Zane 's brow furrowed. After searching several aisles, he did not find any books that contained what he wanted. Of course, that's mainly because this library was too vast, and without knowing exactly what to look for, he was basically searching for a needle in a haystack.
Returning to his seat, Zane accessed the magic web and used the search function. For the next twenty minutes, he scrolled through all the free articles and information about how to accelerate the training of mana projection. There were many useful but impractical suggestions, and after summarizing everything, Zane realized only two were feasible.
The first method was the use of a small, specialized metal orb designed to interact with mana. A mage can then project their mana to control the sphere, which will aid in their training. The more spheres a person can control, the higher their control of the projected mana.
The second method is the use of a gravity room. Unlike what Zane thought, the gravity room's purpose is not just for knights to exercise their bodies to elevate their life force. The gravity room also functions to purify mana and battle energy. Mana Purification is something that only 1-ring Mage and above have to worry about, but apprentices can use it to train their mana projection. By fighting against the downward force of gravity, the control of projected mana can be trained.
"For now, I don't have the money to have a mana orb made, so that leaves the gravity room. However, is there really no faster way?" Zane thought. Something in his mind told him there was, but he just hadn't figured it out yet. This feeling wasn't new; every time he was on the verge of a critical breakthrough, a eureka moment, this strange sensation would haunt his mind.
Closing his eyes, Zane tried to catch that hint of inspiration; he knew not to rush things and just let his thoughts flow naturally. "Scattered mental energy … condense mental energy … brainstem … increase control… That's it. The meditation book stated that mana was not a foreign matter but an extension of the body and mind; it is just like any muscle or other body part. In that case, since condensing my mental energy can increase mana control, what if I condense the mental energy in the frontal lobe, which is responsible for motor function?"
Without hesitating, he rushed to the [Life Section] to retrieve a book about human anatomy, specifically about the brain. After learning about the frontal lobe and the motor cortex, Zane immediately started his experiment. The first issue was finding such a small part of his brain. After thinking it over briefly, he chose to follow the life energy in his brain, since it's connected to everything.
The process was not as easy as he had thought. Every part of the brain had its own unique life energy, and the key was to distinguish the energy signature of the frontal lobe from that of the cerebellum, temporal lobe, and other parts. With the condensed mental energy, Zane's sensitivity to energy had increased, but even that wasn't enough for immediate success. He only saw a positive result after thinking about mapping his entire brain, starting from the spinal cord.
"This is kind of eerie," Zane thought as he realized he could now perfectly visualize every part of his brain. His sudden thought disrupted his concentration, forcing him to start over. Without hesitation, Zane gathered his scattered mental energy and forced them to condense, forming a transparent sphere inside his motor cortex.
"Nothing? Is my idea wrong?" Zane thought. However, his intuition told him that he wasn't wrong, just missing another piece of the puzzle. Immediately, his mind began to operate at an alarming rate, using the available information he had to find answers. Then, his brain retrieved a piece of information: mana was described as a catalyst, meaning it needed something else to facilitate a transformation or effect. Following this logic, the next step was simple: channeling.
However, Zane was not referring to mana. The meditation book once stated that the brain was the home of mental energy and that they were intrinsically linked. So, he figured, since mana could be channeled to life force, mental energy should have the same effect — especially with the life force in the brain.
The process was simpler than Zane had imagined; the brain's compatibility of mental energy and life force was unparalleled. They fused without any struggle, resistance, or clash; it was as if they were from the same source. And the transformation that emerged was a unique manifestation of his extraordinary perception.
Zane immediately felt he could control the life energy coursing through many of his bones and muscles; specifically, he could control all the body parts involved in voluntary movement. In simple terms, in this state, Zane suddenly became a great gymnast, tennis player, and martial artist due to his extraordinary motor skills.
"What will happen if I channel my mental energy into different parts of the brain?" A new word suddenly opened to Zane after asking this question, but he did not immediately try. His original objective was to find a way to improve his Mana Projection Training. So, he proceeded to test out his method.
While his eyes were still closed, he raised his palm and pushed the mana out; it exited his body and remained in the air — connected to his concentration and mental energy — for more than five seconds. Zane's emotions became excited after sensing the mana in the air, but, having learned from his previous mistake, he immediately calmed himself and continued the experiment.
Now that the mana was out of his body, it was time to use it to engrave a spell model. With a calm and steady mind, Zane slowly outlined the rune diagrams for the Mana Shield Spell. However, midway through the process, the magic circle and other runes fell apart, and the spell failed. He tried again, and while there were minor improvements, the results were the same.
"Under normal circumstances, the projected mana can exist in the air for more than 5 seconds, but when engraving, the requirement for focus or mental energy is higher, and it can easily fall apart after only 2 seconds," Zane summarized as he opened his eyes.
Standing from his seat, Zane headed directly to Valeria, asking her for information about his situation. Right now, he needed guidance and answers instead of stumbling on his own. The beautiful Drow looked at him and sighed, "I can't believe you discovered Mental Channeling on your own."
"Mental Channeling?"
"Didn't your book tell you that 95% of magic skills are based on mana? Well, the remaining 5% uses mental channeling or mental energy."
"Is that so? Then, what's the difference between the two channelings?"
"Difference? There are only a few. One, mana channeling is a basic magic skill that all mages can easily learn. Meanwhile, mental channeling is considered at least a mid-tier magic skill."
"It is?"
Valeria displayed a look of annoyance, "Finding the life energy in muscles and bones is easy, but do you know how sophisticated the brain is? Do you know how much talent and effort are required to find different areas of the brain? Especially in an area as small as the motor cortex.
"And even if the life energy in the brain and mental energy are highly compatible, it's not easy to fuse them. The brain has its own defense mechanism. If it senses the fusion will cause even the tiniest of problems, the life energy will reject the fusion process."
"When you put it that way, it's indeed a difficult task."
Valeria shook his head. Those words were an understatement. Even Life Mages with a good understanding of the human body cannot easily navigate the brain's life energy. After all, it's one thing to know where the different areas are in a picture in a book — and maybe even after dissecting a real brain — but another thing entirely navigating from a three-dimensional perspective with mental energy. Some people have poor spatial awareness and simply cannot achieve mental channeling.
And that's just one of the issues. The brain is a sophisticated machine, and mental channeling is dangerous. If the brain senses that the channeling will cause even one molecule to behave oddly, it will instinctively reject the fusion process. And if a mage forces the union, well, they will be lucky if they are only dizzy for a few minutes.
"Alright, your presence suddenly annoys me," Valeria stated before writing down a list of books and handing it to Zane. "Go away." Smiling wryly, the young Skylar walked away to seek the knowledge he desired.
"What a horrifying talent," Alerti said after suddenly appearing next to Valeria.
"Indeed," the Drow nodded. They were not talking about Zane's magical talent; their focus was on his cognitive ability to make connections, deduce information with the limited knowledge he had, and even come up with ideas and concepts that no one had thought of before. Both of them had a deep understanding of the history of magic and understood how long mages took to evolve from developing Mana Channeling to Mental Channeling. Yet in just a few minutes, Zane figured it out on his own and took a leap that the ancestors had taken hundreds of years to achieve.
This was a unique gift. Magic talent can be improved; there are countless rare potions, magical rituals, and methods that can raise a person's talent to the highest level. However, his particular gift is unique to the individual, and usually impossible to replicate.
"He probably has an SS-Class Shaman Talent."
"Highly likely," Valeria nodded. Many things add up to determine a mage's talent: mana perception, mental energy development, energy control, energy affinity, energy recovery, rune affinity, soul potential, and many more. Anyone who scores high enough in these areas will receive an S-Class Talent. However, the primary factors in talent for Shamanism are the soul and mental energy. While the others are applicable, these two are the main.
"Don't forget to write your report," Alerti said before disappearing, leaving a complaining Valeria.
Meanwhile, Zane was already in the thick of a book called [Mental Channeling: The Secret of the Mind]. Through this reading, he learned the answer to the question he previously asked about the different applications of mental channeling. According to this book, a mage can increase their control over emotional energy by channeling mental energy into the limbic system; enhance their memory by channeling it into the hippocampus; and improve their cognitive abilities by channeling it into the prefrontal cortex.
"Mental Channeling is a great way to boost my magical abilities. The only issue is how slow it is," Zane thought. The process of condensing his scattered mental energy into a single area of his brain already takes too long, let alone the other steps in channeling. As of now, he can't even do them without his eyes closed.
"I need to train myself so that this process is instinctual," Zane analyzed. With enough training and conditioning, Zane knew he could activate these different mental channels instantaneously; a few books have already confirmed this. The only issue is that the training process takes time. Luckily, he would be safe for another year.
"I wonder what the effect of mana channeling would be like on the brain?"
Zane did not waste time and searched for the answer. Well, he was immediately glad he had never tried. While Mana Channeling had greater improvement than Mental Channeling, the side effects were too severe. Unlike with mental channeling, the brain has no resistance to mana, meaning it cannot reject the fusion process, which makes mana channeling in the brain extremely risky.
And even upon success, the strain placed on the brain and body will result in cerebral hemorrhaging, which requires immediate care afterward. However, Zane learned that many mages use this skill in a life-and-death situation. Afterward, if they are lucky enough to find a good enough healer, then they might survive. Otherwise, death is their only fate.