Nodes Unlocking

The room became noisy in an instant in the face of the possibility of earning a place in the society ahead.

"The location for the test will be the entrance of the building since we need a large place to accommodate all the residents." He said as he started down the stairs followed by Kayden and the others.

They quickly arrived at the entrance, where about ninety people were already gathered. Most appeared to be residents of the building, while the rest were military, cooks and cleaning staff, among others.

"Sit down where there's a space." He indicated, before heading to the front and beginning to explain, "I assume you can all read the text Lord Thasal transmitted to us, but I'll still give a summary on the method of unlocking the nodes."

'It seems some had not even bothered to glance at the text in their eagerness to celebrate.' Kayden thought, as he shook his head at the naivety of some of the residents.

"First of all, mana perception. You will need to relax and keep your thoughts from wandering, while concentrating on the sensations in your body. You will begin to notice a gentle tingling and, when this has spread throughout your body, you will be able to see the waves of mana in the environment." The sergeant began.

"Secondly, mana absorption, when you notice the mana around you you should concentrate all your attention on trying to 'pull' it." He explained, corroborating what Kayden had understood from reading the text.

"Finally, unlock the nodes. When you draw the mana to you, you'll notice how it focuses on various parts of your body. Those are the mana nodes, which are currently blocked." He paused and continued, "You should identify the point where the most mana had accumulated and try to draw all the mana around you to this point. After this pull all the mana towards that point until it is inside your body. You will feel some pain, but if you persevere and keep absorbing, the node will finally unblock and the mana will enter your body. With this you will complete the process."

'All correct, but you have not mentioned that the pain will increase with each node unlocked, and that every ten nodes there will be a considerable increase in both pain and power. On the other hand, although each person unlocks the nodes in a different order, it is unknown why, no matter where the node is unlocked, the enhancement will affect the body as a whole.'

"With nothing more to say, the thirty minutes start now!" announced the sergeant. Everyone rushed to close their eyes and concentrate as fast as they could.

Kayden quickly entered the proper meditative state, remembering the sensations he had had in the room when he managed to sense the mana.

Within a few seconds, he felt the tingling tingle run through his body again and, with his eyes still closed, he began to channel his thoughts into a single task, to attract the mana. At first there was no change, but after a while Kayden could instinctively feel the mana surrounding him.

He began to notice pressure on various parts of his body that he assumed were his nodes, and he concentrated fully on trying to perceive which of the points had the most pressure. This was because those nodes closest to becoming unblocked were the ones closest to allowing mana to pass through, which created the most tension as he tried to draw in the surrounding mana.

He was discarding options for a while based on the pressure he felt until two remained, one on one of his legs and the other on his chest. Although it sounded easy, deciding was a real challenge as it was like trying to guess which stone weighed more between a five kilogram and a five kilogram and one hundred gram stone just by holding them.

After a while, Kayden decided on the chest node and began to absorb the mana in its direction. A slight throbbing pain coursed through him, but he ignored it and started absorbing the mana with even more momentum.

Eventually, the blockage broke and, like a dam, the mana flooded Kayden's body, making him feel more alive than he had ever been.

He could feel a strength he had never imagined having coursing through his body, ready to be used. Although he was aware that the enhancement wasn't really that great, one had to remember that this was only the first of the nodes, which made Kayden euphoric.

Remembering that he was in a test, he calmed down and opened his eyes. Not knowing how much time had passed, he stood up and raised his hand to get the attention of the sergeant, who saw him and approached.

"What's going on?" he questioned, at the same time watching him closely.

"Sir, I've already unlocked my first node." Kayden replied, eliciting a look of disbelief he had never seen from the ever calm sergeant.

"What did you say!" He asked, to which Kayden, not understanding what all the fuss was about, repeated, "Sir, I've unlocked my first node."

"Wait here for a second." He ordered in a tone that wouldn't take no for an answer.

The sergeant went to one of the help center staff, said something and the worker quickly handed him a device Kayden had never seen.

He returned to where Kayden was standing and said, "Let the mana free through your body and place your hand here." Kayden, who had indeed noticed that he could now slightly move the mana inside his body, did as the sergeant had said and placed his hand on what looked like a small black solar panel.

After a few seconds had passed, Sergeant Lee looked up and asked, "What was your name?"

"Kayden Hale."

He patted him on the shoulder and with a smile said, "Well Kayden, congratulations, you have a great future ahead of you."

Still stunned by the sergeant's behavior, Kayden asked, "So I passed the test then, did I?" to which the sergeant laughed and replied, "If you passed? If you don't pass I'm afraid no one will. I'll explain everything later, for now focus on unlocking what nodes you can before the time is up.

Kayden, still confused, nodded and sat down to continue the training. Entering the state of concentration with even more ease than the previous time, he set about drawing in the mana. Remembering the node on his leg that he had been hesitant about earlier, he absorbed the mana without pause. Just as before, the moment he tried to draw in the mana, an even stronger pain than before swept through him. Kayden ignored the pain, the intensity of which was negligible compared to what he had felt throughout the week.

Finally, the blockage was broken and the flow of mana entered Kayden's body. Instead of celebrating, this time Kayden hurried to concentrate again since he didn't know how much time he had left in the half hour and, from the way the sergeant was talking, he sensed that there had to be some kind of special reward for those who managed to unlock more than one node. Although from time to time he thought he heard voices, he did not stop and continued on, trying to make as much progress as possible.

After a while, Kayden had unlocked his third node and was about to unlock the fourth when a shout was heard. "Last minute!" The sergeant announced. Determined to unlock the node, Kayden quickly absorbed the mana as hard as he could and, with a grunt from the sudden surge of pain caused by forcing himself, smashed the lock hard. Kayden gasped while he flashed a wide smile at having managed to unblock yet another one.

"Time!" The sergeant shouted, at the same time he scanned the crowd with his eyes, stopping on a few people and Kayden especially, as he showed a jubilant expression.

"Those who have passed the test remain standing, those who have not may return inside the building." He indicated, before warning, "If anyone who has not passed the test does not leave, the rewards will be the least of your worries."

A number of people that surprised Kayden slowly made their way into the building while showing looks of envy and resignation.

After they had left, Sergeant Lee looked cheerfully at those who had remained standing and began to speak. "Let's see...where should I start? Alright, first I will explain to you the benefits of mana cultivation and talent division. You should know that in the text delivered by Lord Thasal, not everything is told. However, the higher-ups negotiated with him, so we have the detailed information that will be the basis of your future." He said, leaving everyone surprised and expectant.