatisfied question left.
Breaking the quiet, he asked the dazed Gilad directly.
"Is there no other way to accumulate besides breathing?"
"Other than breathing... practically none. Unless using artifacts or elixirs, the only way to draw external mana into the body is through breath."
Gilad answered with a troubled look.
Ultimately, for humans and creatures, nothing beat breathing for internalizing external energy.
"So, the key is just getting it into the body somehow?"
"Yes, exactly."
But Jeon nodded as if he got it, sat back down, and closed his eyes again.
If it's just about getting it inside, better to use the familiar path.
This time, no lotus position or deep breaths—just comfortably seated.
If I can guide mana with Magic Language, it'll be much faster through here than breath.
Just relaxed posture.
Like before, he sensed the ambient mana and drew it in with the words.
But not through breath.
Toward his arms, which always trickled mana in.
Posture is important for cultivation, so if he doesn't maintain it...
Gilad was about to advise on posture.
"...Huh?"
The ambient mana moved toward Jeon, then visibly poured into his body.
Did he suddenly grasp a breathing technique?
But Gilad realized his guess was wrong again.
The speed was far too fast for breath.
No, impossible to draw mana this fast through breath.
It wasn't just speed.
Unlike intermittent inhale-exhale absorption, it sucked in mana continuously without pause.
"What... is this?"
And soon after.
"Fuu."
Having successfully filled his body with mana through his arms, Jeon slowly opened his eyes.