Chapter 60: System’s Shortcut

There was also the possibility that he had taught himself, just like some of the rare baby geniuses among the Vorath who could form a ball of Mana in their tiny palms despite still having only two teeth in their mouths.

Perhaps he was one of those exceptions.

"Once you’ve opened your Mana channels and learned to release your Mana from your body, the next step is to envelop your consciousness around the Mana in your palms."

"Mana cannot be manipulated by touching it or trying to fold it into something with your physical hands, legs, or anything else. It can only be controlled through a person’s will."

"That is also why humans have failed so badly to control Mana for themselves."

Her words piqued Arlo’s curiosity.

"Mana can’t be controlled through their technology because their technology is still physical."

"It can only be controlled through consciousness, and humans strangely lack Mana consciousness. So, they can never truly harness Mana, not unless they somehow find an ungodly way around it."

Princess Milliani smirked as Arlo nodded in understanding.

He had always wondered why, with humanity’s incredible technology, they hadn’t found some way to incorporate Mana into their machines.

A gun capable of firing condensed Mana bullets didn’t even sound that difficult compared to what he had always imagined human technology was capable of.

Yet he had never heard of anything like that. Now, he finally understood why.

"No Mana is the same. Even though we both absorb the same Mana from the air, once it enters our bodies and reaches the Dantian, my Mana can no longer be the same as yours..."

"Why?"

"Because the moment Mana enters the body, it is blessed with something. Our own consciousness."

"It becomes part of us, almost like a carbon copy of ourselves."

"This is how we’re able to control it. Don’t look at your Mana as some gaseous energy. Instead, think of it as a blind version of yourself, one whose eyes have been forcibly shut."

"What you have to do is gently coerce that Mana into opening its eyes."

"Since the two of you share the same consciousness, it will eventually respond to your will. Once that happens, you’ll gain control over your Mana and be able to coerce it into becoming anything you want."

"Do that quickly enough, and you’ll pass the Talent Test of the Cthulhu Academy."

Princess Milliani finished explaining before falling backward onto the grass.

"Huuuuuu. That’s a lot to take in..." Arlo mused to himself as he sat down cross-legged and willed his Mana to emerge from his palms.

It quickly floated out of his hands, gently dancing through the air, and just as Milliani had instructed, he began trying to coerce it into the shape of a ball.

Yet even then, it was as difficult as trying to move a mountain.

Hours quickly passed.

Seven hours later, Arlo sat in the grass of the wide backyard, his Mana slowly fading away as the strangely shifting dark particles surrounding his arms gradually came to a halt before disappearing into the air.

[Mana: 0!]

The System notification panel appeared before him as Arlo sighed and opened his eyes.

"A sentence..." Milliani said with a grin, opening one eye as she looked toward him.

Arlo turned to her.

"It’s very hard!"

"Whatever is worth doing is going to be hard, or else there wouldn’t be much meaning behind it. If Mana wasn’t difficult to control, nobody would want it."

Princess Milliani’s words caused Arlo’s brows to crease before he slowly nodded.

"That’s true..."

If gold wasn’t difficult to find and was as common as the stones on the ground, would anyone still want it?

Her words couldn’t have been more accurate.

"It’s already evening. Are you joining us for dinner?" Milliani asked as she looked into the distance, where the setting sun cast an orange glow across the sky.

"I’m good. I’ll spend the time trying to learn this trick."

"Take your time to properly learn it. You have a week, after all."

She said that before jumping to her feet and heading back toward the castle.

"Ahhhh, a week, huh?" Arlo mused to himself.

A week wasn’t much time, but it wasn’t too little either, especially with the Cthulhu Academy entrance examination drawing so close.

"Huuuu..."

Arlo exhaled loudly before closing his eyes once more and focusing on recovering as much Mana as possible.

Another hour passed, and after recovering a decent amount of Mana, he sat upright and once again tried his best to mold it into the shape of a ball.

Yet he kept failing.

"Perhaps there’s a shortcut you can use to quickly help you out," the System suddenly said during his struggle, flashing in and out of existence right in front of his face.

"What do you mean?" Arlo asked, unsure of where it was going.

"Don’t you still have some Ability Upgrade Cards left? Why don’t you try upgrading your Dark Magic Manipulation ability directly?" the System advised.

Arlo’s eyebrows furrowed before he summoned the System Interface and hurriedly moved to his Arcane Masteries tab.

_________

[Arcane Masteries]

[Dark Magic Manipulation]

[Level: 1]

[Grants the ability to manipulate one of the most sinister and malevolent forces in the cosmos. A magic that reeks of death and destruction.]

_________

[Ability Upgrade Cards Left: 3]

_________

Knowing that he had obtained a total of three Ability Upgrade Cards after reaching the Magic Apprentice Realm, Arlo commanded,

"Level up Dark Magic Manipulation by two levels."

[Congratulations! Dark Magic Manipulation has been increased to Level 3. Your Magic Consciousness has been tripled!]

The System’s words caused Arlo’s eyebrows to furrow.

"Now try controlling your Mana and see if there’s a difference!" the System said.

Arlo immediately dived his consciousness into his Mana, and this time, he could instantly feel a noticeable difference.

The Mana was so clear to him now, almost as though he could see its pulse beating like that of a living being.

Slowly, the Mana traveled through his Mana pathways before emerging from his palm, and when Arlo willed it forward, he was completely gobsmacked when he opened his eyes and saw a black ball of dark energy floating above his hand.

"I... I did it!?"

Arlo stared at the ball of darkness in absolute shock.

With a thought, it shot forward from his palm and slammed into the trunk of a large tree standing in the garden.

Arlo’s jaw dropped when he saw a gigantic hole appear through the trunk, allowing him to see straight through to the other side.

And then...

CRAAAAAAASHHH!

The tree came crashing down directly in front of him, sending leaves flying around his face, with several settling into his hair.

"Such power!" Arlo whispered in shock.

There was no doubt that even at his current level of strength, he could create a large hole in such a tree with a single punch.

Yet this tiny ball of Mana had ripped straight through its trunk with ease.

CLAP!

CLAP!

CLAP!

The sound of applause suddenly echoed from behind him.

Arlo turned his head and saw a figure leaning against the wall, clapping his hands together.

"Impressive firepower and control for someone I was told would require around two weeks to properly control his Mana..."

The voice was the deepest Arlo had ever heard.

"Your Majesty..." he greeted respectfully.

The muscular, horned man calmly walked toward him.

While Demois possessed a single horn on the side of his forehead, King Eboncrest had two full horns protruding from either side of his head, one covered in purple and the other in red.

Arlo had never seen the king’s horns before because the man had probably concealed them.

Right now, however, they were so clear that they were impossible to miss.

"I see you’ve gained control over your Mana and established quite a good connection with it."

"Still, there’s more you can do. You know that, right? There’s more to you than just your Mana."

King Eboncrest spoke mysteriously, causing confusion to flash through Arlo’s eyes.

"I’m talking about your Vorath form," the king explained.

Arlo’s eyes flashed.

"Oh?"

"Now that you’ve seen what Mana is capable of, and how easily it can rip a hole through a tree trunk, I trust you’ll be focusing much of your attention on gaining greater control over it and learning everything you can about different magic spells."

King Eboncrest spoke as Arlo nodded.

"That’s true. But isn’t that also the right step from here onward?" he asked.

King Eboncrest looked toward the night sky before smiling.

"It truly is the right thing for any Vorath. But I want to remind you that you have something even greater than your Mana, something worthy of twice the attention you’re giving it."

Arlo’s eyes flashed.

"Could it be... my strange Vorath form?" he asked uncertainly.

King Eboncrest turned toward him before smiling.

"I wouldn’t call it strange but Unique."

"Those two wings, lad, are capable of much more than flight."

"That pale body isn’t pale for no reason, nor are those wings white merely for the sake of appearance."

"There is much more to learn about your Vorath form, so pay attention to it, the same way you do with Mana."

"Don’t neglect it."

King Eboncrest spoke in a dignified tone before slowly turning toward the exit.