Sitting back down in my house, I needed to decide how to proceed. The night was still and quiet, a perfect backdrop for the intense training I was about to undertake. The moonlight filtered through the overhead window, casting a serene glow across the room. I took a deep breath, letting the tranquility of the night calm my racing thoughts.

I already had attunement with Space, Time, and Blood. Next, I needed to acquire skills related to them. But first, I had to master the fundamentals of mana manipulation. There were three parts to my mana training: Mana Filter, Absorbing Mana, and Releasing Mana.

The armband could create a low level filter that would purify most of the mana I could absorb. It was mostly a dummy to help practice making the pattern with your own mana.

After that, it would be time to capture some ambient mana in the surroundings and let them pass through the filter. Then, absorb the mana into your body.

Thankfully, the mansion had the classic high mana concentration room, making it easier for me to practice. Unfortunately, it would consume contribution points to activate.

Though it required points for each conversion, Lena had assured me it was a worthwhile investment. With a sigh, I decided to make the most of the quiet night and practice within the room.

The room was empty except for two things. At the center, a blue crystal gleamed in the soft light, casting a calming blue hue across the mat laid out before it. This crystal would absorb my mana and convert it into pure mana, filling the room.

There would be some loss during conversion that would be covered by my contribution point. Though Lena promised that it would not take a lot and it was better to practice with pure mana than trying to use the ambient mana.

I settled on the mat, feeling its cool surface against my legs, grounding me. The blue crystal gleamed softly, its surface catching the moonlight and reflecting it in mesmerizing patterns across the walls. I sent a command through my armband to the crystal, feeling a slight pulse in response. The suction force it exerted.

Closing my eyes, I focused on the sensation of mana leaving my body. I imagined the mana as delicate threads of light.

My mana levels began to deplete, a familiar yet disconcerting feeling of emptiness spreading through me. Slowly, my mana depleted to half the amount.

[ Mana: 65 / 130 ]

I could feel the hollowness settling in, a gnawing emptiness where my mana once flowed freely. It was as if a part of me had been siphoned away, leaving behind a vacuum that throbbed with a dull ache.

I opened my eyes, trying to shake off the disconcerting sensation, and watched the crystal glow brighter, now pulsating with the energy I had fed into it. The room's atmosphere began to change, the air growing thick with purified mana.

Now, it was time for me to try absorbing the mana. The crystal had been designed to convert my mana into its purest form, so I expected only slight resistance from the filter as it began the absorption process. I knew the filter's role was to refine the mana—whether pure or ambient. Therefore, while I anticipated some pressure, it should be significantly lessened.

This time,I used the crystal as it formed a filter pattern for me to follow.

The crystal's glow intensified, casting intricate shadows across the walls, and I focused on the delicate lines and curves of the pattern it projected.

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My attempt looked… close? As I pulled mana through it, the pattern quickly collapsed. So, not so easy. Still, it’s just a matter of practice.

Imagining my mana as threads was useful; it helped me complete the pattern on my fifth try. I watched as the threads of my mana wove into the filter, each one fitting perfectly into place.

My previous attempts at creating a mana filter had been challenging. The filter was crucial to ensure the energy in my body remained pure, but absorbing correctly while trying to establish a filter was almost impossible.

Closing my eyes, I imagined the drain absorbing the pure mana being drawn through the filter. At first, there was nothing, but I persisted, visualizing both the filter and the drain in my mind. Soon, a faint trickle began, but despite my efforts to increase the pull, the flow remained unchanged.

With only a small sense of accomplishment, I checked my status.

[ Mana: 67 / 130 ]

The filter was on the verge of collapse. The purity of the mana I had been absorbing had significantly weakened my efforts. It was clear that ambient mana would likely wreak havoc within me.

Dissipating the filter and drain from my mind, I decided to change my approach. The method was sound, but I was burning through points too quickly— already 10 points had been depleted.

I recalled Lena's advice about imagining mana threads to release energy and using an analogy to absorb it. Initially, I had thought of a drain, but that analogy proved inefficient. Either I needed a more efficient filter or something more powerful and precise.

As my mind raced, an idea struck me. Instead of a drain, what if I imagined a whirlpool? A whirlpool's powerful suction could draw in mana more effectively. But I stopped myself. With the vast knowledge from my previous life on Earth, if all I could achieve was a whirlpool, then it would be a waste.

The most powerful suction I knew was that of a black hole, but I wasn't sure how to imagine it.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine a black hole. I pictured a massive, dark sphere in the vastness of space, pulling everything towards it with an unrelenting force. It was a daunting image, almost too powerful to control. I focused, trying to shape the black hole in my mind, but it was difficult to grasp its immense power.

Minute by minute, I struggled with it. I felt the ambient mana being drawn towards it, but instead of a smooth flow, it was turbulent and uncontrolled. The black hole's pull was too chaotic, too overwhelming. The energy swirled around me wildly, making it hard to maintain my focus. My breathing grew erratic, and I could feel the strain on my body and mind. Damn! That's too much.

Frustrated, I decided to change my approach.

The swirling mana slowly became tranquil again, and I noticed that a third of it had dissipated. Activating the crystal once more, the saturation of mana increased again. There was something wrong with my imagination, but I wasn't sure what it was.

Forget about a filter, I couldn't even absorb mana through it. Though it was possible to affect the mana around me, there had to be something I was missing. I released a frustrated huff.

Instead of a black hole, I thought of something more achievable yet still powerful. Combining both the drain and the black hole. An abyss. A deep, dark hole that could draw in mana with relentless force but one that I could control. I closed my eyes again, letting the room fade away as I focused on this new mental picture.

I imagined the abyss as a vast, bottomless pit, its edges shrouded in darkness. The ambient mana in the room was like a mist, slowly being pulled into the depths of this void. The abyss was powerful and unyielding, its pull irresistible.

Slowly, I began to feel the pull. The mana around me started to flow towards the abyss, passing through the filter and becoming purified. The sensation was different from before; the abyss's pull was steady and strong, drawing in the mana with a powerful force.

With the image solidified, I turned my attention to creating a mana filter. This was crucial to ensure that only pure mana was absorbed. I imagined the intricate patterns needed to filter the chaotic ambient mana, weaving them into place above the abyss. The filter hovered, shimmering slightly as it worked to purify the mana being drawn in.

Half an hour passed as I focused on maintaining the filter and the abyss. Sweat beaded on my forehead, but I persisted, feeling the purified mana flow into me. My fingers tingled with the influx of energy, a warm current running up my arm. I checked my status.

[ Mana: 100 / 130 ]

I took a deep breath, feeling the cool air fill my lungs. The practice had been intense, but I felt a sense of accomplishment. My control over the mana filter and the abyss technique had improved significantly.