Internal and External

It wasn't long after that when Kai arrived back in his room. He had made some more small talk with Anastasia on the journey back, but it wasn't much.

After closing the door of his bedroom, Kai sighed in relief as he slumped against the wooden surface of it.

At least he would be free from Anastasia for another while. Seriously, he didn't know what was up with him, why did he feel so... weird around her?

...But was it nessesarily a bad thing?

Shaking his head, Kai pushed himself away from the door and made his way back over to his bed.

However, he was a little surprised to see that the book on his bedside locker had already been changed, making Kai even more confused as he had been with Anastasia the whole time after she had realised her mistake, meaning she had no possible oppurtunity to change the book.

But somehow, she had, only leaving Kai more stumped about her.

This book though, it looked a lot older. It kind of reminded Kai of Ethania's diary, but it wasn't in that bad of a condition yet.

Its body was made out of leather and there was a strap on the side that was keeping it closed, Kai could see from the bottom of it that the pages had a slightly brown tint to it.

And, like the last book, there was a note attached to the front.

Sorry about the mix up, I took my book back and swapped it with the one you were actually meant to receive. Still, if you wish to continue reading this one I wouldn't mind sharing ;) - Ana.

Kai felt a shiver run up his spine. Even though he was someone who appreciated when someone at least offered him something, he wasn't sure if he should appreciate being offered smut.

There was also the fact that she had drawn a smiley face at the end of her message, making Kai think for a moment. Maybe it wasn't just an Earth thing and was quite common in other Subdimensions.

After taking off the note, Kai glanced at the cover of the book. It was a dark brown colour and in the centre was a blue orb that took up nearly the whole cover.

The title was also in the centre of this blue orb.

Basics of Mana - Written by C. Cyril

Curiously, Kai opened the first page as he got to reading.

What is Mana? There is no one answer for this question as there are many different types of Mana. There are different forms, different elemental affinities, even different genders if the topic is to do with Mana Spirits.

However, there are two factors that remain the same, no matter what the type of Mana is.

Mana comes in two forms, Internal and External Mana. An example of Internal Mana would be a boosting skill, the Mana would run along your Mana Veins and boost your body based on what the skill does. It could boost your muscle tissue, your flexibility, even your bones.

An example of External Mana would be any spell that is formed outside of your body. Fireball is an example of External Mana, Ice Spear is an example of External Mana, even something as simple as Light is an example of External Mana.

But to be frank, even though there are two types of Mana, one type is not better than the other, it all comes down to the user. Someone who can control External Mana well would obviously be able to beat someone who can control Internal Mana averagely, and visa versa.

However, this also means that the average being has to train with both types of Mana. Of course, there is those who only specialise in one type of Mana, or some enigmas who are innately proficient without even having to try, but this book is dedicated to you, the beginners.

Now, onto our first lesson.

For the next while, Kai lost track of time as he immersed himself in trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible. It was this moment when he realised that even though his tunic was only Uncommon rarity and already outclassed by the two other pieces of armour in his soul, the boon of having his memory enhanced when wearing it was just too good.

The Cyril guy went over Mana Veins, which Kai already had some understanding off, but this guy also mentioned some other things such as the fact that there is also some who are born without any Mana Veins. However, if someone is born without Mana Veins, there is two outcomes.

Either their body is incredibly weak and they can barely function, or they posses a body way above what the average person should have, their physical stats would be way above average and so would their durability, flexibility and strength. In fact, their bodies would be so far above average that some of them weren't even considered human.

But all of this was just in the build up for the first lesson, which Kai had just reached.

Now, onto our first lesson, to find out which type of Mana you are innately compatible with. Of course, their is the odd chance that you could be compatible with none, or even both, but you can still attempt this anyway.

First, we will begin with External Mana. I want you to outstretch your hand and try to form a thread of Mana.

Taking a deep breath, Kai held a hand out and tried to form a thread of Mana. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure what he was doing, he was just trying to visualise a thread.

He tried to make it like when he first attempted Statshifting, visualising what he wanted in front of him and trying to change what it was.

He wasn't sure if it was because of his decently high Mana stat, or whether it just might be the possibility that he was compatible with Eternal Mana, but a couple of minutes later Kai had managed to form a thread of Mana.

However, it was a little different than what he was imagining. Normally in stories, threads of Mana would always be a light blue colour, but the one Kai created was a mixture of all the colours that were in his soul.

Red, blue, green, yellow, violet, white and gold.

But all of that was explained in the next paragraph in the book.

Now, some of you may have noticed that your Mana thread might seem a little different than what you were expecting. This is all due to the Elemental Affinity that your Mana possesses.

An example would be this, if your thread is a light red colour, then you have a weak Elemental Affinity for fire. However, if your thread is a strong red colour, then you possess a strong Elemental Affinity for fire.

"Huh..."

Well, it was obvious what Elemental Affinity Kai's Mana had.

But was having his soul as his Elemental Affinity a good thing?

Sure great things had come from his soul, and it was obviously very strong, but was it good as an Elemental Affinity?

It was a bit of an enigma. His soul was strong with room to grow, but how would it compare to someone with a high Elemental Affinity for fire?

However, there was another point Kai could make.

Since his Mana's Elemental Affinity was to do with his soul, did that mean that his Mana would get the same boost as Soul Flame and his other soul related abilities, the 20% boost, that is.

If it did, that was incredible, it meant that his Mana would be 20% stronger than the average being.

But there was another problem with that.

At this current moment, Kai did not possess a skill that actually made use of his Mana. Sure he had his fusion with Umbra, which used Mana, and now he also had the state where he could share Mana with Esurient, but he didn't actually have a skill where he himself used Mana.

Meaning, if his Mana did in fact get a 20% boost, he wouldn't be able to make use of it until he got a skill that actually used Mana.

"Well, I don't know, I'll figure it out later."

Kai then watched as the Mana thread he created slowly started to dissolve away into multi-coloured nothingness. Then, he got back to reading.

Now, you may be wondering, how can you tell how compatible with Eternal Mana you are by forming a Mana thread, and to be honest, you can't.

Kai frowned slightly.

However, even though this isn't the best method to be exact, it is perfectly suitable to gain a rough outline. Now, here are the terms.

If you were able to form a perfect Mana thread in less than a minute, you have a high compatibility with External Mana.

If you were able to either form a perfect Mana thread in less than five minutes or form an alright Mana thread in less than ten, then you have an average affinity with External Mana.

If it takes you longer than thirty minutes or the Mana thread you created is weak, then you have a low affinity with External Mana.

And if you couldn't form a Mana thread at all, then I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you have no affinity with External Mana.

Kai nodded his head after finishing reading that. Turns out, he had an average affinity with External Mana, which he was fine with. It could be better, but it could also be worse.

Still, Kai was much more interested about the next test.

Now, it's time to move onto Internal Mana.