This deal was very beneficial to both of them right now.

‘I will gain knowledge about my powers in return for helping her, which I'll do anyways if Alexander agrees. I gain the most personal benefits like this!’ Faust grinned inwardly, highly satisfied.

‘This means the help of a possibly strong cultivator in the future, even if the Argorus don’t choose to help me!’ Elena could barely contain her excitement.

Faust threw a few pieces of wood into the fire, and he looked at Elena, his skin tingling in excitement.

‘I will become strong… I will honor my father’s death, I will become strong enough to protect everyone I love!’ he clenched his fists.

A sense of gratefulness washed over him. Schenk, Mirabella, Vitus, Lucon, Trajan, Alexander, and even Flora. He owed all of them and wanted to protect them. Then he saw Aquila, Cassius, and Leona before him.

‘I would die for any of you…’ he smiled, and Elena walked over to him.

“Look, I know we had kind of a complicated start, but I know you are good at heart. I saw that when you saved an innocent woman from unwanted advances…” she nodded inside of the inn.

“As a sign of goodwill, let me show you how to cultivate… as I understood it, you have mana within you, but you have no idea how to feel it, right?” she smiled up at him. He could feel that she was genuine.

“Yes, I probably have mana within me, but I have never learned how to feel it… is that even possible?” he asked with round eyes.

‘Feel the mana within my body? How does one even do that? Not like I can look into my body…’

Questions filled his head, and he planned to get answers to all of them.

“I will show you how to feel it and explain how you can use it. You should go inside and tell them that we’re going for a walk. We will need to be absolutely undisturbed.” She told him.

“Alright. I'll be right back.” Faust replied and they went back into the inn. Elena waited at the entrance, leaning against the wall.

He walked up to the table with his friends, and everyone looked at him expectantly. The Companions had told the others what happened while he was gone. Faust leaned over to Titus and whispered into his ear so nobody else could hear them.

“I will need to talk with you tomorrow morning. Only us two and Elena. Our mission has just taken an unexpected turn… for the better.”

When Faust looked at Titus with a big grin the man raised an eyebrow.

“Just trust me, Titus. I will tell you everything tomorrow. For now… I need to go on a walk with her.” He said out loud. Aquila and Cassius looked at each other and then at Leona.

Faust sighed, and walked over to Leona, raising her chin. She pouted.

“Spending time with beautiful women, away from your fiancée?” she asked with a cheeky grin.

“How could I have eyes for anyone but my future wife?” he asked her with a grin, before kissing her on the lips in front of everyone. Her cheeks turned red and she smiled sheepishly.

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“I was just joking anyways…” she mumbled and looked away. Faust grinned and left with Elena, walking out on the dark road. He didn’t mind. He could see well enough.

While they were walking outside of the city, aiming for a big vineyard outside of the city. They walked side by side and Faust’s thoughts were all over the place. He was excited by the possibilities that were open to him.

“Say Elena, what is mana? How does it work?”

She turned her head while they were walking on the small path leading up a small hill.

“You know, mana is… the core of the world. It is not something like water, but a concept… something that far surpasses our comprehension. The Venerable said you will understand if you reach a certain point in Cultivation.” She sighs.

“I haven’t understood much about it either besides how to use it. You will know what I mean soon when I show you how to feel it.” She smiled and nodded her head towards a big tree as they reached the top of the hill, overlooking the town.

“Sit down cross-legged with me!” her voice sounded exceptionally calm, and he could feel her taking a few deep breaths as she sat down under the tree.

Faust was intrigued.

‘How will sitting down help me feel the mana inside of me?’ he chuckled mentally, but of course, he knew his doubt was silly. What was going to happen from sitting still?

He mimicked her and sat upright with legs crossed. He put his hands on his lap.

“Just listen to what I tell you alright?” her voice sounded so different from before.

‘What is it? She appears so much more focused and calmer…’ his thoughts spun as he sat down and closed his eyes when she did.

“Try to calm your breathing. Breathe in… and out…”

Faust attempted to focus on his breathing but found himself unable to keep his mind from wandering.

‘Would this work? Did I make a mistake?’ the thoughts kept appearing in his head and the more he tried to force them away, the more intense they came back.

Her voice tore him out of his thoughts.

“If your mind wanders do not fight it. Notice that your thoughts have strayed, observe it, and then guide it back to your breath. Be an observer.”

Faust gave his best to follow her advice but couldn’t help but get angry at himself.

‘Why can’t I focus?’ he bit his lip.

After a few minutes, Faust found it a bit easier to focus. His breath calmed and his heart slowed.

“Very good Faust. This is called Focus Meditation, and it is meant to train the mind to maintain focus on one thing for a longer time. It will strengthen your mind and is necessary to be able to feel and guide the mana within you. Now to not leave you without a big achievement this lesson, let me show you how to feel the mana within you, even if just briefly and artificially.”

She grinned.

“You meditate and then hold your breath, focusing on the heartbeat. It will get stronger and more noticeable. You need to keep your focus on the heartbeat for a bit and then something will happen.”

Her words made him doubt he could do it.

‘I don’t have an urge to breathe… I can hold my breath indefinitely, I haven’t tested out the limits… maybe it even helps?’ he wasn’t sure, so he chose he would just give it a go.

Faust refocused his mind on his breath before taking a deep breath in. He could feel the pressure in his chest and closed his mind. The first thing he felt was his heartbeat accelerating and strengthening. It was a cold yet burning sensation in his chest. After a minute he could hear his heartbeat in his head. It had slowed again but remained stronger than before.

The cold sensation was contained mainly in his heart. He brought his mind to it and focused on each beat. He paid close attention to the feeling like he had never done before.

Minutes passed in the blink of an eye as he was engrossed in the practice.

Elena had opened her eyes to check for Faust after a few minutes, but seeing he still held his breath she was amazed. She didn’t dare to make a sound to wake him from his state of hyperfocus.

‘It’s incredible he could reach such a state on his first try… maybe it's connected to his condition…’ she marveled at him.

Faust felt something began to change. He felt like all the extra energy he had felt over the last few days came from his heart. With every pulse of his heart, he felt a tingling, cool sensation wash through his entire body.

Then… he saw it. He didn’t know what it was, but oddly enough, he felt, that within his body, within his heart, there was cold gathering of… was this mana? When he paid closer attention to it he realized that it couldn’t be material.

It was not of the material world, yet it was still a part of him. He did not make it up. When he spent a longer time focusing on it his entire body started feeling so heavy… eventually his focus waned. His head hurt.

He opened his eyes and breathed out. He saw an excited Elena before him.

“And? And? Could you feel it?” she asked with an expectant grin.

Faust chuckled and took a few breaths, then nodded.

“Yes. I felt mana.”