4 Mindscape Opening

When the duo got back to the chief's tent, there was an angry Great-Warrior beauty waiting for them, she was stomping her feet against the ground in a rhythmic manner.

"You're both late!" said the warrior woman.

"Sorry mother." "Sorry aunt."

The two stared at their feet looking apologetic, yet projected childish charm into the action.

"If I tell you to be somewhere at sometime, you be there! I don't want any excuses, warriors don't get any! Warriors also don't try to act cute to get out of trouble! Now the both of you run down the plateau and back up again 5 times as punishment! And no using mana-strengthening!"

"What!? 5 times? Aunt its normally only twice! Did you miscount?" Lei looked stunned.

"I certainly did not miscount young lady! Now get running! I do not need to explain myself to you!" commanded the woman.

"Yes, ma'am." "Yes, mother."

It took a full 2 hours for the pair to finish 5 exhausting laps; collapsing at the top after the final.

"Warrior Lei! Did you think I would not notice you using mana to reinforce your body! You will repeat all the laps you half-assed! That means 2 more for you! Now run!"

"Damn, how did she notice? I was as sneaky as possible." Lei mumbled under her breath.

"You were using mana? I couldn't tell, seems like mothers title is not only for show."

Lei staggered back to her feet whispering, "Yeah I'm able to hide my usage from almost every other warrior I've met. Only battle-hardened veterans are capable of sensing it, but that is only if they are close. Aunt can sense it from so far away."

Xing watched Lei running down the slope until she was out of view before turning toward his mother asking, "How is it that you can sense her mana from so far away?"

"Xing, I'm a Great-Warrior, that is not just a title you know. My mana capacity is far greater than the average warrior, and I have far better senses; especially toward mana in the surroundings, my Air Element also factors in too. Even if warriors cannot use their element without a Mindscape, the attributes of the element are always present. For example, the reason why I'm as light as a feather is due to my Air Element, this helps me with being agile." His mother explained.

"Is that why Lei is able to keep her mana usage hidden? Her element gives her that ability?"

"I believe so. Her element is most likely the same as mine: Air. She has figured out her own way of using it by keeping any leaking mana from drifting away from her body; at least that is how I think she is doing it. She failed to open her Mindscape when she turned 10, and it hasn't been too long since then so it is difficult to infer just what element she has yet."

"Do I have to wait until I'm 10 before I can open my Mindscape?"

Ying reached down and ruffled the hair of her son, "I know that you're a little genius and have already caught up with Lei's training, but the Mindscape is still one of the biggest mysteries around. Not much is known about Mindscapes, your father is the one to ask regarding more about them, but I do know that even attempting to open it before age 10, can lead to... adverse effects."

"Like what?"

"Like not waking up from a dream. Going crazy from what you saw. Failing and having your mana run wild, leaving you crippled. Heck, it's probably better to wait even longer than 10, but the longer you wait the smaller the chances of success get." Ying stopped her petting and said, "Come on Xing no need to wait for Lei, let us move on to the next phase of training.

While training Xing thought about how he could train for hours without getting bored, which was completely out of character for him. He was only a university student in his previous world, but this primitive lifestyle felt natural. Again he blamed those damn Dreams making everything around him seem ordinary.

'And then there is Lei, ever since she failed to open her Mindscape and successfully acquired her element, she has rapidly improved. I won't be able to keep up with her unless I get my own element even if I'm a natural at training my body. With the risks however I need to wait 5 more years... it's going to be long.' he signed.

***

Years of harsh training continued as time flowed, getting progressively harder every few months.

Xing's entire family had gathered inside the chief's tent; His father, Tribe-Chief Zheng; His mother, Great-Warrior Ying; and his cousin, Warrior Lei.

Lei had grown into a stunning 15-year-old beauty, she resembled a shorter, but more playful version of Xing's mother. Xing, on the other hand, was tall for a kid; almost as tall as his mother, his body too did not look like it belonged to a child. It was packed with muscle, giving testament to just what the kid had been through.

Xing couldn't keep the excitement off of his face, for today was the day. The day in which he would finally attempt to open his Mindscape! If he succeeds he would become a shaman, like his father. If he fails, he would remain a warrior, like his mother.

"Look at his face, Aunt, Uncle! He has had that expression on his face for the entire week!" Lei pointed at Xing's face.

"Lei, I have been waiting for so long for this day can't you understand why I'm so excited?"

"I can certainly understand; I was in the same situation as you five years ago. I was certainly excited, but I know for sure I was never as expressive as you are. What is the big deal anyway?"

"An element. I will finally have an element. No longer will you beat me solely because I lack an element." A smug grin adorned Xing's face.

Lei pretended to be offended, "Wha!? What's with that grin? You think you can beat me even with an element? We'll just see about that!"

"Alright, that is enough, you two." A male voice cut in before the two could bicker any longer, "Xing I have high hopes for you, and I am sure that you can open your Mindscape. Now sit inside the circle I have laid out."

"What is that father?" the boy looked at a circular diagram marked over the floor with mana-crystals in each of the four cardinal positions.

"This is a formation that draws in the surrounding mana. It will assist you in this task while you focus on attacking the gates of your Mindscape. While having more mana at your disposal won't increase the odds by much, it does give off the illusion that it does. Besides, having more mana can't hurt." Zheng examined the formation to make sure it was a hundred percent while he explained to his son.

Xing walked over and sat in the middle of the simple circular formation, noticing its effects immediately.

"Good luck son," his father said.

"Good luck darling, I know you will succeed." reassured his mother.

"Hurry up and open your Mindscape, it's the only way you'll ever beat me!" Lei gave her own version of encouragement.

"Right." Xing closed his eyes and with years of practice entered into a meditative state.

***

Within the confines of his mind, Xing walked and walked the seemingly endless nothing toward the towering gates where his Mindscape resided. This was the first challenge; reaching the gate.

It sounded simple, but it was no walk in the park; the closer you got, the further away it seemed. But this was just a mind trick; the only way to tell if you were getting closer was the pressure, the closer one got, the more pressure would press down.

Many failed this first challenge simply because they went delirious; the mind made it seem like years were going by and look like their goal was getting further and further away from them. What sort of mind must one have to last through this ordeal? It didn't even matter if they knew about this challenge beforehand since there was no telling how long the walk would take them.

Xing did not allow the first challenge to faze him, he just kept walking. He did not care how much time passed by, all he needed to do was walk toward the gate. A man's soul residing in a baby's body, waiting for it to grow up was far more agonizing than this.

Upon finally reaching the gate the pressure was tremendous, it made it difficult to even stand in its presence.

Xing knew that the second challenge was about pushing open the gate. He reinforced his body with mana to withstand the pressure and then charged, straight toward the gate.

Colliding with the gate using his momentum seemed like a good idea, but Xing immediately regretted that decision. He had never been as sore as he was now in all his life. As he was lying in front of the gate, having been rebounded off of it, he realized that the gate wanted to be pushed open, rather than slamming open.

Getting back on top of his feet, he carefully walked up to the gate placed his hands on either door, gathered his strength and pushed.

Creaking was heard as the gate swung inward by a few centimeters. Xing felt the door giving way and was ecstatic before his face took on a look of horror as the door started pushing back, trying to close itself.

The boy knew this was the make or break moment; if the door closed he would have failed. He gathered every bit of mana he could, infusing most into his legs giving him leverage while the rest poured into his arms and he pushed harder, fighting against the opposing force.

As if the gate was pleased by his quick-thinking and the force he exerted, the gate swung open by itself. Sending him face first into the floor.

As he got back up, he had a look of happiness stuck to his face. He had done it! He completed the second challenge! Only the third remained.

As he strolled through the gate, he was met with the third challenge; memorizing and then etching his unique Sigil.

Sigils were the foundation for every spell and are completely unique to each individual, basically the magical equivalent of a fingerprint.

Every being who opens their Mindscape acquires a Sigil, and the third challenge is about memorizing it. If one cannot even do that then you can forget about learning more complicated magic where rings and rings of complex shapes and symbols get added into the equation.

Xing saw his Sigil and did not know whether he should be creeped out by the shape. A nine-pointed star overlapping with two circles, the first was one-third of the way from the tip of the star's points, the second and smaller circle two-thirds away from the points. This design was contained within a bigger circle. Such an outline of shapes was simple to memorize, but it was the patterns, symbols, and words which were pulsating a mana-blue glow that was the difficult part. These complex designs were what made up the outlines of each shape, and it would take a while to memorize each one and their positions.

Xing did not have a clue how long it took him to etch his symbol on the indicated altar, he was too caught up in the process. All he knew was that it was complete and all he could do now was wait for the results.

Rumbling echoed within the space inside the gate, followed by black shadows sweeping across everything mixed with splotches of white light. Xing knew what sort of phenomena should occur if he passed; his element or elements would appear and start building up his Mindscape, and that indeed seemed to be happening. But why black? Just what element did he have?

He didn't have time to examine further as he was sent out of his Mindscape to make way for the changes.