By Zephyria 
Before class began, I realized everyone except me was holding a round orb the size of a child’s fist.
I didn’t know what it was. All I had were a thick textbook for Basic Magic Studies, a notebook for taking notes, and writing utensils.
As I sat anxiously before class began, an orb flew from afar and landed in my hand. Only then did I feel relieved.
Professor of Magic Studies, Angela Sting, stood at the podium. She was a woman who had just passed her early twenties, and she lectured in a gentle voice.
Her already soft and slow language, spoken in whispers, made the lecture sound more like a song than a class.
Professor Angela Sting’s long hair, which reached her waist, was perfectly straight as if measured by a ruler. Her eyes and hair were both a deep sapphire blue, gleaming with a white luster. She explained the difference between Mana and Aura as follows.
“Mana is a distant power drawn from the great nature, and Aura is a close power created by people. Even if their outward appearance is similar, what is reached from afar and what is reached from close cannot be the same in essence,” she explained for a long time.
“⋯And so, Mana is received from the gentle breeze, the fresh wildflowers, the splashing spring water, the light and shadow that emanates from the shimmering flame, from that tender gray. Everyone, close your eyes and imagine a fresh meadow.”
Professor Angela Sting spread her arms wide. Her movements, resembling a dance, seemed to capture the sky within the space between her arms, and I found them simply wondrous.
“Imagine the clovers in the vast meadow, the sound of birds chirping from afar, the wind caressing your cheeks, and the sunlight pouring down upon you. Cast yourself away, and grasp a wisp of that distant energy⋯ that comes from beyond me, from outside of me. Take a deep breath⋯ and as you exhale, let that breath enter your chest, into your embrace. Inhale deeply again⋯ with the rhythm of your heartbeat, slowly⋯.”
However, I could not feel Mana.
Breathing in deeply and exhaling felt no different from Circulating Qi to me. It was even more so because I couldn’t understand accumulating internal energy directly in the Middle Dantian, rather than the Lower Dantian.
If my Lower Dantian was a reservoir, the Middle Dantian was a waterway, and the Upper Dantian was a valley. That’s how I had learned and how I had used it, so no matter how much internal energy I pushed into the waterway, it would scatter and disappear.
I opened my eyes slightly and looked around. At a suitable distance, golden circles spun clockwise around the chests and feet of the scattered Wizards.
I saw the Mage’s Circle for the first time that day with my own eyes, and I was very excited. Some of them shone with a bright golden light, while others were hot and blurred like steam rising from hot springs.
One of those circles had a crimson gold hue.
In my previous life, I remembered hearing about Crimson Gold.
It was a strange tale of a White Ape deep in the sulfuric mountains, which would soak itself in red petals for a thousand days, feed on the blood of sacrifices for a hundred days, rinse it in boiling hot springs for ten days, and finally possess a gold that was neither red nor golden, cherishing it like its own child.
Legends of that sort were just one of those unbelievable oddities, like tales of dragons living in certain mountains, imugi falling in others, or a five-headed Xuanwu rising from a river.
Yet, seeing this peculiar light, which I could neither grasp nor scatter, I recalled the lump of red gold the White Ape might possess. As the distinct circle repeated, one layer, then two, three, four, it spread even to my feet. My toes instinctively twitched and drew together.
“⋯Now, we will inhale the breath we just exhaled. The circle that spread out, centered on me, will enter through my mouth and nose, reach my chest, and then be sent far away. Imagine the wind that is no longer needed by me, traveling far. If it’s hard to imagine because it’s invisible, think of a small cloud.”
The children inhaled and exhaled deeply, following the professor’s instructions. The professor opened her eyes slightly and continued, “Don’t look at the sky, look at the ground⋯ you can see the shadow of the cloud moving further and further away. A little more, a little more⋯. When it reaches a point where it’s no longer within reach, you will slowly open your eyes. Not rushing⋯ slowlyyy⋯.”
At that moment, my eyes met Professor Angela Sting’s. She already knew I hadn’t been concentrating. I read a hint of disappointment and reprimand in her blinking eyes and snapped back to attention.
“It seems to have been difficult for a student from the Swordsmanship Department. Knights generally do not have circles within their bodies, unlike Wizards. Especially in the Sierran Empire’s swordsmanship, Aura is merely armor and a weapon, so all the Mana drawn in is applied like a bandage.”With a gesture from the professor, a transparent human figure floated above the lectern.” I couldn’t tell what magic it was created with, but seeing several students exclaim in admiration, I knew it was something remarkable.
The human figure was blue, and green light drawn from outside accumulated in layers on the figure’s hands, chest, and knees.
“This is what Aura is called, the light that emanates from a weapon imbued with Mana. Or it can be used like this.”
The green light entered the Yongquan acupoint on the figure’s soles and dug deep into the pelvic bone. It seeped into the muscles and minor meridians, and the figure mimicked leaping high or dashing forward before stopping.
“Body Reinforcement Magic can be used by a 3rd Circle Wizard. This is because Mana must be drawn out like a thread and applied so it can fully permeate each part of the human body. Knights, who always use Aura only on their own bodies, which they observe and understand, have more freedom in Mana control, but conversely, they can suffer severe injuries if they make a mistake. You must be careful.”
I suddenly felt puzzled. It was because I didn’t clearly understand the difference between a Wizard’s Mana, a Swordsman’s Aura, and the internal energy I handled. They all had their own distinct lights, but as I watched them now, their circles all had their own colors, meaning no two people had the same circle.
The Mana accumulated in my Middle Dantian, true to its nature as a waterway, circulated several times and scattered into the distance. However, my internal energy remained solid and heavy, settled at the bottom. It was like a well-behaved dog that had to undergo Qi Circulation and Regulation to travel through the designated path of the body, exert power, and then return home.
I opened my mouth, wanting to ask something, but I hesitated to speak up among the students who were asking questions with shining eyes and passion, just as I had when I encountered Maelo Sanson.
Yes, wasn’t my goal to find a wise and discerning Wizard friend, like a member of the Jegal Family, rather than to learn Magic itself? If I was truly curious, I could ask during the upcoming Aura and Mana session.
Professor Angela Sting, who had diligently answered over ten questions from the young Wizards, took out a round sphere similar to what the students held.
I looked at what I held in my hand.
The transparent crystal sphere had several iron wires twisted inside in a peculiar pattern, with gaps between some points where they touched. Four red dots were marked on the sphere’s east, west, north, and south, respectively. If brought to the Central Plains, it seemed like it would be considered a divine object, attracting worshippers.
“I will place my right thumb on number one, and my right pinky on number three. Hold the sphere with your right hand as if cradling it⋯ if your hand feels weak and the sphere seems heavy, you may rest your right hand on the table. Cradle it gently⋯ place your left palm on two. The tip of your left middle finger should touch four.”
I cradled the sphere as instructed.
“In that state, open your circle again. Now, imbue the cloud you sent away earlier into your right hand, shape it thinly⋯ and send it through the sphere to the left. Make it as thin as a thread⋯ slowly, so it can move from one to two, two to three, and three to four, following the path⋯ don’t rush. Slowly⋯.”
I looked at the crystal sphere, perfectly sized for my small hands, and surveyed my surroundings. Gasps of wonder escaped from the half-open mouths of those around me. What on earth were they doing? Curious, I turned my gaze back to the professor’s lips.
“Your left middle finger is tingling, isn’t it? You can smell a floral scent from somewhere. Hear the spreading whisper from within your body. This is the Formula of
My curiosity grew.
Everyone else looked calm and composed, so I figured it might be alright. I recalled what the professor had said earlier. I would draw up the internal energy from my Lower Dantian and perform a lesser circulation.
It was a path that led directly to the Middle Dantian, without reaching the Governing Vessel. I reasoned that water flowing from the ocean through a waterway and water pumped from a reservoir were both flowing water, were they not?
It was the first time I had ever thinned my internal energy like this. The internal energy that started in my right hand passed through the crystal sphere. Slowly, from one to two, and then from two⋯.
Crack! A sound like something being crushed echoed.
Gasp! A sudden, foul taste surged up. I felt nauseous. Unable to hold it in, I threw the crystal.
Clang! The sound of it shattering under the desk startled the professor, who quickly cast a spell. Ugh! As I spat out the rising blood, my insides churned violently. Everything I had eaten for lunch came rushing up my throat. I spat out everything in my mouth.
It felt as if my small intestine, stomach, no, my entire body was being squeezed and wrung out. The sound of a desk being scraped away noisily echoed.
“⋯Recovery!”
A cool sensation enveloped me from my dizzy head. A gentle green energy seeped into my heaving chest and trembling hands and feet.
Wheeze, cough. As I coughed and my heaving shoulders calmed, the professor conjured a cup of water in the air and handed it to me. I took it with bloodshot eyes and drank. Professor Angela Sting, with a sigh in her voice, but with a cold and firm tone, pointed out, “Swordsmanship and Magic are distinctly different. If you blindly force unrefined Mana into yourself, your Qi and blood can become twisted like this⋯. You can be treated immediately by me or other professors, but I strongly advise you never to attempt incomplete magic on your own⋯. Today’s class ends here. You should go straight to the infirmary for treatment⋯.”
A sour sensation lingered in my mouth, causing me to gag. I could only nod weakly. It wasn’t quite Cultivation Deviation, but it was enough of a shock to harm my young body. I had clearly seen the Eye Force of a martial artist at their peak. It was the crimson gold Mana that had obliquely pierced the center of the crystal sphere, disrupting its path.
I gazed at the shattered crystal for a moment before leaving. I knew whose crystal it was. Edwin Kiadris. The younger brother of Wesley Kiadris, the youngest Grand Sword Master.