Chapter 58: The Shape of Mana

'Hmm... electricity, huh.'

Zeldryn continued staring at the candlelight flickering on the table. The longer he considered the idea, the more interesting it became, even though he had no idea whether mana could actually produce anything resembling electricity.

'That goes into my plan.'

His planning had been interrupted earlier by Hera's arrival, so Zeldryn picked up his writing tool again and looked over the three priorities he had already written down: Build My Body, Mana Training, and Learn About the World. After a moment of thought, he added one more beneath them.

Lighting.

For now, he had no idea where to begin. He had already proven that mana could produce explosions, but whether it could generate light or even something resembling electricity was a completely different question. Still, even if the idea turned out to be impossible, he did not want to forget about it before he had the chance to test it properly.

After organizing the rest of his plans for the following days, Zeldryn finally put down his writing tool and let out a long breath.

“Hufft...”

He stood from the chair and stretched, raising both arms above his head before twisting his waist from side to side. After sitting for so long and spending nearly the entire day either thinking or training, his body had become noticeably stiff.

A few moments later, Zeldryn walked toward the bed, where the food Hera had brought was still waiting. He sat down and began eating, and just like before, the taste did not suit his palate particularly well. He had already started getting used to that problem, however, so he simply ate until he was full without complaining.

Once he finished, Zeldryn gathered the dirty dishes onto the tray and carried them toward the door. This time, he already knew what to do. He opened the door, placed the tray beside it in the corridor just as he had earlier that day, then returned inside and closed the door behind him.

'Someone will definitely take them later.'

Instead of preparing to sleep, Zeldryn walked back toward the bed and climbed onto it before sitting cross-legged. After all the explanations Kera had given him that afternoon, he wanted to see for himself how much his understanding and control of mana had actually improved.

'Let's try again.'

Zeldryn focused his mind until the yellowish-golden mana particles gradually became visible throughout the room. There were hundreds of them, perhaps even thousands, scattered everywhere around him. Some drifted slowly through the air, others appeared almost completely motionless, and several occasionally passed straight through one another without any visible reaction.

He selected one of the particles and directed his will toward it.

'Move.'

The particle obeyed immediately.

Zeldryn increased the number to three, then seven, and finally ten. He could still control all of them, but by the time he reached ten, he noticed that something felt different compared with his training in the forest.

'Heavy.'

It was not enough to make him lose control, but the difference was obvious. Earlier that afternoon, after his Mana Hole had developed, controlling ten particles had barely caused any strain at all.

Curious, Zeldryn continued increasing the number. He reached thirteen and then fifteen, at which point the Mana Hole beneath his navel began to feel increasingly tense. When he pushed further and reached nineteen particles, the fluctuations inside it suddenly became much stronger.

Zeldryn held his breath.

'I can't keep going.'

He recognized the sensation now. It was not pain, at least not yet, but his body was already warning him that pushing any farther could end badly.

At the same time, another familiar sensation began spreading through his Mana Hole. It felt empty, dry, and strangely thirsty, causing Zeldryn to place a hand over his lower abdomen.

'My Mana Hole is dry again?'

The reason became obvious as soon as he thought back to the training in the forest. Before returning to the mansion, he had controlled twenty-one particles at once and used them to create the largest explosion he had ever produced. He had never replenished his Mana Hole afterward.

'Well, of course. No wonder.'

Zeldryn immediately released his control, allowing the nineteen particles to return to their natural movements. He then closed his eyes and directed his awareness toward the Mana Hole beneath his navel, where the feeling of emptiness became even clearer.

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'So it really is almost empty.'

Unlike before, however, Zeldryn was no longer confused about what to do. He understood the basic mechanism now, including the existence of the gate and how it controlled whether mana could enter.

He concentrated on that image.

'Open.'

Zeldryn imagined the gate of his Mana Hole opening, and the surrounding mana gradually began responding. Yellowish-golden particles appeared within his awareness and moved toward the darkness one by one, disappearing inside as they were absorbed.

The sensation was immediately familiar. Mana began entering his Mana Hole according to his will, gradually easing the dryness inside him.

Zeldryn almost wanted to laugh.

'The first time, I just left you guys alone and you went in by yourselves, damn it. Now I'm actually absorbing you because I want to.'

The difference was significant. He understood that he was absorbing mana, knew that the gate was open, and, most importantly, knew that he could close it when necessary.

Particle after particle continued entering his Mana Hole as the uncomfortable thirst gradually faded. The emptiness that had bothered him slowly disappeared, replaced by the same pleasant sensation he had experienced before, almost like water filling something that had been dry for a very long time.

Zeldryn nearly allowed himself to sink too deeply into that feeling again, but the memory of what had happened earlier that afternoon immediately brought his attention back.

'Focus. Kera isn't here this time. If I go too far again, no one's going to flick my forehead and stop me.'

This time, he had to control the process himself.

'Only absorb what I need.'

Zeldryn continued monitoring his Mana Hole as mana entered little by little. The feeling of emptiness weakened until, after some time, he suddenly noticed a new sensation.

It was not pain, nor was it thirst. If anything, it felt like the exact opposite.

His Mana Hole felt full.

Zeldryn could not explain exactly how he knew, but something inside his body seemed to be giving him a clear and simple signal that there was no need to absorb any more mana.

'This is new.'

Until now, he had never truly known what a completely full Mana Hole felt like. During his first attempt, he had simply continued absorbing mana until everything went wrong, while earlier that afternoon, Kera had been the one to stop him before he repeated the same mistake.

Now, however, Zeldryn could sense the limit himself.

'Is it because I'm starting to understand the Mana Hole and its gate better? Maybe that's why I'm beginning to recognize when it's full.'

He could not be certain, but there was no reason to test the limit recklessly. The moment the feeling became clear, Zeldryn focused his will on the gate.

'Close.'

The gate shut, and the mana particles that had been flowing inward immediately stopped. Zeldryn waited for several moments and carefully checked the sensation inside him, but no additional mana entered.

Only then did he open his eyes.

The yellowish-golden particles throughout the room became visible once again, and Zeldryn took a short breath before preparing for another test.

'Now let's try again.'

He selected a single particle and moved it, then gradually increased the number to three, five, nine, and twelve. Everything still felt relatively light, so Zeldryn continued until he reached fifteen.

His Mana Hole began to fluctuate slightly, but compared with his earlier attempt, controlling the particles was much easier now that it had been refilled.

He pushed the number to eighteen, and the fluctuations became stronger.

'I'm starting to feel it.'

Zeldryn maintained his concentration and added two more particles, bringing the total to twenty.

“Ugh...”

The pressure became heavy, far heavier than before, but he could still maintain control. After a short hesitation, he added one final particle.

Twenty-one.

The strain inside his Mana Hole increased sharply, and his concentration began to feel seriously pressured, but all twenty-one particles still responded to his will.

For a moment, Zeldryn considered attempting twenty-two.

He immediately rejected the idea.

'No. There's no reason to do that.'

He had already coughed up blood once because he pushed beyond his limit purely out of curiosity. Repeating the same mistake when his body was already warning him would be nothing more than stupidity.

'Twenty-one is enough.'

This time, instead of gathering the particles together to create another explosion, Zeldryn decided to test something different.

'If I can control them, how freely can I actually move them?'

He directed all twenty-one particles toward the right, and they moved together. He sent them left, then upward and downward, and each time they responded exactly as he intended.

Zeldryn then made them rotate around a single point.

All twenty-one particles followed his command.

His expression gradually became more serious as he experimented with their movement. The longer he controlled them, the stranger the sensation became. It almost felt as though the particles were additional parts of his body, despite the fact that he was not touching them or moving his hands.

Whenever his mind ordered them to move, they simply moved.

Zeldryn changed their direction again, then increased their speed and made them rotate once more. Every command worked.

'Damn. If I can move them this freely, can I shape mana?'

The possibility immediately caught his interest.

He looked at the twenty-one particles under his control and decided there was no reason to attempt anything complicated at first. A simple shape would be enough.

'A square.'

Zeldryn imagined a small square and began carefully arranging the particles one by one. Some moved upward, others downward, while the rest spread toward the left and right until they roughly outlined the shape he had in mind.

He continued adjusting their positions and slowly reduced the gaps between them.

'Almost.'

The particles moved closer together, but nothing else happened.

No solid shape appeared.

Zeldryn frowned and reduced the distance even further. When two particles finally reached the exact same position, they did not connect or resist each other.

They simply passed through one another.

Zeldryn paused and tried again with two different particles, moving them toward each other until they overlapped. The result was exactly the same. They passed straight through one another without merging, sticking together, or forming anything new.

'Why?'

He tried arranging all twenty-one particles into a square again, but the limitation remained obvious. He could control their positions and movements, yet he could not combine them into a single continuous shape. Whenever two particles came too close, they simply passed through each other as though the other particle did not exist.

Zeldryn focused harder and tried adjusting their positions one more time.

'Come on...'

Nothing changed.

The particles still refused to connect.

Zeldryn stared at them with an increasingly deep frown.

'Why can't I do it?'