A few months had passed and During those months Darian engaged in strict training with his mentor within the shrines yard that was located deep in the forest Doulos began explaining mana does not exist physically within the body but in a state between your spirit mind and body and can be accessed through the mind and stored inside the body so in a way it is located in your body but at a level beyond the sub atomic
the first days of training were on how to consistently activate and release mana without fail for training Darian wore black fitted canvas arm protector sleeves with black ketill canvas pants a white sash belt with yellowish gold coloured canvas leg wraps and a black linen mandarin collar vest with white and gold arming points and white lining on the center front ,black einhard boots and a white linen short sleeve shirt underneath making him ready for anything
Darian stood Amidst the stones his eyes wide shut as he merged his senses with the mana itself he felt a huge contraction and expansion each time which drained his stamina causing him to fall down Doulos explained these exercises were weaker forms of projection and transmission after 3 days he could do this on command as if breathing air next he practiced convergence which involved concentrating and distributing amounts of mana to certain parts of the body causing them to glow Doulos then said this aspect is a bit too conspicuous by using transmission Darian could remove the brightness of the ability doing this Darian realised that distributing too much mana in one spot at certain speeds was dangerous it was like flowing water concentrated in a hose the pressure itself deadly mana wasn't physical nor spiritual it could gain mass or return to a massless state with even a slight fluctuation of emotions any part of his body with enough mana could immediately plop off hitting the ground as if a meteor falling from space
So to fix these problems Doulos told him to focus on distributing small amounts extremely fast then permeate it outside instead and when it came to concentrating or keeping a huge amount of mana in one point by focusing an overflow of mana at one point Doulos explained it was as if your putting the weight of one thing above the other and even if the mana gains no mass the arm for example would still be uncomfortable so instead of treating the arm and mana as two different things one must merge the mana into the fats ,muscles ,blood ,tendons bones in the body and when one activated it within those cells it would enhance the arms strength Doulos also explained to Darian to keep a constant flow for a longer duration of enhancement
The training was simple Doulos would create a Giant stone bolder and Darian would have to punch it with his bare hands why not a punching bag Darian exclaimed Doulos chuckling theirs a reason for that common don't pull your punches now using the same principles taught to him Darian closed his eyes pulled back his arm hitting at full force seconds later a cry could be heard Darians hands mangled skin torn with scratches hands bleeding he clutched his hands as he was in terrible pain Doulos walked over both hands behind his back let this be a lesson to you mana feeds on will and acts on the mind If a war is won in the mind before the body then the cause is lost outstretching his hand as a green light like star dust individually flickered as Darians hand returned to normal
The outcome is easy to explain at the exact moment you were about to hit the stone fear plagued your mind causing indecisiveness leading to your spell being disengaged meaning you had zero defense as you punched that stone ,knowing the correct amount of force required to destroy or harm something is intrinsic to a mage it can come through studying, experience or instinct for the average person with no courage this is the expected result but for others with courage the result would of been overcompensation similar to how physically the body generates dopamine the same for magic the moment you would've made contact with the stone mana would of exploded outward resulting in a crater on the boulder or it's destruction its why this exercise is highly favored in success or failure you get something out of it
Darian was in anger but he reigned in his emotions knowing it was his fault after sometime he stood up although the spell used by Doulos closed and healed his wounds blood still remained redening the backside of his hand with a look of determination he closed his eyes pulled back his arms and released on the bolder this time a fists imprint was left on the boulders surface but his hand still recieved some scratches on the third try their was no scratches but a crater on the rocks surface Darians smile was sinister he again pulled back Doulos eyes began fixating Darians arm pushed forward with movement of his fists right before contact Darian opened his eyes an explosion erupting
Two meters away was Doulos in his hands was Darian ,hey Darian screamed what in the nine hells is going on As I said to you before on multiple occasions that when enhancing your strength one should enhance their entire body to some degree if they do not wish to punch something only for their arm to fall off or be unable to properly lift their entire arm Doulos replied but I did Darian replied with a counter argument Doulos continued well did I mention that the man with great will power would of likely died from the volicity the chunks of the stone would have been scattered at but almost unfairly you have me as an advantage giving you yet another lesson make sure the enhancements are always enough or you might die to fall damage in this case I sensed your reinforcement did not meet the adequate standard
After that Dolous moved his right leg in a Quick motion another bolder appeared this time Darian pulling back and pushing forward a single punch just like last time releasing a shockwave scattering the top of the boulder into bits the bottom half cracking into multiple large chunks This time using projection Darian covered himself with a thin invisbile layer of mana like a coat but dense enough to deflect most of the debrees and if it did get through Darian enhanced his body for good measure completing the task
Doulos had a grin surface on his face he not only took my suggestion but built upon it by covering his entire body with mana a form of enhancement then at the same time projecting enough mana outside his body to sustain it for the needed duration impressive Doulos said Quietly ,enhancement and convergence pair well with each other since a constant activity needs a constant supply of mana in one place unless amplification is applied
But this only just hits the surface you can enhance your senses and mind the very air and Earth You breath and walk on manipulate it using transmission by projecting mana into it for example swords other tools and even living creatures like plants aslong as they dont resist or you build a contract with them ofcourse
Now for strength Doulos made a bolder appear from a magic circle his intent clear lift this bolder Doulos asked Darian barried his hands underneath the boulder its simple Doulos said all the mana you converged within the cells of your body add slightly more to your arms then activate it Darian did as he was told the stone being lifted into the air, after a few days Darian could enhance his body and converge mana on command
Next Darian learnt to project his mana outwards every attempt was a failure that could barely get a meter in distance Dolous explained the practice is easy one way is to converge energy then using transmission order the energy using your desires Darian then tried in a ball illusory form and attempted to throw his mana but it dispated your desire wasn't strong enough Doulos replied try a constant stream in Darians mind a hose came to mind he focused and placed both his hands horizontally side by side and the distance more than doubled but their was one problem he Quickly ran out of energy he grew weak it was as if his soul had left his body
He understood two things the density and continues concentration of the mana was what allowed it to move a greater distance he told Doulos I lack the mana reserves to force it to five meters without it dissipating or losing power Theirs a trick to That Doulos replied but right now you have to focus on using more energy and the best way is pushing yourself to exhaustion Darian tsked so I was ment to fail Doulos explained the different ways energy can be projected waves ,conduction or in a stream
4 Days passed Darian trained and gained some progress instead of fireing his mana horizontally Darian would release his mana vertically starting from his feet to the top of his head then outwards he would eventually tire his range exceeding five kilometers then Doulos had him create individual dense balls of mana Darian sat in a meditative pose as he moved them with his mind each going in different directions Doulos said visualize your surroundings direct it with your will Darian began manipulating the orbs motion to make paths replicate a few constellations and planetary alignment and had them clash this was a application of transformation in itself creating the spheres which came easily to Darian
Day by day his skill level increased to practice more Darian and Doulos would travel to the markets for the castles monthly resupplies using strength enhancement alone Darian had to carry four to five crates stacked attop one another and balance them in order for them not to fall then stack and carry each one to the carriages without damage while he was doing this villagers and knights would cheer ,as he got used to it Darian would loosen one hand release a big smile and wave the other,another thing Doulos made him do was that they would go down the mines for training Darian would help the miners by punching the stones within tunnels and carrying debree with pure strength the stones within mines being more dense than the stones at the surface allowed for a true test of strength control and skill then Darian had to run up and down the hill while controlling Orbs of mana to Surround him while enhancing his body to move at greater speed but not enough that his base biological senses could not keep up
A few days later when he could do these exercises with ease and Doulos determined that Darian had enough Control as an example Doulos formed his own mana which had a dark silver colour into a ball then lowered it so it could fall only to be caught by his feet as he bounced it up and down Darian Immediately understood rubbing the hair on his head it was grafting Doulos had given the properties of a bouncing ball to the sphere of mana another stone boulder appeared out of a magic circle on the ground as Doulos threw the ball into the boulder causing an explosion Doulos replied you can graft multiple aspects into one thing he had clearly grafted an explosives explosion as long as you have proper control , visualization and understanding of that things mechanics it's easy to graft it on another its also the reason us mages are called researchers their are too types of people he said nonchalantly ones who need everything explained to them in detail and those who can feel and imagine things allowing them to know without knowing and understand without experiencing one of the reasons why enhancement is valued so much is because when you can enhance your senses to the point you feel the Earths atoms understand why fire functions as it does , it's easy to recreate it he said while grabbing a stone and crushing it
Darian practiced and eventually grafted a birds flight onto his mana and covered himself with that mana gaining temporary flight he would practice this principal by shaping his mana into a dense blade grafting a swords sharpness then Doulos would throw all types of different fruits at intense speeds only for Darian to skillfully cut them into pieces I guess training with Claus pays off he thought
Next day Doulos told Darian to infuse the mana into the very soil and stones this required projection this time he used it in the form of a stream by stomping on the very ground allowing mana to travel through force he then tried to manipulate the mana within the ground but it was too difficult barely forming cracks on the stones Doulos explained that their were other energies competing with Darians mana to truly do it he would have to spread his mana merge it with the existing energies and conquer it by using his will through transmission after understanding and ten tries and focus Darian finally bent the stones infact the stones itself turned to dust becoming more manuverable applying techniques such as transformation changing the Earths shape and density like he was forming pottery managing to create knives stakes even a small replicate of the castle hmm Dolous thought once he gains a hang of things his unstoppable
The same was done with other elements causing Darian to contemplate Earth was like a brick wall in resistance but very maluable when dominated but took a lot of concentration fire was more of a corrupting force influencing the mind with intense psychological pain and heat but a small flame was fairly easy to maneuvre with enhancement its heat, speed ,destructive power and ability to spread grew by adding ones own mana the amount grew aswell same was consistent with other elements when an attempt to control water was made water sent you into a zen like state unable to remember or focus your thoughts becoming a wave it could be cooled down into ice and heated up to form vapor and hardened aswell it was very flexible interms of manipulation and versatile aswell wind was more chaotic your mind split it could force you into madness as for other things Darian tried to enhance and transform plants when doing it the mind felt as if your perception was being twisted and a sense of Euphoria taking over The effects varied
The more adept Darian got in his skill and control of mana the more curious he got aswell at night in his room a crescent moon hanged high in the dark night sky Darians room in a yellowish orange glow Darian began his experimentation using a plant previously placed attop one of the drawers in his room Darian tried to graft the properties of fire on a plant Making it rap around and simultaneously burn those it captured to death but there were too many variables to juggle at once causing the plant to burn and die
The next training segment was on creating real elements and matching their behaviors and properties using transmission, transmutation, projection and grafting in order to recreate them because Darian had shared a mental link while enhancing and taking control of the real elements themselves so he understood how they functioned almost instinctively after days of training he could perfectly recreate fire and create 1 meter tall balls of fire as he would practice flinging them at high speeds at stone walls made by Doulos adding to that Darian made his own Earth walls and a giant bubble of water with the ability to float in the air like a cloud and the comfort of a fluffy pillow as he rested his arms crossed behind his head one leg above the other
Now for Amplification Dolous created another stone pillar this Darian in confidence tsked as his shoulder faced the stone pillar horizontally Doulos began speaking I left this one as one of the last because it simply requires alot of skill and maturity to consistently do though it can be an innate reaction once one begins tapping into and utilizing their mana reserves while enhancing your punch think of an intense memory or something you love intensely infuse it into the mana of your fists and throw a straight jap like so amplification is triggered by high mental stimulation that incourages growth so dig deep after hearing this Darian thought of the picture in the hallway then the ball of nobles it was what he was fighting for and those he would one day come across and challenge and he let loose a punch that turned the base and the top into rubble breaking the sound barrier as it crossed the air
Doulos Chuckled his face calm using this your projections should reach further distances but in truth his thoughts went further the ability to select a strong enough memory to solicitate such an increase despite being sheltered in comparison to many poor children simply shows his maturity
Doulos laughed you've improved so much in such a relatively short time span your skill is evident Darian stood with both hands folded behind his head with one of his legs moved forward it's knee slightly bent Darian chuckled it's because I had a good teacher when he said this his eyes opened wide he realised that these pass few months they had really grown closer Darians problem with Doulos first began with his apparent arrogance and confidence despite his status Darian thought it was baseless confidence and despite the fact Doulos maintained a calm professional demeanor there was just something so smug to him adding to the fact he always kept him from doing what he wanted ofcourse Darian did not like him at first but he still felt some admiration just for the fact his father trusted him so much and after Darian knew he had power to back up his arrogance Darian felt as if it was a waste that Doulos was a coward or less of a man but infact these past few months he realised how much of a simple man he was when he opened his paycheck of a suitcase of gold Leo's he would smile or how he would randomly count his Leo's mid training or how he complimented Darian during training or how he would just drink liquor get drunk and sober mid training and Darian would have to pat him on the back to vomit despite all that power he was just a man wanting a simple life he felt more curious on Doulos past that made him value such simplicity these were Darians thoughts that filled his mind like a rushing wave of water in those split seconds
Doulos tsked his eyes vision obscured behind his bangs his lips pursed he walked up to Darian in the meantime Darian straightened his posture as if a soldier meeting a commander he had his hands straightened and placed tightly near his hips Doulos moved his right hand slicked back his hair his eyes fixated as his left hand tapped Darians shoulder isn't that a reasonable conclusion as he grinned