Chapter 87: Opening the Heart
Zac sat cross-legged in a lotus position. The booklet Matilda had given the class lay beside him. He slowly closed his eyes and began his breathing technique.
With a single inhale and exhale, he instantly sensed the mana surrounding him. Tiny particles floated through the air, entering his body with every breath and leaving with every exhale.
Compared to the first day, the sensation was no longer blurry. He could now clearly perceive the flow of mana both outside and inside his body.
[Remember what the Ice Girl said. Don’t try to control it from the very beginning.]
Without breaking his concentration, Zac replied, "I know. I’ll just follow the flow as gently as I can."
Just as he said, he didn’t force or command the mana. Instead, he simply observed it. Like walking alongside a river rather than trying to stop its current.
He carefully followed every movement of mana as it flowed through his body and time quietly slipped away.
He continued practicing for nearly six hours before finally opening his eyes. His body wasn’t tired, but his mind felt heavy with exhaustion. He returned to his room and went straight to bed.
Early the next morning, he resumed the training. Little by little, sensing the mana within became more natural.
By the end of the day, the mana finally began responding to him. The control was still far from perfect, but the improvement was undeniable.
Zac slowly opened his eyes and raised his hand. A faint strand of mana gathered around his fingertips before quickly dispersing into the air.
"Now we’re getting somewhere."
[You finally convinced mana not to run away from you.]
Zac rolled his eyes. "Don’t sound so smug. Would it kill you to encourage me just once?"
The training continued for another day. This time, however, he didn’t just guide the mana; he tried shaping it.
At first, he gathered a small amount of mana near his palm and attempted to form it into a thin line. After countless attempts, a thin shape that vaguely resembled a sword finally appeared in his hand.
[Is that a noodle?]
Zac’s eyebrow twitched. The mana sword instantly dispersed. "It’s a sword."
[Huh. I genuinely couldn’t tell the difference.]
"You know...If only you came with a mute button, my life would improve dramatically."
[Customer feedback has been noted and immediately ignored.]
Zac ignored the remark and continued practicing.
For the rest of the day, he experimented with different shapes, from a small dagger to a bird.
Most of them were crude and collapsed almost instantly. But with every failure, he learned a little more about how mana responded to his thoughts.
"So if my intention isn’t clear, the mana becomes unstable. And if I try to force it, it falls apart. Only when I have a clear image in my mind and guide the mana according to it does it become stable."
[Now you’re getting somewhere.]
The following day, the training changed once again. Today, he was going to open his first meridian.
"System."
[Yes?]
"How much would it cost to pinpoint the locations of all twelve meridians inside my body?"
[Five Info Points per meridian so sixty in total.]
Zac thought for a moment. "Just show me the Heart Meridian first."
[That would be a hassle. I’ll simply imprint the locations of all twelve meridians into your memory. You can access them whenever you want.]
"...Fine. Do it."
[-60 Info Points.]
The next instant, a flood of information entered Zac’s mind and the locations of all twelve meridians became crystal clear, as though he had known them his entire life.
His awareness naturally focused on the heart meridian. Zac took a slow, deep breath and carefully guided the mana toward it.
["Keep your mind calm. A steady mind is the most important thing during a process like this.]
Zac didn’t respond. He didn’t dare break his concentration.
The mana slowly flowed through his body until it finally reached the entrance of the Heart Meridian until a solid blockage stood in its way.
Zac took another deep breath and pushed the mana forward. The instant it struck the blockage, a sharp pain exploded through his chest and spread across his back.
His body trembled but his concentration never wavered. He gathered the mana again.
A second strike.
The pain intensified, almost disrupting his breathing, but he still endured it.
A third strike.
A tiny crack finally appeared in the blockage. Seeing an opening, Zac immediately focused all of his attention on that single point.
The fourth strike landed precisely on the crack.
Crack.
It felt as though a shackle wrapped around his heart had finally broken.
Without giving the blockage a chance to recover, Zac immediately guided another wave of mana through the opening.
The Heart Meridian was completely opened.
For the next two hours, he gently circulated mana through the newly opened meridian, allowing it to stabilize.
Only then did he slowly open his eyes and saw his clothes soaked. A layer of black, sticky sweat covered his entire body.
An unbearable stench filled the place. "What the hell is this?"
[Your body’s impurities. Even after being reconstructed by something close to divine power, traces of filth remained buried deep within your body.]
[Now that you’ve opened your first meridian, your body is gradually forcing them out.]
Zac looked down at the black sludge coating his skin. "So... this is actually a good thing?"
[Of course, other than the smell, it’s an excellent sign.]
Only then did Zac truly notice the odor. "...Now that you mention it...This smells horrible."
[Consider yourself lucky. Your classmates don’t have bodies as refined as yours. The amount of filth they’ll expel might be enough to make their entire houses file for demolition.]
Zac stood up with a look of disgust. "I’m taking a bath."
[Please do.]
[And for once...That wasn’t sarcasm.]
The next day, as usual, Zac went to class. By the time Matilda entered, everyone was already seated. As always, she walked to the front of the classroom and slowly scanned the students one by one.
"It seems most of you have made good progress." Her gaze stopped on Sabrina. "Miss Sabrina. You’ve opened another meridian?"
"Yes, ma’am."
Several students immediately turned to look at her.
Matilda nodded in satisfaction. "Good."
Her eyes then swept across the rest of the class. "Most of you have already opened your first meridian, and those who haven’t are, I believe, very close."
"Overall...it’s an acceptable result." However, she tapped her finger lightly on the desk. The relief on the students’ faces instantly disappeared.
"At this rate...None of you will be able to open all twelve meridians within the remaining two weeks." The classroom fell into complete silence.
Seeing everyone’s depressed expressions, Matilda let out a small laugh. "Which is exactly why the academy has graciously decided to provide all of you with this."
She raised a small vial filled with a deep red liquid. Everyone’s attention immediately shifted toward it. "This is called the Meridian Strengthening Serum. It is used to consolidate and strengthen a newly opened meridian."
"After opening a meridian, take a single sip before beginning your meditation. Normally, it reduces the stabilization time to around two days."
"But if your potential is high enough, it may take even less."
She gently shook the vial. "Each vial contains three sips. So one vial is enough to help stabilize three newly opened meridians, but the exact time will still depend on your potential."
Shobin raised his hand. "Ma’am. Did you buy these for us?"
Matilda laughed. "Of course not. I’m not that generous. This is a basic resource provided by the academy to every newly recruited student during the meridian-opening stage."
"So use it wisely and don’t waste even a single drop. A single vial like this costs at least two hundred and fifty thousand dollars on the Variant Market."
"And on the black market, it sells for even more."
The classroom instantly fell dead silent. Marty stared at the vial in Matilda’s hand. "I’ve never respected a liquid this much in my entire life. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for something that fits in your pocket.
Matilda then handed one vial to each of the twenty-five students. After everyone had received theirs, she clapped her hands.
"Alright. That’ll be all for today."
"You may leave." She paused. "...Except Mr. Delancore." The classroom immediately went quiet again.
Everyone turned toward Zac, and Zac slowly looked back at Matilda. She was still wearing the same gentle smile. "I have something I’d like to discuss with you, Mr. Delancore. So unless you’re in a hurry...please stay for a moment."
Marty leaned closer and whispered, "Dude... Did you do something behind my back?"
Zac thought for a second. "Not that I’m aware of."
"...That’s not very reassuring."
Matilda smiled. "Would you like to stay as well, Mr. Williams?"
"Absolutely not, ma’am." The moment those words left his mouth, Marty hurried out of the classroom with everyone else.
Outside the classroom, Kelly leaned toward Sabrina. "Why do you think Miss Matilda wants to talk to him?"
Without even turning around, Sabrina replied, "How would I know? Maybe he peeked at her too, and she’s planning to punish him in private."
Inside the classroom, Matilda stood near the front desk and gestured for Zac to come over. Once he was about a meter away, she smiled at him.
The system immediately spoke inside his mind.
[Nothing good has ever come from a teacher smiling at a student like that.]
"Mr. Delancore."
"Yes, ma’am."
"It seems you have quite a lot of free time on your hands."
Zac immediately shook his head. "Not at all, ma’am. I’ve been diligently training to open my meridians. I barely have any free time."
"Hmm." Matilda tilted her head slightly. "Then I must be mistaken. You see, an old friend of mine called me a few days ago."
"And then proceeded to threaten me."
Zac narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "Threaten you? Who would be bold enough to threaten you, ma’am?"
"Hmm. That’s exactly what I thought."
Her smile widened. "She told me that if I wasn’t good to my students... she would rip out my fallopian tubes and hang me to death using them."
Zac had no idea how to respond.
The System quietly commented,
[Creative, and people wonder why I’m afraid of human women.]
"Ma’am...I don’t think it’s appropriate to discuss your personal anatomy with a student. Especially in such a... violent context."
Matilda’s smile never changed. "So... You know nothing about this?"
"Of course not. I’m just an innocent student trying to better myself every day."
Matilda stared at him for several seconds, then nodded. "Fine. You may go."
Zac blinked. "That’s it?"
"That’s it. You may leave."
Still feeling that there had to be a trap somewhere, Zac cautiously walked toward the door.
"I’ll take my leave then, ma’am." Just as his hand touched the doorknob...
Matilda spoke again. "Mr. Delancore."
Zac stopped and turned around. "Yes?"
"If..." She smiled sweetly. "...by some impossible coincidence, you happen to know who that woman is...Tell her...I still remember where she’s ticklish."
Zac froze. Without saying another word, he quietly opened the door and walked out.
After several steps of silence...
"System. Do you think that was..."
[Of course it was that red-haired chick.]
Zac rubbed his forehead. "...Do you think I’m screwed?"
[Is that even a question?]
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