37- The First Lesson: A Clash of Logic and Instinct

The mage tower stood tall against the afternoon sky, its stone walls kissed by the golden sunlight that reflected off the intricate light-enhancing mirrors Aldric had installed, the illumination in the grand study was entirely natural, sunlight bent and redirected through a carefully designed system of reflective glass and polished metal.

Aldric stepped into the spacious chamber, his boots clicking softly against the polished wooden floors. It was warm, thanks to the heated flooring—a feature he had personally designed and implemented using a combination of heat-retaining stone and insulation techniques. The warmth made the large room inviting, even comforting.

Seraphina stood in the center of the space, her arms crossed as she watched him approach. She had changed into a more practical outfit—dark trousers and a fitted tunic, her long silver hair tied back into a loose braid. Her violet eyes gleamed with curiosity.

"So," she said, tilting her head. "Are you ready to feel mana?"

Aldric smirked. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

Seraphina chuckled and gestured for him to stand across from her. "Alright, first things first—you need to understand what mana is. I assume you've read about it?"

Aldric gave her a deadpan look. "Naturally."

"Then tell me."

"Mana is an energy force that exists in all living things and the environment. Mages harness it either internally or externally. Internal mana is personal, limited, and takes time to replenish, while external mana is drawn from nature, the world around us."

Seraphina nodded approvingly. "Good. You've got the theory down. But reading about it and actually using it are two different things. Theory alone won't help you cast spells."

Aldric's smirk didn't waver. "We'll see."

Seraphina rolled her eyes. "Alright, Mr. Know-It-All. Close your eyes."

He did as instructed.

"Now," she said, her voice softening, "breathe. Slowly. Deeply. Focus on yourself. Your heartbeat. Your body. Let the world fade away, and search for something… different."

Aldric remained silent, following her instructions. He took slow, even breaths, focusing inward.

Minutes passed.

Nothing.

Seraphina watched him, her arms crossed. "You're thinking too much."

Aldric opened one eye. "I don't see how thinking is a problem."

She sighed. "That's exactly why it's a problem. Magic isn't something you force with logic alone. You have to feel it."

Aldric exhaled through his nose and tried again. This time, he focused less on analyzing and more on sensing. His breathing steadied, his mind settled… and then—

A faint pulse.

Deep inside, like the distant echo of a heartbeat that wasn't quite his.

The moment he tried to grasp it, it vanished.

His eyes snapped open, frustration flickering across his face.

Seraphina grinned. "You felt it, didn't you?"

He exhaled sharply. "For a moment."

"Not bad for a first try," she admitted. "Most people take weeks to even get a glimpse of their mana flow."

Aldric frowned. "That's unacceptable. There has to be a way to accelerate the process."

Seraphina raised an eyebrow. "You can't brute-force your way through magic, Aldric. It doesn't work like swordplay or strategy. You need patience."

Aldric scoffed. "Patience is for those who don't have better methods."

Before Seraphina could retort, the heavy doors to the study creaked open.

A tall figure leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, his expression one of mild amusement.

Lucien Ravensbourne.

Aldric's older brother.

Dressed in his usual dark tunic and high-collared coat, Lucien carried himself with an air of effortless confidence. His golden eyes gleamed with mischief as he took in the scene.

"Well, well," Lucien drawled. "What do we have here? Little brother finally decided to learn magic?"

Aldric sighed. "What do you want, Lucien?"

Lucien smirked as he stepped into the room. "I heard rumors of an intense magic lesson happening in the tower, and I simply had to see it for myself. I must say, I never expected to witness the great Aldric struggling with something."

Seraphina chuckled. "He's actually doing quite well."

Lucien raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? I always thought Aldric would sooner invent a machine that casts magic for him rather than learn it himself."

Aldric gave him a flat look. "That was my original plan. But magic has… potential."

Lucien blinked. "Oh? That's high praise coming from you."

Seraphina smirked. "He wants to understand mana at a fundamental level. It's rare to see someone so determined."

Lucien chuckled. "More like stubborn."

Aldric ignored him. "I need to practice again."

Seraphina held up a hand. "No. Pushing too hard will only set you back. Magic isn't about force—it's about control and balance."

Aldric clenched his jaw but relented. "Fine."

Lucien grinned. "Well, this has been entertaining. I'll leave you two to it." He turned toward the door but paused. "Oh, and Aldric?"

"What?"

Lucien smirked. "Try not to set yourself on fire."

Aldric rolled his eyes as his brother walked out, his laughter echoing down the hall.

Seraphina sighed. "Your brother is quite the character."

Aldric huffed. "He enjoys irritating me. It's a hobby of his."

Seraphina chuckled. "Alright, lesson's over for today. Tomorrow, we'll work on focusing your mana."

Aldric exhaled, nodding. "Understood."

As he left the study, he was already thinking of ways to refine his approach. Magic obeyed different laws, but that only meant he had to find a way to make it work his way.

Aldric sat cross-legged in his chamber, frustration gnawing at his patience.

He had spent the past hour trying to feel mana within him.

Nothing.

No warmth. No flow. No spark of power waiting to be drawn upon.

Just emptiness.

His fingers curled into a fist on his lap.

"Feel the mana inside you," Seraphina had told him.

But how was he supposed to do that when there was nothing inside him to feel?

He exhaled sharply. Maybe he was going about this the wrong way.

He had already deduced that he wasn't like the others. No natural mana. No core. No foundation for magic.

Yet, for some reason—mana seemed to react to him.

He had felt it, just for a moment, when he stopped trying to force it.

It wasn't inside him.

It was outside.

Flowing in the air, surrounding everything, like an unseen current.

His body wasn't rejecting mana. It was attracting it.

Aldric's eyes narrowed.

He placed his hands on his knees, palms upward, and took a slow breath.

This time, he didn't reach inward.

He reached out.

And the world… shifted.

Aldric froze.

A ripple, so faint it was almost imperceptible, pulsed through the air.

Mana stirred.

It wasn't flowing inside him, but it was bending toward him.

Drawn, as if pulled by an invisible force.

His pulse quickened.

He concentrated, trying to control that movement, to see if he could direct the flow.

The mana swirled, responded— but the moment he lost focus, it dissipated.

Aldric opened his eyes.

He grinned.

He didn't need a mana core. He could control mana externally.

This changed everything.

The next day.

The training hall was bathed in golden morning light when Seraphina arrived.

Aldric was already waiting.

She raised an eyebrow. "You look confident."

"I figured something out," Aldric said.

Seraphina hummed, skeptical. "Did you now?"

She walked past him, her robes brushing against the polished stone floor.

"Alright," she said. "Let's begin. Start by feeling mana—"

"I can already sense it."

Seraphina froze.

Her golden eyes snapped to him. "…What?"

Aldric extended his hand.

The air shifted.

Mana gathered, drawn toward his fingertips—not from within him, but from the environment itself.

Seraphina stiffened.

The color drained from her face.

She took a slow step forward, her eyes locked onto his hand, watching the mana ripple unnaturally.

"This… what is this?"

Aldric grinned.

"I don't have mana inside me," he explained. "So I stopped trying to use what I don't have. Instead, I figured out how to control what's already there."

Seraphina stared at him.

Her gaze flickered between his expression and the mana responding to his command.

"This… isn't possible," she muttered.

Aldric chuckled. "And yet, here we are."

Seraphina scowled.

"No," she snapped. "You're lying. You have to be."

Aldric raised an eyebrow. "Why would I lie about something so easy to disprove?"

Seraphina's hands clenched into fists at her sides.

"You don't just—just rewrite how magic works overnight!" she argued. "That's not how this works! Mana comes from within. It circulates inside us. That's the foundation of all magic!"

"And yet, I have no mana core, no internal circulation," Aldric countered. "And I can still do this."

He extended his hand again.

A faint ripple of mana gathered in the space around him.

Seraphina took a sharp step back.

She looked… disturbed.

"You're not circulating mana," she whispered. "You're manipulating it… externally?"

"Exactly," Aldric said. "I don't generate mana. I attract it."

Seraphina's brow furrowed deeply.

"…This defies everything we know about magic."

Aldric smiled. "Then maybe everything we know is wrong."

She let out a sharp breath.

Her gaze flickered over him again, as if desperately searching for a flaw in his logic.

"Let me check something," she muttered.

She placed her hand on his chest.

Aldric let her.

Seraphina closed her eyes, searching.

Her brows furrowed deeper.

Nothing.

Not a trace of a mana core.

She pulled back, her fingers curling slightly as she stared at him like he was something unnatural.

"…This isn't right," she said under her breath.

"Maybe not," Aldric admitted. "But it works."

Seraphina glared at him.

"You don't get it," she snapped. "You can't progress like this. Without a mana core, you won't be able to cast proper spells. You won't be able to form a magic circle, amplify power, or even store mana for continuous use!"

"That's true," Aldric acknowledged. "But let me ask you something."

He folded his arms.

"Why do we need a mana core to begin with?"

Seraphina blinked.

Aldric continued.

"Isn't a mana core just a storage system?" he asked. "If I don't have one, can't I just use the world's mana instead?"

Seraphina opened her mouth—then closed it.

She hesitated.

Aldric watched her face as she processed his words.

She hated it.

She hated that she didn't have an immediate counterargument.

"This doesn't mean you can use magic properly," she muttered.

Aldric smirked.

"Then why don't we test it?"

Seraphina's golden eyes narrowed.

A moment later, she stepped back and snapped her fingers.

A small flame flickered to life at her fingertips.

"Extinguish this," she challenged.

Aldric tilted his head.

He lifted his hand.

The mana around him rippled.

Instead of focusing on the flame, he focused on the air around it.

Seraphina watched, expecting him to fail—

But then—

The oxygen thinned.

The fire flickered.

Seraphina's breath hitched.

The flame vanished.

Silence.

Seraphina stared at him.

Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

Aldric lowered his hand.

He met her gaze, his smile turning smug.

"Still think I can't use magic properly?"

Seraphina didn't respond.

Her hands slowly curled into fists at her sides.

She hated this. She hated how easily he broke the rules.

She took a sharp breath, schooling her expression.

"…You're still untrained," she muttered.

Aldric laughed. "That sounds like an admission of defeat."

Seraphina scowled.

"Shut up," she muttered.

Aldric grinned.

She wasn't rejecting it anymore.

She was accepting it.

And that meant he was one step closer to mastering magic.