Chapter 83: Basic Training Starts

The morning light streamed faintly through the curtains. Zane was hovering cross-legged in the air above his bed, eyes closed, his breathing steady. His body glowed faintly as if wrapped in invisible energy.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. A calm glint passed through them as he muttered,

“Meditation in a while … feels quite good.”

With a wave of his hand, he descended smoothly onto the floor.

“Now… let’s go.”

He freshened up, adjusted his coat, and with a flick of his fingers, disappeared from the room—heading straight to take his class.

Zane entered the classroom, his presence instantly drawing every pair of eyes.

“Good morning, Professor Creed!” the class greeted in unison, their voices carrying a mix of respect and nervous energy.

Zane gave a small nod, his sharp gaze sweeping across them.

“Let’s go to the practice ground.”

A low murmur rippled through the room.

“Again? Is he gonna make us do something crazy like the first class?” one student whispered.

Another leaned closer, pale-faced. “Bro, I’m scared already…”

Suppressing their chatter, the students quickly gathered their things and followed behind him. The air grew heavier with each step until they finally arrived at the wide, open practice ground, the morning breeze carrying a faint chill.

Zane stood at the center, hands behind his back, waiting as the students formed a loose circle around him.

On the practice ground, Zane clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes scanning the young faces before him.

“In these three days I’ve taught you,” he began calmly, “I came to understand one thing.”

He let the silence hang for a second before dropping the words like a hammer.

“Your basics… are shit. Not bad. Outright shit.”

The students broke into murmurs, shifting uncomfortably. A few whispered protests slipped out—

Only to be cut off instantly. Small glowing seals of energy appeared across their mouths, silencing them completely.

Zane didn’t even glance at them.

“Save your breath. You’ll need it. Now—run. The same as your first day.”

A chill ran through the class. They remembered well what had happened when they disobeyed.

The first to move was Selene Raynhart. Without hesitation, she dashed forward, her pink cheeks already flushing from the memory of being crushed by Zane’s invisible weight before.

Her quick reaction set the tempo. Soon, the rest followed—Ron’s determined strides, Lia’s swift movements, and the other students scrambling to keep pace, their feet pounding against the packed ground.

Zane stood still, arms folded, his gaze sharp as he watched them fall into rhythm.

After several laps, the students finally slowed to a halt. Many bent forward, gasping for breath, sweat dripping from their faces. Even the sturdier ones had their shoulders heaving.

Zane’s eyes swept over them, unimpressed.

“Alright,” he said at last, his voice cutting through their panting. “That’s enough.”

He clasped his hands lightly, tilting his head.

“Now, let’s move forward.”

The students straightened up nervously, wiping their foreheads.

“Split yourselves. Mages to the left, warriors to the right.”

The students quickly organized themselves:

Left side (Mages): Selene Raynhart led them, already experienced and cautious from the previous training, followed by a few other students Zane had yet to learn names for.

Right side (Warriors): Lia, Ron, Maera, Jax, and the other warrior students fell into line, eyes focused and alert.

Zane’s deep purple eyes scanned both groups. “Good. Now, we start with the basics. Strength, control, and understanding your own energy or mana. If you mess up, I will know. And if you lie to me about it, well…” He let his sentence hang, letting the faintest smirk do the talking.

The students stiffened but nodded, ready to begin. Zane smiled slightly and said, “Let’s see how well you all can do.”

Zane glanced at the students, his deep purple eyes scanning each face. “So, first question—what is mana? Raise your hand if you know.”

Several hands went up, including Lia’s. Zane nodded toward her.

“Professor,” Lia began confidently, “mana is a kind of magical energy in the world. Mages use it directly to cast spells, while warriors harness mana through their bodies and weapons to strengthen their attacks or techniques. It’s like the fuel that powers both magic and enhanced combat abilities. Using too much at once can exhaust them, so they need to rest or recover to recharge their mana.”

Zane’s lips curved slightly in approval. “Hmm… correct. Very well, let’s move on to your first training exercise.”

He stooped and picked up a small, grey rock from the ground. “Watch closely.”

He held the rock in his hand for a moment, pretending to focus intensely. A faint glow began to shimmer around it, and slowly, it floated a few inches above the ground.

Zane thought to himself, Well, I have to act like this. I could easily control this entire planet with my Null even after converting it into mana if I wanted…

The rock hovered briefly before he stopped focusing, letting it fall gently back into his hand. With a casual toss, he sent it skimming across the practice ground.

The students stared, some whispering among themselves. “What is this exercise? I don’t understand…”

Zane’s eyes scanned them, smirking faintly. “Mana is essential for all of you. If you cannot control it properly, you can only use it at fifty percent of its capability. Control comes before power. Strength without control is useless.”

He lifted his hands, letting the students feel the faint, warm pulse of residual energy from the rock. “Your task is to learn control first. Today’s exercise is simple: feel the mana, move it, manipulate it—don’t just think about it, sense it.”

The students stiffened with anticipation, realizing this was going to be more than just theory.

.

.

Zane’s eyes scanned the class. “What I showed you, all of you must do the same.” He snapped his fingers, and a small brown magic circle appeared on his palm before vanishing.

Suddenly, a huge rock erupted from the ground and split into several smaller stones. Each student had one floating in front of them.

A few of the students immediately grinned. “This will be easy!” they said confidently, trying to coat their rocks with mana—but the stones didn’t move an inch. “What’s happening? Why isn’t it moving?”

Lia, Jax, Maera, and the mages—including Selene—sat cross-legged in lotus poses instantly, closing their eyes. Concentration was key.

Selene tried to replicate Zane’s method: focusing on the rock, letting her mana flow—but nothing happened. Frustrated, she opened her eyes. “Professor… the method you showed us isn’t working.”

Zane smiled faintly. “Listen carefully. Both mages and warriors wield mana differently. Warriors coat their mana around themselves or their weapon, using their bodies as conduits to control power. Mages, however, channel mana from the inside—controlling it through their body and mind, and projecting it into spells.”

Selene frowned. “What does that have to do with this?”

Then, as realization dawned, her eyes widened. “Of course! From inside!” She shifted back into a lotus pose, closing her eyes.

While the warriors attempted to control their rocks by coating them externally, the mages initially tried the same—but it wasn’t their method. Selene instead allowed her mana to seep into the rock from within. Slowly, it started to vibrate. She couldn’t make it float yet, but the movement was proof she was using the right method.

Lia, using the warrior technique, made her rock vibrate intensely. “So heavy…” she muttered, eyes still closed, focusing all her strength into the stone. The rocks quivered and shifted, but true control required more.

Zane leaned back slightly, observing. This is good… the basics are starting to sink in. Now the real training begins.

Seeing Selene attempt it, the other mages quickly realized their mistake. They adjusted their method, channeling mana from inside rather than trying to coat it externally. Within minutes, a few of them began to make progress.

After five tense minutes, Selene was the first to succeed. Her rock hovered steadily in front of her. Zane’s lips curved into a small, approving smile.

Selene opened her eyes in surprise, but the rock wobbled and fell back onto her hand. She had lost focus for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes again, centering herself, and concentrated on lifting the stone once more.

Next came Lia. Her rock lifted and wobbled but stayed afloat, a little less stable than Selene’s. Ron followed soon after, his stone floating but pulsating with the force of his concentrated effort. Then Maera, Jax, and a few others managed to get their rocks off the ground.

Some students, however, still struggled. A handful couldn’t even make the rocks vibrate, while others could manage only slight tremors. The difference between those who could lift and those who couldn’t was obvious: concentration, proper technique, and internal mana control.

Zane watched the students intently, his deep purple eyes scanning each struggling and succeeding mage alike. A small smirk lingered on his face, but his mind was calculating.

“Not bad,” he murmured to himself, “but they still lack proper basics. Some of them are still… bad. Too much reliance on instinct, not enough control from within.”

He folded his arms and looked over the practice ground. Rocks floated, wobbled, and occasionally dropped. Some students were making progress, but others were barely keeping up.

They need more fundamental training before they can truly handle mana with precision, Zane thought, already forming the next stage of exercises in his mind.

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