Training(4)

I was sitting in the same meditation pose as her, and in front of me was a dagger laying on the ground.

"Ok, try to move the mana inside your body towards the dagger". 

I tried to do as she said, but there were no results. I even tried to make hand gestures, thinking it would be better.

But instead, I looked like one of the edgy kids trying to make magic.

Ultimately, the dagger was not moving at all.

I could feel the energy inside my body, and I knew that it was mana. But no matter how much I tried, it did not budge at all.

"It's not moving".

"Well, that's because you are not trying hard enough". 

I thought I was trying pretty hard, but this girl is not giving enough instructions.

Like, just saying 'Move my mana' is not going to cut it. Where do I even start?

If it were that simple, I wouldn't need her help at all.

"You have to give me more help than just that". 

She thought for a minute.

"Try to feel the mana inside your body; what is it like?"

I tried to feel the mana that was inside my body. But it was just like it had its own mind.

It moved everywhere, from my chest to the tips of my toes. It did not want to listen to me at all.

"It's flowing everywhere inside my body.". 

"Good, try to focus the mana on a single body part". 

What is she even saying? I have no idea how to do that.

I tried to do as she said, but nothing was happening at all.

"..." 

"Instead of trying to focus on all the mana at the same time, focus on one single body part". 

I tried to focus on my hand, and I could feel the mana flowing in and out like waves.

But I couldn't keep the mana still in my hand; it still flowed out of it.

"The mana keeps flowing out of my hand, and I can't keep it there". 

"Wait, let me try something else. Turn your back towards me".

I turned my back towards her, and I felt two hands pressing on my back.

A warm energy was flowing out of her hands, and it felt very gentle and comfortable.

Her mana was so gentle, but my mana was so fierce and violent.

She soon let go of my back.

"I think I know the problem now. And there are two reasons.

First, you have too much mana for you to control". 

"...."

I immediately thought of it back then when I found the mana potion.

I was excited by the thought that I could have infinite mana.

So I drank the potion as fast as I could and regressed to drink it again and again.

That was now biting me in the back, as I couldn't reverse those changes.

'I should have been more patient back then,' I thought while facepalming myself.

"Second, your mana is too violent and wild. My mana was more gentle, but yours feels like the raging waves of the ocean". 

So even my mana is different from hers.

"What do I do then?". 

"You should probably start to focus on a small body part like your finger or nail.

It's going to take a lot of time, but you have a lot of that anyway, right?"

"..." 

"Don't worry, I will help you through these regressions. Give me your finger". 

She reached out her hand to grab my finger. I felt her mana enveloping my finger.

"First, you need to be able to keep your mana fixed on your finger. And from there, we can move on to other body parts".

I tried to move the mana that flowed from my body into my finger.

I couldn't hold it still for a second.

"Be patient; don't try to move it; instead, focus only on stopping a small amount". 

I did as she advised, and it worked; a small amount of mana was stopped.

But it soon released itself again into my body.

We repeated this training until sunset, and I could keep the mana still for a few minutes.

But when I tried to do it with my hand, it was too hard.

I stopped training and looked around.

"Thanks for the help; I don't think I need your help anymore in the future".

I was trying to imply that in my future regressions, I wouldn't bother her.

She already gave me enough advice, and I was scared that I would get attached.

The sun was setting, and I laid down to look at the sky that was getting darker.

"Are you going to regress?"

"Probably". 

It was about to get dark, and I was getting a little fatigued.

There also wasn't any caffeine, and honestly, regression gave a much better boost.

I would be in peak condition when I regressed, so that was probably the better choice in this scenario.

She suddenly stood up and blocked my view of the sky. She had a face lost in thought.

The orange sun painted one side of her face in a warm, orange glow.

It created a breathtaking scene and made my heart skip a little.

"You can also ask for my help later". 

"..."

Why was she suddenly saying that?

Seeing me not respond, she continued again,

"I have no idea how it is to regress, especially so many times.

You probably will also regress hundreds of times more in the future".

"..." I had a dumbfounded look on my face.

"I know it's going to be very hard for you, but not asking for my help would be a stupid choice.

You need my help to teach you how to control mana. If you try to do it by yourself, it will take so much more time.

So ask for my help until you finally feel like you know how to control your mana". 

I know that getting her help would help me tremendously.

But I did not want to get too close and get attached.

Is this the regressor dilemma? Do I keep asking for help and, at the same time, risk getting too close to her?

If I don't get her help, the amount of time I need to train will at least triple.

I feel like I know the answer.

"I won't ignore you and will ask for your help". 

It's simple; I just don't have to get too attached.

"Next time you meet me, say something about 'Nari' and you will get my attention."

"Nari? Is that your name?".

"No, my name is Park Jihye, and don't forget what I said." She said it with a smile and left me alone.

She went into the forest with a weapon. She probably didn't want to see me regress.

but after this tiring day, I should probably regress now.

I took a dagger and stabbed myself in the eye.

 [Skill activation]

- Perfect Clear[X]

[Returning to the moment you first entered this floor]

*****

I went directly to get the potion after the angel dropped the weapons.

After getting the potion, I approached Jihye.

"You said I should say 'Nari' to get your attention".

She opened her eyes in shock.

"How do you know about Nari, and who are you".

I kind of expected this answer, so I started explaining.

"So I told you to say 'Nari', but I didn't tell you who 'Nari' is?"

"Yeah, that's exactly it". 

She looked shocked and was silent for a few minutes.

"How many times have we had this conversation?"

"This is our third time, but the first time really doesn't count". 

"What now, then?" she asked, confused.

I threw the potion, and she grabbed it.

"You drink that and teach me how to control my mana". 

*****

"How many times have we had this conversation?"

"I don't know, probably about 12 times now". 

"And you still don't know anything about me?"

I threw the potion at her.

"I don't force you to tell me, and I would rather keep it this way". 

I realized that if I don't know anything about her or ask in any way,

I can just kind of treat her like an NPC, which is probably bad in many ways.

But I felt this was the best way to prevent us from getting too close.

"Drink the potion, so we can train".

*****

After many regressions, this mana thing was getting easier and easier to use. I can finally envelop myself with mana to strengthen myself.

That increased my power output by a factor of 2. So even though my stats were around 10, I felt like if I used mana, it wouldn't be a 10.

It would be more like a stat of 20.

It has made me stronger in many ways. I felt my options increase the more I learned.

I couldn't use telekinesis like Jihye. It wasn't because I had less mana or anything.

My mana is just too violent to use compared to Jihye's gentle mana.

But I think it's finally time. 

The image of the big wolf appeared in my mind.

It might be doable now.