A tall, burly man stood before Adrian, towering over him like a titan and casting a long shadow across the ground.
With his slightly long brown hair tied neatly and a small beard growing on his face, the man looked like the kind who would scare any child.
But as he continued staring down at Adrian, his expression was strange.
With his head tilted and eyes slightly squinting, his expression suggested he couldn't understand what he was even looking at. And Adrian only stared back at the man expressionlessly.
After this silent exchange went on for a while, the man shook his head as if to clear away his thoughts and finally spoke.
"So, Young Master Adrian. As you may have been informed, I will be teaching you the basics of magical combat starting today. I am a knight of House Ravenshade. My name is Joran Ashfeld, but you may simply call me Joran."
Then he flashed Adrian a smile.
"Don't worry, I know that you're young, so I'll be sure not to teach you anything too complex."
'He's treating me like a child. I wonder how long that will last.'
In the mansion, almost no one treated Adrian like the five-year-old that he was. At first, they treated him like a toddler, but their behavior changed the more they interacted with him.
'Well, let us do this, I suppose.'
A day had passed since the discussion with his mother, and today was the first day of his supposed magical training.
He was told that he would meet his instructor, who was supposedly the man in front of him. They were standing in the clearing behind the mansion, as the tall structure loomed behind them.
Sir Joran sat down on the grassy ground and gestured for him to do the same. Adrian sat down facing him, and Sir Joran asked,
"You should know that you have reached Phase One, correct? Tell me, how much do you know about it?"
'That's not something I'm supposed to know. Well, that doesn't mean that I don't know.'
Even though he had spent most of his time in the library, there was very little information he could gain there. That was because he only had access to a few kinds of books; the rest were inaccessible to him.
Those inaccessible books included most texts about mana and magic. Still, he had gathered information through other ways.
Adrian replied confidently.
"Phase One is the first step toward using mana. Only those who reach Phase One can begin storing mana inside their bodies. Those who haven't reached Phase One can't store mana within their bodies and thus can't use it."
Sir Joran's smile deepened.
"Young Master Adrian, that understanding is incorrect. Only those who can't use mana will believe that kind of information, …like the servants in the mansion."
Adrian looked at Sir Joran's smile, and his palms began to itch with irritation.
'I don't like this person.'
"It's not that we can only store mana in our bodies after reaching Phase One," Sir Joran said. "Every person has mana in their body; they simply cannot sense or manipulate it before reaching Phase One."
"I see," Adrian nodded. "But how does one reach Phase One? What even are these phases? I don't quite understand."
Based on his own experience, Adrian could infer that there were certain conditions attached to climbing to this Phase One, conditions that he had fulfilled while sleeping.
It was also obvious that not everyone could reach Phase One. The servants of the mansion were a good example.
Sir Joran sat straight, folding his legs. Then gestured for Adrian to copy him.
As Adrian copied his posture, Sir Joran's voice reached his ears.
"Try to concentrate slightly, you would be able to feel something flowing inside you. Try to expel it outside through your hands."
Adrian concentrated slightly, and he could indeed feel his body filled with something foreign as it flowed inside. This was not the first time, he had been able to feel it since the moment he reached Phase One.
He tried to expel it outside, but since he had no way to touch it, he couldn't guide it. After struggling for a while, he was able to finally control it.
He just had to do it with a mental command from his mind. It felt instinctive, like controlling his limbs.
Guiding it through his hand, he released it, and a bluish translucent energy began flowing out from his hands. At the same time, he felt the foreign substance in his body decrease slightly.
But within a few moments, he felt that the decreased foreign substance went back to its original quantity, as if it had been refilled.
Observing him, Sir Joran smiled as he began explaining.
"You felt it, right? That was mana. And your body is like a container that holds mana. The mana inside your body is yours; you can control it however you want. This is all you need to understand right now."
Adrian slightly clenched his fist in frustration. Sir Joran explained nothing, and he received no information. He knew that Sir Joran had his reasons since Adrian was a child, and it was pointless to explain things to him if one thought logically.
Still, he needed answers; he needed information. This was an opportunity for him; he couldn't just let it go to waste.
Adrian spoke up.
"Sir Joran, I don't think that answers any of my questions. Please explain. Why did I reach Phase One? Why can't everyone do so? And I felt that the mana I expended just now was restored, how? I need to know."
Sir Joran just looked at him with a troubled expression, and Adrian could even feel some annoyance mixed in. But in the end, he let out a sigh.
"Well, it's somewhat complicated, and I'm not sure you'll be able to follow. Still, I'll do my best to explain."
"You see, every living thing possesses intent. Some call it desire, some call it will, but the technical term for it is intent. This intent draws the mana present in the atmosphere into their bodies. After the mana enters one's body, it is subjugated by one's intent, which is what allows one to manipulate mana."
Adrian tilted his head and asked in confusion.
"I am afraid you aren't making sense, Sir Joran. If that is the case, then why can't everyone use mana?"
Sir Joran made an expression as if he was waiting for that exact question.
"Perfect! Young Master, you are smart indeed! Good observation. And to answer your question, a body has a limit to how much mana it can hold. Remember this. Also, keep in mind that mana has a property that evolves things to a higher quality or existence. Do you follow so far?"
A vein began to pop on Adrian's forehead as he tried to control his irritation. He didn't quite like the way that Sir Joran was treating him.
But he still gave a slight nod of confirmation.
"So, since intent is constantly drawing in mana, but the body has limited mana capacity, the excess mana is constantly being expelled out of your body, back into the atmosphere. This constant expulsion of mana forms an aura around you, which is called presence."
"Oh, also keep in mind that the strength of one's intent varies from person to person, but it usually grows stronger the longer one lives." He added. "The stronger the intent, the greater the rate at which it draws mana into the body."
He folded his muscular arms.
"Since the body has a limited mana capacity, it is forced to evolve in order to handle greater quantities of mana. This evolution is possible because mana itself has the property of enhancing and refining living things. This process of adaptation and evolution is divided into multiple steps called Phases."
Sitting with folded legs, he leaned in slightly and looked at Adrian with expectant eyes.
"Young Master Adrian, you were able to follow all that, right? Well, my explanation should have been simple enough to follow."
'No, it wasn't. But I could understand it since I'm not actually a toddler.'
But he still had doubts even after that explanation. So he voiced them.
"That still doesn't answer my question. If intent grows stronger the longer one lives, then why can't everyone use mana? They should be able to after a certain age, right?"
This time, Sir Joran didn't smile like before. There was an expression of shock and reluctance on his face.
"Honestly, I didn't think you would be able to think that far, Young Master Adrian. I suppose I underestimated your reputation. More than that, I did not want to explain this part yet. Every person has a limit to how many phases they can climb. You can think of it as a genetic limit. One's body simply cannot evolve beyond its genetic limit, so there is a predetermined limit to which phase a person can climb."
He gestured to Adrian with his hands.
"This genetic limit can be transferred to the descendants, so if a person had the genetic limit to reach up to Phase Five, then their child will most likely have a similar genetic limit. Nobles carefully manage their bloodlines. That is why almost all nobles can use mana. Most commoners cannot do so because their bloodline has weakened over generations."
'I see… It's quite a messed-up system. Well, not my problem.'
"I understand," Adrian replied. "I have no further questions. Please continue."
"That's out of the way now, at least." Sir Joran sighed. "It's time to decide on the direction you'll go as a mana user, young master."
Adrian tilted his head.
"Direction? I'm not sure I follow…"
Sir Joran smiled brightly, a smile filled with anticipation, which made Adrian uneasy.
"It's the most important decision of a mana user's life. It determines the path they will walk."
'I don't think such an important decision should be made by a five-year-old…'
"So tell me, Young Master Adrian, will you become a Caster or an Infuser?"