In reality, it was not difficult to draw to this conclusion, but the process of connecting the two concepts was a little challenging, especially for someone with many thoughts inherited from the modern world. The Prelate looked at Ovid and said, “When that woman said that, I had thought for over half a day to come to that. For you to arrive at this conclusion is a pleasant matter but not shocking.”
“For us clergymen, magic is to manipulate the very nature of the world itself. To do that, we need to use our perception to guide it - but even without any influence, mana and all other essences still follow universal laws. Just like water would always flow downstream, or turn into steam at a certain temperature, mana cannot be truly destroyed or created, and cannot be directly seen, only felt through its interactions with the world.
“These insights are things that cannot be forced. Even I cannot deny that my conclusion may not be the ones she wishes to express…”
Ovid more or less understood what the Prelate meant and respectfully help the Prelate to his foot. Sending him off, Ovid returned to the stone bed, took five seconds of time to breath in, remained still for another five, before finally released it over an additional five seconds.
Now having calmed his mental state, Ovid slowly incorporated the two pieces of information to free himself from the self-imposed ‘imprisonment’. The ‘The Phenomenology of Essence’ helped him catch up the massive gap between his comprehension of mana and the vast understanding most clergywomen would have. If the gap between them was as wide as an ocean, he was essentially filling it in using his even greater amount of knowledge in regards to the laws of his own world.
But even with the vast assortment of knowledge he could theoretically apply, it was in the end, simply theory. There was still some parts of the ocean not filled by these metaphorical stones, and Ovid’s could only measure the depth of the water before striding through. Simply put, at this moment, he was observing how to control the whole process, and how to make it more efficient.
To observe means to test. The method to test essence is to circulate it through the body.
Ovid began to circulate that mysterious essence for the first time.
Almost immediately, the mysterious essence rushed through his body, spinning the mana in his lower body, and begun to attract the essence of the world around Ovid.
Following his instincts, Ovid immersed himself in meditation, but maintained a degree of consciousness, so as to not completely lose connections with the real world.
In a state of complete meditation, the essence would be absorbed through the pores, but to maintain this connection, he had to breathe in the essence, inhaling and exhaling.
The frigid air in the cave entered his lungs following the rhythm of his breathing and then returned outside through his mouth and nose. That mysterious essence gradually settled down little by little and begun nourishing every bit of his body, leaving no part untouched.
Everything Ovid breathed, he could feel every trace of the essence of the world circulating through his body. The feeling was subtle at first, but quickly became more pronounced as time passed in the cave. He could even faintly perceive that even the quality was increasing.
At this moment, most people would be unable to resist the temptations of essence of such quality; if the trend continues, the quality may even exceed the ones absorbed by saints! However, for Ovid, aside from the initial shock and a slightly tipsy feeling akin to slowly sipping fine wine, he felt no trace of temptation at all.
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The deep night was coming to an end as the sun began to emerge. Beneath the last vestiges of moonlight, Ovid still maintained the same cross-legged sitting position, inhaling and exhaling with a clear spirit. The mysterious essence inside him was increasing at a slow rate, very distinct to the mana within his body, and transformed his body in an unnoticeable manner, buried deep within his skin, muscle, blood and bones.
Even if the natural world itself were to observe him for any changes, it may not find any easily.
Under the dim light of dawn, a cold gush of wind blew into the cave, and expelled over Ovid.
Hidden within the breeze was a very faint morning fog, even fainter than the wind, it was attracted by Ovid’s body. Unlike the expelled wind, the enveloped Ovid’s whole body, as if summoned for this purpose.
---
After an unknown amount of time, Ovid’s eyes suddenly lit up.
The stared at the vast darkness outside the cave and a rare emotion, one of confusion and shock, appeared on his face.
The emotion had derived from contradiction between the book Li Zhan had given him, and the understanding the Prelate had arrived at.
‘‘The Phenomenology of Essence’ essentially describe essence to be fundamental to all things in the world, not simply the stars and constellations. Whether it is shortest scrub or the tallest mountain, the livestock or the fence that surrounds them, all were made of essence. As such, essence could be something measured directly, although it’s a bit difficult.
But, what the Prelate interrupted was that the essence of the world is something completely relative. Other than following a few defined rules, it exists as something relative, something that can only be measured by comparing it to something else.
Of course, much of what the Prelate and the book states align. But the nature of mana and that mysterious essence was what Ovid need to understand to solve the issues in his body. Just as one cannot go in two directions at once, he cannot follow the two doctrines simultaneously.
Two of the most powerful and long-lived figures in the world had brought him two separate solutions to a difficult and unexplored problem.
He could either view mana and that essence as two distinct properties, and slowly convert the more selective mana into the mysterious essence, or he could view them as simply two of the same, seemingly different due to some strange reason, and spent the rest of his meditation figuring out what that reason was.
But what the Prelate said was only his understanding of ‘relativity’. If his mother meant something else, wouldn’t there be a third answer? And if so, how could he figure out the true meaning?
---
In the following days, Ovid felt as though he had returned to his life before coming over to this world. He lived a simple and peaceful life, dictated by his precise and rigid schedule. He woke up at the same time, ate the same food, and spend the rest of his days either reading or meditating, then repeated it the next day. It was all very attentive.
While he was careful not to touch the nature of essence itself, through the use of the Prelates’ words and the book, he was able to increase his control on the mysterious essence and the essence itself became thicker and purer. At the same time, he had developed a deeper understanding of some of the laws of the world itself. He even felt an increase in connection towards the sword spirit Cai Hua had left him.
Time passed by quickly. At some time in the afternoon, Li Zhan suddenly arrived at the cave, the stack of cards by her felt was bristly blown outside the cave, held only together by the string that connections them. But once inside, these cards were as quiet as porcelain.
Ovid counted the days and realised only a week had passed, instead of the ten days for her ascension. Regardless, he greeted her briefly, and decided not to bring out pen and paper upon seeing the bad complexion Li Zhan had on her face.
He asked with concern, “What happened?”
Li Zhan answered, “A envoy from the Cambrian Empire came to the foot of the mountain today. He says the Kaiser wants to grant you a noble title and a position in his court.”
Ovid bluntly answered, “I won’t meet him.”
Li Zhan shook her head and said, “It isn’t that simple. The envoy is a half-saint himself.”
Ovid was surprised that a nation he had never met before would sent such a major figure. He asked, “What reason could I garner such attention?”
Li Zhan sighed in her heart, thinking that Ovid is indeed quite naive. His exchange with Margrethe was enough to garner the attention of the whole continent, were it not for Cai Hua outshining him in an even more brilliant day by disappearing along with Julia. She smiled and said, “Just your existence is enough. Cai Hua is viewed by everyone in the world as a wild card with the potential to destroy entire nations. While you have yet to reach such a level, your state as a half-saint is more than enough to cause people to fear you.
Ovid realised that what Li Zhan said made some sense. But he looked at the mouth of the cave and said, “I have to solve the problem in my body first.”
Li Zhan paused for a moment, before saying, “You will inevitably get out. When that is done, both Cai Hua and I will have left for the world outside, leaving you without any backing. I believe joining the Cambrian Empire would actually be your best choice then.”