[ In the corridor where Demian and Alan were ]
"Hey, Alan, are you okay?" Demian asked while looking at Alan, who was crouched in the corner, staring at the wall and apparently mumbling something.
"I'm screwed… I'm screwed… I'm screwed…" Alan muttered while rocking his body back and forth.
Looking at that, Demian could only think,
"Well, I guess it makes sense for him to be this nervous."
Demian leaned against the wall.
"I think I can wait a bit and see if he calms down."
One minute passed. Three minutes. Five minutes. Ten minutes later…
And Alan was still the same. By then, Demian was already losing his patience.
"Seriously, how long are you going to stay like this?"
Demian walked toward Alan, grabbed him by the collar, and slapped his face.
"Get a grip already!"
Still being held by the collar, his face red, Alan said:
"Didn't you hear who I have to fight? I'm screwed," Alan said in
"Are you scared?" Demian asked as he let go of Alan.
"Yes."
Demian placed a hand on Alan's shoulder and said, "It's okay to be afraid of someone who's clearly stronger than you."
Alan, who had his head lowered, looked up at Demian. "So you understand me, Demian?"
Demian gave him a gentle smile and said, "No. Not even a little."
Alan's expression sank.
"But I have an idea for you, Alan."
"What is it?"
"I noticed that Mira didn't say when the fight will happen. That means there's a standard waiting period, right?"
"Yes, it usually happens three days after the announcement," Alan said.
"But why are you asking that, Demian?"
"During those three days, I'm going to teach you how to use magic," Demian said with a wide smile, while Alan stared at him in shock.
...
[ In Demian's room ]
At that moment, Demian was sitting on his bed while looking at Alan, who was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed.
"So, Demian, what do I have to do?" Alan asked.
Demian put a hand on his chin and thought.
"Good question. How should I start teaching him?"
After some time passed, Alan was already starting to feel uncomfortable with Demian's silence.
"All right!!" Demian suddenly shouted, startling Alan, who jumped in surprise.
"Is he trying to kill me with a heart attack?" Alan wondered.
"Alan, tell me: what do you know about magic and mana?"
Silence. Alan went completely quiet at Demian's question. Then he scratched his head, his face slightly red, and answered:
"Well… basically nothing."
This time it was Demian's turn to fall silent. He then looked to the side and said:
"Well, I guess I can't blame you."
Alan covered his mouth, with a single tear forming in his eyes. "You don't have to feel sorry for me," Alan sniffled.
"So I guess I'll have to explain everything to you one step at a time. First, let's talk about mana."
"Mana is a type of invisible energy that exists everywhere: in the air, in the walls, in people—everywhere."
"And especially for us humans, mana is mainly used to strengthen the body."
"So, Demian, does that mean everyone can be really strong?" Alan asked.
"Not exactly. When a person is born, they usually already have a certain amount of mana, and it rarely increases."
"For example, that guy Goliath doesn't have that much mana. In fact, it's very possible that there are other fighters with more mana than him. The only difference is that he knows how to use it better, even with less mana."
"And me? Do I have a lot of mana?"
"Well, from what I can see—"
At that moment, Demian's eyes glowed with a faint bluish light, allowing him to see an invisible layer surrounding Alan.
"You seem to be right around average."
"So I'm just normal," Alan said, feeling discouraged.
Seeing Alan's disappointment, Demian sighed.
"Don't worry too much. If you really can use magic, your mana will increase considerably once you manage to use it."
"I understand."
"But now, going back to the topic—I was talking about mana quantity, right?"
Alan nodded in agreement.
"Well, I was explaining this so you can understand that the amount of mana a person has doesn't always define who's stronger."
"Yes, I get it. The strongest one is the person who knows how to use it better, right?"
"That's right. It looks like you're understanding this pretty well."
"Of course, I'm saying this from the perspective of someone who can't use magic, because against mages the situation is a bit more complicated."
"Now, let's talk about magic."
"Well, as I already explained, mana isn't too hard to understand. Magic, on the other hand, is a bit more complex."
"It's worth pointing out that what I'm telling you is just theory, since I can't even use my own magic properly yet."
"Alright, what is magic? I'll try to give an example. Magic is kind of an existing concept, different from mana, which is something abstract." Demian scratched his head.
"Wow, I didn't imagine this would be so hard to explain. Let me try again."
"Imagine a wooden chair."
"Okay," Alan said, paying close attention to what Demian was saying.
"The raw material of the chair is wood, right? But the chair itself is already something formed, and what I'm trying to say is that magic is kind of—actually, you know what? Forget what I said. Let's start over."
"The more I talk, the more I realize I'm not getting where I want to go," Demian thought.
"Alright, let's try again. As I said, mana is something abstract, and as I also mentioned before, people can usually use mana to strengthen their bodies, but that's all they can do."
"Mages, on the other hand, can do that too, but they can also shape mana. When that shaped mana is expelled from the body, it's called magic."
"And just like people are born with different amounts of mana, magic itself is also unique. You'll never find someone with the exact same magic as yours—at most, something similar."
"For example, my magic is related to lightning, but I still don't know its limits."
"So, Demian, what is my magic?" Alan asked.
"There's no way to know. Magic is unique to each individual, and not even the user knows what it is until they use it for the first time."
Alan fell silent, apparently reflecting on everything Demian had explained so far.
"I have a question about your magic, Demian."
"What is it?"
"You said your magic is related to lightning. Doesn't it affect you, like feeling an electric shock in your body?"
"Yes, I do feel it. But that varies from magic to magic. Normally, a mage has resistance or even immunity to their own magic. For example, I'm resistant to my magic, so it only affects me a little."
"Alright." Demian clapped his hands and stood up from the bed.
"I think I've explained everything you need to know about magic. If I forgot something, I'll explain it another time. So, did you understand everything?"
"Yes, I did," Alan said, nodding.
"Alright, then let's start the first step to using mana." Demian paused and then asked, "Alan, can you feel mana?"
"No."
"Alright, then I'll help you."
Demian moved behind Alan and knelt down. "Close your eyes. I'm going to place a bit of my mana into you now, so try to feel it."
"Okay." Alan closed his eyes, and Demian placed his right hand on Alan's back. A small, transparent bluish energy flowed into Alan.
"Think of mana as if it were a core in the middle of your stomach, constantly moving throughout your body."
At that moment, with Demian's help, Alan tried to feel the mana. Even though it was weak, he felt something there, but he couldn't move it.
Without Alan realizing it, an hour had already passed. Then he opened his eyes.
"It seems you can do it, Alan," Demian said.
"Yes. It was a strange feeling, but I'm sure I managed to feel my mana."
"That's great. Now let's continue. We only have three days for you to at least be able to use it to strengthen yourself."
And so Demian continued training Alan until the day of the fight.
...
[ Arena Entrance ]
"Alright, I think I did the most I could for you, Alan. So, how are you feeling?" Demian asked.
At that moment, Alan was crouched down, looking at the ground and playing with a twig.
"I'm dead. No doubt about it," Alan said.
"At least this time he isn't shaking," Demian thought.
"Are you scared, Alan?"
Alan lifted his head and looked at Demian with an expression that clearly said, Isn't it obvious?
"It's okay to feel afraid when you know you're going to fight someone stronger than you. That's completely understandable."
"Really?"
"Yes. What matters is knowing that you tried to face this head-on, even while you were afraid."
Demian placed a hand on Alan's shoulder and said,
"Now get up, go out there, and show him that you're not useless," Demian said, trying to motivate Alan.
Hearing that, a flame of courage ignited in Alan's chest, making him stand up and walk into the arena.
As Demian watched Alan's back while he walked toward the arena, he thought:
"Alan, you're really impressive. I planned to teach you how to use mana during these three days, but I didn't expect that you would… only manage to feel mana during the entire three days. You couldn't use it even a little."