“Combat is divided into three parts: your body itself, your learned techniques, and your actual fighting ability. The body supports your techniques, and your techniques hone and guide your ability.”

Instructor Reedock drew a pyramid on the dirt with the tip of his sword, dividing it into three parts. “The stronger your body, the more techniques you can learn. The more techniques you learn, the more capable you will be in an actual fight.”

Shaden raised a hand.

“Yes?” said the Instructor.

“What exactly are techniques?” asked Shaden.

The Instructor stroked his beard, trying to think of an answer. Mistilia likewise wagged her tail and curiously stared at the Instructor.

“Techniques are specific motions your body can make in order to deliver the desired outcome,” the Instructor explained. “It makes fighting more efficient.”

“That’s too vague,” Mistilia complained. “My father told me that actual experience was what mattered the most.”

“You father would be correct. But having a few techniques up your sleeve makes learning from experience—you know what. Let me show you instead of talking.”

Instructor Reedock motioned for Shaden and Mistilia to follow him to a nearby dummy. They were currently at the great outdoor yard of the Academy where students could practice their more, destructive abilities. Gashes in the earth and small craters could be seen in the distance.

The Instructor placed his hand on the dummy’s smooth head. “This figure is made out of the same material as your swords. Now, if I were to hit it with my sword, what would happen?”

“Nothing?” said Mistilia. “They’re the same strength.”

“Now then, Mistilia,” continued the Instructor, “are your bones weaker or stronger than this wood?”

“Weaker. But I strengthen it with mana, so it doesn’t matter.”

The Instructor’s lips went up in a grin, and the girl’s yellow eyes lit up in as she realized what he was implying.

“You strengthen your sword with mana!”

“Exactly. All techniques are based on infusing your weapon with mana. However, it is not simply circulating. Each technique requires a certain feel to it. Like this.”

The Instructor raised his wooden sword and swung it at the dummy. Shaden watched in amazement as the sword slid past the wood effortlessly, chopping off the top half of the dummy’s head.

“The basis of all sword techniques,” stated the Instructor. “From today, you will practice swinging, infusing your swords with mana.”

Mistilia jumped up and down. She was finally going to learn skills that would make her stronger. She lifted up her sword.

“Can we start?” she asked.

“By all means, yes.”

Mistilia happily dashed towards one of the dummies in the field. It was much taller than her, and the waist very thick.

“Girl, you might want to consider starting over there,” the Instructor suggested, pointing towards a row of wooden stumps. “The wood is softer, and the shape is easier to hit.”

“Doesn’t matter!” she replied back. The Instructor shrugged as the girl raised her sword. A surge of mana went through her, and she swung down at the figure with all her might.

*CRACK*

“OWWW!!” Mistilia howled. She almost dropped her sword due to the impact. “Why is this so hard!” She raised her sword and swung it at the dummy again. Her strike bounced off the wood harmlessly, causing her to be pushed backwards.

“This thing is weird,” Mistilia called out. “It doesn’t feel like wood.”

“I forgot to tell you, but the dummies here are all enchanted with Reinforcement.”

“What!”

Shaden went to a dummy and felt the surface of the wood. Something very thin and invisible covered the wood, like a film of glass. It was similar to when he cast magic on himself way back when he started sparring with Mistilia.

It didn’t feel hard. It felt more like a repelling magnet. When he entered the magic’s range, it pushed him away. He never realized it when he cast it on himself as the magic did not affect him, but this was outside his expectations. Maybe…he could expand on the magic’s properties in the future.

“Go to the wooden pillars,” the Instructor said. “Greed won’t get you anywhere.”

Her tail drooped as well as her ears, the wolf girl relocated to the beginner’s area and began to swing, this time less energetically. Shaden held in a chuckle. Perhaps now was his moment to shine.

It couldn’t be that difficult, right? Just focus the mana into the sword—and swing it.

He walked over to one of the wooden pillars. It was around two meters tall, and some parts of the wood were caved in, probably the work of some other student. Shaden circulated his mana. Directing the mana outside of his body was something he had gotten used to long ago.

He covered the sword with his mana-hand-like mana. This was probably the right thing to do, right? Just to make sure, he condensed the telekinetic mana onto the sword’s surface.

Then with a huff, he swung the sword at the wood.

*WHACK*

Shaden’s hands trembled as the force of the blow was transferred into his hands. He looked at the spot where he had delivered the blow, only to find it unharmed and new. While the wood was not enchanted, it was still extremely tough.

Huh, he thought. He had covered the sword with mana like he had been instructed. He threw another blow at the wood and was immediately disappointed. His attacks weren’t doing anything.

“Instructor!” he called out. “How do I do this? I covered the sword with mana like you told me to!”

“When did I ever tell you to cover the sword!” the Instructor yelled. “That’s what magicians do! You must flow your mana through the sword like you do with your body.”

Circulate his mana into the sword? How was that even possible? This was a piece of wood, for goodness sake, not a part of himself.

Shaden recalled something he read somewhere a long time ago. Some protagonist being told to become ‘one with his sword.’

It was literally happening to him now.

Damn it, he cursed. He was stuck again.

〄 〄 〄

“Rother. Rother~”

“What?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Help me.”

Rother put down his book and crossed his arms. “Can’t you see that I’m busy? Ask dad or something.”

“Dad’s not here though.”

“That’s your problem. I got work to do.”

“Please!” Shaden leaned closer to his brother. “I’ll trade information with a week’s worth of dessert.”

“Deal.” Rother put down his book and turned his body towards Shaden. His sweet tooth was very convenient for Shaden, and he manipulated his brother with it. “So, what is it now?”

“You know I can learn techniques now, right?”

“Uh-huh. I heard it from my Instructor. A six-year-old already progressing into actual training.”

Shaden nodded. “And well, my Instructor told me to circulate my mana into my sword.” Shaden scratched his head. “I have no idea how.”

“Easy. Think of your sword as a part of your body.”

“How?” Shaden also wanted to exclaim, ‘How the heck is that easy!?’ to his brother but resisted the urge. His brother was always a few steps in front of him, mastering skills Shaden hadn’t even heard of.

“Hmm…think of the sword as an extension of your arm?”

“An extension?”

“Yep. Like you can feel it. Just as your fingers touch the ground, the tip of your sword touches the ground.”

“Would you show me?”

“Sure.”

Rother picked up his book from the ground and held it in his hand. “Once you get used to it, you can do it with any object. This book is now a part of me. Circulate and sense the flow of my mana.”

Obeying his brother, Shaden began to circulate at a restricted pace. Rother took a small breath of preparation and began circulating himself.

Shaden felt something ridiculous. Rother’s presence was emanating from the book. His brother had been serious; it really had become a part of his body.

He couldn’t help it but shout, “What!”

Rother shrugged. “This is the basic of all basic weapon handling techniques. I’m learning to strengthen my weapon right now. Creating sword aura is tough.”

“You mean the red mist? You can already do it for your body?”

“Well, yeah? And Shaden, it doesn’t necessarily have to be red. Red is meant for power, but there are other colors too. I’m focusing more on blue.”

Shaden’s lost his thoughts for a moment. He raised a finger, attempted to say something, blanked out, then lowered his hand.

“What is blue?”

“It’s used for more precise techniques. Seriously, you didn’t learn this yet? Oh wait, you’re still six. My bad. My brother is just a little kid.”

There was a hint of sarcastic pity in his voice, and Shaden immediately caught onto it. He was, after all, a perceptive teen. Well, it was his fault for being so ignorant. It was natural that his young brother would feel that way.

“Thanks, Rother,” Shaden said. “The dessert is yours.”

“Hmph, obviously. Let me know if you need help with anything else. But don't forget the dessert.”

〄 〄 〄

Shaden sat in his room and stared at his sword. He picked it up and swung it a few times. Then he set it back down on the ground and sighed.

Two days without progress. Two days of utter failure. It was circulating all over again, and he seriously didn’t want to spend a few months just learning to put his mana inside a sword. Rother had done it so easily with something he hadn’t even trained with. This had to be simple.

The circulating in his body had progressed slowly as his body was becoming accustomed to it. But a sword was an inanimate object. It didn’t need to adapt to his mana; it just had to accept it. Shaden had swung his sword, constantly telling himself that the sword was a part of his arm, an extension of himself. It didn’t do anything.

It had to be simple. It was illogical for it to be so difficult. He was missing something here.

Saiton the Sage had said the most important element of magic was understanding the natural laws. Sure, things like fire and rain and visible, observable things were easy to replicate. If Shaden wanted to, he could set the whole building on fire. It was easy; he knew what to imagine. But making a sword a part of yourself? How the heck was he supposed to know that?

Shaden ruffled his hands through his hair and fell on his back. He stared at the ceiling, thinking for a few moments. A part of himself. What did that mean? What did he have to imagine? What did he have to feel?

He spread his arms out on the floor in irritation and relaxed. For some reason, lying on the floor made everything seem better. He felt more at peace. He slid his fingers across the floor, feeling the little slits that separated the wooden boards.

Rother had mentioned feeling. Feeling your sword.

Shaden rolled his head around. Logically, you could only feel with nerves. To keep the nerves healthy, you had to have blood.

Hmm…

Shaden sat up and picked up his sword. Perhaps if he tried to make mana-nerves within the object, it could work. It was a wild guess, but it made sense. Instead of trying to force mana in, he would transform it into little threads, integrate it into the object’s structure, then increase the mana output after the mana vessels were ready.

He focused on the sword and imagined tiny strings of mana coming out of his hand and going into the sword. He felt a prickly sensation on his palm and nodded in satisfaction as he felt his mana go inside of the weapon. Like nerves, he spread his network of mana all throughout the sword.

Now, he just had to make more mana flow within the object.

Shaden began circulating. To his delight, he felt parts of his mana be sucked into the sword.

It was working!

He quickly directed the flow of mana into his hand and felt it surge into his weapon. Shaden steadily increased the flow, and soon, a light-blue hue began to radiate from the wood. Because his mana was circulating inside the sword, he sensed it like he sensed his own body.

He swung the sword. It felt different. He was in control. He inadvertently let out a huge grin and cheered.

“Yes!”

〄 〄 〄

The giant pillar of wood lay solidly in front of Shaden. However, Shaden felt confident. In his hand was a part of himself, strengthened by his mana. He sensed it clearly. He gave it a few practice swings and smiled. Today, he would cut the wood.

Instructor Reedock watched his students from the back. It seemed like Shaden already got the knack of integrating mana into his weapon. Mistilia was still struggling, bashing away at the wood with all her might, but she was getting there. Because she knew how to conjure red aura already, once she learned to integrate, she’d finally be able to cut the wood.

Shaden still had a lot to learn. Auras, skills, techniques. He was inexperienced compared to Mistilia who had prior training in unarmed combat. Yet, his rate of growth was remarkable.

But it still looked like he required assistance. Shaden, just like Mistilia, was utterly failing at making a dent in the wood.

WHY! Shaden shouted in his head in surprise. Why wasn’t it doing anything? His sword felt clearer, but it continued to lack the strength to cut into the wood. To begin with, how had the Instructor cut the dummy with a blunt sword? It hadn’t been smashed, but sliced. There had to be a trick.

“Instructor!” Shaden called out. “My sword is too blunt. I can’t do anything with this!”

“Then make it sharp,” the Instructor yelled back. “Use your mana.”

There was another reason why Mistilia held the upper hand. All forms of martial arts shared similar elements, one of which being covering your weapon of choice with your mana (aura). By focusing the mana into a point, the weapon could be sharpened or strengthened. The wolf girl already understood how to focus her mana into her fist and claws. If she became able to integrate mana into an object, she would be able to strengthen it right after.

Hardening. Or more commonly known as mana crystalizing. By arranging the mana within your body or weapon into a certain pattern, you/it could become as hard as steel. Naturally, it required plenty of experience to conjure efficient mana patterns. The strength of your mana was determined by its structure, similar to diamonds vs graphite. An inefficient mana pattern would be brittle.

Therefore, Shaden’s blade held no strength. His mana particles were not being arranged efficiently at all—and held the strength of mushy coal.

But like circulating, there wasn’t really a way to teach mana crystalizing. One had to learn through experience.

“Condense your mana and solidify it,” the Instructor said. “Transform it into a sharp blade at the tip of your sword. You must experiment and practice—find the strongest mana pattern you can manage.”

Condense? Like when he created liquid mana? That didn’t sound right. It was outright inefficient.

“What do you mean, Instructor?”

“Certain patterns can be formed within your mana. You must discover the strongest ones and utilize it. Like a crystal. Like rubies and diamonds.”

Like diamonds? Shaden looked at his sword. The mana was flowing freely. He would have to condense it.

Without further ado, Shaden began to pour in mana at an incredible pace. He would never know clearly until he tried.

Instructor Reedock noticed the giant amount of mana Shaden was accumulating. “Kid. That’s too much! You’re being wasteful.”

His words didn’t reach Shaden’s ears who continued to condense his mana. Little by little, a layer of visible, solid mana began to form on the edges of Shaden’s sword. It stacked up into a tiny, outer blade.

After a short while, Shaden stopped and inspected his blade. The solidified mana was dark blue and purple, glowing and radiating weirdly. The Instructor observed silently. His pupil would have to learn through mistakes.

Shaden was feeling confident. He raised his sword and swung it at the wood—

—and the makeshift mana blade shattered apart by the impact, scattering across the air like broken glass.

With a baffled expression on his face, Shaden turned towards the Instructor, who sighed.

“It’s no use if you force your mana into a solid,” the Instructor stated. “First of all, the mana should remain invisible.” He reached down and picked up a shard of Shaden’s mana. “You have an incredible amount of mana, Shaden. But if you aren’t able to use it properly, it remains useless.”

“Then how do I do whatever you said?”

The Instructor shrugged. “Practice and more practice, of course.”

〄 〄 〄

For his afternoon class, Instructor Pinec emerged from the Academy with his group of students. It was another day to swing blissfully under the sun, to hone one’s skills into perfection. They were a young bunch, but a hardworking one. He made sure they were.

While surveying the yard, he noticed something on the ground. Out of curiosity, he went over and picked one up.

“A mana crystal?”

Indeed. Something that was only found within monsters was randomly lying on the school grounds. By the size of the crystal, it was possibly from a giant rat. Nothing his students wouldn’t be able to handle.

He slipped the crystal into his pocket.

And smiled.