The birth of Talent
The moment his mana-formed hand closed around the ball, a huge surge of mana burst out and spread through the surroundings.
The darkness around Marc suddenly began to crack. Thin lines spread everywhere like broken glass, and from those cracks, flowing mana started leaking out. Then, in an instant, the darkness shattered completely and was replaced by a bright blue stream of mana moving all around him. Marc was shocked but also thrilled. He tried pulling all the mana toward the ball in his mana-formed hand, making it even denser. The mana kept pouring into him nonstop.
From the outside, Bell saw something that almost made him suprise.
"Hah… this kid… so that's why…" Bell smiled, but there was a hint of shock. "So that's why the village has low mana… this kid has been unknowingly absorbing the mana in this whole village. This is crazy. A talent is being born right in front of me."
Marc's entire body glowed as mana flowed through him. After a few seconds, the glow slowly faded, and then Marc opened his eyes.
The moment he did, everything looked different. His vision had changed. He could see even the smallest traces of mana in the air. He could sense the tiny mana coming from people outside the orphanage. He could even see through walls just by following the pathways of mana. His eyes were filled with mana itself, and when he looked at his hands, they were wrapped in a bright layer of mana.
"Woa… woa… WOAAA! Everything looks so different! My hands are covered in mana!" Marc shouted, shocked but excited.
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Marc quickly turned around to show Bell what he achieved, but the moment he looked using his new mana-filled eyes, what he saw wasn't Bell at all. What he saw was something indescribable. His eyes started bleeding, his head felt like it was tearing apart, and he couldn't breathe. A sharp pain spread through him, and then everything went dark as he slowly closed his eyes and passed out.
Bell looked down at Marc's unconscious body and let out a small chuckle. A thought ran through his mind. "Hah… this kid… those eyes saw me. Not me in this body, but the real me. This child has way too much potential to stay stuck in this small place."
He crouched beside Marc, placed his hand on Marc's head, and let mana flow through his arm.
Bell said, "I need to slow down his absorption. He's taking in mana way too fast, and that could be dangerous for people around him. I'll place some of my mana needles inside the mana ball he formed. That should reduce his absorption speed and strength by around 78% percent."
Bell sighed, grabbed Marc's hand, and carried him to the bed. Three hours later, Marc slowly woke up. When he opened his eyes, he turned his head and saw Bell sleeping on a chair. A moment later, Bell woke up too and said, "Ah, you're awake already. That's good."
Marc replied, "Yeah… what happened… I remember doing something great with mana but then everything went black and I passed out. Argh… my head still hurts a bit."
Bell handed him a glass of water and said, "Good job. You've finally taken your first real step in learning how to use magic."
Marc's eyes widened and he quickly chugged the water. "Really??"
Bell smiled and replied, "Yeah. Now let's go to the back of the orphanage and test what you can do."
…
….
As they reached the back, Bell asked Marc if he was able to recognize the feeling of mana and if he managed to familiarize himself with it. Marc excitedly replied that not only did he recognize it, he even managed to gather a huge amount of mana and condense it into a ball earlier.
Bell praised Marc for his achievement, then told him to try bringing out the same thing again. Marc nodded, stepped back, inhaled deeply, and as he exhaled, mana slowly crept into his eyes and hands. His vision changed and he once again saw the mana flowing in the surroundings. He looked at Bell and exclaimed joyfully, "Bell! Look! I did it!"
Bell's thoughts shifted as he observed Marc. "Hm… looks like that thing he saw before was a one time thing. He's looking at me right now but he isn't having a seizure like last time."
Bell said, "Hey Marc, can you try enveloping your whole body with mana?"
Marc replied with confusion, "Hmm… I don't really know. But I'll try!"
Marc then focused on covering his entire body with mana. Slowly, the mana in the air was absorbed little by little and flowed toward Marc's body. It was slow, like a long charge-up, and it would take time before his body could be fully covered in mana.
Bell then suggested that Marc try using the mana ball he created earlier and open a small gap to let some of the mana flow out. Marc nodded, stopped absorbing mana from the surroundings, closed his eyes, and searched for the mana ball he had captured. Once he found it, he opened a tiny gap, and a strong surge of mana rushed out. When Marc opened his eyes, he saw his entire body covered in mana. But it wasn't just regular mana. The mana around his body was thicker, denser, and far more refined.
Bell, amused by the sight, grabbed a wooden log and used his physical strength to throw it straight at Marc.
Marc's eyes darted toward the incoming log, and before he could even process what was happening, his body reacted on its own. He dodged the log effortlessly, almost as if it was moving in slow motion. He stared at Bell in shock. "HUH?? Why did you throw a wooden log at me?? I could've gotten hitt!!"
"But you didn't," Bell replied smoothly.
Marc blinked. "What..?"
Bell explained, "You were able to dodge that because your eyes, being engulfed in mana, are constantly healing and enhancing themselves."
Bell picked up another piece of wood and said, "This time, don't dodge. Block it with your arms."
Marc panicked, frustrated and nervous. "WHAT?? What do you mean, don't dodge?? And why are you throwing more stu—-"
Before Marc could finish, Bell placed a small amount of mana into his palm and launched the wood directly at Marc's face. Marc, caught completely off guard, couldn't dodge even if he wanted to. He raised his arms and braced for the worst.
The wood collided with Marc's arms, but instead of pain, there was a sharp crack. The wood shattered instantly, as if Marc's body was tougher than stone.
"Woahhh…" Marc breathed out in awe.
Bell smirked. "See? I knew you could handle it. Look at your body. It's engulfed in dense, thick mana. A measly piece of wood won't even get a dent on you, let alone leave a scratch on you."
Marc stared at his arms, amazement lighting up his face. He looked at Bell with genuine gratitude. "Thanks… I… I can finally start with this dream of mine…"
Bell walked toward him and gently patted his head. Marc frowned and said, "Why are you patting me like some grown adult…"
Bell cleared his throat. "Ehm… anyway, try going back to normal."
Marc nodded, closed his eyes, and focused on returning his body to its natural state. When he opened them again, his vision had returned to normal and the mana coating his body had vanished. A light headache and a bit of strain hit his eyes, but he shook it off.
Bell praised him for everything he achieved, mentioning that what Marc did was something special, something not everyone could pull off. Marc smiled proudly at himself. He then told Bell that they should train together someday so they could explore the world full of magic and power.
Bell was a bit surprised at Marc's words, but then smiled. "You took the words right out of my mouth."
Bell then began explaining more things about mana how it works, what it can be used for, and the dangers of relying on it too much. He told Marc to slowly train his physical body as well so he could handle stronger mana levels as he grew older.
Marc listened carefully, taking every word seriously. Then he asked, "Does this mean I can use spells now? Like magic?"
Bell smirked. "Yes, obviously you can… but you're not going to."
"Whattt…?" Marc tilted his head, confused.
Bell continued, "Yes, you can use spells, magic, incantations, all of that. But you don't need them. You have an insane amount of mana stored inside you and it's constantly growing. You're going to be a mana user."
Marc's eyes lit up. "A mana user?"
Bell nodded. "A mana user is someone who primarily uses large amounts of mana to form magic directly like fire, water, wind, or anything your mind can shape. It's about ten times stronger than normal spells or incantations. But the downside is that mana-formed magic requires an enormous amount of mana, which causes extreme exhaustion and can even completely drain you."
Marc listened with fascination. "Hoooo…"
Bell continued, "That's why alot of mages avoid using mana form magic, some dont even learn mana formed magic at all. The strain is too much for them."
Marc leaned forward. "Are you able to do mana formed magic?"
Bell smirked. "Of course I can."
He raised his index finger. A flow of mana gathered at the tip, swirling upward. In a blink, the mana compressed, heated, and burst into a red hot flame flickering from his fingertip.