Spiritual Energy

As Mortis followed the wraith, they passed through a number of winding corridors before finally arriving to the dormitory section.

The hall was alive with movement. Students wandered in and out of their rooms, some chatting, others lost in thought. None of them paid Mortis any attention, he was clearly new, and more importantly, not even a Magus Apprentice yet.

Eventually, the wraith stopped in front of a particular door and silently vanished, leaving Mortis alone.

He raised his wrist and touched the door with his bracelet. With a faint click, the door unlocked and creaked open slightly.

The door itself was made of black, heavy metal, something akin to steel. Solid and secure. A number was etched into its surface, glowing: 967.

Mortis pushed it open and stepped inside.

As soon as he entered, the room lit up. Soft, warm light bloomed from the wall-mounted lamps as if responding to his presence.

"Looks like they use magic to automate a lot of things in this world. Amazing," he muttered, his voice filled with quiet wonder.

'Even though this world resembles a medieval era, the existence of magi and magic itself makes life far more comfortable. In some ways… it might even surpass the hyper-modernized world I came from. That's incredible,' Mortis thought to himself, awe blooming in his chest.

He took a moment to examine the space he'd now call home.

The room was small, but that was expected, this was a dormitory housing hundreds of students after all. Space efficiency was the key.

It was divided into two compact sections: a bathroom, and a combined bedroom-living space. The latter had a modest desk and chair, likely for studying or writing, while the bed stood out as the most impressive part of the room. It was neatly made, clean, and looked more than comfortable.

Mortis walked over and placed down the academy's leather armor on the floor beside the bed. Then he sat down, exhaling slowly as the day's weight settled on him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the crystal ball his mentor had given him, the one containing the meditation technique.

Holding it in both hands, his expression turned serious, yet gleamed with excitement.

'I can finally step onto the path of the Magus.'

With a deep breath, he stroked the smooth surface of the crystal ball, then pressed it firmly to his forehead.

The effect was immediate.

Information began pouring into his mind like a rushing current, streams of arcane knowledge, diagrams and detailed meditation informations.

But after just a few seconds, a sharp, piercing pain exploded in his head.

"Urgh—! This is the small sting Professor Dante was talking about?!" Mortis gasped, gritting his teeth as the pressure inside his skull built rapidly.

It felt as though his mind were being torn apart. He dropped the crystal ball onto the bed and clutched his head in agony.

Images and data flooded his consciousness without pause, his brain trying to process it all.

Minutes passed.

Eventually, the pain began to fade, replaced by a deep, almost paralyzing exhaustion.

Mortis didn't even have the strength to review what he'd just absorbed. The moment the pain dulled, his body gave out. He collapsed backward onto the bed, his limbs heavy, and within moments, he was fast asleep, still fully clothed, the crystal ball resting beside him.

|>>======|✦|======<<|

After a few hours, Mortis finally woke up. His eyes fluttered open, still heavy with fatigue, and he glanced around, disoriented.

"What…?" he muttered groggily, trying to piece together what had happened and why he'd passed out.

Then it all came rushing back—the crystal ball, the meditation technique, and the agonizing flood of information that had overwhelmed his mind.

"The fatigue from the transfer…" he realized, rubbing his temples.

Now fully awake, he focused inward, mentally sorting through the knowledge he had absorbed. The meditation technique began to unfold in his mind. It was titled simply: Stage Zero.

The method itself was deceptively straightforward in concept, but far harder to execute.

'To begin the practice, one must enter a state of deep focus and clearly visualize the inhalation of the world's invisible energy—spiritual energy. This energy exists in all things. The next step is to slowly guide this inhaled energy through the body and into the center of the abdomen, where it must be gathered into a small ball of this energy'

Mortis nodded to himself.

'Once I'm able to consistently inhale, guide, and collect this energy, it will eventually condense into something known as a mana core. This core will serve as a container for spiritual energy. At that point, I will have officially become a Rank 1 Magus Apprentice.'

He continued reviewing the technique.

'To advance to Rank 2, I need only accumulate more spiritual energy within the core. The same applies for Ranks 3 and 4, though the energy undergoes a visible transformation at each stage. Rank 1 is colorless. Rank 2 turns white. Rank 3 becomes green. And Rank 4 shifts into red.'

Mortis paused at the mention of Rank 5.

'Advancing to Rank 5 is far more complicated. It's not just about the amount of energy, it also requires another condition. You must compress the gathered energy inside the mana core until it liquefies.'

'As for the advancement to an Official Magus… there's nothing here. No information.'

Mortis sighed and leaned back slightly.

"At least I know how to rise through the ranks of a Magus Apprentice now," he muttered. "That's enough for the time being."

He closed his eyes once again.

'First things first—practice the breathing and visualization. Inhale. Guide. Gather.'

Mortis fell into silence and began his first attempt at true meditation.

He focused on the air around him, visualizing the spiritual energy with as much detail as he could manage. He imagined it moving with his breath—entering his body, flowing through him, spiraling toward the center of his abdomen.

But… nothing happened.

Still, he wasn't discouraged. He kept going, determined not to give up until he succeeded or at least until his mind could no longer take it.

|>>======|✦|======<<|

After nearly five hours, Mortis was drenched in sweat. The last three had been a continuous strain on his focus, his mind on the verge of collapse.

His vision blurred. His head throbbed. His breath was ragged.

Just as he began to approach his limit and feel like he might pass out… something changed.

He felt it.

A subtle sensation, like a breeze brushing against his skin. It was all around him. Surrounding him. Embracing him.

Spiritual energy.

His brows furrowed, though he remained focused at his meditation.

'It's everywhere… I can feel it.'

And more than that, it felt… right. Familiar. Compatible.

'Wait… is this because of my element?'

He concentrated further, narrowing his focus on the sensation.

'Yes. I can feel it clearly now. Within the spiritual energy, the blood and dark elements are more abundant, and they're reacting to me.'

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

'So that's why the Myriad Demons Academy was built here… The spiritual energy in this area is rich in dark and blood elements. It's perfectly suited for people like me.'

Mortis didn't open his eyes. Instead, he inhaled slowly, trying to continue the meditation technique.