Chapter 138: Manipulation

Professor Supyan's demonstration left the two recruits speechless, especially George, since his knowledge about mana was vaster due to his excellent background.

Humans paid attention to the mana's nature, but only when it came to its element. They didn't bother to go deeper in its study or understanding and treated it as a simple fuel for martial arts and spells. However, the Niqols had a completely different approach which shown clear benefits.

'How are humans unaware of this?' Khan wondered without daring to speak those words out loud.

Khan didn't know how much the Niqols knew about humans. His words could have political repercussions or reveal classified information, but everything felt pointless when he noticed George's astonished expression. Anyone would understand how surprising that lesson was when looking at his face.

"Don't worry," Professor Supyan reassured when noticing Khan's cold expression. "Both humans and Niqols know about these differences between our species. You will simply be the first to receive proper lessons from us."

Professor Supyan could be lying to exploit the recruits' naivety to learn more about the humans, but Khan felt too curious to hold back. Moreover, George had already revealed the nature of his doubts, so he found no problem voicing them.

"Why don't humans teach this?" Khan asked while his eyes darted between the two damaged spots. "We should be able to replicate these applications of mana even without knowing your methods."

"That's for sure," Professor Supyan replied in his usual plain tone. "Very little is out of your range with your technological achievements."

"Then why no one teaches this?" Khan continued.

"I can think of multiple reasons," Professor Supyan revealed. "First of all, I believe you can learn about this branch. You humans always record everything."

Khan and George exchanged a glance and nodded internally. There was a high chance that some specific branches of the Global Army had a catalog with all the different applications to mana learnt from alien species.

"As for why humans decide not to teach this," Professor Supyan continued, "I believe they think that its benefits don't match its difficulty."

That answer didn't satisfy the two recruits. They had just seen how a simple discharge of mana became two times more destructive with a simple thought. It didn't matter how difficult that ability was. It should still be available to the soldiers due to its incredible potential.

"I think you are underestimating the difficulty of this task," Professor Supyan exclaimed after inspecting how the recruits reacted to his words.

The Niqols showed his hand to the two boys. A lump of azure mana seeped out of his skin and gathered on his palm to form a rotating sphere of energy.

The amount of control over mana shown by that simple gesture left the two recruits speechless. They would struggle to do something similar outside their bodies. Even Khan didn't know if he could force so much energy to work together in such a seamless and precise way.

Controlling mana once it came out of his body was incredibly hard, which was the very reason behind the Divine Reaper's difficulty. Khan would have already succeeded in creating a stable membrane around his null-grade blunt knife otherwise.

"This is simple manipulation," Professor Supyan explained as the small sphere in his palm started morphing. "This mana shares a connection with me, so I can control it to take different shapes. However, the previous ability has to go beyond forms."

The mana inside the sphere slowly started to move oddly, but Professor Supyan didn't seem to control those small movements. It was as if the nature of the energy had changed and had started to affect that small structure.

The azure energy grew unstable at times, and the sphere shook while tiny flares tried to escape its edges. Everything turned incredibly calm right afterward, and the glowing ball even condensed due to the stability achieved by the mana in the Niqols' palm.

Professor Supyan appeared able to change the mana's nature at will. He could turn it into energy ready to explode or a dense gas that almost gained liquid features. He could even make those two behaviors coexist to highlight the stark differences that they carried.

Everything felt obvious now. The subject actually was so simple that even a child could understand it. Turning the mana unstable would increase its destructiveness, while stabilizing it would make it gain denser forms. 

The ability didn't need other explanations, but Khan and George couldn't understand how to replicate that process. The Divine Reaper actually featured a similar requirement, but it was extremely specific, and Khan had yet to study that lesson properly.

"There obviously are other issues caused by our different techniques," Professor Supyan announced. "Humans rely on techniques that use specific movements to make the mana express the intended effects. The Niqols approach the matter differently, changing the nature of the mana depending on the ability that we want to use."

George frowned, and Khan diverted his eyes. They both tried to review those words in their minds, and a conclusion soon grew near, but Professor Supyan decided to explain himself better out of fear that his students could misunderstand his teachings.

"Imagine to throw a punch," Professor Supyan explained. "Humans would move mana alongside the attack to augment the movement and discharge it once the attack ends."

The Niqols was oversimplifying the issue, but the two recruits didn't hesitate to nod. Their techniques required mana to flow in different directions at the same time to express the intended effects, but the theory behind those moves matched Professor Supyan's explanation. 

"Instead, Niqols transform the mana before throwing the punch," Professor Supyan continued. "We alter its nature before the actual move. A simple touch can transform into a punch since that's what we prepared our mana to do."

The example made the theory behind the Niqols' different approaches to techniques far easier to understand. It even made Khan and George realize the benefits that their methods could bring to their power. Removing the need to perform specific moves to perform an attack sounded too good to be true.

"If I were to prepare my mana for a kick with the Niqols' method," Khan wondered, "But then use that energy during a punch, would the attack still carry the effects of the intended technique?"

"Of course," Professor Supyan affirmed. "The power and effects of your techniques mostly come from mana, so speed, strength, and precision will change depending on the nature carried by that energy."

"Won't that cause conflicts?" Khan guessed. "After all, a punch is a punch, and a kick is a kick. There is a reason why we use different limbs to execute them. They have clear physical limitations."

Professor Supyan's face showed a rare reaction. His eyebrows arched in surprise when he heard Khan detailed doubt. George experienced a similar emotion since he didn't expect his friend's understanding of martial arts to be so deep.

Khan didn't consider himself an expert in martial arts, but he had relied extensively on the training areas on Onia and Earth. He had done his best to face different styles to improve his overall battle experience, so the flaws with the Niqols' methods felt quite obvious.

The Lightning-demon style also made Khan aware of how the physical limits could affect a technique. He could already hurt himself during his attacks, so he could guess that the Niqols' method would carry similar flaws.

"Your doubts are sound," Professor Supyan stated. "You will see weaker effects if your moves don't match the nature of your mana. You can even hurt yourself if you aren't careful. Yet, what do you think will happen if you fuse the human and Niqols' methods?"

George's eyes widened in understanding, but Khan maintained his natural cold expression. The answer was obvious. Mastering the Niqols' methods would significantly shorten the preparations required by martial arts and spells, and it might even lead to stronger effects if used correctly.

"Why are you teaching us this?" Khan asked.

Khan's question could mean two things. It could refer to the obvious danger of teaching potential enemies techniques that could make them far stronger than their peers from both species. Still, it could also wonder about the reason behind that private lesson while the other recruits were with other professors.

"[The Pure Tress] has its pride to follow," Professor Supyan announced. "Holding back its teachings out of fear toward your different species would be a permanent spot in its history."

The firm exclamation didn't match the Professor's aloof appearance, but it became clear that he valued his position inside the academy and the fame that accompanied it. George and Khan couldn't help but respect the Niqols after understanding how easily he could disregard the differences between their species.

"You also have deep problems," Professor Supyan continued. "I won't dare to guess what has happened in your lives, but your mana is on a dangerous path. I fear what can cause in your character once its weight starts to affect your behavior."

George struggled to understand that part, but Khan had accepted how his energy could sway his thoughts and affect his behavior. He wouldn't even be with Liiza if his mana didn't convince him to move on toward what it felt could make him happy.

"Blood is covering your blade," Professor Supyan declared while pointing at George. "It might submerge you, dull your edge, or become a core part of your character. You need to gain control of your mana to decide where you want your mind to evolve."

Professor Supyan's expression darkened when he turned toward Khan. He even seemed to hesitate to point at him, but simple words eventually escaped his mouth. "You are cursed."

Khan didn't react at all to that statement. Instead, his eyes went on George. The boy had lowered his head and was staring at the roots that made the floor. The Niqols' words had reminded him of the mess constantly happening inside his mind. 

"I'm willing to create additional lessons due to your special situation," Professor Supyan explained. "The other humans can attend them too, but my focus would remain on you two since you need it the most. I can't promise that my teachings will improve your condition. You will only learn to control the nature of your mana. What to do with that ability is up to you."

Khan couldn't help but curse in his mind. He appreciated Professor Supyan's concern. Such seriousness in his role was almost moving. However, Khan inevitably thought at his shrinking free time, especially since he knew that refusing those additional lessons wasn't an option.

Khan didn't feel too scared about the effects that his mana could have on his psyche. His focus was on the evident benefits that mastering the Niqols' method could provide.

Learning how to control the nature of the mana wouldn't only allow him to reach levels that the simple human path couldn't touch. It would also benefit his future martial arts and spells since he would have the chance to approach them from multiple angles. For example, the Divine Reaper wouldn't appear so hard if he already knew how to create a membrane of energy and give it sharp features.

Of course, Khan didn't delude himself. The Niqols had mana since birth, and they spent years studying its nature before approaching actual techniques, but Professor Supyan considered the matter difficult nonetheless.

It was unclear how hard it would be for a human to reach satisfying levels of mastery over that ability. Khan even guessed that Professor Supyan's lack of worry came from that exact reason. 

The Niqols seemed to have good intentions, but the Professor was probably only tempting the recruits with his speech about the superior power achievable after fusing the methods of both species. He didn't really believe that Khan and the others could reach high levels of control over mana since they lacked years of training in that field.

The cynical mindset developed in the Slums made Khan see how a complete openness between humans and Niqols would clearly benefit the latter. 

The techniques of the Global Army were far easier to deploy, so the aliens would achieve a perfect fusion between the methods of both species faster. Instead, the humans had already indirectly refused the Niqols' approach. They preferred to limit the manipulation of the mana's nature to specific techniques rather than gain a general mastery over that field.

"Can it really help?" George suddenly asked in a timid voice as his hopeful gaze landed on the Niqols.

"Only if you want it to help," Professor Supyan nodded, and his stern expression almost broke in front of George's evident sorrow.

Khan's expression darkened when he saw George in that state again. The boy was usually cheerful, but the traumas hidden inside his mind felt overwhelming to witness whenever they escaped his suppression.

"We have to seize this chance, right?" George asked while turning toward Khan.

The boy was clearly excited about that opportunity, but he still looked for Khan's support. George still considered him as the figure in charge of such important decisions.

"Of course," Khan stated while showing an honest smile. "We can't ignore [Guru]'s kindness."

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Author's notes: 1-2 hours for the second.