CHAPTER 209: SPIRIT MANA [1]

Kyle settled into the padded seat of the virtual simulation pod, the cool metal frame pressing against his back as the hatch sealed shut with a quiet hiss.

The familiar blue glow of activation runes lit up around him, casting soft, shifting patterns across his face.

He took a deep breath, catching the faint, sharp scent of charged mana in the small, enclosed space.

As the system powered up. A gentle tingling started from the neural interface nodes resting on his temples, spreading slowly through his head.

The world outside faded, dissolving into millions of tiny glowing pixels that swirled and reformed into the simulation’s training arena.

An empty space. White floor stretching endlessly in all directions under a pale blue sky.

Kyle flexed his fingers. They moved just as they would in real life.

Every step he took felt solid, every shift of his clothes natural. The simulation’s system was flawless.

He’d been too caught up in everything else lately. He hadn’t even thought of using the virtual sim for spirit training.

’I was dumb.’

He should’ve done this earlier.

"Nexus, confirm settings," he muttered.

A blue screen appeared in front of him, slightly transparent:

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[Pain Simulation: 100% Realism]

[Damage Reset: Immediate]

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He waved it away.

He had chosen the highest pain setting on purpose.

If he was going to get better at handling spirit mana, he needed to feel it. No shortcuts.

The past week had been miserable.

Seven full days of training. Pushing himself until he collapsed.

And all he had to show for it?

A 0.1% improvement. That was nothing. A joke.

He clenched his fist. Something wasn’t working. He had to try a different approach.

With a thought, he summoned Zalrielle.

The ring on his finger melted into a dark mist, swirling before it reformed into the shape of a sleek black tachi.

Closing his eyes. Kyle focused inward.

His awareness slipped past the surface of his body. Past skin, muscle, and bone. Deeper than breath or heartbeat.

Until he saw them.

Two cores pulsing in his center.

The first was his main mana core. Bright and glowing like a small sun, always swirling, always moving.

Next to it sat the spirit core.

Small. Still. Heavy like a stone.

A dark, unmoving mass that swallowed light.

He’d been trying to force it. Like yelling at a locked door and expecting it to open.

Maybe that was the problem.

"Guide me through it again," he whispered.

Zalrielle’s quiet warmth spread through his mind.

"Stop trying to command it. You’re not its master. You’re its... conduit."

Kyle let out a slow breath. His shoulders finally relaxing. This time. He didn’t try to grab the dark energy. He just... watched it.

The spirit core wasn’t empty.

He could feel something inside it. A deep power, heavy and still. Like a giant beast curled up in sleep.

It wasn’t about waking it up by force. That would only make it angry.

Instead. He pictured himself reaching out with an open hand. Not to take, but to ask. A quiet thought.

A soft pull.

And then, something moved.

Just a little. A tiny wisp of darkness curled outward, barely there. Like a shadow twitching in its sleep.

"Good," Zalrielle said gently in his mind.

"Now guide it toward your mana core."

Kyle nodded slightly, focusing on the thread of spirit mana.

It drifted down his inner channels, cold and strange. The feeling was nothing like normal mana.

This wasn’t warm or smooth. It was icy and thick, like trying to guide smoke through a straw.

He stayed calm. Even when the chill reached his chest.

If he panicked, if he flinched, it would slip away or lash out.

The black energy moved closer to his mana core. A bright sphere of glowing white, pulsing with life.

As the spirit mana neared, it paused. Like it was unsure. Or afraid.

"Easy," Zalrielle whispered. "Don’t force it. Let it in."

Kyle relaxed his hold.

No pressure. No commands.

Just... trust.

The dark thread slipped forward, and entered the white core.

At first. Nothing happened.

Then he felt it.

Resistance.

The spirit mana recoiled, twisting violently.

Pain stabbed through his chest, sharp and sudden. His whole body jerked. His heart skipped a beat.

"Spin it," Zalrielle ordered.

Kyle reacted instantly.

He focused, willing the thread to move. To turn in a slow circle inside the core.

One full turn.

Then...

SHATTER!

The thread broke.

Pain exploded through him.

His ribs cracked. His lungs burned. He dropped to his knees, blood filling his mouth, thick and warm.

It spilled down his chin as he coughed, staining the white floor red.

Everything shook. His vision blurred. He couldn’t breathe.

Then...

Reset.

The pain vanished. The blood disappeared. His body returned to normal in the blink of an eye.

But the memory stayed.

Kyle wiped his mouth, even though there was nothing there now. His hands were shaking.

"You can turn the pain sensitivity off," Zalrielle said softly.

He shook his head.

"No."

If it didn’t hurt, he wouldn’t learn.

So he tried again.

And again.

And again.

Thirty-one times, he failed.

Thirty-one times. The pain came like a hammer.

Thirty-one times, he collapsed, broken and bleeding, only to be brought back.

By the thirty-second attempt. His clothes were soaked in sweat. His chest rose and fell in ragged gasps.

His hands wouldn’t stop trembling. But he didn’t stop.

Not now.

This time. When he reached for the spirit mana, it responded.

Not perfectly.

But faster. Smoother. Like it was beginning to understand him. Or maybe he was beginning to understand it.

He guided the thread into his core.

And this time, it didn’t resist.

He spun it. Slowly at first. Then faster.

Not just once. But again and again, until the white and black energies swirled like a storm, twisting together inside him.

Pain flared through his veins. His body screamed. But he held on.

"Now," Zalrielle said, her voice sharp with focus. "Channel it."

Kyle didn’t wait.

He pushed the spinning mass of energy forward.

It roared through his body like a flood, tearing down his channels, too wild to fully control.

His arm shook as the power surged into it. The tachi in his hand buzzed with energy, black steel vibrating like it might snap.

For a moment, he thought it would explode.

Then...

Release.

The blade came alive.

A swirling storm of black and white wrapped around it, twisting like snake.

The air shimmered.

The world bent under the pressure. Kyle’s eyes flew open as the energy peaked...

And he slashed.

The blade cut through the air in a wide arc.

And the world broke.

A crescent of destruction tore across the simulation space, black and white energy spiraling together like a living blade.

The ground cracked and shattered, pieces flying before vanishing into glowing dust.

The shockwave spread outward, shaking everything.

And then...

Silence.

The attack hovered in the air for a heartbeat.

A scar of void and light.

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