15 Mana Core

The family got home early since they were the closest to the plaza. Catherine didn't cook as they already had eaten from the feast. Charles called Catherine to the living room to discuss what to do about Zeke. Zeke sat on the floor looking at his parents.

"Cath, I've decided. I'll start to guide Zeke in forming his mana core tomorrow morning."

"What? Are you sure about that? Can our son even understand your directions?"

"I'm sure." Charles then looked at Zeke "Son, I know you understand us right now. To further prove to your mother, can you nod to show her that you really understand us?"

Zeke wanted to start training right away, so he nodded faintly.

Looking at the slightly shocked Catherine, Charles explained his reasoning.

"You saw what happened back there, right? Our son clearly acted on his own. This means that he's conscious enough to understand us. That alone is enough for him to start condensing his mana core. The earlier, the better. Since he can understand us now, don't you think it's better to start now?"

Charles looked at the doubtful face of his wife, then looked again at Zeke.

"Son, you understand me, right? I also want to know your opinion about this. Although you're too young right now, you can already understand us and have your own decisions regarding things. I'm still impressed by how you decisively helped Grad's daughter. I can already see myself in the future you, son. But I need to remind you that training and improving one's strength is the priority rather than getting girls. Do you agree?"

Zeke was baffled and nodded absentmindedly. He wondered why his father was saying this to him.

'Why did father remind me of that? I haven't even started flirting with people, yet he already warned me? Damn. What a strict father.'

Zeke still didn't understand his parents' misunderstanding. He didn't see his actions earlier as close to flirting since he himself didn't intend to do that. Besides, the girl in that situation is a one-year-old girl, and Zeke's teenage mind couldn't stomach flirting with a girl that age. Not once did he think about flirting at his age. He'd rather wait and train than bother with women this early in his life.

"Alright. Since Ezekiel wants to, then I can only agree to it, but on one condition. I'll also teach him. I may have different comprehensions than you so with my comprehension added with yours, maybe he'll advance faster. Also, I haven't seen anyone like our son before. How come he can think independently despite only being half a year old?"

"I also don't know, but maybe he just has a strong soul. I've heard that people who have strengthened their souls tend to have a different mindset and thinking than others. Maybe Zeke's soul is stronger than his peers that he could already think independently?"

"Well, I don't know the exact detail, but that's the only plausible explanation. Maybe he was born with an enhanced soul? Normally speaking, children can make decisions themselves when they reach 11 months or a year old. The only explanation for our son is that he is born with a soul stronger than people of his age. I am not clear about this but I'm sure it's very beneficial for his future path." Catherine smiled.

Catherine was fully convinced of Charles' assumption. Since Zeke could already think independently at this age, then instead of hindering his progress, she'd rather take part in teaching his son. She won't let the opportunity of having a strong soul go to waste.

The family concluded that Zeke will start condensing his mana core tomorrow morning. Zeke could barely contain his excitement.

Evening passed.

"Wake up, son! Rise and Shine!" Charles barged in Zeke's room and lightly nudged Zeke.

Zeke woke up looking at his father and the events last night beamed on him. Today, he's going to take the first step in becoming a magician.

Charles brought Zeke into the front yard after breakfast and explained the concept of mana.

"Zeke, to become a full-fledged magician, a person must first condense a mana core. What is mana core, you say? It's something inside your body that can store mana. Mana is something that you can't see with your bare eyes but is present everywhere, son. As I'm talking right now, mana particles hover in the air and a person must be capable of absorbing these mana particles to be able to cast spells."

Zeke nodded. He already understood the concept of mana from the novels and manga he read form Earth, but he still needed to know specific things here as the one he knows might not be applicable here.

"When we sometimes take you to a stroll, do you sometimes see people with a weapon on their back? A swordsman, or even magicians, perhaps? Most of those people are magicians. You see, magicians are people who are capable of manipulating mana. The application of mana is very diverse so that lesson will be for next time. The only thing you need to know right now is how to absorb mana, anything else like combat styles or weapons are for later. Alright, I want you to sit in a comfortable position, one that won't disrupt your focus when we start this."

Zeke fixed his posture.

"Now that you're comfortable enough, close your eyes and try to feel the mana particles. In your vision, you should only see black, but after focusing and trying to sense the environment without the use of your eyes, you'll start to see different bits of colors. It's a bit hard to detect it first, but if you focus enough, you'll see bits and pieces in your view. These mana particles look like broken glass shards, and they come in different colors. What you need to do is to will the white ones to go towards you. Alright, start now and I'll see if you can do it."

Zeke closed his eyes. He removed any unnecessary thoughts in his mind and focused on his environment. He tried to use his hearing but he heard nothing. He then tried to sniff it, but that didn't work too. He relied on his knowledge from Earth, and just tried to sense using his brain. His thought right now is only to sense his surroundings without using the five senses. Zeke knew that what he was using right now is his 'sixth sense' to find the mana particles.

After a minute, Zeke saw a myriad of colors slowly entering his view. All of these colors are in the form of small glowing balls that when examining carefully, it is actually like a glass shard that emits different colors of light, making it look like a ball.

Zeke didn't dare get distracted as he didn't want to know what'll happen if he did. He then searched for a small white light. It turned out to be hard, as he saw different colors in every direction he tried to look. A few minutes later, Zeke found a lone white light and he then tried to will it to come.

Right now, he's uttering orders in his mind to the white light to come to him. Slowly but surely, the white light went near him. Zeke couldn't contain his emotion and suddenly got excited. The moment he did, all the light in his view disappeared, replaced by pitch black. He was confused but he guessed that he failed to concentrate and got distracted by his excitement. He opened his eyes and saw his Father looking at him seriously. Noticing his son open his eyes, Charles quickly asked.

"Are you successful, son?"