The Sound Of Despair

The studies in the arcane arts were tedious, and frankly, a lot more boring than Sturm had expected. No fireballs could be thrown before mastering the basics, and those basics required hours upon hours of monotone repetition. Before an arcane disciple could cast any spells, he would have to learn to control mana cells through the application of will.

The first step towards that goal was the ability to sense mana cells. How would you control something you cannot perceive? Luckily for Sturm, he was already experienced in meditation. All those days he had spent enhancing the First Chapter of the Art of the Nine Pillars, namely the 'Development of Mind,' made it comparatively easy to pinpoint unfamiliar matter in his body.

What would usually take young nobles two years to achieve, Sturm achieved in a week. The experience of having had a body devoid of any mana cells made those mana cells just stick out that much more.

Once again, Edgar was astonished by his protégé's learning speed, as it was countless times fast than his. After learning how to sense them, the second step, which Sturm was currently stuck at, was to isolate those mana cells from the blood. Just like red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, the mana cells were transported through the plasma and circulated through the body.

The third step was to force the mana cells out of the body and then convert them into magic matter. If a mage did not properly separate the mana cells before using them to cast a spell, they would risk expelling their blood along with the mana cells.

Magic matter was different from conventional matter, as its existence was only sustained by the energy from mana cells. It also did not only include physical matter like earth and water but also the remaining magic attributes of wind, fire, and the rest. Subsequently, any magic matter that ran out of energy would dissipate.

In order to prevent that from happening, the fourth step would force mana matter into a so-called mana construct. These mana constructs would prevent the leak of energy, thereby preventing decomposition. Additionally, it would give the magic matter a specific form. Fireballs, icicles, and earthen walls were just a few of those forms.

Giving form to spells required a powerful will. For this reason, mages invented arcane chants, which were nothing more than the memorization of specific constructs, given form through speech. Vocally describing the construct allowed the caster to concentrate his will a lot easier, resulting in a predetermined, albeit inflexible, spell.

More powerful mages would, of course, have no need such a crutch. Creating complex mana constructs would take an archmage no more than a split second. Above all, they were able to adapt and transform those constructs to suit their needs. An earthen wall suddenly transformed into a golem, while an orb of illumination entered a soldier, converting into a healing spell. The possibilities were endless, and a reason archmages were considered tactical weapons in each of the three nations.

A mage's will was the crucial link to those four steps. It was necessary to sense mana cells, isolate them, expel them out of the body and convert them into mana matter, then force the mana matter into mana constructs, and finally move, launch, or adapt these constructs.

For the time being, Sturm was still trying to isolate his mana cells. Even when he concentrated on just a single one, the mana cell repeatedly escaped his control at the last second. The most basic spells required at least ten mana cells; therefore, Sturm still had a long road ahead of him.

Catching an individual mana cell proved just as hard as catching a slippery fish with bare hands. Sturm tried to shape his will into tweezers and grab at the cells, but every time the tweezers started squeezing, no matter how gentle, the mana cells would slip out of its grasp.

<<If I can't pick it up, what if I surround it?>> Sturm wondered.

This time, the will completely encapsulated a mana cell and finally separated it from the blood plasma.

<<Success! Maybe this is the way to do it.>>

A sense of accomplishment filled the young slave. He had been trying for hours to complete the separation process. In thousands of attempts, his will had tried to keep hold of a mana cell, only to fail time and time again.

While Sturm technically fulfilled the second step of casting a spell, a single mana cell was far from enough. Now there were two choices. Either learn how to expel it from his body or concentrate on isolating more of them. The tome recommended taking a step by step approach, mastering each phase individually before finally connecting them to produce magic.

Following this advice, Sturm decided to keep practicing isolation until he could control ten mana cells. Soon after, the first problem appeared. Completely wrapping up a mana cell put more strain on the will than the squeezers he had formed before. Initially, that was not a problem, but as more mana cells were isolated through this method, the pressure in maintaining them multiplied.

Five was Sturm's current limit, but he was not satisfied with just that. There had to be more efficient ways. Instead of trying to further brute force the issue, experimenting may result in a more functional approach. First, Sturm tried to capture several mana cells in the same 'will capsule', but no matter what he tried, a few other blood cells always ended up slipping in.

Discarding that approach, Sturm tried to enlargen the 'will capsule' and creating a small opening every time a mana cell would collide with its outer walls. In the end, while this method accomplished gathering ten mana cells, the process was long and not really a lot easier than the original one.

It was already late, and Sturm decided to dedicate the rest of the day towards the Art of the Nine Pillars. Sometimes, a change of pace and a few hours of rest could lead to sudden inspirations. His progress over the last ten days had been substantial, and he was confident in keeping up the pace.

While going through his Second Chapter routine, the 'Development of Body.' Sturm suddenly thought back to his first encounter with magic beasts. The fang wolves had surrounded them, and while their efforts managed to repel them, only a lightning strike had stopped the mighty alpha wolf from killing Sturm and Edgar.

No matter how one looked at it, the lightning strike had been unnatural, as had been Edgar's burned arms. Only now, Sturm was able to confirm his suspicion. There was not a single shred of doubt that Edgar had summoned the lightning and that the spell had failed. Thus the question was, where exactly had the merchant failed?

Most mages preferred to push out their mana cells through their hands. To reach the hand, those mana cells had to flow through the arms first. Edgar had been unconscious for a long time, and a reason for that could be the loss of blood. Red blood cells carry oxygen, so if the isolation process failed and those blood cells were expelled along with mana cells, the lack of oxygen could have caused the brain to shut down.

<<Ok, so the isolation process probably failed, but how come there was no blood on his arms? And this still does not explain the charred arms.>> Sturm further questioned.

The following steps were the expulsion of mana cells and the subsequent conversion of them into magic matter. Now, what would happen if a mage recklessly pushed out mana cells to create and fuel his spell? An untrained mage would spread out his will too far and too hastily, resulting in both a weak control and reduced perception of the four phases of magic creation.

Sturm's face turned pale. There was a very logical explanation for Edgar's burned arms. Instead of completing the steps in a sequence, the merchant had, in his haste, started the third step before finishing the second. What did that mean? The isolated mana cells, which were still in the process of being expelled through his arms, had been converted into lightning matter before leaving the body.

<<Oh god. If he had converted the mana cells flowing through his heart or brain, then Edgar would have…>>

On top of all that, Edgar had not chanted anything, which meant that most likely, he had not constructed mana construct. A spell without a mana construct would be fleeting and volatile, resulting in nothing more than a simple discharge without any control or form.

<<No wonder our cart looked like real lightning had struck it. Magic is no joke, I better concentrate on truly mastering each individual process of a spell.>>

Luckily, Edgar had survived, and thanks to his experience, Sturm would be able to avoid making the same mistakes in the future. After finishing his thought process, the last set of his workout routine was soon completed.

<<I better get to sleep now. Edgar said the newly bought artisans would arrive tomorrow.. After settling them in, we will be able to open our shop and sell our wares. I hope I can be of assistance; I still owe him far too much…>>