This really just happened, Alt thought, trying to process the events.

"How do you feel?" the old lady asked, visibly shaken as well. After drinking a potion, she slowly began to gather and put away the magical crystals in the old-fashioned way.

"Huh?" Altair didn't have a chance yet for any introspection. "Not much different, I guess... "

"That's only natural. Your body will need time to assimilate the new Soul Fragments before you start reaping any benefits. For now, the most important thing is to make sure you don't overexert yourself and have any adverse reaction."

"Okay," Alt agreed.

"Let's talk about what comes next. From what I gathered, in just a week, there will be the Entrance ceremony at Baignard Academy. It is critical that you attend and live your life as a regular student for now, if we have any hopes of the original Future Line not breaking. We need to use the time before that to prepare you as much as possible before then."

"But how will I fit in?" he wondered.

"That will be one of the most challenging parts. The knowledge you bring from your own world can do you more harm than good, so it may be safer for you to act like a clueless country bumpkin. Eventually you will catch up, and possibly be able to access your Twin's memories. Still, anybody your Twin got close to during the summer camp may get suspicious if you start acting completely differently all of a sudden."

"If he was anything like me, then the number of those close people shouldn't be too large," Alt said, thanking his introverted nature for once.

"Yes, you didn't strike me exactly as Mr. Popular," the witch laughed, rubbing salt on his wounds. "The most important thing for now is to get you up to speed regarding the basics of magic. You can say you hit your head and feign amnesia to cover any glaring gaps in your social knowledge, but you do need at least the bare minimum magical aptitude to not get kicked out in the first month of school."

Alt looked at her skeptically. Was it really possible for him to impersonate another person in a vastly different world in less than a week? It seemed like a task better suited for spies than for a recent middle school graduate with a knack for studying.

"Time for a practical demonstration," she said, conjuring a set of clothes resembling a martial artists outfit. "Put this on, as pajamas are a bit inappropriate for any practitioner, even for a complete beginner."

Way to make a fool out of myself, Alt realized that when he had gone to bed in his world, he didn't consider that he would keep whatever he was wearing on after being transported. When taking off the upper piece, he noticed that on his right shoulder blade there was a new design - a crescent spiral circling in a perpetual loop. He recognized from the edges that it was the same pattern that he had seen on his Twin's body. Did he inherit his tattoo together with the Fragments?

I can really pass for one of those juvenile delinquents now.

"Would you know what this tattoo is?" he asked the old lady. "And why did it carry over to me?"

"I have some suspicions," she admitted, her following silence indicating she was not willing to offer any other insight at that moment.

"And what about this star, what do these ten ends mean? It looked similar to the formation you had prepared earlier...," he tried another line of questioning, pointing at the tattoo he had received from her directly during their first meeting.

"Now that you are about ten years too young to ask about," she cryptically answered. "Enough chatter, let's get started with the basics," she said, playing with a sphere of fire between her hands to pique his interest.

After leading him outside, he took a moment to stretch, trying to see if he could sense any change in his physical body. Remembering how cartoon characters on TV shows he liked would launch ki blasts, he put his hands together and thrust them forward, crying "Kamehameha!", with a small burst of air being the only result from his sudden movement.

The witch threw the teen boy a bewildered look as if he had grown a second head.

"That is not how you do it", she admonished him. "Don't do that in public again."

What's gotten into me, Alt cringed. The anticipation of casting his first magic spell had made him lose control.

"In fact, before you even attempt to cast a spell you need to first learn how to feel mana."

"I heard about mana before," Alt told her. "But where I come from it's only a mystical energy in books and games."

"Really? Interesting...," she pondered. "I thought that..., never mind, I am getting side-tracked. Anyways, the first step is to get a grasp of mana – that will be the key to activating your mana core, since right now it's completely static."

"I have one?" Alt wondered in doubt, trying to sense this mystical organ supposedly inside him.

"All living beings have one – even the people from your world. Except, due to lack of use, it's usually completely atrophied, so pretty much all of you must be in the Glass stage."

"Glass stage?"

"That is what we call the condition of those who never embarked on the cultivation journey. It's named this way because their mana core is completely transparent, since no mana channels have been developed yet. Almost half the human population in our world never gets past it, lacking either natural talent or instruction to advance."

"So, they can't use any magic?" Alt got the gist of it.

"That's right. Even though the world around us is bustling with mana, they never learned how to ingest it and tame it. Unlike what you read about in your children’s books, mana is a very real energy, typically generated by the various natural elements present in the Universe. For example, this lake behind us is generating a massive amount of water mana as we speak. One could use it to build water mana channels in their core."

"Hmm. So, I assume it would be the same with a fire, or a lightning storm?"

"Exactly," the old lady nodded in approval. "As you can guess though, some mana types are harder to come across than others. Therefore, one needs to think carefully about what energy they will cultivate. After all, the space in our mana cores is limited, and going down the wrong road can lead one to a dead end further on."

"But you seem to use so many types of magic... how does that fit in with what you told me?"

"Good thinking. Indeed, typically to cast a particular type of spell, one would empty a mana channel with that same energy stored there, so if you wanted to raise a golem for example, you would spend earth energy. There is however, a different and more challenging path you can take."

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"Oh, and what is that?" Alt wondered. It was all quite overwhelming but at the same time the limitless possibilities excited him to no end.

"Pure mana," the witch answered. "That is the real source of every spell, and the actual foundation of the magical energies ruling our Universe. With enough control over it, you can use it to fuel almost any type of spell."

"I am assuming there is a catch, or everybody would be using it?"

"Indeed. First of all, pure mana is hard to come across. There are only a few special spots on Arcalis and a number of legendary artifacts that I can count on my hand which generate pure mana directly. That is why most mages who even bother dealing with pure mana try instead to purify the elemental energy, stripping it away from whatever elemental properties it had. This is done by pushing the elemental mana stored in the mana channels into the nucleus, and after that mana is no longer tainted by that element and is back into its primitive form. At this point, new mana channels dedicated to storing pure mana can be created."

"Sounds complicated." Alt's excitement dimmed. "And how would a mage go about recharging these pure mana channels?"

"Very good, you are already thinking ahead. For most people, they would need to repeat the entire arduous cycle of elemental mana purification, only then being able to start re-stocking their reserves. As you can imagine, this is very inefficient, so almost every mage, despite dabbling in pure mana once or twice throughout their careers eventually drops the idea in favor of a specialization in a particular element, usually one they have an affinity for."

"And you are telling me this because...," Alt had a sneaking suspicion of where this conversation was going.

"I think this is the path you should follow. Remember, you are starting several years behind your peers, many of whom had some of the best private instructors guiding them and elixirs to nurture their cores since early childhood. This may be the only chance you have of catching up."

"But, what about all those downsides you mentioned?"

"They are still there. But with my guidance, and an iron willpower you will learn to overcome them, so that they turn into your biggest strengths."

The teen boy gave her the benefit of the doubt.

"So, what should I do for now?"

"Well, for starters we still need you to grasp elemental mana to activate your core. I could do it myself, but that would be robbing you of a valuable learning opportunity."

She lit the campfire near the hut and instructed him to sit nearby, as close as possible where he could bear the heat.

"Let's try with fire. Because of its wild nature, the mana it generates fluctuates greatly, allowing one to sense the sudden difference with practice. That's why it's often used as a teaching tool for core activation."

Altair complied, slightly worried that the out-of-control flames would reach him.

"At the same time, because of the intense heat, it is hard to concentrate on anything else. You need to focus on keeping the flames in the background, while trying to sense what lies beyond them - on what makes them come alive."

Despite the vague instructions, Alt closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, beginning to meditate. Like the witch promised, just keeping his breath regular and thoughts in order proved to be a mammoth task. Before he could sense anything other than the radiating heat, he was already uncomfortable and twitching. If this was one of the easiest methods, then what would the others look like?

Forcing himself to keep his eyes shut, he started feeling the heat coming from his sides first, and then even from his back. Worried, he instinctively opened his eyes, only to find the flames surrounding him from every direction.

"I thought about giving you some training wheels," the witch claimed innocently.

Altair was left speechless. Any distraction now, if he tried to stretch his arms or turn around would result in a third-degree burn. He felt the hairs standing on his back.

What a sadistic woman.

Seeing no other way out, he resumed his attempts at sensing what was hidden by the raging fire, fighting with all his willpower to keep his concentration, only to get distracted again and again. He was now sweating profusely and beginning to feel dizzy.

If it was that easy, anybody could do it. I can't give up now. He was no stranger to pain and effort after all.

Finally, several hours later, by the time his throat was dry like if he had spent an entire day in the desert, he noticed a sudden shift in his perception. After the flames soared, in his mind, he could visualize faint reddish particles being emitted, only to disappear when the fire lessened.

Huh, am I imagining things, or...?

After continuing the exercise, he started to see the particles more and more clearly, and began also sensing the distinct tingling aura they gave out, distinctly separate from the rampant heat.

This must be it!

Alt intensified his efforts, excited at seeing some real progress. Suddenly, the flames extinguished completely, leaving him confused at the sudden interruption. The old lady materialized in front of him, hand over a cup with water and a towel.

"Couldn't you just give me another one of those potions?" he asked, gulping down the contents, eager for a refill.

"I could, but you shouldn't abuse it, or it will dampen its effects."

"Fair enough. I think I could finally sense it by the end... I spent so long just having visions of these tiny particles, I wasn't sure if I wasn't hallucinating them."

"Wait, you could also see them, with your eyes closed?"

"Uh, yes... Is that uncommon?"

"Quite so. It seems like you have an unusual talent. Maybe this wasn't such a crazy gamble after all," the old lady said, her expression not hiding that she was leaving a lot out.

"But then, why couldn't I ever see any such particles in my world? After all, we do have fire and water in our world too... "

"They still get generated by the natural elements, just like on this Arcalis... except they get almost immediately absorbed by the rest of the Universe."

"Huh?" Alt was bewildered.

"The reason behind that is a state secret, so let's leave it at that. After all, we are already risking too much if you ever get interrogated by a telepath and know too much."

Telepaths? Alt imagined that the secret police in his country would piss their pants at obtaining such resources.

The witch re-ignited the flames around him, making him fear for his life again.

"This time, picture that you are pulling the particles right into your core."

Again, Alt wished he could see a practical demonstration rather than being completely thrown to the wolves. At first, no matter how much he tried, the particles would not budge, flying chaotically in all directions. Finally, by concentrating on a single one at a time, he was able to hold it still, and eventually to pull it towards him. It was a slow, arduous process, and by the time the first particle entered his body he was desperately hoping for another break. To his surprise, the absorbed particle gave him a slight boost, and he was not sure if it was just a placebo from the minor success or if it had a practical effect.

"You are on the right track," he heard the coarse voice encouraging him. "Now keep gathering them until you carve a channel."

Alt cursed internally, and kept repeating the process over and over again, finally being able to pull two and three particles at a time, expediting his progress. Evening had arrived, and the only source of light was the campfire that kept raging on and on. Alt wondered fleetingly about where the replacement wood came from, as the witch had been sitting nearby like a statue, apparently in deep concentration but without moving an inch for the past few hours. By now, the teen boy had formed a small track that he guessed was about two or three inches long, of a crimson color. As he brought in another batch of particles, he suddenly lost control, beginning to shake, feeling as if a tsunami began forming in his chest.

The witch reappeared by his side, as if she had been expecting this all along. She put the fire down, only lighting a small torch nearby to maintain visibility.

"Now release all the particles inside. Let them gallop inside, like wild horses."

Alt didn't need to be told twice, as in fact he was barely able to keep the mana channel intact as it was. He felt like his chest was about to burst but kept pushing the mana particles inside his core to move through the single puny mana vein he had formed.

A small burst of light emanated from him in all directions, clearly confusing the small mammals roaming the area. Altair felt a sense of euphoria take over him, feeling more alive than ever and bustling with energy. He could feel the change inside him – even though he no longer was trying to propel the fragments forward inside him, they now kept circling automatically, coming in and out of the mana channel he had so painstakingly formed. It was like watching a live ecosystem that sustained itself.

"You did it!" he could feel the relief in the old lady's voice. "Congratulations on reaching the Agate stage, the first stepping stone on the path of a cultivator."

Altair was still trembling with excitement.

"Does it mean I can use magic now?" he asked.

The witch nodded.

"It sure does. However, as your Soul is still adapting to the new Fragments, we should call it a day, to not risk any permanent damage."

What a killjoy, Altair thought. Also, if that wasn't overexerting myself, I don't know what it was, remember her earlier warning.

"Here is a little sneak peek of our next lesson to keep you motivated." Seeing his dejected look, the witch conjured a golem the size of an adult man, and as it started roaming towards them with heavy steps, struck it down with a fire bolt.

"Wow... will I learn to do that next time?"

"More-or-less," she promised, with a mischievous smile. "At least the theory."