Chapter 35: Mana Control (1)

Is this the true Melody Winterborne? He thought, his gaze hardening.

Michael couldn’t help but stare at her once doll-like face that now wore a crooked smile, her expression teasing. It was like she had completely changed personalities.

However, as he thought back to their interactions, he could remember a few times where her facade had slipped, the mask revealing what was hidden beneath.

His original assessment of her was that she was both haughty and immature. The disrespect she had for not only him who’d she’d referred to as a wild dog, but also her father when she had eaten before him at dinner.

The anger she’d shown at being chastised, and forced to apologize the following day. And more recently, the knee-jerk reaction she had to the bitter tea he’d brewed during the piano lesson.

The signs had been there—thinly veiled, but present.

It seems she took my proposal of dropping all pretenses quite literally…

“You’re right,” Michael said, his thoughts now composed. “We currently have a mutually beneficial relationship. As long as this remains in place, I have no qualms about continuing our arrangement.”

“Good,” Melody nodded, seemingly happy with the result. “That being said, I won’t allow my future husband to be weaker than me,” she warned, her blue eyes turning frosty.

For a moment, Michael felt the air turn cold around him. Her gaze was dangerous, not unlike her father’s, though lacking much of the authority he commanded.

“I don’t intend to remain weak, Melody.” Michael countered, “so I want you to teach me what you know about mana control.”

“Sorry?” The frigid atmosphere suddenly returned to normal, and the girl’s eyes went wide with surprise.

Michael felt a little uncomfortable asking, but her reaction made it even more awkward. Yet since he’d come this far, he cleared his throat and persisted, “I don’t wish to have another… episode. So it would be good for both of us if I can learn to control my mana properly from now on.”

He continued, “Since I’ve heard that control is your specialty, what better teacher outside the academy could I find but yourself?”

At his words, Melody’s surprise soon turned reflective. Her blue eyes soon danced in amusement and she let out a splendid laugh, surprisingly cute and infectious.

“Ah, how wonderful,” she replied, throwing her braided hair over her shoulder. “To think that you would suck up your pride and ask me, a mere child to teach you mana control. You surprise me, Michael.”

“A child? Aren’t we the same age?”

“Hmm? Aren’t you two years older than me?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Michael’s expression turned dull, “I turned ten this past Autumn…”

Melody froze, clearly taken aback. Her eyes scanned him once more, a hint of doubt present.

He shrugged, “It’s fine if you don’t believe me. Even if I was twelve like you thought, I’d have no qualms asking for guidance from you. Like I said, I don’t intend to remain weak.”

“Heh… well good,” the girl replied, clearing her throat. “We have some time before my first lesson, let’s get to it.”

“Eh? Right now?” Michael raised an eyebrow, incredulous.

“Sure, why not? Are you scared or something?” Melody replied, goading him.

This girl…

Michael swallowed his irritation, choosing instead to ignore her provocation. He stood up from the chair and approached her, “Alright, tell me what to do.”

“Close your eyes,” she prompted.

After taking a quick glance to make sure she wasn’t trying anything funny, Michael did as he was told, closing his eyes.

“Ah, maybe sit down in the lotus pose first, just so you don’t lose your balance…”

He flashed her another look before complying. He would often enter this pose when absorbing and refining mana from the surroundings, so it was almost like second nature to him at this point.

“Good, now I want you to move your mana through your meridians, completing a cycle around your body. Oh, and start from your rings, it’ll make things easier when you eventually start casting spells.”

Michael was silent for a while before he opened his eyes, turning to the young girl. “Um, how exactly do I do that?”

“HUH!? You don’t even know how to move your mana around?” she almost yelped.

Embarrassment flooded his body causing his cheeks to heat up as a result. “Please think of me as a complete novice…” he said, trying to contain himself.

Melody let out a dramatic sigh, “Why am I wasting my time on this…” she said quietly, just loud enough for him to hear. “Right, how is your imagination?”

My imagination? What does that have to do with anything?

However, seeing the serious expression on her face, he answered properly, “As good as any other ten year old I guess.”

Melody groaned in annoyance, “Alright, shut your eyes again,” she snapped.

“I want you to imagine your meridians are a river. The current flows from your rings to your heart, then to your inner palace. Then visualize the river runs through your whole body, returning back to the source.”

A river…

As Michael shut his eyes, his minds eye looked inward, seeing his meridians mapped out through his body. They were like veins, though much wider and housed a red mist, his mana.

He did as he was instructed, visualizing a smooth current beginning from his ring, traveling up his arm towards his heart. To his surprise, the mist began to stir, slowly moving into action.

His heart leapt with joy upon seeing an immediate result, however, it caused him to lose concentration. The mana that had begun to move suddenly became stagnant.

“Don’t lose focus!”

Melody’s voice made him flinch, almost breaking his concentration further.

Michael took a deep breath and calmed himself, visualizing the river current that would carry his mana through his body. To his relief, it began just as easily as before, on its way to the heart.

Keeping his mind tranquil, Michael lead the mana upwards at the junction, heading towards his inner palace. The red mist obeyed seamlessly, almost as easy as breathing.

After a quick trip around his inner palace, the mana returned to the junction before continuing its trip to his right arm. It then looped back, heading down towards his right leg, then left leg, finally arriving back at his ring.

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