"…Unfortunately, no. I don't know what that energy truly is. The 'spirit mana' you call it, I've never seen its like."

Kyle had already expected not to get any answer from Seris about spirit mana, but still, hearing it directly feels a little disheartening.

Seris Voidcrest was one of the smartest characters in the entire novel in 'Path of Transendence'.

She's the one who helped the protagonist Cedric on multiple occasions in the novel, and if anyone could have helped him with spirit mana, it was supposed to be her.

In the novel, there were even moments where her knowledge had turned impossible situations into narrow victories.

He sometimes even questions how such a character could have died in the original story.

No, she didn't die.

She had simply disappeared one day.

No one knew the reason; the author never really explained the cause of her disappearance.

A lot of people tried to find her, even Cedric did his best, but that was of no use.

That was how terrifying she was. So far above the rest, that even her disappearance remained an unsolved mystery.

And yet—

Maybe that was why a small part of him hoped she might know about spirit mana.

That she would give him some answers he was searching for.

But hope was a dangerous thing.

Before the disappointment could settle, Seris spoke again,

"But..." Her voice echoed as she looked at him again, her golden eyes lingering on him for a few seconds before she continued.

"There might be a way to help you control it."

Kyle blinked, his heart skipping a beat.

"...Huh? Really?"

Seris didn't immediately answer; her silver lashes lowered as if she weighed her words.

"... I'm not sure if it will work. But we can try it; who knows, it might really work."

Kyle was totally okay with that arrangement.

"But before that... I need you to show me how you circulate mana in your body."

Kyle looked confused by her words.

"Circulate mana?"

"Yes."

'Why does she—'

But he eventually agreed without asking questions and nodded; he also knows that it is better not to ask any questions to her, which might piss her off again, since she already seemed like she was in a bad mood when he showed up late.

Best not to poke the lioness again.

So Kyle just nodded.

"…Alright."

He closed his eyes, focused, and slowly started to call for his mana inside his mana core, letting it stir and rise.

The familiar warmth spread through him, flowing into his mana channels.

He slowly guided his mana in his usual mana pathways, travelling it through his arms, legs, chest, and brain before looping it back into his core in a steady cycle.

Seris' golden eyes glowed with faint light as she focused directly on his sternum, where his mana core is present.

She watched how he was circulating his mana.

Seris's eyes narrowed, and she frowned, small lines forming above her nose.

'As I thought his mana circulation... he is still not using his full potential of his mana channels.'

From what Seris had seen when he examined him earlier, Kyle had more mana pathways than any normal low-rankers should have. But the problem is he's still not using it properly.

He's leaving some of the mana pathways alone, like not even circulating them, as if he still doesn't know they exist.

Why is that?

'Could it be—'

Her attention shifted to his hair, now snow-white, when it had been bluish-black before.

Maybe his mana pathways had changed after the Black Gate.

'Whatever happened inside the black gate had awakened some kind of power in him that gave him that boost... due to that, he went under some minor body reconstruction that could explain his more mana pathways than the normal low Rankers.'

When mages typically undergo body reconstruction for the first time when they reach Gold rank, they need some time to understand mana flow again for their body to get used to it.

It was a delicate process, but it happened only once they stepped into the mid-ranks.

But in Kyle's case, he seems to have undergone half-body reconstruction, which she would like to call it for now.

Maybe that is why he's still not getting used to it, cause of half-body reconstruction, or his mind is so focused on his problem controlling spirit mana that he's totally neglecting his own foundation.

'That could create problems.'

If mana wasn't circulated properly in all the pathways, the dormant could weaken and break down. It was like a metal in the rain, they would rust.

If that happened, the damage could become permanent.

She needed to fix this issue before she even thought about helping him with spirit mana.

Of course, she could directly inject her own mana into his dormant mana pathways, but that would be spoon-feeding, and Seris hated those methods.

She wanted Kyle to learn it himself, or at least make an honest attempt. If he truly couldn't manage it, then she would step in to help.

And if he managed to pull it off on his own…

Seris felt a spark of excitement just thinking about his potential.

She nodded to herself, and the glow in her eyes faded.

"Okay, you can stop now."

Kyle opened his eyes, stopped his mana circulation, and looked at Seris, waiting for her next word.

Seris opened her palm in front, and space cracked at a small purplish portal formed directly above her palm, and a strange purple sphere dropped from it.

Seris caught it easily and tossed it towards Kyle.

Kyle caught it with one hand, blinking in surprise. He turned the object in his hand, examining it.

It was a sphere, about the size of his palm.

Taking a closer look, it's not actually a sphere but dozens of small, tiny purple sewing threads knotted together into a chaotic mess.

It was tangled beyond a mess.

Kyle looked at Seris with a confused expression, seemingly asking, 'What am I supposed to do with this?'

"You need to untangle this thread; this is one of the ways I found that will help you increase your mana control."

Kyle looked at the purple sphere again.

Untangle it?

'That's it... Isn't this too easy?

"Oh, right. You need to untangle it without hands, that means you need to untangle it using your mana control."

Kyle froze, eyes widened, hearing those words

"... With mana?"

"Mhm"

He looked at the sphere of thread again carefully.

Now that he was truly paying attention, the details sank in. The thread was impossibly thin, so thin that it was even thinner than the cotton sewing thread, usually around 0.1 mm. It was just a little bit thicker than the hair.

And the tangles weren't small knots. No, this was a nightmare, a labyrinth of loops and intricate twists.

He wondered if he could even untangle it with his hands.

His jaw dropped slightly.

"…You're kidding me."

As he saw a sweet smile on her face.

Gulp—

Above him, Seris' smile deepened, hearing him gulp.

"..."

Sadist.

He knew it; she's secretly a sadist who likes to watch her students suffer.

"Now, now get to work quickly, quick."

She turned around and waved her hand, walking away with graceful steps, as though this was all perfectly normal.

Kyle knew that when she said helping him control the spirit mana, it not only meant that she would help him control the spirit mana, but it also meant she would oversee all his training.

She had already taken him under her wing as her disciple.

She would dig up every weakness and flaw and force him to face it.

And that scared him almost as much as it relieved him.

His gaze fell on the tangled sphere of purple thread.

'Now how am I supposed to do this?'

The thought made his shoulders sag.

But he already knew the answer.

He had no choice.

"This is shit."

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In case you have forgotten:

Low Rankers: Iron, Bronze, and Silver

Mid Rankers: Gold, Platinum, and Diamond

High Rankers: Radiant and Divine

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