Bathed by the gentle glow of the candles within his living quarters, Adam sat on his bed in a lotus position as he practiced mindfulness. The air around him pulsated ever so slightly as a vortex of mana, barely visible to the eye, formed with him at the epicenter.
Adam's expression was tranquil as he effortlessly extracted the mana around him in the most optimal way. Combining the Five Elemental Codex with his understanding of the philosophy of the Way, the mana flowed within his body efficiently.
The five fundamental elements that made up the world seamlessly fused together and nourished every inch of his body.
Having practiced this supreme mana extraction technique for so long, Adam's mana had turned very pure. It was to the extent that if he were to be poisoned, the toxins would instantly be neutralized by the mana coursing in his veins.
Slowly, Adam opened his eyes and exhaled a deep breath, the vortex of mana around him slowly dissipating. He raised his hand and commanded the mana to manifest.
A layer of red energy appeared around his palm, giving off extreme heat. However, this did not injure the youth in the least. Next, the energy turned blue, emanating a cool and refreshing feeling.
Following that, it turned brown, then cyan, and then finally green. Each of these colors represented the five worldly elements. The next moment, Adam focused and all five energies simultaneously appeared on his palm.
Then, they flawlessly merged together and transformed into an energy that was pristine white in color. This was the fusion of the five elements!
Seeing this, a smile bloomed on the youth's face. "My control over mana is improving."
Adam closed his eyes again and looked within his body. The mana channels had been further consolidated inside his body.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})He could see the mana flowing through these channels, however, after a certain point they would disperse throughout his body because there was nowhere else to go. Due to this phenomenon, a small amount of mana would involuntarily leak from his body.
However, once the mana channels have been completely established, the mana will have found a container to be stored in. This would signify his advancement to the next rank. After all, his spirit sea had already been formed.
The youth recalled the memories of the experts and reviewed the information about the internal mana system. Needless to say, the knowledge that he had was far superior to his peers thanks to the experiences of the different experts that he had absorbed.
If the advancement of a Magus could be equated to the construction of a tower, then Rank 1 would be equivalent to laying an underground substructure that would support the subsequent creation of the tower.
That is why this rank was known as Mana Foundation.
Now, it is generally agreed upon that the sturdier a structure's foundation was, the longer it would last. Similarly, if the substructure of the tower was solid, the tower would grow to great heights.
This was the reason why Adam put so much emphasis on building a rock-solid foundation. Regardless of how much pain and difficulties he had to bear, he made sure that his foundation was strong enough for him to advance far in his path as a Magus.
During Mana Foundation, a Magus would practice mindfulness and extract mana to constantly nourish their flesh, muscles, bones, organs, and finally their nervous system in that particular order.
This was the reason why Rank 1 was divided into 5 stages, each stage targeting a different part of the Magus' body.
And when a Magus had advanced through these five stages and thoroughly washed every fiber of their being with mana, they would have formed their spirit sea and established their mana channels.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Adam slowly opened his eyes which were flashing with excitement. He clenched his fists and softly muttered, "Mana Liquefaction!"
Having been diligent in practicing mindfulness every day, he was slowly but surely arriving at the next frontier—Rank 2.
One thing that the youth realized was that if it wasn't for this war, he would have taken a much longer time to advance to the next rank. Battling day in and day out had surprisingly expedited this process.
He stroked his chin and pondered, Fighting almost twelve hours a day, every day, for the last few weeks has allowed my mana reserves to deplete at a rapid pace. And when I practice mindfulness, my reserves are replenished.
Perhaps this constant cycle of depletion and replenishment has allowed me to better control my mana and subsequently integrate my mana channels. Hmm, that could very possibly be the reason. Oh, and the vast resources at my disposal have also helped me quite a bit.
Adam felt like his understanding of mana had further deepened. Cross-referencing from the memories of the expert, he concluded that not only were talent and resources crucial to advancing as a Magus, but so was physically pushing oneself to the limit.
Just like how theoretical studies were important, but so were practical experiences.
The youth glanced at the hourglass he had placed on the bedside table. "Hmm, it's about time I meet the Boss."
Earlier in the day, Esmond had instructed him to come to the training facility within the city. The Rank 2 Magus was very impressed by his combat abilities, but there were still some things that he wanted to teach.
Being a battle freak, how could Adam refuse his proposal? So the youth quickly got dressed and left to meet his squad leader.
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In a large underground hall lit up by bright crystal balls that hung from the walls, Esmond stood with his arms crossed as he glanced at the youth in front of him with a smirk.
"I heard what you did in the marketplace a few days ago."
Adam replied with a relaxed posture, "I'm surprised that it took you so long, Boss." Having spent so much time together, he had gotten along with the red-haired man to the point that he could be very comfortable around him.
"Heh," Esmond chuckled. "Aren't you worried that others might take your kindness for weakness?"
Adam scoffed in contempt, "Why should I care about what others think? Wasn't the whole point of becoming strong so that I could do whatever I wanted?
"Today, I'm a Rank 1 and they mistake my actions for weakness. Tomorrow, when I'm a Rank 2, they will applaud me for the same actions and look up to me. Isn't that the way of the world?"
"Hahahaha!" Esmond burst into loud laughter. "Not a bad answer. Yes, that is exactly the way of the world. Might makes right, as the saying goes."
"Anyway, boss," Adam changed subjects and asked with shining eyes, "What did you want to teach me?"
"Hmm, I've seen your battles for the past weeks, and I must be honest, your basics are quite solid," Esmond praised sincerely. "However, there is one thing that I noticed you were lacking."
"What is it?" The youth asked curiously.
Esmond grinned. "Momentum."
