Book 4: Chapter 4

Manaforge and Mana Meridian

Sage Luarno’s special course has begun.

“First, let’s talk about the [Manaforge] and [Mana Meridian].”

“What is a manaforge?” Leaffa inquired of the Headmaster.

It’s an unfamiliar term to me, too.

“The manaforge is an organ that creates magic within your body. However, even if you say that it is an organ, it is unlike the magical stone that can be obtained through the dissection of a demon. This organ is something that a person cannot behold.”

A jewel-like object can be gleaned from within a demon’s body after it is defeated and dismembered.

That’s the magical stone, and it contains the demon’s attributes. It is used to craft various magical tools.

As for magical tools, there are ones that you can use in battle, and there are some that you can use in daily life. Basically, these magical tools made from those stones make our lives easier and more convenient.

Magical stones cannot be retrieved from people.*

However, I also wondered why we can utilize magic and how our bodies produce mana.

Apparently, it’s all due to the manaforge.

“How can you be so sure it’s there if we can’t even see it?” Luke asked.

“I call the ability to see mana as [Magical Perception]. Magical Perception is strengthened if one becomes a Sage. Not only that, the more you use it, the information that you are able to perceive also increases.”

Through increased usage of [Magical Perception], not only can one identify someone else’s mana value, but they will also perceive the magical Aura of said person. Once the Aura is discerned, you can also fathom the other party’s forte.

Other than that, you can gauge the other party’s state of mind through gauging the magical wavelength.

“If we hone our Magical Perception, would it be possible to ‘see’ the manaforge?”

“Indeed. I can see an organ that produces mana in the area adjacent to the heart. However, I, who has been practicing Magical Perception for more than a decade, just discovered this phenomenon in the recent past. And so, no one else can offer an explanation regarding this matter.”

Given that even Sage Luarno became aware of the existence of this organ just recently, it’s only natural that there are no literary references about it in the present.

“I also discovered that mana recovery would be faster in proportion to the organ’s growth, as well as the possibility of enlarging it through training.”

“What kind of training would that be?”

“I also want to learn about it!”

Luna and Ryuka expressed great interest.

Luna possesses the least amount of mana in our class. Ryuka does have a larger amount of mana, but her specialty spell, [Resurrection], consumes a large amount of magical power, so her mana is rapidly depleted.

Both of them wanted to study about mana value and its speed of recovery.

“You have to repeatedly expend and then restore your magical power over and over again.”

Eh? T, that’s it?

“Ahm, Headmaster. I always fully consume my mana, but I don’t feel that the recovery became faster.”

Recently, I witnessed on several occasions how Ryuka collapsed in total exhaustion and became immobile after using [Resurrection].

However, just as she observed, her speed of mana recovery didn’t change that much.

“Ryuka, after you depleted your mana, were you in a conscious state?”

“Y, yes.”

“Then it is no good. You have to consume your mana until you faint.”

“Eh!?”

Eh, seriously?

“I presume you know that when your mana reaches zero, your physical energy will also be depleted. If the body energy is exhausted excessively, then the person will die.”

That’s common sense in this world.

That’s why caution must be exercised while utilizing magic so as to avoid mana and physical energy reduction to zero.

“This is not widely known, but once you drain your mana until only 10% remains, you will no longer be able to exercise magic, and you will be forced to lose your consciousness.”

“I, is that how it is?”

“Seriously, I didn’t know that.”

I was ignorant of it, too.

Well, my mana won’t decrease, so there’s no way I would have known.

“The manaforge will be enlarged slowly as you keep on exhausting your magic until you keel over and then reviving your mana afterward. Well, this is a relatively harsh training, so it would be best for you to be the one to decide whether you want to proceed or not.”

If we chose to push through this training, the Headmaster promised his full support.

It is also necessary to have the proper environment, else it will be perilous.

However, this topic doesn’t have merit for me since my mana’s pretty much inexhaustible.

Fortunately, Sage Luarno considered my situation, too.

“Halt, do not fret. I also have valuable information for you. Have you heard of [Mana Meridian]?”

“Mana meridian, is it? I haven’t.”

“The mana meridian is a channel that releases the mana that has been created by the manaforge. If you widen it, you can activate your magic faster.”

“Ohh!”

Yeap, didn’t know about it, either.

In the past, as soon as I noticed the effects of Evil God’s curse, I wanted to become more powerful, so I came up with strategies to accelerate the activation of my magic.

As a result of trial and error, I finally learned a way of releasing my mana from all over my body instead of only from my palm. 

However, if I do as Sage Luarno says and increase the width of the mana meridian, then it might be possible to release mana faster and with greater strength.

I wanna study that method!

“How can I broaden my mana meridian?”

“You have to forcibly reabsorb the mana that you released.”

“…”

I, is that even possible?

The Elves gather mana from space, but instead of absorbing it, they utilize it for attack magic. In other words, once mana is released, it cannot be recovered inside the body but has to be diffused into the air.

“It would be most effective if you reabsorb as much mana as possible all at once. It will be a sensation of forcibly pushing the mana into the mana meridian and spreading it throughout your body.”

“Is it not possible to accumulate my mana and release it all at once?”

“The mana meridian is originally a one-way path. There is no sense in releasing it all at once because the release process is already smooth, to begin with.”

The mana meridian has a mechanism that prevents the development of illness from magical interference by other people’s mana.

Not only that, it is possible to manipulate mana that has been released, but its quality will change when small amounts blend with the mana pre-existing in the air.

The body will treat the mana that has been released and altered as foreign bodies and will reject it.

Sage Luarno says that the mana meridian can be expanded by forcibly pushing the rejected mana in.

“By the way, the training for expanding the mana meridian is ten times more agonizing than the training for manaforge.”

Even if Sage Luarno intimidated me, I will still push through that training.

My goal was to protect Tina from whatever threats there are. Recently, I also included Leaffa as a subject I must safeguard.

Not only that, I want to thrash one of the godly pillars of this world—that Evil God.

Might be pointless, but I’ve decided I’ll take up anything in order to become stronger.

“I will undergo that training.”

I faced Sage Luarno and said so.

——— 

T/N: I used people to encompass the magical beings aside from humans.