*Ron's P.O.V*
I remained at the top of the chasm to observe Erwin's body in free fall, until his body was completely swallowed up by the darkness of that huge pit; of course, I could have explained to him that to enter into the heart of the mountain where all that mana was generated, he would have to throw himself in; but this too, in a sense, was a kind of training, « mental » rather than physical.
"Well, I hope you will grow strong."
I quickly went down the mountain, and then headed for the carriage: I wasn't particularly worried about that little boy, and somehow, I had the feeling that when we saw each other again, he would change radically... I was just hoping he wouldn't do some idiocy...
"Thank you for accompanying us here despite the short notice, kid..." I said to the coachman, entering the carriage;
"Well, this is nothing compared to what you and Mr. Artemisius did for me: if you hadn't saved me that time... I would definitely be dead! It's the least i can do for you!"
"Well... now let's not exaggerate!" I said slightly embarrassed, scratching my head: in fact, I had done a lot for this guy, and I was happy that he had an honest job and a regular life now.
"We can go now…"
Leonard thus made the horses run, while out of the corner of my eye, I watched the mountain move further and further away...
"I hope your son turns out to be just as phenomenal as you, Artemisius..."
*****
P.O.V di Erwin
Several minutes passed since Ron pushed me down that damn cliff, but even though I had prepared for the impact, my body was still in free fall, without me being able to do anything to stop my motion; with my gaze turned above the top, that huge chasm from which I had been pushed, had become a small little dot, making me realize that at that moment, I was damn away from the exit of this damn place forgotten by God;
At first, I believed that Ron pushed me down, aware that I wouldn't hurt myself too much, but the more time i passed falling, the more I began to think that maybe Ron just wanted to get rid of me...
[No... he can't be such an asshole!] I thought trying to convince myself otherwise.
Suddenly, however, the fall of my body began to slow down progressively, leaving me stoned: there was absolutely nothing below me, and yet, it was as if a mysterious a big veil gently wrapped my body, thus slowing down what seemed like an endless fall.
I didn't understand what was happening, but as I watched the emptiness below me, I suddenly saw a faint blue light appear;
"Maybe….this is the exit?"
As I approached, the light became more and more visible and more and more bright, until, arriving at a certain distance, I finally understood what it was: what I thought was a simple exit, was nothing more than an immense lake that shone with its own blue light;
At that moment, I thought I was safe and that I would not get hurt, but when my body ended up in those icy waters, I realized a disconcerting reality: in fact, the moment I tried to swim, I realized that my body could not stay afloat, beginning to sink to the bottom of that lake;
[No! It must be a fucking joke!]
I tried with all my strength to stay afloat, but not only was it impossible for me to oppose what was happening, but it was as if I was sinking into the quicksand, given the density of that water, which had nothing normal.
I tried then to hold my breath as long as i could, in the hope of getting some clues on how to get out of that damn hole, but after a few minutes i could no longer hold my breath; the moment i opened my mouth, the water began to enter my body forcefully, and at that moment, in the throes of an extremely excruciating pain, I began to suffocate, until I lost consciousness....
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"...Koff!Koff!...Urgh..."
Suddenly, I woke up on dry land; the floor was particularly cold, to the point that my face looked like it had become a piece of frozen meat;
The good news, was that somehow, I had managed to survive first to that infinity fall, then I had managed not to die suffocated in that strange lake... But now I didn't know how to get out of here, although for the truth, that was the last of my problems at the moment;
In fact, around me, I felt a strange pressure, very similar to what I felt at the top of the mountain, but much stronger and much more « present » around me; The pressure was so overwhelming that my body, at that moment, seemed to weigh 400 kg more, making it difficult to even stand up.
Moreover, as soon as I looked up to understand in what kind of place i ended, several meters from the ground i saw what looked like the lake from which I had fallen; I was shocked to see this strange phenomenon, but at the same time I was almost fascinated, since probably the gravity inside this mountain was totally busted.
"What kind of place did you take me to, Ron?!" I whispered, trying first of all to take the first steps in that place; but the more I walked, the more the pressure around me increased, finally making every movement impossible for me...
"... D-damn it!"
I fell to the ground, exhausted because of all that pressure; if I had known that this place was worse than hell, I would most likely not have accepted so on the spot to come here.
"And on top of that, he sent me here without explaining anything to me..." I said nervously, banging my fist against the ground. But only when I hit the ground, that I realized something rather bizarre: in fact, even though the pressure around me was still annoyingly present, somehow, I was able to move better than I had done before.
I tried to think about what this difference was due to; I thought about it and thought about it, until I had an enlightenment: the air around me, as well as the lake, were heavily inherent in mana, and the reason I was so difficult to move, was because maybe my body went "against" the flow of mana around me, making it impossible to move.
"Well... So now what should I do?"
The only indication Ron gave me was to go into a trance: although he was a complete madman for pushing me that way, I also knew that he wasn't used to doing meaningless things; so, with a little difficulty, I put myself in a zen position, trying to get into a trance again: it was the only thing I could do at that moment, and I had no choice but to try;
———
Day 1 inside the Lumbar mountain
As soon as I went into a trance, I had a moment of hesitation: I would have liked to use my mana, but what if something like last time had happened to me? Before, there was Ron with me who had saved me quickly, but now I was totally alone, with no one being able to save me, if something went wrong.
I was afraid, but at the same time, it was as if there was something inside me that pushed me to activate my mana;
"The hell with that, let's just do it!"
I tried to circulate my mana in my body, with the fear of being able to die at the corner: my body, as it was then, was enveloped by an reddish energy, with a consistency similar to the fog;
I tried to control that energy, but I didn't even know what to do. But just when I was on the brinch of despair, something strange happened: the mana that had enveloped my body in fact, began to fade slowly, until the complete disappearance of my mana around my body.
I didn't understand what had happened, but I was sure that I had not achieved the result I had hoped for, as I felt a sense of void inside my core;
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At the same time, my trance state was interrupted, "awakening me" in the real world;
The pain I felt at that moment was very strong, but not comparable to what I felt the first time I tried to run the mana inside my body; At the same time, however, I felt a strange feeling of fatigue, which made it difficult for me to stay awake: it was at that moment that I began to understand "the law" of this place.
1. If you don't follow the flow of mana in this place, moving becomes almost impossible;
2. If you can't control your mana, it comes out joining the mana in the environment, leaving me without energy.
"Damn... if i had know it..before..."
———
Day 7 inside the Lumbar Mountain
It had been several days since I ended up inside the belly of the mountain... well, I don't know exactly how many days have passed, but probably, a week should have passed.
I had discovered many interesting things about this place, but also about me: first of all, after a good night's sleep, the mana inside me was completely restored, even if I don't know if this was more due to this magical place, or if it was a natural thing; secondly, in this place you don't suffer from hunger: it seems in fact that in this place, mana is at least nutritious, so that you don't have to eat; third... well, I wasn't totally sure about this, but I had the impression that if I hadn't been able to manage my mana, I would never have been able to go up the huge and deep chasm.
As for my training, things didn't go exactly the way I had hoped: somehow, I began to figure out how to control all that mana inside me, but right now, I was able to control it for about 5 seconds.
It wasn't so much, but finally, after days of groping in the dark, I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel...
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Day 276 inside the Lumbar Mountain
By now, I don't even keep count of how many days have passed since I set foot in here.
After long days of meditation, I can finally control my mana in a decent way! It wasn't easy, on the contrary, for many days it seemed like I wasn't progressing at all, and there were days where I had self-inflicted serious injuries with my mana; but finally, I could control my mana for several minutes!
But that's not the most mind-blowing thing: in fact, my body has changed in the process, albeit slightly: my muscles have become more toned and stronger, and it seems that I have grown a few centimeters, since I feel that my clothes have "shrinked"; I believe I have achieved what Ron had called "Complete Awakening"!
Having said that, however, even though I have made considerable progress, I know that it is not enough to be able to leave this place: in fact, it is one thing to manage my mana while I walk or while I am sitting, another is to manage my mana to do more compless thing, like run or fight: if I think of the fact that there are thousands of wizards in the world who can do this without problems, I get more and more like to start exploring these lands!
I realize that I am not ready yet, that I still have to improve in order to be able to use my mana for even the most difficult things; but I am confident that, by committing myself, I can achieve the desired results!
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Day ??? Inside the Lumbar Mountain
... Damn it. I have come to a standstill of my training; now I am able to use the mana much more freely than when I did before, I have become much stronger than before and now I can clearly perceive the mana around me, yet inexplicably, I do not have optimal control of my mana at the moment when, for example, I try to make imaginary fights; after a few minutes in fact, I get tired very quickly, and it is as if the mana inside me dries up quickly;
With one of my intuitions, I tried to increase the capacity of my core by increasing the mana it produces accordingly, indicating it as the main problem; but it wasn't the case, because nothing changed. I tried to persevere and i try different solution, but for a long time now I have come to a standstill;
In addition, for a couple of months now, I feel that mentally I am reaching the limit; I am not exactly satisfied with what I have achieved in these months...no, year of training, but I prefer my sanity, rather than being trapped in here for who knows how long: even if the control is not perfect, I have now made my decision: I will climb this hole and return to the "normal" world!
So I approached that cold wall, ready to climb and escape from that place that had become almost like a nightmare for me: no matter how many times I would fail, or how many times I would fall and get hurt, I would use every means to finally get out of that damned place!
------
several weeks later...
With my hands full of cuts and calluses, I began to climb the last meters of that pit, which over these weeks had posed the greatest challenge I had ever faced since entering inside the mountain. I had fallen multiple times, seriously injuring myself, and there were moments when, to be honest, I thought of giving up and trying again later. The truth is, for me, it made no sense to stay there anymore, as my mind could no longer bear that place, and I firmly believed that I would never improve; so getting out of there was the right thing to do.
As I had now reached the ledge into which Ron had thrown me, the sunlight began to hit my face and body; I was no longer used to the sunlight, and for a moment, the sunlight blinded me, and I almost fell down again....
“W-Woah...that was close!” I shouted in a trembling voice, managing to stay balanced and not fall back into the cliff;
I reopened my eyes slowly, to admire the sky and the sun; I was lucky that I got out of there in the daytime, so that I could finally admire the beauty of the sun; although I had always lived with the sun above me, at that moment I almost wept before the sight of it, realizing how magnificent that ball of fire was, despite its simplicity. Its rays, in contact with my body, gave me a strange feeling of happiness, combined with a strange boost of energy, thus making me climb up the cliff with incredible happiness.
“...I did it!”
At last, I found myself out of that dark and gloomy place, and was finally at the foot of the cliff, with the sun and immense horizon as a backdrop; I noticed almost immediately that, contrary to my entering the bowels of the mountain, something in me had changed; my hearing had become much more “powerful,” sensing noises even distant from me; so had my eyesight, which allowed me to see up to a certain distance without any problems.
My body had become as light as a feather, and at moments, I could hardly feel my weight. And I felt stronger and more empowered, much more than I had felt under the pressure of that so pure mana.
It didn't take me long to realize that the mana coming from the Mountain, was limiting me a lot and that once I got out of there, it was as if my limits had been removed;
“So...I improved...” I hissed, with a tear streaking my face. Though that sentence came out of my mouth, though, somewhere inside me, I knew it was not enough, that I could do better.
"I could do better..."
Maybe if i stayed inside the mountain, I could have gotten stronger at some point, but my mind couldn't take it anymore; my mind was too weak to let me stay in there.
[Someday ... I will return here. For sure] I thought, making a slight bow before that cliff; as much as I hated that place, I had become much stronger in there, and if this place had not existed, I would probably to this day have given up my dreams But that didn't happen, so I had to be grateful.
“Well, and now ... let's go home!"
END OF CHAPTER 2 – TRAINING.