A tournament

After Asura got refreshed he wore his uniform that he was leaving to dry. He went back to the cabin.

Meeting with Osfor who was flipping around some papers he was gestured to sit on the free chair.

"I went to the grand library as you know to look for information regarding that eye of yours. What I found was rather shocking. The scarcity of information was not the only problem I had to face but rather the high level of security that intertwined such information. I was held for a few days because they thought I was going to leek some national secrets, I had to use my title to get my way tough but that is a story for another time."

"So sensei what did you find out?"

"Well apparently that eye was last seen at the great war it was used by one of the strongest demons. Laying waste to any who intercepted him. The description says that that demon had immeasurable amounts of mana, was able to subdue an entire legion by himself and what more no matter how many spells were used on him he was able to fully understand the logic and effects of the spell and fully counter it. But the only problem was that he was physically weaker than normal demonic warlords. He was taken down by the everlasting might Alsa."

"An Everlasting? So the legends are true?"

"Yes I know you are shocked but it seems hard to believe it… however…that time Alsa was still only a knight the title came after the war. One more thing I learned about that eye is that the mana flux ability is not a rumor, witnesses have confirmed that the demon was siphoning mana from nature and molding it onto his own. He was even able to use mana drain on the entire battlefield making every wizard seemingly useless. Sucking the mana not only from their surroundings but from their very own bodies. Making them look like mummified skeletons in seconds. But the demon had two eyes of the wise unlike you."

"Hmm, it was that strong…I actually can understand that seeing what happened yesterday…"

Osfor who had a bewildered look on his face seemingly curious about what Asura just said couldn't help but say "Huh? What happened?"

"Well, I think I was successful in using mana flux yesterday although not willingly."

"Oh so you did manage to use it, this will save a lot of problems and theory deductions at least now we know that mana flux does exist we just have to recreate the same case where that happened and study that 'skill' fatherly. "

"Euh, about that…I think it is best to not redo that again…"

"I can't seem to understand what did happen exactly Asura-Kun?

"Well, I was studying about different Elementum yesterday and stumbled upon a very distinct element. Void magic I looked into the library for information regarding it and saw that using it would grand me the ability to use warp magic. But what happened was a bit too scary."

"Void magic…that is a dangerous element Asura-kun. So what exactly happened? Seeing that you are still here were you successful?"

"Far from it actually, I tried to open a warp gate using the same incantations written on one of the search papers but I ended cracking trough space into a different dimension. The problem that I was feeding that crack from my mana but after I was almost fully depleted my eye started sucking mana from the outside nurturing my hands into opening the gate even wider…A dark endless void was what laid in front of me. Then something …I still get Goosebumps whenever I think of it. He was huge his body was red and I am not sure but he looked like a real dragon. Yep, a dragon, not a dark nor a wyvern but a bonafide great red dragon. "

"A-a dragon you say…Then what, what happened next Asura-kun please tell me"

"Well, he got close enough that his eye was peeking right through the tear in space. Then said that I should not mess with the void and I am far too young for it and something about far too innocent too. Then just like that, he closed the gate"

"AMAZING do you know Asura how great this is!!! You just confirmed the existence of a forgotten dimension. And even confirm the existence of dragons thought to be extinct they must have left the realm of man to seclude themselves in the void those are beings of great pride and they rarely ever interfered with the business of man but after the great war they found that their lands were corrupted and they were thought to have been extinct from blight but now you were able to unravel one of the mysteries of this world ha-ha-ha-ha this is a day to remember Asura Kun!!!"

"Is it that great? I thought you would be mad at me for trying something like that…"

"No, no I'll never be mad if my student was trying to use his brains and try to figure out how magic works accidents do happens but it is my duty to guide my student to a better way of learning now I think I understand why mana flux activated I believe it was the extreme taxation of your mana that led to your eye activation its skill. Because of your 0% mana waste, your body didn't feel fatigued and your eye felt compelled to suck mana to sustain the spell. Meaning that if you burn through your mana your mana flux will activate. This needs more testes and if it is confirmed we will tackle the means of making that skill work without fully exhausting your natural mana. We have a lot of things to do let's start right now, shall we?"

"I don't like the look on your face sensei but alright. I wanted to learn either warp magic or magic null…"

"So you do know about them… this should make things easier, first of all, I would like to say that I don't have void affinity I am a hybrid mage with affinity in both wind and fire. So I cannot help with void magic but thanks to your eye you are not limited to affinities and you can use all type of magic freely and without wording. This is just to show how great that ability of yours."

"Wow, so it was like that…"

"You don't even know how great that is. For the moment I will be guiding you on how to use the first two tiers of magic B and C ranks. After that, we will tackle the A rank. I don't want you to start using S rank spells because they consume a lot of energy and with your current body, you will be exhausted right after the user just like what happened last time you fought and used my Disintegration spell. So how about you burn all you're MU on the magic clad spell. Show me how sturdy you can get it and how long you can maintain the effects."

"Alright …"

Asura stood up and with a thought, he covered his entire body with a purplish aura, then he started pouring more mana into it. The thin aura started to glow and become denser, almost materializing. It was distinct yet at the same time calm. Asura remained in that state for about 5 minutes then the aura started to die down a bit. But right before it fully vanishes Asura's eye shined in a bright gold color just for a second then the aura around him started reforming only this time its color turned darker and the density was beyond the last time it became thicker and stronger and more powerful.

"This looks awesome I feel light". Asura tried to swing his arms but with only a swing a shockwave was created crushing at a tree bark causing it to fall. This was an innocent move but it startled Asura greatly.

"W-what the hell…"

"Easy now Asura-kun you are covered in dense mana it can be dangerous if you are not careful. This should be normal considering that you are now controlling vast amounts of raw mana"

"What should I do sensei… if even moving can destroy my surroundings isn't this dangerous?"

"Not only movements your very own voice is imbued with mana you probably can't feel it but right now I am using a lot of my magic trying to remain conscious, try not to speak and sit down, slowly. Let me see how much you can stay in this 'Hyper mode'. "

Slowly sitting back down on the chair it even creaked a bit. Asura tried to maintain his mana consumption and absorption at the same time he needed to focus on not to leave any trace of mana inside his body and instantly turn it into his mana clad. This operation that should have been hard was by no means difficult for Asura it was as if the mana itself was burning completely and instinctively. He knew that his eye was assisting with this, but he then was amazed at how many services this eye was providing him with. He almost felt thankful for whoever gave it to him.

The mana seemed to burn to no end, as Asura was sucking and burning it at the same time he only felt a bit of mental strain. Other than that he believed that he could maintain this for days.

Osfor who was waiting for hours finally decided to intervene. He asked Asura

"Why not try and modify the proportions of that cladding. Try and push the aura on different limbs reinforce specific parts of the body or try to separate your mana from your voice."

Asura nods, as he knew that even speaking can hurt his teacher, he moved his aura from his left body clearing his right hand and leg from mana and reinforcing his right sides.

"Now try and fully condense your mana in only your right hand."

Asura started gathering the already tilted mana into his right arm it almost looked black if not for some hues of dark purple here and there.

"Now try and project this mana, slowly, and shape it into a circle. This should be easy considering you already can move it you just need to focus and concentrate on a circular shape".

Asura who can't seem to understand what his teacher was trying to do agreed and shaped the mana outside of his palm creating a black purple circular shape almost like a round shield.

"Now is this the thicker it can get? Can you pour more mana in it?"

"I believe not this is as thick as I can get it. I don't know why but I 'feel' that I can't get it to condense anymore I think I can make this wider tough. It is hard to absorb mana and project it at the same time. This is straining but I believe I can keep this for a few minutes."

"We won't be needing minutes just stay still and grit your teeth this is the tricky part"

"Huh grit my-"

Right before Asura could finish Osfor was already standing a bit away from him channeling a spell from his weird looking cane. Before Asura could even say anything Osfor launched a fireball spell. Unlike Nassi's this one looked majestic. A golden fireball. Its heat was enough to be felt to Asura. The speed was magnificent. As it reached the circular mana block the fireball did not even faze Asura. That was tightening his muscles waiting for an impact that never came. The black aura eats the fireball adding its mana to its own. Gaining more size the circular shield grew larger Osfor who was impressed sent two more fireballs that happened to have the same effect. The shield only grew larger and sturdier right now it was covering almost half of Asura's body.

"Interesting, your mana can absorb other mana and make it it's own this is quite weird and very broken as I may say. This should make all projectile spells useless against you. How about channeled spells? Let's try something a bit stronger than A class fireballs'."

"What? Those were A class? Aren't you a bit too dangerous Sensei? Shouldn't you start by something weaker? What would you have done if you ended up killing me?" said with a look of bewilderment at the non-caring Osfor

"Ah stop shouting, your voice is still imbued with mana that is killing me…am going to turn deaf with that shouting. Then I was saying…ah... DISINTEGRATE "

An enormous magic circle appeared in front of Osfor's cane it was crimson-colored and this spell Asura knew very well how dangerous it was. If his shield can't sustain getting hit with it he would be turned to vapor. He could only hope that he would survive this.

This time when the red ray of concentrated magic hit the shield it started pushing Asura back the difference between an A-class and an S class spell is like heaven and earth. Further extending his right arm Asura could only tack the hit head-on. The shield this time was not growing and the ray was not being sucked into it but rather it was being repelled and traversed past him breaking the stream of light like a sturdy boulder in a raging river.

Luckily the rays seem to dissipate before reaching the cabin walls so no harm was done.

Then Osfor stopped the channeling of his spell, he looked a bit spent, it must be the mana usage from that attack it clearly costs a lot of mana, Asura was knocked out for days because of it, it's a wonder to see that Osfor just used it with only a look of annoyance on his face.

"So sensei what was the purpose of this …"

"Well, I actually was going to thoroughly explain the magic clads versatility and how you can forge the aura to any shape you like if you have enough mana and resolve but this test just spared me the trouble."

"So you mean I can transform the aura into anything I can imagine, isn't that a bit too overpowered? That shield was ridiculously sturdy it even sustained your S class magic spell, creating a sword from that aura can make a handy item if I am not within reach of my weapon… a lot of possibilities"

"You don't seem to get it Asura-kun, this is normally impossible for any other mage. The most a mage can do is a full-body clad and that is extremely taxing and they need a lot of control to spread their aura around their bodies. But thanks to your eye, it regulates the mana and spares you the difficulties to concentrate on less important things. Even so, an external projection of magic clad is only a theory. And I would like that you keep this ability to yourself, you won't be able to use it if you are not activating mana flux it is useless unless you can control your mana flux."

"Too bad, it seemed like a good ability tough."

"It is a great ability you just need time for it. Ah, by the way, I have to tell you something regarding a small tournament that is going to be held four weeks from now."

"A tournament? Am listening"

***