I. Cold Glances in the Palace
The days Arthur spent in the Elven Library were filled not only with knowledge but also with palpable resentment. Despite being Anna's personal guest, the noble Elves of the Palace treated him with overt hostility. Whenever he crossed paths with an Elven noble in the corridors, it was invariably followed by a wave of Mana Scrutiny—their attempt to confirm the insignificance of his F-Class mana.
Among these nobles, one was more menacing than the rest: Lord Faerondil. He was the second-in-command of the unit Anna led and a noble with significant influence in the Royal Council. Faerondil was deeply unsettled by Arthur's presence and the unprecedented privilege Anna afforded a mere human.
Faerondil was tall, copper-skinned, and possessed sharp, severe features. From his eyes emanated a cold, piercing mana, typical of a practitioner of the Shadow Element.
One afternoon, as Arthur was returning to his quarters, Faerondil intercepted him in a secluded corridor.
"Human," Faerondil's voice was a chilling melody. "I do not comprehend the leniency Commander Anna shows you. To have an F-Class captive wandering beneath our Tree of Knowledge is a stain upon the honor of this Palace."
Arthur held his head high. "I am here by Commander Anna's order. My duty is to seek knowledge."
"Knowledge? Do you truly believe your frail human mind can digest the primordial wisdom of the Elves?" Faerondil smirked derisively. "Or is this some clandestine path to fortifying your wretched, stunted mana?"
II. The Brink of Shadow
Faerondil took a predatory step toward Arthur and abruptly raised his hand. Intending to suppress Arthur's weak mana, he manifested a small but dense orb of Shadow Mana and hurled it toward Arthur's shoulder.
It was a test designed not to kill, but to inflict pain and humiliation—a lesson for an F-Class upstart.
Arthur's mind went blank. The Shadow Orb was closing in rapidly. He couldn't dodge.
This is my only chance.
Arthur instantly activated the Seal. He knew the theory now: he had to focus his entire reservoir into a single moment. From the pressure chamber near his heart, he began to force the purified mana through the microscopic channel.
His body shuddered. Dense, crystalline blue mana gathered with terrifying speed in his palm. The output was miniscule in volume, but its density was staggering.
Just as Faerondil's Shadow Orb was centimeters away, a single Ice Needle shot from Arthur's hand.
The needle moved at a velocity disproportionate to its size, striking the very center of the Shadow Orb. Upon impact, a sharp "crack" echoed through the hall. Faerondil's shadow sorcery froze instantly at the point of contact. The orb shattered like black glass, and crystallized mana particles rained onto the floor.
Arthur had used every drop of his mana to create that tiny needle. His head spun, and he gasped for air, but he managed to remain standing.
The mockery on Faerondil's face vanished, replaced by sheer bewilderment, then twisted into a scowl of fury.
"What... what was that? That was no Water spell. It was absolute zero. My mana... it was frozen solid!"
III. The Commander's Intervention
At that moment, Anna appeared, rounding the corner with haste. She had clearly sensed the discharge of Faerondil's mana.
"Lord Faerondil! What do you think you are doing?" Anna's voice was filled with an uncharacteristic, commanding rage.
Faerondil, masking his anger, gestured toward Arthur. "Commander Anna, this 'prisoner' cannot control his mana. I was merely testing if he posed a threat to the Kingdom. And what I found... was an anomaly."
He pointed to the shards of ice and shadow at Arthur's feet. "This F-Class boy froze a Shadow spell out of existence. His mana quantity is low, but the quality... it is disturbingly high. What are you hiding, Anna?"
Anna turned to Arthur. Her eyes held neither shock nor anger, but a quiet validation. She knew Arthur's theory about the Seal was correct.
"What I hide is of no concern to you, my Lord," Anna said, her voice now that of a true Commander. "This prisoner is assigned to library research. Deciphering his anomaly could provide us with vital data regarding human mana. Your 'tests' jeopardize the mission of the High Elven Hegemony."
Faerondil narrowed his eyes but could not defy Anna's authority. "This is not over, Anna. I will be watching this human."
As Faerondil stormed away, Arthur leaned against the wall, his strength spent. For the first time, he had saved his life not just with instinct, but with the lethal precision of his Sealed Frost.
Anna rushed to his side. "Are you alright? That ice... it was truly Ice."
Arthur nodded, his mana drained to the last drop. "The theory is sound, Anna. But that's all I can do. My entire reservoir is gone."
Anna looked at him with a subtle, knowing smile. "It means you've bested Faerondil. But we cannot keep this a secret forever. You have the knowledge now. Next... comes the training."
IV. The Elven Path: Mana Meditation
Following the confrontation with Lord Faerondil, Anna returned to Arthur's room later that evening, placing an ancient Elven tome on his table. The title read: "The Art of Attunement with Aethel's Essence."
"That Ice Needle... it didn't surprise me, Arthur. But it terrified Faerondil," Anna said. "The fact that a mere F-Class could wield such high-density mana has shaken the confidence of nobles like him. You are under even stricter scrutiny now."
She traced the cover of the book with her fingers. "Your problem is simple: Reservoir. Your mana density is fixed by the Seal, so we must increase the volume. Unlike humans, who try to generate mana from within, we Elves nourish our reserves by attuning ourselves to the external flow of nature."
"How is that possible?" Arthur asked. "I'm not an Elf. My connection to nature is non-existent."
"No, you simply don't know how to attune yet. Your first lesson: Equilibrium Meditation."
Under Anna's guidance, Arthur sat in the center of the room, positioned directly in the path of the fresh breeze flowing through the window.
Step One: Silence. Arthur closed his eyes, attempting to quiet the chaos and anxiety within his mind.
"Breathe," Anna commanded. "Let your mind focus on the presence of mana. Think of it as an ocean surrounding you, even in the very air you breathe."
Arthur tried. His mana was so frail that sensing the vast "Mana Ocean" felt like trying to hear a whisper in a storm. However, the Seal helped him once again. The intense, compressed mana inside acted like a magnet, pulling at the external energies around him.
V. The Vacuum Effect
After a long silence, Anna spoke. "What do you feel? Can you draw it in?"
Arthur was drenched in sweat. "No. The external mana feels alien. Instead of pulling it in... I feel like I'm shrinking away from it."
Anna stepped closer and placed her hand on Arthur's back. The touch of Elven Mana was surprisingly soothing, radiating a calm warmth through his spine.
"It's because of the Seal," Anna whispered. "The Seal doesn't just purify mana; it isolates it. It prevents direct contact with the world's flow."
She pulled her hand away, a sudden realization lighting up her face. "Then we won't try to draw it in. We will use the force of its pressure."
"What do you mean?"
"Your Seal has incredibly high internal pressure. This pressure creates resistance against the outside world. If you slowly relax that resistance—just a fraction—the external mana will naturally rush in to fill the void. Like air rushing into a vacuum."
VI. A Glimmer of Infinite Potential
Arthur followed her instructions. He focused all his will on the "Frost Pressure" within his chest. He began to mentally expand the rigid walls of the Seal, easing the internal tension.
At first, nothing happened. Then, a low hum vibrated through his bones. It was the sound of his internal mana making room for the world's ocean.
THUMP!
Arthur's heart felt as if it had skipped a beat. His internal pressure met the Mana Ocean of the world. His Seal, for the first time, took a "breath."
A massive surge of fresh mana began to pour into Arthur's body—a volume he had never experienced before. It was a revitalizing, cool sensation that no F-Class mage should ever feel. His reservoir was expanding at a visible rate!
Anna noticed the shift immediately. "That's it! Your Seal isn't a straw to drink with; it's a Vacuum Pump!"
The sensation lasted only a few seconds. Arthur's body, unaccustomed to such a violent influx of power, began to cramp with pain. Instinctively, the Seal locked itself tight again.
Cold sweat poured down Arthur's brow, but he felt more invigorated than ever. In just a few seconds of meditation, his reservoir had grown more than it would have in a month of ordinary training.
"Enough, Arthur!" Anna warned. "Your veins cannot handle more. We will do this only once a day. Any more, and your mana circuits will rupture."
Arthur wiped his brow and smiled. "At this rate, will I have the reservoir of a D-Class in a month?"
"Perhaps even a B-Class," Anna said mysteriously. "Remember, your density remains constant. If your volume matches it... the results will be beyond calculation."
Arthur was no longer just a prisoner. In the heart of the enemy palace, he was on his way to becoming the mage with the most potent mana on the continent.