Mental Mana
"Unfortunately, yeah. We'll probably have to register in another village… or maybe at a kingdom."
Juro waved his hand dismissively.
"Hey, no need to look so down about it. Let's just enjoy the two nights we'll be staying in this village."
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Then Juro turned to Marc.
"So I guess you figured out how to sense someone's mana now?"
Marc scratched the back of his head, feeling a little flattered.
"Hehe… well, it wasn't just me. Bell also helped me figure out what to focus on."
Bell shrugged slightly.
"Well… I was just repeating what that book said about mana sensing."
Marc's eyes lit up again.
"Ooo! You should show me that book next time, Bell. I want to learn more too."
Bell laughed awkwardly.
"Ahaha… sure…"
Marc then turned toward Juro.
"So, is that all the training for today, Teacher Juro?"
Juro closed his eyes and began thinking.
"Hmmmm…"
After a moment, he spoke.
"It's going to be evening soon, but I think we can still fit in one more training session."
Marc's eyes immediately sparkled.
"Really?!"
Juro uncrossed his arms.
"Yeah. Alright, I'm going to teach you something a little more advanced."
Bell listened quietly.
"Advanced?" he thought.
Marc leaned forward with excitement.
"Oooo, advanced? Is it another magic?"
Juro chuckled.
"Everything is magic, hehe."
He then gestured toward the floor.
"Alright. Both of you sit down and face each other."
Bell and Marc followed his instructions.
"Good," Juro said.
Marc looked curious.
"Ooo, what is this about, Teacher Juro?"
Juro tapped his temple.
"It's training… but for your mind."
Bell immediately understood what was about to happen.
"So that's it," he thought quietly. "Mental mana room."
Marc tilted his head in confusion.
"Training… but in my head?"
Juro simply smiled.
"Just follow the steps."
He raised a finger.
"First, close your eyes."
Both Bell and Marc closed their eyes and waited for the next instruction.
Juro watched them carefully.
"Now," he said, "release a small amount of mana from your bodies."
Before continuing, Juro quietly cast magic under his breath.
"Geotomic."
A faint purple square instantly spread across the entire room before fading into transparent invisibility.
Bell noticed the magic the moment it was cast.
"Oh?" he thought.
"So he's that careful."
Bell understood immediately what the spell was for.
"He even set up a mana barrier… one that prevents anyone outside from sensing the mana inside."
A faint smirk appeared on Bell's face.
Geotomic was one of the magic The Greatest Mage invented many years ago. It was among his earliest creations.
The magic allowed the caster to conceal the mana within a room. It was especially useful for mages who wanted to train, meditate, or absorb mana without being disturbed or detected by others.
Because of how practical the spell was, it quickly became popular among mages. Over time, variations of it even spread to other continents, where different magical societies created their own versions inspired by the original.
Inside the room, Marc and Bell kept their eyes closed as they slowly released their mana.
Soon, both of them began to sense a presence directly in front of them.
Juro watched them carefully before giving the next instruction.
"Focus. Use the mana coming from each other and try to materialize that presence in your mind."
Bell did it almost effortlessly. The moment he concentrated, Marc's form appeared clearly within his mental vision, shaped entirely by the flow of Marc's mana.
Marc, however, struggled.
Every time he tried to focus and visualize Bell's form through his mana, something strange happened. The mana he sensed would suddenly spike for a brief moment before returning to normal, disrupting his concentration.
He tried again.
And again.
After several attempts, Marc finally managed to stabilize his focus. Slowly, Bell's silhouette began to take shape within the darkness.
Marc let out a quiet breath of relief.
Juro watched the two of them and smiled, growing more intrigued by how quickly they were learning.
"Alright," Juro said. "Now that you both managed to visualize each other's form using the mana coming from your opponent, you have entered what we call a Mental Mana Room."
He crossed his arms.
"Now try attacking each other."
Then he added,
"And remember to stabilize your mana."
Marc focused intensely as he tried to familiarize himself with the strange sensation. He looked down at his own hands and noticed that his fists were made entirely of mana.
The space around them was nothing but endless darkness.
Standing in front of him was Bell's figure, formed from the mana he had sensed.
Bell, however, had experienced this kind of training countless times before. He quickly stabilized his control and simply waited for Marc to prepare himself.
Juro added one more instruction.
"Oh, and you can use mana magic there too… but it will cost more mana."
After hearing Juro's instructions, Marc looked down at his hand inside the Mental Mana Room. Curious, he tried forming a small ball of water in his palm using mana magic.
The sphere flickered slightly at first, unstable as his focus shifted. After a few moments of adjusting to the strange sensation of the mental space, the water finally stabilized into a small floating orb above his hand.
Marc spent a few more minutes getting used to the environment. The sensation was strange. His body felt light, almost unreal, yet everything around him looked clear and vivid.
Eventually, he took a battle stance.
It was nothing special. Just a simple stance an amateur might use in a fistfight, but his determination was obvious.
Across from him, Bell observed Marc's figure carefully. After a moment, Bell straightened his posture and slowly began walking forward.
Outside in the real world, Marc's forehead was starting to sweat from nervousness.
Juro watched both of them closely and grinned when he noticed Marc's expression.
Despite the sweat on his face, Marc was smiling with excitement. His mana slowly began surging outward as his emotions grew stronger.
Bell, on the other hand, had a calm and steady mana flow. His control remained stable and quiet.
Back inside the Mental Mana Room, Bell's figure continued walking toward Marc.
Without hesitation, Bell formed a fist and threw a punch straight toward Marc's face.
Marc reacted quickly and dodged the strike.
But an instant later, he felt a sudden impact on the left side of his head.
Marc's figure stumbled and quickly jumped backward.
His thoughts raced.
"That felt too real… I actually felt the impact… but there was no pain."
Marc looked around in amazement.
"This Mental Mana Room is incredible…"
He quickly regained focus and charged forward toward Bell's figure. As he closed the distance, Marc threw a right punch toward Bell's head.
Bell saw the attack coming and raised his arms to guard.
Marc's punch collided with Bell's forearms.
For a brief moment, everything seemed normal.
Then suddenly, an explosive burst of mana erupted from Marc's fist.
The impact pushed Bell's figure backward, and the mana forming his arm fluctuated violently.
Bell looked surprised for a moment.
But then he quickly understood what had happened.
"Oh… that was a bit unexpected," he thought. "But I should have anticipated that."
Bell studied Marc carefully.
"His mana output is much higher than mine right now."
A small smile appeared on Bell's face.
"Alright… I should let him experience losing."
Marc was still amazed by the power behind his punch.
But before he could think any further, he saw Bell's figure suddenly move forward with surprising speed.
Marc panicked and threw a front kick to push him away.
But Bell reacted instantly.
Bell grabbed Marc's leg mid kick. In that single moment, Bell focused a tremendous amount of mana into his other hand and brought it down in a sharp chopping motion.
The strike cleanly severed Marc's leg.
The instant it happened, Marc felt a sharp, stinging sensation. It was not true pain, but the shock of the impact traveled through his body. His chest tightened and his mana began fluctuating wildly in panic.
Marc quickly stumbled backward and focused his mana on the severed leg.
Slowly, the limb began regenerating.
However, keeping control of his mana was becoming difficult. His concentration was unstable, and the regeneration process wavered as his thoughts raced.
Just as his leg finished reforming, Bell's figure rushed toward him again without hesitation.
Marc immediately swung his left arm in a desperate counterattack.
Bell dodged the strike effortlessly and swept Marc's legs out from under him.
Marc fell onto his back.
In that very instant, Bell raised his fist, overflowing with concentrated mana, and brought it down toward Marc's head.
The strike landed.
Marc's head was instantly obliterated.
The moment it happened, Marc's eyes snapped open in the real world.
His face was drenched in sweat and his heart pounded violently in his chest. For a brief moment, everything around him felt distant and hollow.
In that instant, Marc's mana went completely blank.
For one second, it vanished entirely.
The sensation was disturbingly close to what death might feel like.
Marc gasped for air as he looked around the room, trying to regain his bearings. He checked his body, then instinctively sensed his mana again.
Slowly, the feeling returned.
Bell calmly opened his eyes and looked at him.
"Did I go too far?"
Marc took a moment to breathe before suddenly collapsing onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling.
Then he burst out laughing.
"Hahaha… that… that was amazing!"
He wiped the sweat from his face.
"It felt way too real. It was like I was actually fighting you!"
Marc exhaled heavily.
"Hahhh…"
Juro laughed as well.
"Not bad, kids."
He crossed his arms proudly.
"Congratulations. You both managed to successfully enter your first Mental Mana Room."