Chapter 79 - Magical Eureka II

Funny, that was all Bryn could think of when analyzing his perception of magic.

The bounds of science for man are guidelines for magical manifestation. Otherwise, the strongest magi would also be the intellectuals of this world. This means my belief in the manifestation of my visualization is just as important as the science behind it. What should change is the power, preciseness, or creativity.

Bryn assumed a combat-ready stance, honed on the nearest tree, and threw a jab with his left hand.

A bit of mana should become fuel, another part should become or pull oxygen, and the last portion should simply spark it, Bryn thought as his punch caused a localized spark and ember in the tree's trunk.

Both his lips and his eyes smiled at the victory. He quickly followed it with a second one with the same hand, switching for a straight and finalizing it with a spinning sidekick with his right leg. The sequence was fast, his movements decisive, and after each shockwave, leaves, and branches from all other trees shook.

Jonas looked at the tree before him and Bryn, grabbing his medallion so firmly that his hands paled a bit except for the reddened skin pressing the jewelry. Who is this kid, Gabriel?! His mind screamed while his eyes absorbed the scene.

The faun jumped up and down, celebrating its accomplishment and crying, "Eureka!! A Magical Eurika!!!".

Jonas's nose finally smelled it, confirming what his eyes told him. The green forest now had blacked trees, and embers and carbonized wood remained. The smoke reached Jonas like a slap, waking him from the daydream inside his head.

"Mr Jonas, let's battle!" he screamed, looking at the old man, who held one of his palms against his face.

"Sure, Bryn."

Unlike the previous day, Bryn didn't pull Akusashi; he simply readied a fight and said, "Whenever you are ready, Mr Jonas!"

The man didn't reply with words, signaling Bryn to come at him with his hands.

Instead of attacking Jonas head-on, Bryn allowed distance between them. His first objective was comprehending how much mana a barrage of explosive punches would consume. As Bryn started his footwork, a few jabs were thrown at Jonas.

Using mana vision, the challenged could see Bryn's movement and the mana coming from his core to his left hand. As the mana pulse flew toward him, he could calculate where the blast would happen and maneuver around it. Jonas's eyes opened wide as he saw the casting process from Bryn's version of a fireball.

It is practically invisible to the naked eye unless one uses mana view; the explosion would always be a surprise. Still, I gained time to avoid his attacks since he used his movements to aim.

Allowing Bryn to keep his attacks going, Jonas evaded them one by one. After a few punches and low and spinning kicks, Bryn started to sweat. The droplets came from exhaustion and temperature. Looking around their battlefield, Jonas saw carbonized plants all around; many trees had become black and died from the explosions. Embers also changed the landscape's color, starting small fires near the blasts.

Bryn's mind had erased anything away from Jonas and the area directly around him, ignoring the damage he caused the environment. All he saw was Jonas's movements, and he tried to predict where to send his next mana bomb.

The fight went on for five minutes, during which Bryn threw more than a hundred attacks, all of them with mana bombs attached and all of them from a mid-distance of about two or three meters. After the hundredth attack, Bryn's mana reserve dropped to staggeringly low levels. His movements slowed down, as did the power behind each following strike.

Noticing the speed decrease, Jonas capitalized on the situation and approached Bryn. The diminishing distance caused Bryn to overthink every move, slowing his reaction speed even more to the point when Jonas was already before him—gently slapping him on the back of the head and saying.

"You lost this round to kid."

"One hundred…" was all Bryn could say at that time. He sat on the floor, extending his arms back.

"What do you mean?" Jonas asked.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"I wanted to see how many attacks I could do in a row for now… One hundred!" Bryn answered as one of his hands grabbed the air toward the sky.

"You are wrong, Bryn…" Jonas interrupted his celebration, dropping a potion at his chest.

Bryn tried to grab the potion, as his eyebrow rose. His hand wasn't fast enough, so all he could do was prevent the potion from falling to the ground. "How do you mean, Mr. Jonas?"

"You still lack control over the spell you are trying to use; your amount of mana combined with your magical body should at least triple that number…"

Jonas started pacing before Bryn, and he raised one finger and continued.

"First, you should interpret your magical body as an extension of your core. The mana does not need to leave your core and travel through your body. You allowed me to read the flow before it was necessary."

Raising another finger, he kept going.

"In a real fight, you have to consider not only your output but the mana reserves and usage from all the fighters and threats."

He stopped walking, looked at Bryn, squinted his eyes, furrowed his eyebrows, and raised a third finger.

"Last thing, this is important. You should never experiment in a battle! Let me teach you how to control a fire spell properly…"

Jonas then summoned a fireball and kept it floating between him and Bryn. The faun stepped back, still on the floor, afraid for his fur from the increasing heat of the small sun before him.

"You can increase its size, intensity, and explosiveness on impact; there are several options when casting a fireball spell…" Jonas said as the spell changed both in size and heat dispersion.

"I'll cast it again now. Watch closely with mana sense." Invited Jonas as he stored one of the stones in his medallion in his spacial ring.

Bryn sent mana into his eyes before Jonas started the spell. This time, unlike the previous one, Bryn saw a bright light unmatched by the fireball or even the far-away sun.

"Control the amount of mana you send into your eyes; don't look directly at my core; I'm not holding anything back so you can observe."

Bryn corrected his gaze and the flow of mana inside him, allowing him to observe in the direction Jonas was standing in.

Jonas tried explaining his visualization process behind the fireball, but unfortunately for Bryn, his perception of creating a fireball was so rudimentary that it didn't help. Unlike his description of the visualization, though, his demonstration was of great help. Bryn could see how the mana flows interacted with each other and when and how the mana converted to its elemental form. The process was simple, yet to master it would take a long time. The precision Jonas demonstrated was something Bryn could only imagine achieving.

He kept facing the man before him, uncomfortable because his perception of their distance increased with every interaction. Since the ritual, Bryn had leveled up and developed at unprecedented velocity. His titles guaranteed him that his development was above the norm, but even so, with everything he learned, his perception of magic and strength grew.

Looking at Gabriel and Jonas the first day he arrived, Bryn saw a peculiar leader and his right hand. Looking at the man now, he couldn't imagine what they had to experience to reach such a level.

Lost in thought, Bryn couldn't hold himself and appraised Jonas.

**notificacao de falha**

"It is rude to appraise people without their permission, Bryn."

Jonas's words brought Bryn back to reality. His chicks blushed as he tried apologizing, but no words came out. He simply lowered his head, joining both palms before his face. Jonas ignored the faun's reaction, recovering the stone from his spacial ring and latching it into his medallion again. As he did, Bryn's visual image in front of the man turned as dark as night. It was as if his magical presence had disappeared right before his eyes.

Afraid Jonas was so frustrated by his rudeness, Bryn cut the mana flow to his eyes, but he was still in the same position. His mouth and eyes opened wide as he processed what had happened.

Wow, I have to find magical items!

Jonas extended his hand toward Bryn’s direction. The young man held it with both arms as Jonas rose him to his feet.

“Come on, one more time.” Said Jonas.

The two created a distance between themselves. Jonas looked into Bryn’s eyes, waiting for him to show his readiness.

When Bryn nodded his head up and down, Jonas advanced in the blink of an eye.

Bryn had to follow his instincts, reinforcing his right side with mana to the best of his capabilities. When Jonas's kick connected with the side of his right arm and leg, the impact caused waves on Bryn’s clothes and flesh. His entire body reverberated the blow before a shockwave was created, sending him flying to the side.

Since the fire and explosions, few trunks were left to help Bryn hold on. His body hit the ground, forcing him to tomahawk a few times before the momentum stopped. Able to prevent his body, Bryn assessed his injuries; his right leg wasn’t responding to his commands appropriately, and his forearm had cracked from the blow.

His guts turned as he noticed the crack, his mouth screamed as the pain started to radiate through his body.

“Activate your magical body!” Jonas yelled from afar as he walked toward Bryn.

Bryn’s subconscious activated the skill even before Jonas finished his words. The moment he did, it was like shackles were unleashed from his mind, core, and body. Mana infused his cells, reaching the broken forearm and leg.

Bryn’s attention was drawn to what happened inside his body; the mana fusing with the cells helped the bone to calcify at visible speed, and his leg also diminished the swelling, allowing his response and movement to continue more and more.

As the pain started to calm, his mind and muscles relaxed. Bryn looked at Jonas, but the man slowly walked toward him with a smile.

If there is no follow-up attack, Bryn thought, his mind dove into the healing process. Mana left his core in waves, oscillating through his entire body and clashing against the hurt areas. Bryn used his breathing technique to concentrate; the moment mana intensified its interactions with the damaged regions, it concentrated and mixed all the elemental types. Depending on the type of region, different amounts of each elemental mana combined with his body and increased the healing process.

Amazing! The combination of elements can result in a curing effect! If so, it can also destroy or cause decay, right? Mind note for later… If mana can cure in this paste-like state, I should be able to improve it!

Bryn closed his eyes and sat down, crossing his legs. His breathing tried to match the rhythm of the waves from his core. The mana slowly granulated from a dense liquid to thinner and thinner particles.

As the mana particles reduced in size, the healing power increased exponentially. The previous calmness became a distant memory when the calcification of his bones stopped; his forearm started to shatter in different places. Bryn began to cry through his closed eyes; still, he didn't lose his conscience or scream, just the opposite. His eyebrows furrowed, but he tried his best to keep his body from moving.

The very instant the bone shattered in different places, they began healing and improving their bone density, correcting many flaws Bryn didn't know existed. The moment his mind and body felt the strength from the healed forearm, Bryn let go of his resistance.

Jonas heard a loud clack from further away.

"Bryn!!!" He yelled, running toward the faun.