CHAPTER 5 : PHYSICAL BODY

2.5 years later,

I had five quills laid out before me, each accompanied by a notebook. I closed my eyes and directed my attention towards the atmospheric mana present in the air. After a minute, I opened my eyes, yet I could still feel the mana's presence. By manipulating my mental energy, I allowed the atmospheric mana to hold the quill, resulting in one of the quills levitating in the air. With it, I commenced writing a poem in the notebook.

After a minute, I began writing from second and the third quill. Just as simple. The fourth was not as easy, and things started getting difficult. I struggled at first, but pressure on my mind gradually lessened and after two minutes, I adapted. Then, picked up the fifth Quill.

Sweat tickled down my forehead as I felt like a drunkard teetering forward, struggling not to topple over, but I still kept going .

Upon countless attempts and errors, I have devised this technique that effectively enhances not only my mental energy, but also my aptitude in controlling my mental energy and atmospheric mana. This method has proven to be a successful means of training my mind and refining my manipulation skills for the last two and a half years.

After about an hour, I stopped and collapsed on the floor, panting heavily like an animal taking its final breath, due to exhaustion. with difficulty, I dragged my drenched body onto the bed, falling asleep immediately.

*Knock knock*

As I lay in a deep slumber, the sudden sound of a knock on my door pulled me out of my peaceful sleep.

"Al, breakfast is ready, Wake up!" shouted my mother from the other side.

With a tired yawn, I straightened up in my bed, feeling the warm rays of sunlight seeping in through the window. As I looked around, I realized that it was already morning, and felt a sense of rejuvenation wash over me.

"Al!"

"Coming Mom", I yelled as my Mom shouted again

I got up and made my way to the bathroom. Using a plant-based liquid that I stumbled upon during a leisurely stroll with my mother in the down, I brushed my teeth. Although simple, it gets the job done. Once I finished brushing, I took a shower and got dressed while admiring myself in the mirror.

My hair was a beautiful shade of light brown with a few silver strands scattered throughout. My eyes were a dark silvery color, which complemented my baby face quite nicely. Overall, I appeared like a typical four-year-old child, making me quite satisfied with my appearance.

Not to be sound like a narcissist, but even in my previous life, I had a striking appearance. However, my focus was primarily on my work, and any spare time I had was dedicated to my family. As a result, I didn't have the opportunity to pursue a romantic relationship.

Walking out of my room, I arrived at the dining area, and noticed my mom preparing breakfast in the kitchen

Taking my usual seat, I greeted her.

"Good morning Mom."

She turned to face me and greeted back with a warm smile, "Good morning Al. Hold on a sec, let me get you something to eat."

"No problem mom, take your time," I said with a reassuring smile, despite the growling hunger pangs in my stomach.

After a brief wait, we finally began to eat. "Mom, has dad already eaten?" I asked out of curiosity, as I didn't seem to notice his presence in the house.

"Yes, honey, your dad went to work a little early today to make sure he can come home early for your training session," my mom answered with a bright smile

My father was a skilled orange core augmenter and with his extensive knowledge of weaponry due to his profession, he had mastered the art of wielding most of them. While I had access to Arthur's memories and his sword techniques, it didn't mean that I could just wield a sword just like him. It took him years of practice to perfect his sword techniques, whereas I only had a visual representation of his memory in my mind. Even if I had ten years, I doubt I could match his expertise. It's similar to how an average person cannot replicate martial arts moves seen on TV. That's why I kept pestering my father to teach me the basics of sword fighting. Once I had a solid foundation, I could begin training Arthur's techniques with a lot more ease. My father initially dismissed my request as childish banter, but after my persistent plea for a month, he finally agreed.

Eating my meal, my gaze landed on my mom.

My mother wasn't a mage, just an ordinary person. But She has become the most significant person in my life over the years. I've grown incredibly close to her and have come to love her more than anyone else, including my father. Perhaps this is because my father passed away when I was very young in my previous life, and my mother took care of me all by herself. Hmm I wonder what she's doing right now? even thought I'm not worried because I know my brother is there to take care of her.

As if noticing my gaze, my mother looked up at me and met my eyes, a slight sight escaped her lips as she caught me staring at her

"Al, I've told you countless times not to keep your food waiting."

I couldn't help but smile at her words and went back to enjoying my meal.

After finishing my meal and conversing with my mother for a while, I made my way to my room. As I settled down, I positioned my legs in a cross-legged position and took a deep breath before closing my eyes.

After nearly two years of training, my mental energy has improved by leaps and bounds, in both quality and quantity.

My control over atmospheric mana and ability to sense it have both gained a great boost. I can now manipulate and perceive it even when my eyes are open.

My thinking capacity has significantly enhanced to an entirely different degree, resulting in what some refer to as a photographic memory. I've noticed that my reaction time has also gotten better, which implies that I can further enhance it through my training.

Due to the improvement in my atm mana manipulation, I can purify mana twice as fast with half the mental energy as before.

Enabling me to almost purify four times the mana I used to every day previously. However I avoided doing that as I don't wanna risk forming my core yet.

Since unlocking my new mental power, I've become aware of a fascinating development happening within my body. I've noticed a significant increase in physical strength, which appears to be linked to an upsurge in soul power or mental energy. It's as if my mental energy is drawing mana towards my body, which is then being harnessed in some way to make me stronger. its as if that my soul is striving for growth, but its progress is constrained by my physical limitations. Therefore, my mental energy is working to maintain a balance between my body and soul. Although I can easily halt this process if I so desire.

As a workaholic scientist, how could I ignore this unique development despite knowing about its occurance? And if I could discover its working or a way to accelerate its development, I might even discover a technique to make my body a lot stronger. Which in turn would also help me in my sword training.

I shut my eyes and focused my mental energy on observing my body. I noticed the flow of mana that was entering my body from the surrounding.s The mana was gradually moving through my channels, almost like the slow and steady movement of an hour hand on a clock. As it moved, although its frequency was very subtle, I could feel a slight....vibration in my channels, as if the mana was interacting with something. This process was occurring in all the mana channels present in my body.

For almost 7 hours, the vibration persisted until a portion of the mana ceased vibrating and resumed its journey through my mana channels. Gradually, it circulated through all of my channels and even entered my bloodstream, which then spread throughout my body. As I experienced this, I came to realize how it was strengthening my body. But why did it come to a halt midway through the mana channels?

After closely observing the process multiple times, I finally realized that the pure white mana lost a bit of its intensity as it began to move again. The change was so subtle that it couldn't be detected with the naked eye and would require a high-end microscope typically used in professional labs to observe. Realizing this, I was once again Im awe of my mental energy.

Was there a change in the mana during that time? And was it only this new type of mana that had the ability to enhance the body's strength? If so, then what caused the alteration in the mana during that period? Many questions arrived in my mind as I though back to the process.

"Wait a second." Something clicked in my mind and I hastily checked the process again.

The next instant, my eyes widened in shock.