Warrior Cultivation

Using Magical Eyes, Austin analyzed the mana flowing inside Heinz, which has now become tiny strands from its normal thicker-stream form.

Gas-like particles were slowly entering into him from the environment.

He was regaining vitality from the essence of the world as he rested on the ground, the mana in his body recovering to its normal amount.

The depletion of mana in a Mage's body occurs the same way for Warriors, where the thickness of their mana will gradually thin out and subside.

For Mages, this is caused by casting spells and using magic. For Warriors, it is whenever they exert physical energy boosted by mana, allowing them to achieve performances beyond normal human capacity. 

Because Heinz trained to such an insane degree, the mana inside him was quickly consumed to nothingness. However, the body prevents one from ever truly running out of mana, forcing its system to shut down before this can happen.

Just like how one cannot kill themselves from holding their breath, the concept of mana works in the same way as a natural defense mechanism by inducing unconsciousness. This is evident from Elena's weakened state as she pushed herself against the assassins and kept using magic when she barely had any power left to do so.

The number of magicians who actually die from overuse of mana are few and far between, only occurring under remarkable conditions. 

First, they must have been in the gravest of situations that threatened their lives or those whom they'd be willing to die for. They must also possess an extraordinary will that is capable of defying their own bodies, forcibly drawing out all its energy regardless of how much pain it's causing.

For reference, the ordinary person gives up after experiencing about fifty percent fatigue, so to be able to function at one hundred percent is nothing short of exceptional. 

In Elena's case, she was willing to sacrifice her life for Bram and Austin's a hundred times over, and came close to reaching the stage of total mana depletion.

Her will was in no way weak, yet she was unable to overcome the final barrier. Fortunately, this helped her stay alive, albeit in a greatly enervated state because of how far she pushed herself.

Taking a look at Heinz, his body was already recovering at a healthy rate after his routine training session, one so grueling it actually matched the intensity of Elena in her life and death mindset.

If Austin didn't know any better, he wouldn't have imagined Heinz had simply been doing this for the sake of increasing his strength. Despite there being no urgency or danger present, he was still able to drive himself to such a high degree.

Heinz and Elena were greatly dissimilar in strength which may have caused some deviation in the speed of their recovery rates, but for Elena's condition to have barely changed over a day was hugely unusual.

There had to be something else, preventing her from waking up...

"Ha..." Austin audibly sighed before taking a seat on the grass next to Heinz, holding his sword in hand.

The sword was most probably stolen as it was far too big for a child to wield, yet Heinz used it like it was a natural fit. With how dedicated he was to practicing, this came as no surprise.

Austin didn't know precisely how deep Heinz's cultivation was, but he should be able to take on fifty ordinary men without issue. Austin was only able to defeat him without relying on magic by using the experience and martial art skills from his previous life.

He checked on Heinz again, wanting to see his condition now to grasp a general idea on how fast mana typically recovers, and was surprised to discover there had already been a one/twentieth increase from minutes ago. This again enforced the fact an unknown variable was plaguing Elena.

Once Heinz finishes absorbing the world's mana, the maximum capacity he can hold will increase slightly through the thickness of the essence.

Heinz may be training at an intensity abnormal to most, but on the same note, the effectiveness of his results are far higher.

Judging from the amount of mana left in Heinz's body after his training, there was only around five percent of it left.

As mana recovers, much more is reabsorbed and integrated into a Warrior's body with less mana compared to one with more. This is the same as building muscles - the more they are destroyed and broken down, the stronger and sturdier it becomes after recovery.

Everyone in Fantasia is born with mana, so why is it that very few end up becoming a Warrior, and even fewer are able to make their names known as one?

Simply put, it is hard.

Most do not have the tenacity and motivation to endure the stress required.

Hard work ethic - that is not what the path of a Warrior entails. It is beyond that, one must need a hell work ethic; Heinz, being the perfect example of this. 

Perhaps the only saving grace is that mana cannot be lost, meaning a Warrior's physical strength will never decrease after reaching a stage. The same cannot be said about their battle sense and technique however.

Unfortunately, increasing power only becomes harder as one gets stronger.

The same training routine a Warrior used when they were Bronze Class cannot be followed as they advance to higher Classes since the results will be negligible. Thus, the pain one must go through in the higher ranks to improve is many times greater.

In all of Fantasia's history, there have only been two Warriors across all four continents that have reached Diamond Class, who both didn't break past low-tier, most likely giving up after seeing how impossible it was. On the other hand, there have been a handful of Mages who have reached the Mid Diamond Class Stage.

Factually, there are more elite Mages in the world than there are elite Warriors, whilst there are many more Warriors than Mages in the low stages.

Due to the increase in difficulty of training for Warriors, the vast majority remain at the Bronze and Silver Class Stage, or perhaps do not even break through the point of Bronze Class.

Even if one can handle the torturous physical stress once, twice, or a couple of times, how long would they be willing to keep that up for? It would require a killer's mindset to torture oneself every day just to receive tiny increases in strength.

Mage cultivation is more reliant on their talent for comprehension, allowing many more to stay on this path as there is no pain involved. 

Austin recently learned of all this information about Warrior cultivation from Bram.

Because he had all the elements of nature in him, theoretically his body should be capable of absorbing mana from the world. If this is true, then he would be the first and only Warrior Mage to exist. Now was the perfect opportunity to test this.

Grasping Heinz's swords and holding it up, Austin's arms shook from the heavy weight of it. It is a one-handed sword, but using two hands was barely enough for him to keep it stable. It's size alone nearly equaled to his height.

Apart from a slight wince, Austin did not let out any muffled groans and continued his motion.

His eyes turned sharp and his arms lost all signs of shaking.

Following after, a set of skills were put on display that could only belong to that of a master's.

A blast of thunder came out as if the sword's weight had become light as a feather.

The sword turned into a blur and was swung down with immense force behind it, causing strong gusts of wind to blow past, replacing the breeze of the night.

Then, like raging waves to a calming ocean, it was suddenly slowly moving through the air.

Austin's movement was first majestic and now surreal, exercising complete control over the heavy sword as it danced around in intricate patterns, not straying a single millimeter from its path.

The first swing he performed was so explosive it had actually caused every single vein in his body to show. Now, he was exercising all those veins as they pulsated wildly, looking like they were threatening to burst.

From nowhere, sweat drenched through his clothes from top to bottom.

Crrrrk!

A vein on his arm popped just as he came to a stop, and Austin proceeded to gently place the sword on the ground instead of letting it fall. 

Sitting in a meditating position, his breathing turned abnormal, using a technique meant to reduce the damage he had just done to his body. 

In a matter of seconds, Austin had accomplished the same level of physical stress Heinz did in hours. All the pain Heinz experienced was condensed to a short moment of time. With a small furrow in his brow, Austin's face showed that he was only doing a menial task. 

With veins still protruding all over his body, Austin's breathing technique made his heart rate quickly return back to under one hundred and fifty beats per minute.

Then, opening his mouth, a great amount of foul air came out with a heavy heave of his chest.

"Haaaahhhh."