Okay, I forgot to mention it, I apologize."

It was clear from the smile on Randolph's face that he was not sincere in his apology. Although Finn had lived with Randolph for only a few barely memorable days, he had that curiosity to know more about Randolph. After all, he was his teacher and the one who saved him from that injury. He was curious to know the reason why Randolph lived alone in the middle of the forest.

He knew from the memories of the original body that in the North Moon forest, there existed an unknown species, one that no one had seen before and whose forms no one knew; only some rumors from people claiming to have seen them. Since Finn came into this world, he expected anything to happen; it was completely different from his previous world. Not to mention the magic, even the creatures were different. This world resembled the Middle Ages, as it's called in his original world, and with the addition of magic, one could create the best series of stories that would earn a fortune in his original world. But he didn't want money or fame; all he wanted was power. Now, after finding the opportunity to become stronger than everyone around him, unlike his previous world where he relied on luck for survival, he certainly won't let it slip away.

"Now return to contemplation, you lazy one."

Finn didn't notice as he was lost in thought for a few minutes. After hearing Randolph's voice, he returned to his seat and closed his eyes. After Finn realized that these multicolored lights were actually diverging paths from the original routes, a theory came to his mind, and he wanted to test it. Finn expected that since the multicolored lights were offshoots of the main paths, he could try moving certain lights of a single color and see which of the multicolored lights would respond. But he faced a problem: how could he move specific lights? Until now, whenever the lights appeared and his focus increased, one after another they would start to move. He didn't have actual control over the movement of these lights.

...

The lights appeared one after another, just as Finn had predicted. The lights of a single color were in the center, while the multicolored ones surrounded them. Some of them began to move as usual, but Finn noticed something strange; some lights were flashing unexpectedly. At first, they shone with a bright light, then they started to move, and the same thing happened to other lights until a light with two colors flashed and began to move. It was when he understood something.

"It seems that my theory was wrong from the beginning; it appears that the lights have a specific arrangement for their movement." "But this doesn't help me with how I can gather them..."

He thought for a moment, and because of that, he lost his focus. He opened his eyes and saw that the sun was beginning to set, even though he had started early in the morning.

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"Damn, how long have I been contemplating?"

Randolph was nowhere to be seen; it seemed he felt bored while waiting, so he left. Finn thought for a moment, feeling a bit frustrated because he hadn't made any progress.

He didn't like the idea that he should try until he succeeds eventually; he thought he should do something about gathering the mana, not just trying. He remained in this state until an idea struck him; immediately, he returned to his cross-legged position and closed his eyes. The lights appeared one after another, starting with the single-colored lights that began to move until a two-colored light shifted. The light that followed had two colors, one was blue like a clear river while the other was white like snow. Finn didn't know what this element was, but he soon realized it was mist. The light began to move in a strange and erratic manner. Finn understood something when he saw that; the lights had different movements. There could be a few lights with the same movement, but not all of them. Like the red light, which represented the element of fire, this light moved in a circular pattern while some sparkles rose above it. Or the green light that represented the element of plant life, which remained relatively still with some occasional tremors.

He opened his eyes and a big smile appeared on his face; he felt he was getting closer to the step of gathering mana at last. Then he remembered that a person becomes stronger the more they understand the paths or the world around them. He didn’t understand how this could happen back then, but now he does. He had learned a few elements of their movement, and if he continued like this, he would be able to understand all the elements and their movements.

That made him feel excited and want to try again.

The lights appeared and began to move one after another; some were stationary while they rotated. These lights represented elements like earth or wood, for example. While some were moving randomly, like water and volcanic lava. After a little while, Finn finally succeeded in moving them all. He had now understood their movement and nature; keeping them moving was easier than before.

All the lights began to move in circles around each other. Finn tried to move them to a specific place within the orbit of his awareness, and surprisingly, he succeeded without his consciousness getting distracted. Now you are the most important step; he had to move them to his skin, then to his blood, then to his bones, and finally to his muscles. He didn't know exactly how this would happen, but he tried the same method that made the lights appear and move the first time, which was visualization. In his first attempt, Finn didn't know how he could manifest these lights without talking about how he moved them. Randolph would say, "Feel the mana," but saying it was easier than doing it. How could he sense something that couldn't be seen? But Finn now understood that it all revolved around visualization; it was impossible to see lights that weren't present without imagining them. Finn didn't know why Randolph hadn't told him that he needed to visualize in order to sense and gather mana.

...

Imagine Finn as the mana moves close to his body, all the lights of different colors flowing in harmony like a river. Finn felt as if his skin was burning, and at the same moment, he sensed it freezing or as if it had crashed to the ground, while also feeling a cold breeze hitting his skin. It was strange for Finn to experience so many sensations at once.

Soon after, it wasn't long before he no longer felt anything. He didn't know what had happened, but he sensed that the mana began to move on its own, without any direction from him. It was moving within Finn's body and delving deeper. He felt the same thing, but this time in his blood; he felt his blood boiling like water, and then he felt cold, as if he were freezing from the inside.

He felt tired, not understanding what was happening, but soon realized that he might be exhausted from gathering mana. Randolph didn't tell him that, but he inferred it after becoming fatigued just from sensing the mana.

He opened his eyes, and the sun had already set. He looked at the night sky, studded with beautiful stars of various colors.

A smile appeared on his sweat-drenched face.

Finally, Finn took his first step into the world of magic.