Ch. 18 Absorb Mana

Paskha smiled broadly, facing a sturdy building with an impenetrable steel wall as a shield and two towering gates standing side by side. He had only had the privilege of coming here a few times since he officially became Sir Clove's direct disciple. This place had extreme soul force fluctuations, making it suitable for increasing mana capacity, which could boost a soul's skill potential.

If mortal soul masters had precious items that could help increase their mana capacity, this shrine was the most coveted place. Unfortunately, the fluctuation pressure accumulated in this place was too potent and endless for a soul master to contain. That's why Sir Clove only allowed him to meditate in this place only when Paskha ran out of mana.

Now that Sir Clove had him come here, he wondered if his current physical body could accept the fluctuations.

"Young master, the master has been waiting for you inside."

"You're not going in?"

Asher shook his head sadly. "Even if I wanted to, my body wouldn't be able to bear the fluctuations within."

Paskha never expected to hear this information. He had assumed Asher had not gone in because Sir Clove had not allowed the man and had never thought to ask him the real reason.

Who would have thought Asher's body couldn't even take in the mana fluctuations from within this shrine? "But what about me? Can my body handle the pressure fluctuations?"

"Young master, you don't have to worry. The mana fluctuations would only strike when a cultivator absorbed it. At this time, your three base points are yet to be unlocked, so your body wouldn't absorb the mana."

Paskha nodded in understanding and decided to go inside. With every step, he couldn't stop thinking about where this other-worldly shrine came from. He had asked his teacher before, but… he couldn't quite remember the answer.

As soon as he came out of the long tunnel-like path, Paskha found his teacher standing there with his back to him. That man's head looked slightly raised as if he was looking at the stars in the sky.

"Sir Clove, I'm here."

Sir Clove turned around unhurriedly and nodded slowly in welcome. Paskha could detect traces of sadness in the man's eyes. However, that trace of sadness quickly disappeared, replaced by a flat, colorless stone-like stare.

"Bad boy, you're finally here."

Paskha walked towards his teacher with a relaxed step without losing his characteristic smile. "Sir Clove, why are we here? What kind of training will you give me?"

"You impatient rascal. Before we start, I will explain something first."

Paskha did not argue and listened carefully word for word to his teacher.

"Your capability to distribute the use of soul force is already above that of someone your age. You don't need to practice jogging every day, let alone want to exceed your stamina limit. No matter how much you train, you will never exceed the limit of three and a half hours."

At first, Paskha didn't want to accept this fact, but after experiencing it himself for the past three days without any significant results, he has to take it like it or not.

"All you need to do is hold on for two hours until the point of your tailbone is unlocked. That is enough."

"Ha? Doesn't that mean I have to rest first before continuing… Ouch…" Sir Clove flicked his forehead a bit harshly, interrupting Paskha's words.

"I'm not done."

Paskha rubbed his sore forehead and put on a sullen face. Really… this teacher loved to flick his forehead or hit him on the head.

Wasn't there any normal punishment for him?

"Once your first point is unlocked, absorb the mana around you."

Paskha was silent hearing this, and his smart brain immediately worked fast. "You mean… I should absorb mana from the gravitational field?"

Sir Clove flashed a satisfied smile at this. "It was not in vain that I had you read the fourth-level manual—you already know how the opening hall works." Sir Clove's sincere praise drew a delighted chuckle from Paskha.

Even though Paskha had memories that he experienced maturity until age forty, hearing praise from one of his father figures could still make him elated.

"That's right. Basically, gravitational fields are created by a soul master with the soul skill of gravity control. Automatically, the gravity pressure contains pure mana."

Paskha clapped his hands once when he understood what his teacher wanted. "In that case, I can absorb mana and save as much stamina as possible to unlock the second point." This way, he could stay in the gravitational field for six hours without getting tired or sick. "But Sir Clove, if this method is so effective, why aren't the other children using it?"

"As if this is easy to do. Even a baby who is just learning to walk has to crawl first. Kids your age who have never naturally absorbed mana, how would they do that under so much pressure?"

That makes sense. It was already a fortune if one could absorb the mana in the air according to need. However, if one loses control and absorbs too much mana, their body would heat up and explode if they couldn't control it.

"Paskha, I will teach you how to absorb mana in the air naturally."

Sir Clove didn't need to teach him because Paskha had his memory. "Sir Clove, was today's training specifically about mana absorption?"

"Of course not. Even if I only teach the theory, you won't be able to put it into practice as long as your first point isn't unlocked."

"Then?"

"Once you understand the theory, I'll teach you how to unlock the third point without a hitch."

This is what Paskha needs the most. "Sir Clove, I already understand the nature of mana in the air, and I'm sure I can absorb it just fine without overdoing it. Please teach me directly how to unlock the third point once the second one is done."

What? Even though Paskha was a child prodigy and the most gifted of all talented kids, Sir Clove still couldn't help but be surprised to hear the great confidence in the boy's tone.

Plus, seeing the look in this child's eyes... Paskha's eyes shine much brighter and more straightforward, like flawless water.

Somehow, Sir Clove felt he could believe the words of this certain boy. Even though it was logically impossible for little Paskha to absorb mana naturally, his heart said otherwise. "Alright. Let's start the real training."