It's like falling from a height.
Artur felt like he had lost his footing. His body felt separated from Robert next to him, the room he was in, the sofa he was sitting on, and the world he lived in. Artur experienced the feeling of "butterflies in the stomach" or emptiness for the first time.
The air seemed to be taken out of his lungs, his heart beating as if it had stopped, and the blood that flowed unconsciously suddenly stopped. He felt like he was floating and flying for a while, experiencing what it would feel like if his body had no weight.
But...
After that, gravity pulled his body downwards, pressing Artur to return to the world. Like being pushed by a load of hundreds of tons, Artur's body plunged downward. He suddenly felt fear, panic, and anxiety.
His brain tried to rationalize what was actually happening, making Artur realize that he was in danger. He tried to struggle but only felt a gentle wind that he couldn't grasp with his hands. Artur tried to flap his arms but he had no wings, so all that happened was his two arms flailing like a broken kite string.
Fear, terror, and panic filled all of his senses. His heart, which had previously been barely audible, pumped his body to find a way out of danger. Suddenly, Artur realized that he would die here and now.
His body would be crushed into unformed pieces of flesh. His bones would be flattened as if being trampled by dozens of elephants. His brain found a way to save himself, by closing off all the senses Artur felt.
The calmness before death.
Artur's eyes began to blur, and his mind slowly emptied. Several faces passed by in his eye. He tried not to regret his life, but sometimes effort was just effort.
And finally, Artur's body hit something.
But it wasn't the severe pain from the impact he felt. Instead, he felt tossed around and thrown here and there. It was like hitting a very soft and fluffy surface, and Artur felt like he was floating on a puddle of water.
Or more precisely, he felt like he was falling on a gel surface.
Artur opened his eyes and saw himself floating on a bright blue sea as far as the eye could see. This blue sea was so beautiful and bright, making Artur have to squint to enjoy the view.
He felt that this bright blue sea was very close to him, connected to something inside him. Artur's heart beat fast as if synchronizing with the sway of the bright blue sea waves.
No.
That's wrong, it's not his heart that beats and synchronizes with this blue ocean, but another organ in his body. An organ he had never felt before, but he knew it existed instinctively, not because he had seen or heard it, but because he just knew.
That organ is the mana flow.
It's the organ that allows the human species to be accepted by this world, to adapt to the mana around them, and make them one of the strongest species on the Meer continent. Currently, the mana flow in Artur's body beats strongly, as if trying to connect with the blue ocean below.
Without much thought, Artur realizes what this blue ocean he's floating above is. The blue ocean is the true form and shape of mana.
Artur is stunned. He feels as though the blue ocean below him is alive and has its own consciousness. He tries to see if there's anyone else around, but the blue ocean is so vast that he can't see anyone for miles.
He knows what he needs to do next.
Artur tries to control the mana flow in his body to connect with the blue ocean or mana. However, he quickly fails. Artur's efforts only result in him running out of breath, like he's trying to push out a hard poop.
Artur tries to remember what he learned in school.
"It's not the human who creates the connection, but rather mana itself."
Humans can only build signal receiver towers, but it's mana itself that sends the signal. The better and more attractive the signal receiver towers built, the more interested mana will be in sending the signal.
At this point, Artur refocuses on his mana flow, but this time he doesn't try to move it. He just makes it shine brighter. Thanks to the solid foundation provided by drinking five mana potions beforehand, Artur successfully builds a tall signal receiver tower.
It requires full concentration, and Artur's head feels like it's splitting in two. The longer the signal receiver tower stands, the heavier the mental burden becomes for Artur. Fear of failure begins to haunt him as his mind starts to lose focus.
Artur tries hard to stay strong, but he's not as strong as he thinks. The signal receiver tower he built starts to sway like a tall tree in a strong wind.
But before the signal receiver tower collapses completely and Artur fails, the blue ocean below suddenly glows brighter. Artur feels like he's losing his footing and slowly sinking into the blue ocean.
The concentration dissipated and Artur lost control of the signal receiver tower. However, the tower did not collapse but instead seemed to be supported by something.
Artur felt an unfamiliar energy flowing from the signal receiver tower into his body. As this happened, Artur sank deeper into the blue sea.
Currently, the blue sea had submerged half of his body, but Artur did not feel anxious. Instead, calmness filled his heart, as if he were back in his mother's womb.
Artur sank into the blue sea until it reached his nose. However, he did not feel suffocated, but rather, as if he were breathing the cleanest and freshest air he had ever breathed.
Finally, his entire body sank into the blue sea. At that moment, Artur could see and hear everything.
Mana is the world, and the world is mana. Mana is life, and life is mana. Mana is death, and death is mana. Mana is the beginning, and the beginning is mana. Mana is the end, and the end is mana.
Artur saw the whole world, the Meer continent, which he thought was the world, was just a small island in the corner of this world. Artur heard the whole world, the war that happened in the Bog forest, which he thought was the world, was just a small war in the corner of this world.
Artur saw the birth of a baby, which he thought was the beginning of life, but was actually just the continuation of a long process. Artur heard the cry of a baby, which he thought was the beginning of life, but was actually just the continuation of a long process.
Artur saw the light of life fade from someone's eyes, which he thought was the end of life, but was actually just the beginning of a long process. Artur heard the sound of a heart-stopping, which he thought was the end of life, but was actually just the beginning of a long process.
Mana taught Artur something, but he would not remember it after waking up. The memory was not lost but only locked until Artur was more closely connected to mana.
However, something remained in Artur's memory.
How to use mana.
As Robert had said, knowledge became very clear and natural to do. It's like a baby knowing how to breathe without anyone teaching them, or how the heart beats without anyone telling them.
Artur knows and understands how to move the mana within his body. The first thing he needs to do to become a mage is to transform the mana flow into a constellation.
The difference lies in how it's used: mana flow is passive, while constellation is active. To be able to use spells, the mana in the body must be active.
Concentrating again, Artur transforms the mana pathway within his body into a shape. This shape is what the mana has described and shown to him. Slowly, the mana spread throughout Artur's body swirls strongly and converges into points.
These points are like stars in the sky, shining brightly in their place, giving beauty at night. However, these points cannot yet be called constellations. Artur must create lines that connect them.
The mana that has gathered in the points starts to boil again, flowing out of its place like a dam opening and closing. It flows rapidly along the rivers that Artur has built, connecting with other points.
Slowly but surely, all the points are connected, and the constellation is formed. Right after that, new knowledge enters Artur's mind. It's like the world itself is teaching him, teaching him with a pen, teaching him knowledge he didn't know before.
Mana is an endless blue ocean, and the deeper a mage dives, the closer they get to the mana's core. There are three categories of depth in the blue ocean: Being, God, and Law.
Each category has three levels called constellations. The deeper a mage dives, the greater their power over the world.
In the Being category, a mage has the right to control the mana that comes from their own body. In the God category, a mage can control mana within a certain distance, as far as their sight. And in the Law category, a mage can use mana to control the world and change its laws.
The lesson ends, and Artur opens his eyes.
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