Spiritual Energy

Ingram remained at Rina's place as they discussed the specific times they would meet that was convenient for the both of them. It took a while but they eventually decided on a good schedule after which he took his leave.

The next thing was for him to just keep learning about medicine and herbs from Rina while also putting in most of his efforts into Magic.

'...Harvest season will be in eight months' time so I should be prepared by then. As for Magic.. I can only hope.'

The groundwork had been laid.

No plan was perfect but his was just a very simple one and he was confident in his ability to see it through.

He kept revising the plan in his head as he slowly walked back home to make sure he wasn't missing anything.

...

At his house.

Once he entered, the first person he saw was a young boy with sandy brown hair. Immediately the boy saw him, he got up and gave a polite bow.

"Good evening mister Ingram."

'Ah... I almost forgot about him.'

He stared at him with an amused expression plastered over his face.

"Oh? evening!... and what brings you here, Renard?"

Hearing his reply, Renard was confused. Did he perhaps come to the wrong house or greet the wrong person?

"...Uh mi-mister Ingram?..."

He didn't know how to respond and was almost in a daze. There was a brief silence before Ingram burst into laughter:

"Hahaha boy look at your face... you look like you're having a bad constipation —pfft!— relax. I was just messing with you."

Renard had an awkward smile on his face as he looked at his soon-to-be father-in-law laughing wildly.

Meanwhile, Ephmi just peeked at the two of them from inside the kitchen and facepalmed. She could only wish Renard good luck.

"Haha... don't worry, I know why you're here. Come!... Come sit down, let's talk."

Ingram laughed again and gestured towards the chair.

In terms of looks, Renard was just average. However, he had a good build as a result of hard labour.

He stood at around 1.9 meters, completely towering over Ingram who was about 1.75 meters in height.

The discussion wasn't anything too serious and was mostly Ingram lightening the mood with his occasional banter.

The conversations continued over dinner in a cheery mood. Ephmi kept on blushing throughout due to the fact that Renard was present which prompted several laughs.

Dinner soon finished and they talked for some more before dispersing as Renard said his goodbyes.

...

Deep into the night

As Rosella was fast asleep thanks to intense rounds of sexual pleasure, Ingram made his way outside.

This time however, he didn't just station himself in front of his house to admire the beautiful sky.

No, he had a different purpose.

After walking for about five minutes, he arrived at a huge tree. There wasn't anything special about the tree except for the fact that it just seemed like a good place to relax.

"Good, this spot should do."

He didn't waste any time as he sat down in a lotus position underneath the tree and closed his eyes. He placed his hands on his knees and then took a deep breath:

"Huu.."

He took another deep breath as his chest rose and fell. The chirping of the crickets slowly dwindled in his ears as he gradually immersed himself into absolute focus.

Right now, he had one goal and that was to try and sense Mana.

Although he didn't have any Magic Caster to learn from, he decided to at least try and see if meditation would work.

Others in his situation may opt for Martial Arts since the barrier for entry was low compared to Magic, however he was fully aware of his capabilities.

Martial Art in the New World was based entirely on sheer effort and life and death battles. The more one trained and risked their lives, the higher and faster their skills rose. One could even create their own skill unique to them.

After all, in Overlord, Martial Art was said to be the Magic of Warriors.

However, he just wasn't suited to it.

The reason was simple: When it came to fighting, he had absolutely no talent and experience

Yes, he was a survivor but that didn't mean he knew how to fight.

All he knew were dirty tricks and how to run away if any sort of danger he couldn't handle arose. Some labelled him a coward but he didn't care, after all his life was more important.

This was why he wanted to learn Magic. At least Magic Casters didn't need to fight to properly master their skills. All they needed to do was train their intellect and arcane powers which was completely in line with his character.

Entering a meditative state wasn't as easy as he made it seem. The only reason why it looked easy was because this wasn't the first time he did this.

Back on Earth, even before his health began deteriorating, he constantly did yoga and other breathing exercises to keep himself in good shape. So this was almost as easy as drinking water for him.

.

His mind slowly drifted into emptiness.

It felt like he was alone in the world as everything gradually became non-existent. He just stayed in that position, making sure his breathing was steady.

Time was lost on him.

He didn't know just how long he had spent but he didn't lose his concentration.

'Hm?'

His brows furrowed.

He finally noticed something. It was a mote of light that seemed so far from him.

'Is this it?... or maybe my mind is playing tricks on me?.."

He was unsure since he expected that it would take longer for him to sense Mana. But, he shook that thought off.

'No... I can't think in such a way. If this is indeed mana then I need to grab this opportunity before I lose it.'

Realising what he needed to do, he put all his focus into that tiny speck of light. It was extremely difficult as he kept failing. The light just seemed to avoid him like a plague.

However, he didn't give up.

If just this little thing was enough to discourage him, then he might as well just commit suicide.

After a long time of intense struggling, he finally reached that light. However, he was left dumbfounded by what happened next.

That tiny speck of light which seemed so little was actually astronomical in size. The moment his consciousness drew close, he couldn't even make out its starting and ending points.

It was just too massive.

'Unbelievable! Is this what mana looks and feels like?... What intense pressure.'

Once he got close to this light, he could feel a terrifying energy rippling out of it. It was almost as if he was being submerged into the deepest part of an ocean, giving him the illusion of drowning.

'Huu.. alright. Since I've come this far. It's time to draw some of this mana into my body.'

He took a deep breath as he steadied himself and tried to siphon some of that energy into his body. But immediately he attempted it, he began to feel a pulling sensation being emitted by the light.

It was so powerful that he couldn't react and in an instant he was dragged into the light.

However, once he was within the light, he felt nothing. The pressure he was feeling earlier completely disappeared.

In fact it almost felt weightless here.

'What happened? Did I fail in—"

His words were cut short once he noticed an orb sitting silently within this space.

'...Hōgyoku?'

It was in fact the hōgyoku. However its appearance was a far cry from what it had been in that plane. It had multiple cracks all over and seemed like it would crumble to pieces with a single touch.

He frowned.

He didn't need to be told that it was damaged.

The situation was clear for him to see. But, he began to wonder why the hōgyoku was here when he was just trying to sense mana. Racking his brain, he became momentarily distracted and lost his focus.

Once he opened his eyes, he squinted a little. Looking around, it was already dawn. He had practically spent the whole night in meditation.

However, right now that wasn't his concern. He began to think of numerous possibilities in his head.

The strange energy he felt when he tried sensing mana coupled with the hōgyoku inside his body.

He was sure of one thing. That energy was probably not mana since from what he understood, Mana was meant to be absorbed into the body.

But since he already had the energy inside his body without any prior attempt, there was no way it was mana. However, he also considered it could be the work of the hōgyoku but he felt that assumption was wrong.

After all, such a simple thing like Mana wouldn't leave it in such a state. So, as he kept making deductions, he arrived at one conclusion.

"Huu... It's most likely Spiritual Energy."

He took another cold, deep breath but this time he had a light smile on his face.

Yes, the same energy that was used in Bleach. Since the hōgyoku was an object belonging to that world, it made perfect sense for him to have it.

"Still, I'm not completely sure and will have to test it. If this works, it makes my plans much easier. The matter regarding the hōgyoku will have to come much later."

He was well aware of just how powerful this energy was. He knew even more about Bleach than Overlord so he was clear on just how to test it.

After deciding on his actions he stood up and dusted himself.

His coming days would be quite a busy one.