In my previous experiments I tried to calculate how long it took to give results, now I honestly don't care anymore. I've given up counting the days. I refuse to spend part of my already limited mental faculties trying to calculate something that I will eventually lose track of. I mean, no one will come to my rescue, so there's no point.

In any case, I began my self-learning process of magic through meditation. It was something that gave me interesting results even before I was reborn, although at that time it was not much use, so I gave up on it. But now, maybe it's the key to understanding, to achieve opening the first gate, the gate of opening. Also, I don't have many ideas about what else I could do.

But before starting the meditation session, I must choose the right place to do it. I mean, I'm not sure if nature would be more convenient or if it would be a better idea to meditate in the vault, which seems to be a place where energy accumulates. Of course, considering that, it might seem obvious that the best idea is to meditate in the vault, since what I want to learn is magic, and it would be better to do it in a place where magic gathers, as that's definitely what I need.

However, there is the fact that I just went through a transformation and maybe my mana veins or wherever the hell the magic goes through are still not optimal to receive a lot of that magical energy. And if that guess is correct, then meditating in nature could be a better option, since the amount of that energy might be less and calmer. I mean, nature is a symbol of tranquility, isn't it? At least that's what I think.

I firmly believe that if I want to leave this place I need magic, but the fact that I am in a hurry to regain my freedom does not merit that I should explode like popcorn. I want to get out alive and with my faculties intact, or at least not as bad. The fear of becoming an aberration worthy of a street show and then having my existence used to scare children still persists, even when I change my body.

In any case, all that self-reflection and accumulated fears led me to the answer that I think is the right one, so I decided to meditate on the vault....... Admittedly, it doesn't seem very smart, but I have my points. First, even though he's asleep, there's Danamus and his presence gives me security, and he could help me in case something goes wrong. And second, I want to get out of here soon, even if it means risking becoming the decoration of an adventurer who gets cheated on. Even if it doesn't seem like it, I still have some dignity and courage left... I think.

'Come to think of it, is my blood gray or has it regained its red color?'

I resumed the same statue-like position I had when Danamus was giving me the blood transfusion. There is no logical reason for this, it is simply superstition. Anyway, since nothing I've done makes much sense, it doesn't cost me anything to try. Besides, after all the time I was in the same position, my body seems to have gotten used to it and instead of feeling any discomfort, it was like coming home after a long work day.

I took a seat next to the sleeping Danamus, I mean, if things go from bad to worse and I explode, I'm sure he'll wake up, or at least I hope so. I closed my eyes and started with what I believe is how I should start a meditation session to learn magic. Inhale and exhale, simple, but to the point. Inhale and then exhale slowly, each time slower until you don't even realize you're breathing, then there will be two outcomes: you got into a trance or you died. I mean, the idea is to breathe slowly and automatically, not to stop breathing.

The process is slow and relaxing, I can't afford to be impatient or I won't be able to achieve it. Meditation is similar to downloading a song on Napster. You need patience, a lot of patience. At some point while I was reflecting, I detached from the mortal plane and entered the ancestral plane. Either that or I fell asleep, in any case I did not lose sight of my goal of feeling the magic. So, even though I could no longer feel my surroundings or my body, I continued to mentally inhale and exhale.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I continued with the same technique without despairing until I began to feel a cool substance brushing against my skin and the more I focused on figuring out what it was, the more vivid the sensation became. But unlike the cool breeze that sweeps across the prairies, I could feel that it was something denser. To be more exact, the feeling is similar to immersing yourself in water on a hot day, except without the liquid that wets you, very refreshing. It was precisely this sensation that helped me relax enough to reach the meditation point I desired.

As I focused on the strange substance, a strand of it entered my body straight to the heart, but there was no discomfort Instead, even with my eyes closed, I could now see how the streams of gray substance swirled around Danamus and with each of his breaths, the substance entered his body. A little farther away from us, where the mini mountain of red rocks was, the substance seemed thicker and I could even see drops falling, which then accumulated to transform into the red rocks.

'Assuming that the substance is mana and the rocks are the accumulation of that energy, why is mana gray and the rocks red?'

Everything appeared in my head like a sort of 360-degree mental map. I could see every detail of the vault, even the roots on the walls, but everything I saw lacked any color other than gray. Sure, there were some differences in the intensity of the color, but ultimately everything is gray.

'So this is magic, huh? Now, how do I make use of it?'

My first idea was to draw the energy into my body the same way Danamus is doing it, but this idea has some problems to be executed. I mean, he is doing it naturally and with each of his breaths, the gray substance is attracted to him. I am also breathing, but the substance, unlike what happens with the dragon, does not respond positively, except for the thin strand that allowed me to see the mental map, which means either I am breathing wrong or I am ignoring something.

I tried to regulate my breathing based on how Danamus is doing it, but it's a bit complicated because it's all mental, I can't feel if I'm doing it right. Anyway, I made an effort to imitate my companion, and in the end, I managed to synchronize almost perfectly with his breathing. At first, as expected, nothing happened, but as I breathed more, the energy in the environment gradually gathered around me, and more strands of the substance entered my body. However, there was no time for rejoicing because of course, things never turn out the way I want them to.

Immediately I realized from my mental map that the energy instead of entering my body as I initially thought, what was really happening was that it was going through me, the energy was coming in and going out and besides, it wasn't undergoing any change since its intense gray color didn't change. I glanced at my companion to see if the same thing was happening to him, but I noticed that, quite contrary to me, the energy entering his body does not come out again, on the contrary, he continues to absorb the energy of the surroundings as if it had no bottom.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I CAN FEEL THE MAGIC, THE STRONGEST WIZARD OF ALL TIME HAS JUST BEEN BORN, GET READY MOTHERFUCKERS!”

My meditation was interrupted, so I could not observe much more to discern the difference, but the blood dripping from my nose was not enough to snatch my moment of happiness, but it did serve to realize that my blood is still red, a lighter red than blood normally is, but in retrospect it is still red... I guess. I don't know the colors. In any case, now I know that I have access to magic and all that's left is to make use of it.

'Maybe I need a wand to make my job easier'

“Hey, can you wake up already? I need your help here, you know”

“.......”

*Haaaa*

“Well, well, keep sleeping, I won’t need your help and by the time you wake up, I’ll have conquered the world. So, when you want to create your home, you will have to pay me an excessively expensive rent”

“.......”

"And even if you ask me for a discount, I won't give it to you"

Since I already know that I can access ambient magic, now I have to see if I can make use of it. To do so, I decided to test it outside, because as I suspected, the vault is some kind of point where the mana gathers and I don't want to risk creating a massive explosion due to the large amount of accumulated energy. So it's better outside, where I guess the energy is thinner and in case some intense explosion happens, at least I have places to run to. Although the vault is large, it is still an enclosed place and I feel safer if I can see the sky.