Chapter 71 Mana Exercises

The words of more training rang out in both Shaman and Elysia's head as it seemed unreasonable for them to keep going.

"HAHAHAHA" Himeko burst out laughing as the dread on their faces was priceless and to Shaman and Elysia this meant what Himeko said was just a joke.

"Hey now, let's not get relaxed, I was not kidding when I said we have not finished training." The slight moment of relief that Shaman and Elysia felt had vanished and their hearts began to sink.

"We are not going to do any physical training but instead some meditating to increase your mana capacity as it seems to be relatively lacking." Himeko finally explained what they were going to do which helped ease the minds and hearts of Shaman and Elysia.

"Also drink this Shaman." Himeko tossed over a bottle that contained a blue liquid, Shaman could only assume that it was a mana potion and happily drank it.

"I don't have many of them as we have not found a way to mass produce them yet so make sure if you get your hands on some potions make sure you use them well." Himeko had indirectly answered one of Shaman's questions as Shaman was unsure why the typical Health and mana potions were unavailable.

'Looks like I am just going to have to rely on healing spells.' Shaman was a little sad that consumables were not really a thing and would make future encounters harder but also a little easier.

"Anyway now that your mana is returned we can begin to exercise your mana and try to increase it or at least make it more efficient."

"So first we have to understand how mana actually works in our body, so can anybody answer this question for me." Himeko began to walk back and forth as she was talking.

"I believe mana works as you have a central core that is located in the center of the body and have branches that reach out throughout your entire body to send the stored mana through those branches." Shaman answered Himeko's question as this was her understanding from the magic books she brought.

"You are indeed correct and with that mana we output it uses the ambient mana around us to create the elements of our desire. However due to environmental conditions people can become attuned to a certain element like me and have been surrounded by fire which means i'm more likely to learn fire magic."

"There is also another thing to keep note is that the only reason why people fail to learn magic is that generally they do not have the mana capacity to support the element and why gifted people who are born with a high reserve are able to pick it up so easily."

"This also does not mean that a person can't learn it through hard work but it takes years to build the foundation to even begin to learn magic."

"As of late though due to the increasing amount of people being so gifted the population is currently in a transition phase where it is more common to be able to learn magic easily."

"This means that currently a lot of people are able to use magic which has also been the indirect reason for why technology is advancing since it is now becoming more accessible than ever. There are also ways to artificially increase your mana capacity but those had been deemed as illegal due to its low success rate."

"There are also magic enchantments which use the ambient mana to have a desired effect by the inscriptions on the circle which is an entirely different profession but has seen an increase in popularity as being able to use magic increases the usability of the enchantments." Himeko took a moment to rest her voice and Shaman asked a question.

"Then how come people are able to use mana crystals and still be able to use basic magic items if they are unable to produce a significant amount of mana?" Shaman was rather confused as it should be impossible for them to use anything magic related.

"That's because everyone has an aura which slightly admits mana and with that alone it allows the use of magic items since they depend more on the ambient mana around them than the amount of mana admitted by the person." After Hiemko's explanation it clicked in Shaman's head.

"Moving on to actually exercising your mana." Himeko smiled and sat down on the ground in front of Shaman, Elysia and Wolfy and crossed her legs.

"Follow my actions and listen to what I say." With that said Shaman and Elysia sat crossed legged.

"Now just get comfortable but make sure your arms are outstretched and begin to take slow deep breaths." Shaman and Elysia followed Himeko's instructions.

"Now what you must do is sense your mana core within you and feel the surging mana that it holds." Shaman could instantly feel the swirling mana inside her and fell into a deep concentration. Elysia on the other hand was slightly struggling but could still sense her mana core but could not go any further.

"Once you feel your mana, what you want to do is try to spread it throughout your body and try to embrace it within you just like how our blood runs through our veins." Shaman was able to grab a hold of the swirling mana and began to release it throughout her entire body slowly. The mana began to fill the branches that sprout throughout the body and Shaman could feel a slight warm sensation start to come over her.

Elysia was still struggling but was beginning to see her mana core and all her mana. With what she got Elysia tried to do what Himeko said and spread it through her body but her concentration was broken when she attempted to manipulate her mana.

"Keep trying Elysia as this is something that not everyone can master but it seems like Shaman has been able to achieve." Himeko could see Elysia was struggling but knew that it takes time to be able to get the right effect but it seems that Shaman was able to get it on the first try.

"Now that you have filled your body with your mana you want to stay in this state for as long as you can and this should slowly improve your mana capacity and efficiency as you are constantly using your mana to exercise the core and branches within you." Himeko smiled as she was quite proud of Shaman being able to achieve such a great result in a short amount of time.

Shaman stayed in this meditative display and system notifications began to rang out.

[User has increased mana capacity by 2]

[User has increased mana capacity by 2]

[User has increased mana capacity by 2]

….

Notifications kept ringing out every 5 seconds which felt like an eternity to Shaman as it seemed like she was in an endless space.

Shaman felt like she was floating but was unable to make out which direction she was going.

'It feels like I am in a dream and time has stopped moving.' Shaman was rather confused but could still feel the warm sensation enveloping her body and due to her not having any time orientation she was unable to tell how long she had been there.

'It feels like I have been here forever. I need to get out of this.' Shaman began to get a little worried as it seemed like she was in a sort of trance but then suddenly the warm sensation she was feeling began to dwindle and her concentration was broken bringing her back to reality.

Shaman opened her eyes and could see Himeko smiling at her and Elysia looking at her with curiosity.

Shaman could feel that she was sweating all over and that her breaths had begun to be raggared.

"How long was I out for?" Shaman felt like the endless space would never end and wondered how long she was actually in there for.

"I would say about 4 minutes." Himeko's answer shocked Shaman as it did not feel like 4 minutes.

"It really felt like I was there forever and was going to die of old age." Shaman let out a sigh of relief but could not help express her worries.

"That's a normal feeling but I did not expect you to do so well so I was unable to explain how to deal with it." Himeko let out an awkward laugh with Elysia and Wolfy listening closely

"Anyway I have to say I'm impressed as it takes a few days to be able to stay in that meditative state for a decent amount of time." Himeko was proud of Shaman but this was only the beginning as there is much more to the meditative state that can be done. Shaman was also rather shocked to hear it but felt very proud she was able to achieve something.

"Well with that out of the way I think we will go for a break and have some lunch then I have something planned for you guys hehe~" Himeko wanted to treat the girls for their effort and also wanted to found out more about them since she felt like they needed a motherly figure in their lives as the recent events must have taken a toll on them.