In the quiet corner of the Archeon Academy garden, I sat under the cool shade of a tall tree, holding three books I had taken from the grand library.
Their titles were etched into my mind.
Essence of Mana: Harnessing the Core Energy, Mana Flow: Mastering Manipulation and Circulation, and Blades of Precision: A Visual Guide to Blade Arts. Each one felt like a key to unlocking the next stage of my skills.
I focused on the thread in my hand, my gaze narrowing as I tried again to guide mana through it. A faint shimmer appeared as I began, the mana inching forward slowly. After barely two inches, it scattered, slipping from my control. I exhaled sharply, gripping the thread tighter.
"This is harder than I thought," I muttered to myself, trying to suppress the irritation building in my chest. "But at least this thread gives me some direction. It’s easier than before, back when I was trying to materialize black threads from death mana."
I tried again, pouring more focus into the process. The mana crept farther this time, a faint glow tracing along the thread. It moved past the halfway point, and for a moment, I thought I had it. But then, out of nowhere, something slapped me hard on the back. The force pushed me forward, and I dropped the thread as the mana broke apart and vanished.
"Yo, my disciple! How is it going?" a cheerful, overly enthusiastic voice cut through my thoughts.
"What the fuck!" I snapped, spinning around. My glare landed on Reed, standing there with that stupid grin on his face. His posture was relaxed, his whole attitude like he hadn’t just ruined hours of work.
"What happened?" Reed asked, completely unfazed by my anger. "Looks like my disciple needs some guidance."
"Guidance my ass," I growled, picking up the thread from the ground and brushing it off. "I’ve been working on this all morning, failing over and over, and I just got the hang of it when you decided to screw it all up!"
"Aaaah, it’s such a simple thing," Reed said, scratching the back of his head with that infuriating grin still plastered on his face. "You could’ve just asked me, y’know."
I squinted my eyes glaring at him. "I don’t need your help."
Reed laughed like I had just told the funniest joke in the world. "You’ll change your mind soon, disciple."
I shook my head and turned back to the thread, muttering under my breath. "Idiot." But despite my frustration, I felt the corners of my lips twitch.
Hearing Reed’s ridiculous claims, I couldn’t help myself. "Can you even do this?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
’For some reason, I really couldn’t believe this. After all, this guy boasts so much.’
Reed puffed out his chest, clearly offended.
"You need to learn this first before you can teach me," I added with a snort, my tone dripping with sarcasm.
"What!" he exclaimed, his voice booming as he slapped his thigh loudly. The sudden motion startled me, and I instinctively leaned back.
"Did you just doubt your teacher?!" Reed shouted, his tone full of exaggerated disbelief.
"I mean," I said, glaring at him, "why wouldn’t I? You keep yelling the same nonsense over and over. I’ve heard it a hundred times already: ’I am the heir of the Ancient Ones, the Descendant of the Great Dragon God.Are you even clear about the terms,’" My voice dripped with mockery as I quoted him.
Reed’s face flushed bright red, his bangs shaking as he yelled, exposing a pair of glasses that perched awkwardly on his nose. His eyes behind them were gloomy and irritated. "I am both! Can’t I be both?"
I couldn’t resist rolling my eyes. While there was always a slim chance his wild claims held some truth, I couldn’t take him seriously. I pointed at his glasses and asked, "Wait, are your eyes bad? What’s your power level?"
Reed adjusted his glasses with an air of misplaced confidence. "Around negative seven," he said, as if it were something impressive.
I nearly choked on my breath. "Negative seven? You’ve got such terrible vision, and you’re claiming to be a descendant of the Dragon God? Wait, can Awakened beings even have bad eyesight?"
"Of course they can!" he shot back, his tone growing defensive. "My poor eyesight doesn’t diminish my power. In fact, it’s the opposite. It hides my extraordinaryness! I’m so strong and charismatic that I’d make everyone mad if they saw me in my full glory. I need to hide it, for their sake."
I stared at him skeptically, my lips twitching at the absurdity of it all. Before I could retort, Reed picked up the thread I had been working on and casually infused it with mana. To my utter shock, a faint bluish glow emerged from the tip of the thread, traveling smoothly along its length to the other side.
I stood there, dumbfounded. "What the hell..." I muttered under my breath.
I rubbed my eyes, feeling skeptical of what I was seeing, but the glowing thread remained. Reed’s smug, smiling face was still staring at me, his confidence radiating like an aura of absurdity.
"What happened, disciple? Do you believe in your master now?" he asked, crossing his arms and tilting his head dramatically.
I took a moment to compose myself and asked, "What’s your rank?"
"Around 17k!" he replied nonchalantly, as though it were the most normal thing in the world. Then he added, "I’m just laying low; otherwise, even Edwin wouldn’t have a chance to cl—ummm..."
Before he could finish that reckless statement, I clamped my hand over his mouth, glancing around in panic. If anyone overheard him, we’d be in massive trouble. Thankfully, the garden was quiet. No one seemed to have noticed his outburst.
Sliding my hand off his mouth, I let out a sigh and muttered, "Teach me."
"What did you say? Care to repeat that? I didn’t quite hear it," he said with a smug grin, leaning closer as if to savor my words.
I clenched my teeth, my pride burning just a little. "I said teach me," I repeated, gritting out the words.
Reed straightened, puffing out his chest. "Very well, disciple," he said in an exaggerated tone, nodding as though he were a wise master. "I shall impart my boundless knowledge."
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Suppressing the urge to roll my eyes, I watched as he stepped closer. Reed began his explanation, gesturing dramatically with his hands. "Mana is like a river. It flows, but it needs a channel to follow. Your thread here—" he flicked the thread in my hand "—is that channel. If you let it scatter, it’s like dumping water into sand. It’ll disappear."
I listened carefully, nodding to show I was paying attention. Reed then placed his hands firmly on my arms. "Alright, focus now. Feel the flow. I’ll guide it, but you need to take note of the pathway it travels."
I tensed as his hands gripped me. As the mana started to flow through my body, I made sure to keep my death mana suppressed. If it even touched his guiding mana, it could cause necrosis, and I had no interest in explaining that to anyone.
Soon, I felt something. A faint energy, warm yet foreign, moved from my core to my hands. I concentrated hard, watching as a faint color, a mix of purple and crimson, emerged from my palms. It wriggled like a living thing, crawling its way along the thread.
The sensation was strange. The mana wasn’t just flowing; it seemed to pulse, like a heartbeat. I could feel its path, like veins under my skin. I noticed the way it spread evenly, how it slowed at the thread’s frayed edges and needed an extra push to continue. My mind raced with observations. The thread wasn’t just a guide—it was a tool that demanded precision. Even the smallest mistake in control could cause the mana to scatter.
By the time the mana reached the other end of the thread, I was breathless. My hands trembled slightly, not from exhaustion but from the realization of how much I had misunderstood before. I glanced at Reed, who was still grinning smugly, looking as though he had single-handedly solved all the mysteries of the universe.
I straightened up, my pride bruised but intact. "You’re not entirely useless," I muttered under my breath.
Reed laughed, clapping my shoulder. "Of course not, disciple. You’d do well to remember that."
As he turned to walk away, I stayed in place, staring at the thread in my hand. For a moment, I reflected on my earlier attitude. I had been too conceited, thinking I could master everything on my own. It was humbling to realize I still had so much to learn. Swallowing my ego, I made a mental note: I needed to keep my pride in check and focus on the path ahead.
Then looking at Reed’s smug, ever smiling face, I suppressed my will to beat that guy and asked him to clear my doubts.