Seraphina extended her hand towards the croclith's massive form, her fingers hovering just above its lifeless scales. Her eyes focused, and her expression serene, she began to channel her mana into the creature. A faint, ethereal glow emanated from her fingertips, slowly enveloping the croclith's body whilst simultaneously creating a weak light source which lightened the dimmed surroundings.

Seraphina spoke softly, her voice a soothing melody amidst the stark surroundings of the underground laboratory. "Come here, Apollyon; treat this as your first lesson about magic” she goaded.

Apollyon who had been wallowing in his depreciating thoughts snapped wide eyed at the sudden call, “First lesson?” he said half surprised.

“Yes, yes, now come and place your hand here” she pointed towards an area near her hand that was injecting mana onto the corpse.

Apollyon reluctantly placed his meek hand onto the cold fleshy surface of the dreadscale crocliths pale corpse feeling a sense of trepidation as if the creatures faint killing intent still remained intact in its now lifeless body, ‘Smooth, cold and slimy…’ he thought inwardly.

“Now, focus your senses on my mana. Feel its presence as it flows through this corpse, familiarize yourself with its actions. It's like a gentle current, flowing through every part of the croclith, connecting its essence."

Apollyon, feeling a combination of excitement and anxiousness, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He tried to emulate Seraphina's serene demeanor, mentally reaching out to the croclith's form. He could sense a subtle change in the atmosphere, he felt a delicate and unique shimmering energy surging within the corpse beneath his hand.

He was familiar with this type of energy. Mana as one would have it; is a scarce energy source only known to a small percentage of individuals. Apollo had already familiarized himself with such energy through his countless meditations of the ‘Wim Hof’ breathing technique. It was a powerful and dominating energy different from activation energy, the latter was far tamer compared to the former.

However, Apollyon felt something amiss, ‘How strange, this mana is familiar yet not at the same time? Its delicate, soft and oddly comforting…why?’ he frowned thinking about the comparison between his own mana and the one he is currently examining.

“Tell me, do you feel my mana coursing through its veins?” Seraphina voiced delicately; her face slightly moistened due to the task at hand.

Apollyon paused for a moment seemingly contemplating how to address the issue he had found, “Yes…but it seems to feel odd” he remarked feeling doubtful.

“Oh? How so?” Seraphina asked whilst she studied his frowning face, ‘Strange, he should be more than familiar with mana given his bountiful reserves of it’ she vividly recalled.

“I’m not sure how to explain it but your mana feels unfamiliar to the one I’m used to” he said in a slightly hushed tone feeling perplexed.

Seraphina deliberated for a while before slapping her head in thought, ‘Of course! How could I forget such a menial detail’ she mentally sighed.

"Apollyon," Seraphina spoke softly, her voice carrying the resonance of one deeply connected to the essence of life, "what you're feeling right now is the very essence of my mana. It's the affinity of life, the vital force that courses through all living beings. My mana is specifically attuned to life magic, and it is the basis for my healing arts. I've learned to harness and manipulate this magic to mend wounds and restore balance."

Seraphina continued, "Every mage is destined with at least one mana affinity, be it life, death or others such as fire, water, earth, air, wood, ice, lightning and other rare elements such as spatial, metal, poison, mind and more."

“This is the reason why my mana feels ‘odd’ to you because of my mana’s inherent properties. Its possible that you may not have the same mana affinity as I do which is why you may feel it is unfamiliar to you” she added.

Apollyon absorbed this information inwardly and thought what she said made sense, ‘However, wouldn’t that mean…’ he frowned once more.

“Decurion Seraphina, If I may ask; would mana affinity affect my efforts in learning healing magic?” he asked resolutely after thinking things through.

Seraphina looked at him with a thoughtful expression, “Yes there is that…” she sighed. She had completely forgotten about this standard information for she had barely interacted with individuals who had the capability to wield mana outside of the academy; it was that rare to meet mages that she had missed out on explaining such crucial detail to him.

“Magic affinity does make a huge difference when wielding specific fields of magic; for instance: life affinity is the absolute standard for healing magic, other affinities may achieve similar but less efficient results such as wood, blood and light affinities, but life affinity is the gold standard since it directly correlates with the art of mending due to its inherent properties” she paused.

“There are also affinities which negate and suppress healing magic…” She looked at Apollo with a guilty expression; she knew that she should have told him this much earlier as not to destroy his hopes to achieve great things in the field of healing.

“These mana affinities include: dark, poison, fire, lightning and other destructive affinities. Having these mana affinities would make it nearly impossible to wield normal healing magic. However, there are records of past mages creating affinity specific healing magic but such knowledge is scarce and closely guarded.”

“So long as you don’t have any of those affinities, you should be fine in the field of healing arts” she concluded.

Apollyon contemplated for a while making conjectures within his tumultuous mind, ‘So, opposite affinities counter each other…just great. Will my affinity repel or attract healing magic? Wait, the more pressing matter is; what is my affinity? And what about activation energy? Is there a body art that heals?’ he thought seriously, he was initially attracted to healing magic not because of helping other recruits, this was a bullshit excuse he made up to soften Seraphina; his main goal was due to a more selfish reason:

..

‘I want to survive!’

..

This was a thought which pervaded his mind constantly. It was all part of his big plan of exploring the greater unknown whilst preparing himself for the worst-case scenarios. ‘What’s a more life saving grace than healing magic?’ he thought selfishly.

“Decurion Seraphina, may I ask how one would determine his mana affinity?” he asked curiously in anticipation. He had to know now if he was wasting his time doing something meaningless.

Seraphina simply frowned and produced an audible sigh as she deliberated, “Unfortunately not, Apollyon, I’m sorry. One would have to make a trip to an academy or a capital city where a recruiting mage would be stationed in. I do not have any accurate methods to assess your affinity. Other simple tests may work such as testing your results in actual healing magic to see if you can produce positive results, however, this solution is not confirmatory of your affinity. It will only tell us if you’re compatible with healing magic and will not assess your specific affinity.

“Not to mention the fact that all my healing spells are bound to myself, thus I cannot permit you to learn them. Theres also the fact that you may have more than one affinity thus it would make it hard to distinguish between them. The only way is to inform an official administrating mage, and this in itself is a troublesome task. I am only an elementary mage; therefore, I do not have the power to call upon an official.”

Seraphina thought for a while, “Although, there are missionaries from several academies that occasionally travel around Redania in search of promising youths; they should have the right methods to assess your affinity. Until then, I’m afraid we will have to improvise given that you are still accepting of the fact that you may not have the specific affinity required for healing.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Are you willing to still learn?” she asked finally.

This left Apollo thinking once more, ‘What do I do? On one hand I can completely ignore healing magic for now and focus on other things, besides its not like Seraphina can actually teach me any official spells given her restrictions. On the other hand, If I stick with her lessons, there’s a high chance I can indirectly learn some forms of magic even if my affinity may not correlate with healing magic.’

..

“I’m still willing decurion” he smiled.

This was a simple choice for him since there were still advantages to learning from Seraphina despite everything; the advantages simply outweighed the disadvantages. Apollyon thought of this as an opportunity, and he wasn’t one to dismiss such a promising chance at learning magic.

“Good, I like your resolve kid” she smiled whilst nodding. “Although, I can’t teach you much about spells; I’m sure you will still find that magic is forgiving to those who are passionate and hard working.”

James also nodded approvingly giving his stance as he examined a piece of flesh on a bench nearby.

“Decurion Seraphina, out of pure curiosity, is it possible to heal using activation energy? Are there any martial skills that do so?”

He wanted to ask not just out of curiosity but because he wanted to prepare a back up plan in case that he failed to meet the requirements in this field. He knew that activation energy was similar to mana but to what extent he did not truly know.

“This is a topic often discussed by fellow mages and cultivators alike” she voiced approvingly. “It is possible yes; but not to the same extent as to what mana arts can produce. Remember that activation energy is derived from the natural ‘body’ energies of organisms, it is contained and bound solely to an individual. Martial skills work in the same way albeit less pronounced than healing. You see healing using activation energy requires large amounts of this energy whilst producing minimal results thus one would typically not resort to using such methods.

“Other problems arise from this huge consumption such as the possible loss of realms and most importantly: life span. Therefore, to consume is to forever lose this amount of energy and the only way to recover this is to continue cultivating the body technique.”

“A few healing martial skills do exist but almost all of them are obsolete since they essentially sacrifice both your realm and part of your life span in exchange for minor results. Cultivators have tried for countless years to create a relatively safe skill regarding this but alas there still is much to learn in that field.”

“Mana is different” she continued, “It is external, free, and not confined to the bodies of organisms. Gifted individuals called ‘Mages’, essentially pull mana from the external world and inject it into our bodies integrating it and utilizing it as we wish with close to no disadvantages. This is why healing arts are predominantly done by mages or skilled herbalists. Fortunately, healing potions were invented to lessen the burden of healing to the relatively small number of mages around Greiss.”

‘I see, so mages are essentially conductors of mana whilst body cultivators use their inner life force to force martial skills’ he thought. ‘Truly a stark contrast to the two energy types; clearly mana is the superior energy and fortunately, I’m one of the gifted few!’ he remarked inwardly in glee.

“I understand, thank you for clarifying decurion” he smiled.

Seraphina simply smiled in return before ordering him to continue observing and examining her mana through the croclith’s corpse.

Apollyon began to visualize her mana as a soft, silvery thread of light. He concentrated on the areas around her hand, allowing his senses to ‘feel’ the flow. As he moved his hand across the surface of the corpse, his mental presence began to feel and visualize the inner structure of the creature's body, he noticed subtle fluctuations in the mana flow, areas where it felt denser or lighter.

Seraphina encouraged him, her voice a gentle guide in the sea of mana. "Good, Apollyon. You're doing well. Feel how the mana interacts with the creature's anatomy. It's as if you're unravelling its secrets, one thread at a time."

Apollyon continued to follow the flow of her mana through the croclith, his senses sharpening with each passing moment. He could sense the creature's inner workings, the intricate network of mana channels that began to course through its body.

As they progressed through the croclith's body, Apollyon became more attuned to the subtle nuances of her mana and its affinity to life. He sensed the intricate dance between the creature's physical form and the magical currents that sustained it. It was a revelation, and he marveled at the depth of understanding that this magic could offer. He could almost feel the innards of the corpse vibrate with life as if being resurrected, ‘This…is unbelievable! So, this is the life affinity. It feels so rejuvenating.’

As they completed the process, Seraphina withdrew her mana, and the ethereal glow around the croclith began to fade. Apollyon opened his eyes, a sense of wonder and accomplishment in his gaze. He had taken his first step in truly understanding mana, feeling its presence and its connection to life.

Seraphina smiled warmly at him. "You've done well, Apollyon. This is the essence of magic: feeling and understanding the flow of mana. With practice, you'll become even more aware of its subtleties."

Apollyon nodded, a newfound determination in his eyes. He knew that this was just the beginning of his magical journey, and he was eager to explore the depths of this mystical energy further. He had big plans in mind about healing magic and experiments to execute; he was thoroughly invested.

“Now that you are familiar with feeling mana flow, lets move onto more practical lessons” Seraphina mentioned whilst looking at the croclith’s arm.

Seraphina, aware of the potential risks, decided to guide Apollyon with caution as he embarked on his first attempt at infusing mana into the croclith's remains. She had seen the destructive potential of uncontrolled mana, and she didn't want their valuable research subject to be harmed. Instead, she swiftly severed a limb from the croclith's body and presented it to Apollyon.

"Apollyon," she said, her voice calm yet filled with a sense of responsibility, "let's start with a smaller part. This is a croclith limb, and it's a more manageable size for your first practice."

Apollyon nodded, understanding the importance of her caution. He had heard the power of mana and its consequences; thus he knew that a single misstep could be disastrous.

"Remember," Seraphina continued, "the key is control. Visualize your mana as a gentle stream, a flow that you can direct with precision. Start by focusing on this severed limb. Imagine the mana gently enveloping it, like a protective shroud."

Apollyon closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to steady himself. He felt a sense of anticipation mingled with anxiety, knowing that this moment was crucial. As he visualized his own mana as a shimmering film, he imagined it gently enveloping the severed limb. It was like trying to thread a needle with the finest silk, a task that required not just precision but an incredible amount of patience.

His concentration was unwavering as he extended his senses toward the limb. The subtle pulsations of residual life magic within it from Seraphina’s mana became more pronounced, like faint ripples in a tranquil pond. Apollyon's mana brushed against these ripples, cautious and delicate, like a musician playing the softest notes on a delicate instrument.

He adjusted the flow of his mana, ensuring it was neither too forceful nor too timid. It was a painstaking process, akin to trying to balance a fragile piece of glass on the edge of a precipice. Any sudden surge of energy could shatter the delicate equilibrium he sought.

Time seemed to blur as Apollyon continued his efforts. Every fiber of his being was focused on this task. He could feel sweat forming on his brow as the strain of maintaining such precise control took its toll. But he persisted, determined to achieve this seemingly impossible harmony between his mana and the limb.

Minutes turned into what felt like hours, but Apollyon pressed on. It was as if he had embarked on a solitary journey into the depths of magic, guided by Seraphina's wisdom and his own unwavering resolve. He could sense the gradual merging of his mana with the limb's residual life magic, like two intricate puzzle pieces slotting together, creating a seamless connection.

And then, in that quiet chamber filled with the presence of a severed limb and the gentle hum of magic, Apollyon opened his eyes. The limb remained intact, and he felt a profound sense of accomplishment. Beads of sweat clung to his forehead, evidence of the intense effort he had exerted. He had achieved what seemed impossible moments ago: a delicate and controlled infusion of mana into the croclith's remains.

As Apollyon's mana blended with the severed limb's residual life magic, a flood of sensations surged through his consciousness. It was as though a new realm of perception had opened up to him, one where he could intimately connect with the limb's essence.

He could sense the texture of the flesh, the arrangement of muscle fibers, and the fragile structure of bones. It was as if his very consciousness had extended into the limb, and he could now feel every nuance of its physicality. The sensations were not just limited to the surface; he could delve deeper, sensing the subtle energy currents within the limb, the ebb and flow of its inner vitality.

Each tiny detail became clear to him. He could discern where the limb had been injured and how it had reacted to the trauma. It was like reading a detailed narrative written in the language of magic: a story of the limb's life and the events it had endured.

He could detect the lingering traces of pain, the remnants of the creature's struggle and its innate resilience. It was as though he had stepped into the memories of the limb itself, experiencing its existence in a profoundly intimate way.

‘This is incredible.’ His inner voice resonated with a mixture of excitement and wonder. ‘Magic isn't just about incantations and spells; it's a doorway to understanding the very essence of life’.

He understood now that the study of monsters, of life magic, and of the intricate workings of the world were all interconnected. His experience with the limb had unveiled a path to unravelling the mysteries of existence itself.

‘With this power, I can delve into the secrets of creatures, their strengths, their vulnerabilities. I can gain insights that no ordinary forensic investigator could fathom.’

Seraphina's eyes held a mixture of pride and encouragement as she observed his achievement. "Good, Apollyon," she whispered, her voice carrying the weight of their shared success.

"You've demonstrated exceptional control and determination. This is just the beginning of your journey into the world of magic."