Ageris Den

"I think that I have got a hang of it." Regis said with closed eyes.

"Good. Now since you have understood the circulation pattern of mana inside your body, try to control it. Remember to start with the circulation direction as it is. Once the flow begins to accelerate, it means that you have attained basic control over it. After you are able to accelerate it a bit more significantly, try to slow down the flow."

"Once you are able to bring the circulation to a rate where it is not too much significant, you should be good to go. Also, since you are a mana type mutation, this should be easier for you than others. It also helps that you already have a meditation disk in your room. Also, since it will take time, open the door of the room so that I don't have to sit here watching you all night."

Regis nodded with closed eyes and tapped his watch. The door to the room slid open with a click. Regis closed his eyes tried to better visualize the circulatory system of his body. The familiar sweet scent filled his nose, but he stayed in the lotus position and focused on visualizing the flow instead of changing the pose.

Soon, he could feel a something hot travelling through his body along with his blood. When Regis focused on this wisp more, he could feel similar wisps mixed in his bloodstream that were circulating throughout his body. Once he could visualize the entirety of the flow, Regis began trying to try to accelerate this flow.

Regis tried to accelerate the flow for fifteen minutes without any success and suddenly felt as if he was short on breath. When he opened his eyes, Regis could see the mist absorbing his sweat so that his body and clothes didn't seem drenched, but he was panting and the hot air that he exhaled was a proof that trying to manipulate the mana circulation was by no means easy, especially knowing that his stamina had recently hiked after assimilating the mystical element. Regis took deep breaths to oxygenate himself and rested for a couple of minutes before closing his eyes.

'Once more'

When Regis opened his eyes again, he was panting like crazy, but he had a barely visible smile on his face. He was finally able to accelerate the flow of mana.

'I didn't think that …huff….the mana gathers together and circulates separately from blood.'

Humans didn't have the ability of circulating mana or separate pathway for mana in their body. It was the mystical element that had assimilated into human bodies that attracted mana and the blood which circulated it through the body, but after attaining basic control over mana, people could separate its flow from the blood even if they were both circulating through the blood vessels.

'Alex didn't tell …. Huff…me that it was the blood creating resistance when I tried to accele…rate the circulation. Well, it is not like he is obliged to tell it to me. Once more, I feel like I will have to restart it all once again .. if I don't do it once again.'

This time, when Regis was finished with his practice, it was already too late for him to walk outside and he felt dead tired.

After regulating his breath, Regis stepped off the meditation disk and walked towards one side of the room while tapping his watch.

A few minutes later, Regis looked at the food that was placed before him. Every dish here was something that he had never even heard of just two days ago. Putting aside his thoughts, Regis began eating while thinking about his future course of action. He had been lucky today that Alex didn't suspect something was wrong, but since he was in this camp, he would need to converse with others at one point or the other.

It would be good if all of them ignored it like Alex or didn't think too deeply about it, but that was his wishful thinking. In a military camp of all places, it was impossible for his cover to not be blown if he didn't adjust to his new identity. He had already tried the transmigration ritual to return back multiple times, but it didn't work.

'Maybe it will work if I try to use mana while performing it?' Once he thought this, Regis could not think of anything else.

'Please work…'

After he finished eating, Regis immediately stood up. The table retracted inside one of the walls along with the wares.

...…..

'Hmm .. where am I now?' Regis tried looking around, but everything around him was covered in pitch darkness except for a small opening that shone with dusky colour.

'Ageris Den' A name popped inside Regis's mind, the name of the cave.

'Is that a window?' Regis concluded that he was in some sort of dark room. The last thing that he remembered was the mark on his chest flaring up and he felt like his blood was being drained out of his body, but he continued performing the transmigration ritual in hopes that he would return back to his rightful home.

Regis began walking towards the window, but soon realized that it wasn't a window at all after he had walked tens of meters towards it, but the distance between him and the 'window' seemed to remain constant. Regis's heart sank. He wasn't in the room for sure, but this wasn't the intended destination either. After walking a few more steps, Regis felt intense fatigue as if all his energy was drained out of him in just a few steps.

"Damnit! I wont stop! Stopping now is not an option! Stopping now is not an option! Stopping now is…" Regis grit his teeth and continued forward while repeating that he wouldn't stop before reaching the window.

"Damnit! Why is this happening to me …." Regis did not bother holding back his tears this time. He wanted to move forward, but he couldn't even get back up on his feet. His thighs seemed to be frozen as he knelt on the ground choking for breath. After a few more seconds, Regis could not stop his eyes from shutting and fell to the ground.

Regis opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground covered in a pool of his own sweat. He wiped away the tears from his eyes. He suddenly remembered the words that his grandfather used to tell him.

'Crying will not help you reach your goal anyway. The time you spend crying will only push the goal further away.'

Regis felt something cold covering his body. He stood up from the pool of sweat and walked towards the attached bathroom. He took a light shower and changed his clothes before walking towards his bed.

"Four hours." That was how much time he had before he had to report for the training session the next day. Regis wanted to go sleep, but when he remembered that he was in some unfamiliar place with no way to go back, a strange type of anxiety built up in his heart and he felt that it was impossible to sleep despite feeling the fatigue in his eyelids.

'Guess that is the only way.' Regis tapped on his watch. A section opened in one of the walls of his room and a drawer flew towards Regis who reached his hand out to take a small bottle and gulped its content in one gulp.

He felt all the fatigue releasing and his eyelids threatened to shut down.

'Does the amount change according to the time I want to sleep.' This was his last thought before Regis walked to his bed and lay down. He fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

.....

"It would be your first time in the wilderness tomorrow. I hope that you are prepared. Pray that the two of us get paired up, that way, I can help you in adjusting to the wilderness." Alex told Regis while walking inside his room.

"Sure. I hope that the two of us are paired." Regis replied back.

It was very uncharacteristic for Regis to reply back, especially in his situation, but this was also a part of his disguise. Over the last two week, he had been spending time except the training session either meditating and unlocking the different parts of his memories or walking in the dark cave. His current demeanor was derived from what he gathered of the original Regis's demeanor from the fragmented memories.

They were told that they would be holding a real life combat session in the wilderness.