Mana pool, an organ that exists in both physical and metaphysical realms. While physically it may resemble a pearl found in oysters, to mages, it holds a far greater significance, effectively serving as a mage’s lifeline.
To maximize their mana distribution, mages typically have their mana pool located near their belly button, although its exact location can vary depending on the individual's physiology. There's no universal rule for where the mana pool should be located, different races may have different preferences based on their unique biology. Mordred, for instance, chose to position his mana pool just beneath his solar plexus, which he believed would allow him to better harness his magical powers.
The ‘condensation’ process requires a significant amount of external mana, supported by the heavenly dao before mana could be refined into an organ. It was rather similar to genetic conditioning. First, his body needs to get used to mana before it is able to accept it. Otherwise, his body would experience extreme, spontaneous cellular breakdown.
As the crystal coins gradually sublimated into pure mana through the supporting formation, he followed Sakuya's breathing technique to draw in the energy. With each breath, he absorbed the essence of the crystals, but with it came a trace of World's Will - a subtle reminder that the heavenly dao was always watching. To avoid alerting the World’s Will, he meticulously cleansed his sea of consciousness, slowing down the process but ensuring his safety.
In the world of arcane cultivation, the mana pool is divided into five tiers, much like the concept of spirit talent. The criterion used for the classification is the density of the mana pool's crystalline wall, with grade-E possessing the most fragile wall and grade-A the most sturdy. This density determines the initial size of the mana pool and its future potential, as in the cultivation system of mages, the volume of the mana pool does not increase with rank. Instead, the crystalline wall of the mana pool is nurtured to enable mages to store a higher concentration of mana at once. Except for a handful of special circumstances, mana pools do not increase in volume.
In layman's terms, the mana pool's volume remains constant at 10 milliliters across all ranks, but the amount of mana it can hold varies greatly. For instance, while a lower-ranked mage can hold a mere 10 units of mana, a higher-ranked mage can store up to 100 or even 1000 units at maximum capacity, a testament to the vast difference in power between the two.
However, the classification of "normal" mana pools is never an absolute rule either; rather, it is a range that often exhibits degrees of variation. The tier system is a guideline, with grade-E starting volume ranging from 1 to 2 units of mana, grade-D at 2 to 4, and so on until grade-A, which boasts a mighty 8 to 10 units of mana, but exceptional cases exist that can push beyond the limit. As a consequence, a mana pool might display mutations, such as increased volume or the presence of unique properties.
To Mordred who possessed grade-S spirit talent, it was natural for him to aim for those ‘unique properties’.
‘Myriad Blaze Sanguine Pool is a fire-blood mana pool. I’ve chosen this design because it is the most compatible with Astaroth’s bloodline, and thus, exempted from needing the blood of fire-path beasts as a material in exchange for higher fire elemental particles and mana crystal requirement.’
Mordred's body burst into a blaze of orange-red flames as he began condensing the mana pool. The heat gradually intensified from the gentle flicker of a campfire to the roaring inferno of a forge.
Sakuya, who is supporting him, is immune to this level of heat, but others will be harmed by it. She protected others with heat-shielding methods, confining the burning flames that engulfed his body. However, they could sense that these flames were different from the ones she understood, as a tinge of blood-red started to taint the fire. The presence of this color almost churned at her blood, strengthening the strange feeling she had.
It was at this moment she received a telepathic message from Katyusha. < His talent resonates with heavenly dao. This is a prelude to heavenly phenomena, shouldn’t we keep this a secret to protect his interests? >
Sakuya snapped out of her trance and looked over at Sumire, silently awaiting her command. Katyusha's telepathic message had been received by every member of Twin Helix, and Sumire nodded in acknowledgement. < I'll handle the villagers. Katyusha, Kenji, Sakuya, and Shirogane, you take care of Satoru. > She announced, already formulating her own strategy.
With a quick gesture of taking out purple crystals from her dimensional storage, Sumire unleashed her radiation to the fullest. “Rank 1 wisdom-path magic spell, [Mass Hypnosis]!”
The decision to support Satoru's awakening of his grade-S mana pool has already been taken. Unaware of the heavenly phenomena that would occur, they had initially been caught off guard as nobody in the team had ever witnessed a grade-S mana pool awakening. However, after Katyusha's warning, they realized the gravity of the situation. Given the potential of Satoru, he had become a vital investment to Twin Helix. It was imperative for them to provide support and guidance during this pivotal moment.
Sumire's spell [Mass Hypnosis] is a powerful and versatile method that, as its name suggests, can hypnotize multiple targets at once. However, its effectiveness hinges on several factors that Sumire must take into account. One of these factors is the number of targets she aims to hypnotize. In this case, the sheer size of the village population presents a significant challenge, as there are nearly a thousand people to consider.
Moreover, Sumire must also take into account the targets' spirit resistance and the intensity of the suggestion she wishes to instill in them. While most mortals have little to no resistance to hypnotism, Sumire must be wary of the rank 0 and 1 village elders who may prove more difficult to sway. Thankfully, there are no spirit cultivators among the villagers, as their formidable cultivation bases would make them nearly impervious to Sumire's hypnotic suggestions.
Nevertheless, Sumire must exercise caution and avoid instilling suggestions that are too deep or extreme, as doing so could harm the villagers and potentially attract unwanted attention or leave too many traces that would bite her in the ass, only in the far future. Though she is a skilled mage, Sumire knows that even the most powerful mind-affecting spells must be used judiciously and with great care.
With her expertise in mass hypnosis, Sumire carefully crafted a cover story for Mordred's awakening that would not attract too much attention. While she could easily hypnotize most of the villagers, the more powerful rank 0 and rank 1 cultivators posed a challenge, and even the absence of spirit cultivators did not make her task any easier. Despite this, she managed to alter their perception of Mordred's awakening from a ‘special event that would cause heavenly phenomena’ to a ‘more benign scenario of technical difficulties that required special attention’. This carefully crafted deception allowed Mordred, a grade-S talent posing as a grade-A, to safely awaken his mana pool without arousing suspicion or leaving too deep of an impression in the villagers’ perspective.
In the meantime, Kenji carefully brought Mordred’s body away. Sakuya followed him as she couldn’t leave Mordred to his own devices, while Katyusha delicately, telepathically brought the elemental crystals, crystal coins, and the whole formation which was supporting Mordred in his awakening, not allowing it to break. As for Shirogane, being the only one without a vital task, she watched for any trouble. A misstep at this juncture could be disastrous- or at least they think. Mordred, for the most part, has it handled.
The speed at which Kenji brought him away from the village is extremely fast. It was only two minutes away, but with their speed, it is equivalent to a few kilometers. If not for his careful handling, Mordred would probably break his spine during the high speed movement.
During transportation, the heavenly phenomena became stronger. The sanguine flames burning his body became even more eye-catching. Mordred’s body is now similar to a bonfire in a dark, starless night. The heat is off the charts, even able to scorch Kenji’s durable fleshy body. With his healing factor, though, it wouldn’t pose a problem.
After resetting the formation and making sure that Mordred’s awakening wasn’t disrupted, they waited for him to finish the mana pool condensation.
To the untrained eye, Mordred’s awakening appeared to be going far too slowly. However, Sakuya was sweating bullets despite being the one who should have been in control. This was because the nine mid-grade crystal coins that were used to support him were quickly being depleted, and once they were sublimated completely, they turned into dust, forcing her to quickly replace them. It was the same with the fire elemental crystals.
Katyusha observed the slight pause as Sakuya retrieved several extra mid-grade crystal coins from her dimensional storage, and asked if she needed help. "Are you certain you wouldn't like my assistance? I'm sure he wouldn’t even notice, given the circumstances." she suggested.
Sakuya, however, insisted, "I am accountable for his awakening, and I am resolved to see this through until the end." expressing her irritation.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“No, I insist. If you were to deplete your resources, it would lower our combat strength during our return trip, which would be extremely risky. You already requested the mana pool-awakening potion from our captain, you did enough. She would castigate me for not interfering if she were to find out that I’m not helping you at all.” Katyusha took out several mid-grade crystal coins of her own, pushing away Sakuya’s. “In the first place, how can a grade-S mana pool awakening ceremony cost this much?” She squinted her eyes, expressing suspicion at the heavenly phenomena caused by Mordred.
A heavenly phenomena refers to unexplainable circumstances, typically caused by an interaction between the heavens and the earth. Or, put in simple terms, it’s basically an unexplainable miracle.
Kenji, the one who brought Mordred this far from prying eyes, is currently still healing his scorched body. Even with his extremely high healing factor as a martial artist specialized in body strength, the wounds are refusing to heal as if it's being obstructed by a mysterious force. Yet, Mordred himself is still fine despite being engulfed by the heavenly flames. If this could be explained, then this wouldn’t be a heavenly phenomena.
After a while, the heavenly phenomena began to show actual signs of development. The crimson flame began subsiding, though the heat is still rising.
“He’s starting the final step: refining the arcane circuit...” Katyusha glanced at Sakuya, “Should we interfere? The drug’s effect should’ve ended a while ago. He must be experiencing extreme pain right now.
“...” There was no answer from Sakuya. The warmage’s eyes are stolen by the beautiful red colored flames. Her eyes seemed to glow in brilliant red, evident of an investigative method being used.
“Sakuya!” Katyusha nudged to force a reaction from her.
“Ah, there’s no need.” Sakuya replied while being enraptured. “This kid… is special. They are divine- quite literally. His talent truly resonates with the heavenly dao, there’s no need for further assistance…. My family’s dream of visiting the Purgatory World may yet be possible within my generation.”
Katyusha squinted her eyes at the peculiar flames and wondered if she had encountered this kind of fire before. She shook her head, dismissing the thought that it could be a demonic flame. Yet, the nagging feeling of encountering an otherworldly demon who infiltrated this world persisted, causing her to doubt her sanity. ‘Impossible,’ she muttered to herself, ‘there's no way the captain could know about this and send me to deal with it.’ Despite her reassurance, the unsettling thought lingered.
‘How could I be that stupid, it should already be obvious.’ As if she had connected the dots, she metaphorically slapped her forehead while concealing her realization with a cold expression. ‘The reason why he requires a significant amount of crystal coins is because he is refining it personally rather than letting the heavenly dao do it for him… If I looked back, he requested assistance to murder his own mother. To the untrained eyes, it must’ve looked like petty revenge, but that was actually a plot to cleanse his karmic trails. This guy… is not ‘Satoru’…’
Her cold eyes scrutinize Mordred closely, a gleam of pale whiteness glows in them as she secretly activates one investigative method after another.
‘!!!!’ Katyusha’s eyes went wide in shock. In her vision, beside the scorching Mordred whose body is riddled with magical circuits connected all over his body with the newly refined mana pool, there were two silhouettes surrounding him.
These two figures are barely visible, their existence is vague like a phantom. From their outline, it is clear that they are humanoid, having long hair and showing signs of possessing female features, but their details are hazy.
Of these two figures, the right one had crown-like horns, two pairs of dragon-like wings and long draconic tails. She doesn’t seem to notice Katyusha’s probing as she’s currently supporting Mordred’s mana pool refinement with excitement. Nothing else seems to matter in its eyes.
On the other hand, the left figure whose body is so hazy that its outline is barely visible suddenly turned towards Katyusha as if noticing her probing. It then squinted its eyes and formed some type of facial expression that took her a while to decipher. Anger, suspicion, or is it…? No, she belatedly realized it was smiling at her. Before Katyusha was even able to react, the figure put their finger, or whatever it was in the first place, towards its lips, making a gesture to keep quiet.
Katyusha, with a mind sharpened by the pursuit of knowledge as a mage, was able to accelerate her thinking to a remarkable speed. The world around her seemed to slow down to a crawl, granting her the precious time she needed to sort through her thoughts and assess the situation. Within this slowed-down reality, she meticulously considered the best course of action to ensure that "Satoru" remained a valuable asset to the Twin Helix, and would not become a burden or danger to the people of this world.
‘I should consult with the captain for now…’ Just as she was about to activate a telepathic method to contact her, Katyusha recalled that the captain should be in another dimension. Even if she sent a delayed message to Ayame, who should always be by the captain’s side, it would take some time to reach them. Thinking about other possible actions that she could take, she weighed her options in killing, stalling, or even sabotaging ‘Satoru's’ mana pool awakening process but in the end, she calmed herself down.
When the world restarted its march of time, Katyusha could see the shadowy figure’s faint smile widen. Then, it nodded as if it already noticed Katyusha’s decision to take a wait-and-see approach instead of killing ‘Satoru’. Just as she was about to observe it deeper, the smiling figure snapped its fingers, or its equivalence, towards the four-winged figure.
The four-winged figure was startled. Before it was able to react to anything, the smiling figure used some methods to hide them away from Katyusha’s investigative method. Henceforth, no matter how many times Katyusha tried to peer deeper by altering her investigative methods, those two figures never reappeared.
“Haah…” Katyusha breathes out cold air, both literally and metaphorically. That brief encounter shocked her to her core, it seemed like it had taken a chunk of her lifespan. On one hand, she was glad that she survived, but on the other hand, the seed of suspicion has been planted in her heart.
As the last arcane circuit refined itself, he felt the connection between it and the physical nerves establish, and Mordred felt a surge of arcane energy coursing through his veins. It was a pivotal moment, for the success of the mana pool awakening would determine his future identity as a mage. With bated breath, he waited, heart pounding in anticipation, for the inevitable signs of success.
The heavenly flames subsided and in exchange, Mordred produced fire-path radiation.
And there it was, the unmistakable proof that his efforts had not been in vain. His body remained intact, unscathed by the immense radiation he had just unleashed. No explosion into blood and gore, no nerve damage suffered from mishandling. Only a sense of triumph and newfound potential, as Mordred’s attention focused at his now-awakened mana pool, ready to explore the possibilities of magic.
Sakuya diligently examined every aspect of Mordred's physical and spiritual condition, leaving no stone unturned. With the grace of a skilled warmage, she expertly analyzed the results of her inspection, her sharp eyes darting back and forth as she sought out any sign of failure. Yet, to her great relief, nothing seemed out of the ordinary - no anomalies or unexpected fluctuations in his vitals.
Satisfied with her assessment, she couldn't help but smile. “Average body temperature… 72 degree celsius. Unique spiritual signatures confirmed, arcane circuits have been completely merged with physical nerves. Mana pool awakening successful!” Sakuya announced her verdict. “How are you feeling?”
“Better than ever!!” He looked around, noticing the ground around him turned into ceramic. “Wait… did something happen? Shouldn't we be at the center of the village?” He played innocent.
“Let’s talk while we walk, but first, cover yourself with this so you don’t look like a pervert, unlike a certain musclehead…” Sakuya produced a generic robe from her dimensional storage and draped him in it. Although the heavenly phenomena did not inflict damage towards his body, that wasn’t the case for his clothing.
“Hey, that was uncalled for.” Kenji interjected, acting defensive. “I don’t wear armor because it breaks before it can ever be useful.”
Ignoring said pervert, Sakuya signaled Shirogane to follow suit before telling the icy woman to proceed with the clean up as the ceramic crater left behind by Mordred would be too obvious of a trace. “Katyusha, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“понял.” Katyusha nodded as she began taking out spell catalysts from her dimensional storage while the others were already on their way to return.
“What was that?” Kenji’s ears practically perked up as he looked at the spell formation that Katyusha was making. Mostly, he stayed behind because Sakuya ignored him.
“заткнись, Мудак.” She seemed to curse under her breath. She’s currently frustrated, afraid that she made the wrong decision of letting ‘Satoru’ live. But then again, she wondered if this was within the captain’s arrangement.
“Damn, is it that time of month, or…?” Kenji was keenly aware of Katyusha's shifting mood when she began speaking in her native tongue, a definite sign that she was not pleased. Despite his inwardly genuine desire to help, he wasn’t a shrink who could read people’s minds. There was nothing he could do except follow Sakuya back, not annoying her, and hoping that the situation would improve later.
Left to her own devices, Katyusha's thoughts spiraled endlessly as she couldn't suppress her curiosity about the two mysterious figures flanking Mordred during the awakening, but her restlessness did not lead her to idleness. Instead, she channeled her energy into her spells to clean up Mordred's trace, they activated with her usual precision, but with a destructive force that belied the mage's normally calm demeanor.
As a result, where there was once a glassed crater, the area was left in shambles, as if a furious blizzard had ravaged the area.