Enlightenment

But of course Larin never moved from that position. There was no heaving chest over which to slam a fist of victory; that would come when the real consequences sank in-a long, time-warp of realization as all his insides did their mad hammering: he'd gotten every drop, absorbed every grain of mana to himself and-for the first time, it seems-could sense almost limitless in his veins. His grin was stretched longer and twisted wider than necessary. A few times locked into a rush of revelations, he forgot to take a breath.

Then he finally exhaled. The grin faded. Excitement remained, but controlled. He tidied up his thoughts and then whispered to himself, "Let me name this. [Absorption]."

The entire day was spent within the walls of the practice room, testing how far his newfound ability would extend. The runes along the walls replenished mana faster than he could drain it, reset upon every breath. Perfect environment. Completely controlled experiment where he can take and take without worry.

But Larin was not interested in consequences, within the bounds of safety. He wanted to know what it meant outside. What it meant when he pulled mana from the real world, from the land itself.

And so, he stepped out.

The moment he turned on [Absorption] outside, it was as if a vacuum opened around him. The air pulled itself in, the earth quivered, and the leaves overhead wilted ever so slightly. Something twisted in the atmosphere, and there was this faint pulse of wrongness that radiated outwards. Larin only realized what had actually happened when he heard Oakenna's voice.

"This method plunders life," she said, advancing, her face expressionless. "Take care not to kill the small ones that we are protecting."

Larin's gaze swept across his surroundings. It had been so subtle, but now that he looked, he could not deny it. The grass near his feet had lost its luster, paled in color as if drained of something essential. A few insects lay still on the soil, their tiny bodies unmoving, robbed of something they could not afford to lose. A cluster of beetles that had been crawling up a nearby tree simply stopped.

He clenched his fists. This was wrong. He had gained power, yes, but what was the cost? He had no right to take without understanding.

His mind was already running through possibilities, searching for ways to fix the damage he had done. He had to refine this.

Larin focused inward, breaking down [Absorption] much as he had a thousand times and more, analyzing its form and purpose, how it interacted with mana. He thought of [Sinlung Resonance], of the flow and withdrawal of mana, his connection with the world without.

He tried to combine them.

This first time, nothing came. The second, the same. But on the third, something changed. He didn't draw mana from around him; he traded it. The mana flowed through him instead of simply into him, like sunlight filtering through a canopy, like wind bending through leaves. It was less intrusive, less violent. And yet, it worked.

His breathing steadied. The subtle wrongness he'd felt before was gone. The grass no longer withered, the insects no longer collapsed in place. The life around him remained undisturbed.

Oakenna nodded approvingly. "Better."

Larin exhaled a quiet thank you, not just to her, but to the Spring Core still resting in his palm. Then, without wasting another moment, he turned and went back inside the practice room.

He had so much to learn.

This time, he wasn't just experimenting with his own skills. He was experimenting with the concept of magic itself. What was the structure of spells? How were they built? How did they respond and act in the presence of his will? What was magic, really?

He began small.

[Push]. [Pull].

He wanted the Spring Core to push and then pull. It was easy, even the weakest of an apprentice would have been able to do this with a magic spell construction. And yet, as he focused, he realized how much he'd taken for granted. He had spent years casting spells, bending mana, and yet never had he taken the time to really study the mechanics of something as basic as force.

It was not the action per se; he could push and pull the Core quite easily with simple commands, but to disassemble it was to strip the movement of everything superfluous and do so flawlessly - and that would require work on his part, since he must learn to eliminate all the learned formalities that governed spell-casting, drive out instincts gained over years of regimented practice. Every move was wrong; every attempt seemed clumsy and pointless.

After twenty breaths, his forehead was slick with sweat. He needed to pause and refocus.

But there was something promising in this. The more he did it, the more the movement became instinctual. He wasn't just casting anymore—he was willing it.

His thoughts raced. Did this apply to all spells? If so, why hadn't they started with this when learning to cast without circles? Did this method have weaknesses? Strengths?

There was only one way to find out.

He turned his attention to elemental spells next. Simple ones.

[Flame]. [Water]. [Ice]. [Grass]. [Darkness]. [Shadow]. [Poison].

He cycled through each, conjuring, deconstructing, feeling. Testing every aspect of them, stripping them down to their purest form.

It drained him faster than he had anticipated.

An hour passed and his bones screamed in agony. His mana supply, which was boosted by the enhanced [Sinlung Resonance], ran perilously low. He'd gotten so into the rhythm of it all he hadn't slowed down to breathe.

Larin took a hard breath, glancing down at his shaking hands. His body ached in ways he had never felt from battle, just from exertion. He was pushing himself too fast.

"This is going to take months."

He clenched his jaw, frustration eating at his chest. Months. He did not have months. Xiaxo didn't have months. Each and every passing moment was one more step to the destruction.

His fists clenched up. That was not enough.

But he had no other choice.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath.

"One step at a time."

He only had to survive until he got to see this through.