Zane retrieved the book, [Mana Guide], and walked toward a large bench to read. Although the library had private rooms, he didn't use one today because Tom Nguyen and Evans accompanied him. Leaning his magic staff on the table, Zane immediately began reading.
Everything that had happened with Valeria no longer mattered as soon as he opened the first page. The Sage Path is long and arduous, but today, he will take his first step by reading this foundation book about what could be considered the foundational essence of magic: mana. A tall building must be built with the proper foundation, and that's exactly what Zane was doing.
The reading area was quiet, with only the intermittent sound of flipping pages reverberating. Zane was lost in the pages of this book, his mind entering an unparalleled state of focus that allowed him to easily absorb information. With each paragraph he read, his shadow understanding of magic deepened at an exponential rate. Although that sounds like an exaggeration, considering he was an apprentice who only knew meditation and two spells, this was the genuine truth.
Page after page, and Zane never stopped. With each paragraph, countless questions he had been asking since that fateful day when the tower descended were finally answered. And after reading the last sentence, Zane exhaled deeply to relax his tense mind. He did not immediately reach for another book; instead, he took a moment to absorb the information he had just acquired.
The book's content can be summarized in three main points. First, mana is a catalyst. In its natural state, it usually has no use; it cannot strengthen, change, influence, or benefit anything. However, once it comes into contact with the world or other energy, it has a multitude of effects and abilities — including the ability to rewrite reality.
The second point is that mana has many characteristics, some of which are opposite, yet operate without issue. These characteristics include frequency, wavelength, resonance, charges, and much more. All the characteristics form rules and laws, and through observation, study, and experiment, magicians have uncovered these fundamental laws of magic.
The third main point is that [Mana Control] is the single most important key to a mage's success — maybe even more important than knowledge. Whether for condensing the Heart Rune Diagram to ascend in meditation stage or mastering magic skills such as [Wordless Cast], [Instant Cast], [Double Cast]. [Empower], or many others, mana control is the key. According to this book, 95% of magic skills are based on mana control, meaning that any mages who wish to be powerful in battle must master their mana.
There are also magic professions, which put an even heavier emphasis on subtle control of mana. Most mages cannot learn a profession because they do not meet the mana control requirement for most magic professions, which also makes mages who have mastered a profession sought after and quite wealthy.
After summarizing the book's content, Zane opened the hologram with his soul crest and began taking notes; he had forgotten to bring a notebook. Luckily, the magic web offered a note app, and Zane chose to use it instead of his phone to try it — after all, it was something new — and because the hologram could directly record his thoughts, which is much faster than typing on his phone or laptop.
Zane flipped back to different sections of the book, rereading and annotating them. Once the note was finished, Zane began the reorganization. Another advantage of this magic note is the level of control. Zane soon figured out he could change the fonts with a thought, make his writing more beautiful if he wished, move around, and even add perfect pictures or drawings as long as he imagined them. Taking his time, he ensured his notes were neat, detailed, and well-organized before he nodded in satisfaction.
"Hmm? Where is Evans?" Zane suddenly asked after finally noticing that only the two of them remained.
"He took a 30-minute break," Tom Nguyen replied, his eyes still glued to the book, flipping the page back and forth. Unlike Zane, who likes to summarize and take detailed notes, Tom prefers memorizing key details — including the entire book if he has to.
"Alright," Zane nodded before standing to retrieve another book. A few minutes later, he returned with a thin blue book called [The Ladder to Mastering Mana]. Such a short book requires thirty minutes or less to read, but the content inspired Zane. Without hesitation, he immediately began applying its content after taking all the notes necessary.
Glancing at his palm, Zane tried a simple mana control skill: projection. When casting a spell, he usually leads the mana to the tip of his finger before casting it out in the air and engraving his spell. However, this process is easy because the human finger or body acts as an anchor for the mana, preventing it from dissipating in the air. Projection, on the other hand, requires directly injecting mana into the air without an anchor.
Specs of blue light rushed on his palm, but none of them ever survived more than a second. Without an anchor, without a direct connection to a source, his mana will scatter immediately after leaving his body. Zane frowned as he realized mastering mana would not be a simple task; this was the lowest of control skills, slightly above mana channeling, and it appeared even that would take him a while.
"How can I speed up the process?" Zane thought. His first thought was to use the Astral Guide Potion, but it would be a waste to use such a valuable potion for a basic skill. Simultaneously, Mana Projection is also the foundation of many other skills, so it may be worth it.
Just as Zane was being indecisive, he suddenly thought of something and picked up his staff. As soon as he held it, Zane felt his mana so easy to wield; with one thought, he easily achieved projection. Glancing at the blue light in the air, Zane immediately understood the key: mental energy. For some reason, when he holds the staff, his mental energy becomes more potent, which facilitates an easier manipulation of mana. However, this answer was too vague to his liking, so Zane stood and headed to the ocean of books to find answers.
"Condensing mental energy," he thought as he flipped through a book called [Evolution of the Mind]. Despite its grand title, the book is a detailed analysis of the growth of a mage's mental energy from the apprentice stage to the first circle. Zane closed the book since he had his answer.
Why can a 1-circle Mage instantly cast 0-circle spells? It's because their mental energy is no longer scattered; on the contrary, it's so condensed that it can even affect reality in the form of telekinesis. And the higher the meditation stage, the more potent and condensed a mage's mental energy, until it ushers a transformation to become soul energy.
"Mental energy controls mana, meaning the process of mastering mana is also a process of mastering mental energy," Zane analyzed. Returning to his seat, he began trying Mana Projection for the second time. However, he did not focus on the mana within his body, but on the mental energy in his brain.
Just as the book stated, he sensed countless motes of transparent light scattered in different areas of his brain. Focusing his mind, Zane forced these lights to condense at the center of his brain, around the brainstem, condensing all of their powers.
"This sensation," Zane thought; the feeling of concentrated mental energy was exactly the same as when he held his magic staff. "I now understand why magic staffs are called Arcane Focus." This single thought disturbed Zane's focus, and the mental energy once again scattered. Taking a moment to regroup them, Zane then moved to the second step.
He did not immediately try projection, but tested out his mana channeling. The result was astonishing; the fusion of mana and life energy could now last 15 seconds, and more importantly, the boost in strength was drastically bigger. Zane had a feeling he could deadlift more than 1000 pounds.
Continuing with this momentum of confidence, Zane tried to project his mana into the air. "Success," he thought. His senses show him a light-blue power exiting his palm and lingering in the air for a few seconds before dissipating. Since the experiment was successful, Zane repeated it a few times until he was satisfied. However, he soon calmed himself down after noticing other issues.
The projected mana can only stay in the air for a bit over two seconds, and considering he would need at least 3 seconds for a spell, its effect was essentially useless. There is also the issue of the quantity. As of now, only a small portion of his mana can be projected, which is far from enough to engrave a spell model.
"H-How did you do it?"
Zane glanced at Tom Nguyen, who was at the seat across the table, with his hands raised as he too was trying to achieve mana projection. This wasn't surprising since [The Mana Guide] was the book that encouraged mastering mana by beginning with mana projection.
"The key is concentrated mental energy," Zane stated before explaining the step-by-step process. Tom Nguyen excitedly closed his eyes and tried. In a very short time, even less than Zane, he condensed his mental energy, but not because of higher talent, but because the quantity was lower. Then, a white-gray spark exited Tom's palm before disappearing after a second.
"I did it," Tom said with a bright smile.
"It seems there is no difference in basic manipulation between mana and the negative energy that Necromancers use," Zane analyzed.
"Thank you," Tom Nguyen said, his eyes full of sincerity. He's been trying for more than 20 minutes without any success, but with one explanation from Zane, he instantly mastered the key to this skill.
"Don't mention it," Zane nodded. The two did not chat for long as they continued their practice. Zane soon realized he might need a lot of practice to make any more progress, which was fine since he didn't mind working hard. But if there were another way to speed up the process, it would be ideal.
"Let's see if I can find a way to speed up things," he thought.