"So, we will all have to enter the preparation phase right now—which is absolute stillness and silence," Magnus said, and instantly, a profound hush fell upon the vast training hall like a divine command.
'Woah… these students are quite eager, huh?' he mused with a quiet chuckle, amused by how swiftly they obeyed.
"The first step is silence—not just around you, but within you," Magnus continued, his tone turning more meditative. "Empty your mind of distractions.
Let your thoughts fade. I want you to meditate while standing. That way, you'll align with the breakthrough state in the posture you'll actually experience it."
One by one, the students slipped into silent focus, closing their eyes and regulating their breaths.
Among them, Grey had already sunk deep into his meditative trance, as though it were second nature.
'Yup. Thanks to my constant training, I can enter this state whenever I want. Just a snap of my fingers,' Grey thought with a smirk of pride.
"Now," Magnus spoke softly, his voice resonating across the hall like a breeze brushing across water, "feel your mana. Don't command it. Just feel it—let it swirl as it wishes, wild and raw, like a storm raging behind your ribs."
The students stood motionless, eyes shut tight, their minds sinking inward. Slowly, something shifted.
Scarlet's body tensed. Beads of sweat formed along her temples as her breathing grew ragged.
In her mind's eye, an enormous orange flame blazed and flickered, surging with volatile energy.
It wasn't just fire—it was a scorching sun that threatened to consume her, roasting her alive in the deepest depths of an inferno.
She whimpered softly, her fists trembling at her sides. The sensation was too real—too intense.
Greg, too, was drawn into a vivid vision. He found himself standing in a turbulent sea, with a sky of roiling, stormy clouds stretching endlessly above him.
Thunder cracked like an ancient beast howling across the heavens, and lightning danced across the water, striking the sea, the horizon, the very ground beneath him.
Every bolt made the world shake.
"What are you all seeing?" Magnus asked, his keen eyes observing their subtle reactions.
"It hurts! It's burning!" Scarlet cried out, tears streaking down her cheeks as she struggled to remain standing.
"The… the thunderstorm—it's getting worse! I—I'm scared!" Greg gasped, clenching his fists tighter as the imaginary wind howled around him.
"Good," Magnus said with a knowing smile. "Very good. That means your visualization is strong. And that, my dear students, is exactly the next step—visualization.
What you're seeing—fire, lightning, storms—is not fantasy. It is the true, raw form of your mana core. Far more real than that little sphere most people imagine."
Grey stood utterly still, his eyes sealed shut. In his mind's realm, he focused deeply, trying to hear what his core was trying to say—trying to become what it was showing him.
At first, there was only light.
Blinding, radiant light that grew so intense it threatened to devour him whole. Then, within that light, a monstrous storm formed.
Furious winds roared, becoming colossal tornadoes that could level entire towns. Lightning arced violently, dancing across the skies with a wrathful cry.
And from above—fire. Raining in torrents as if the heavens themselves were weeping flame.
The ground beneath him trembled. Mountains convulsed and shifted, splitting open like wounded beasts. And yet, amidst the elemental chaos, Grey saw something else.
Far off in the distance, standing alone in the storm-ravaged horizon, was something tiny. Barely visible. No bigger than the pinky finger of a child. A pitch-black speck—a void—hovered silently, like an eye without a face. Staring. Watching. Waiting.
'What… what is that?' Grey's thoughts raced as he stared into the abyss. 'Fire, lightning, earth, and wind—my known affinities. But that thing… that blackness… What could it be?'
"Look at it!" Magnus's voice rang out, powerful and commanding. "Whatever your core shows you—observe it. Witness it. You're not here to tame it. You're here to evolve with it."
"H-how do we do that?" Jay's voice emerged from the sea of silence. Though his eyes were shut like the others, his expression was unusually calm.
In Jay's inner world, he stood before a vast body of water. On one side, it flowed peacefully like a gentle lake.
On the other, it churned violently like a cyclone. Fortunately, Jay remained on the calm side, the setting sun painting the horizon in golden hues.
"Communicate with it," Magnus said, his voice dropping to a firm whisper that echoed across the room. "Speak to it. Listen to what your mana has to say."
'Communicate?' Grey frowned inwardly. How am I supposed to talk to wild storms and voids?
"Talk to it, talk to it, talk to it," Greg chanted inside his mind as he stared down the furious thunderstorm before him.
"Listen up," Greg muttered, barely audible. "I want more power. I need to break through… and surpass that peasant. Can you hear me? Is there a way we can… talk? If so, now would be great."
The storm didn't answer.
Instead, a bolt of lightning streaked from the sky and slammed into Greg's mental projection, striking him across the face. He cried out and staggered backward in the real world.
"With that yelp, I take it your core's angry," Magnus said, chuckling lightly.
"Why are you treating it like it's alive?!" Greg snapped, frustration bleeding through his voice.
"Because it is," Magnus replied, his tone now cold and serious. "What is a mana core made of?"
"Mana," Scarlet panted, her eyes squeezed shut as she fought through the phantom heat.
"Exactly," Magnus said. "And mana is no ordinary energy. It's a living force, flowing through the world, the stars, and everything beyond.
It chooses the worthy, grants them power, and ignores the rest. Those who are unloved by mana are called cripples. It is not just energy—it is life."
Jay's eyes remained closed, but he nodded slightly. "So… we treat it like a living being."
'Look,' Grey thought, his heart pounding, 'I don't know if you're alive or not. I don't even know how to talk to you. But I just want to say—thank you. For choosing me. For giving me power. For helping me protect my family.
Without you, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be a mage… let alone one who wields four affinities, hoping for a fifth. I'm not here to command you. I want us to work together. So… can we?'
Within Grey's core, something changed.
The tornadoes, though still spinning with terrifying force, began to calm ever so slightly. The fire no longer fell in molten balls, but in gentle drops of flame.
The ground still shifted, and the mountains continued to quake—but it was no longer chaos. It was movement. Transformation.
Grey looked again at the void. It still loomed far away, silently watching—but it no longer felt ominous. It felt… curious.
"Well, I guess I should take that as a good sign," Grey murmured with a small, hopeful smile.
"I'm sure most of you have figured it out by now," Magnus said, his arms folded behind him. "It's time we move onto the next step."