What is Mana!?

Hiroto exited the Adventurer's Guild with a promise to return tomorrow. With still plenty of daylight left, he wanted to explore more of the city.

He walked around, taking in many sights. He saw a beautiful garden, no less grand than the one in the palace. Children ran freely, while a few sat quietly, observing others. Hiroto thought the city's security must be excellent to allow children to play without constant supervision. He also spotted a giant clock tower and wondered if it worked on the exact mechanisms as Earth's clocks or if it, too, was powered by magic. Hiroto yearned to find out.

He saw a plaza where people gathered, chilling out. Many artists enhanced the relaxed atmosphere with their performances. People gathered around them; many even gave them money after each show. Hiroto mused that the estate's economy must be thriving for commoners to enjoy themselves and spend money so freely.

Evening arrived, and it was time for Hiroto to return to the mansion. He retraced his steps. The streets were even more bustling now, probably because people were free from work. Hiroto left the lively crowds behind and walked towards the palace. As he approached the mansion, the number of people gradually decreased.

A strange feeling settled in Hiroto's heart, as if he were already missing the hustle and bustle of the city. 

Hiroto found himself in front of the main gate, hidden and observing the soldiers on the other side. Entering without being noticed was easier said than done. He looked around for another way in.

Tall walls surrounded the mansion, and climbing them wouldn't be easy. For Hiroto, it seemed an impossible task. Soon, his gaze landed on a tree growing just next to the mansion wall. He wondered if he could climb the tree and jump over the wall.

Hiroto thought for a while. Seeing no other way, he decided to execute the plan. He moved closer to the tree, now out of sight of the guards. He climbed the tree with ease. Once he reached the top, he could see the other side of the wall.

Hiroto had successfully scaled the wall, but there was nothing on the other side to cushion his fall. He paused, thinking. It was clear that if he jumped like this, he would hurt himself badly, and if he got caught, everything he'd worked for would be for nothing.

He used his mana vision as a last resort. He saw clouds of mana everywhere, like a dense, transparent fog but with colors. Hiroto noticed one point where the mist was particularly thick. He didn't know what it was, but a sudden hypothesis struck him: perhaps he needed denser mana to interact with it.

It was already growing dark. He thought maybe he could touch the denser mana. Deciding to follow his gut, he jumped off the tree across the wall, aiming for the mana cloud. It took only a split second to reach the other side.

He passed through the mana cloud, but it did nothing. He fell straight onto the ground. He bit back a scream. The guards were probably coming due to the noise. Hiroto quickly stood up, pain still lingering, and ran straight towards his room.

It was the same guard who had tried to stop Hiroto that morning. He looked around but found no one. He thought today was just a bad day, or someone was playing tricks on him.

Hiroto somehow reached his room and jumped straight onto his bed. He was frustrated, not because he had fallen, but because he couldn't use magic. There were limited things he could learn from books. While he knew the essence of magic, he lacked the practical knowledge.

He remembered something from his science class: 

"Energy can't be generated or destroyed; it can only be transformed from one form to another." 

It held true even in this world. Mages, he understood, used mana as fuel and transformed it to their liking.

Although Hiroto knew all that, he still didn't know how to do it. He sighed.

He got up and changed his clothes. Standing in front of a mirror, looking at his hair, he thought he needed a permanent disguise for it. He couldn't just dye them. 

Only if I could use magic, he mused.

Hiroto figured he'd eventually solve the magic problem. His stomach rumbled; he'd missed lunch. A glance at the clock in his room confirmed it was already dinner time. The family usually ate together, but Hiroto always brought his food to his room. Just like always, he asked a maid to bring him dinner.

After eating, he went straight to sleep. He was excited to visit the city first thing in the morning, eager to finally start his adventure as an Adventurer and do something outside the mansion walls.

That's what he thought. But the next morning, he found himself again in his father's study. 

I'm coming here more often nowadays, he mused.

"This person here is Jamery Yuklsten. He will be your magic instructor from now on."

"What?" Hiroto blurted out, utterly surprised. 

It was so sudden. Only a day had passed since he declared his intent to become a mage, and now his father had already provided an instructor.

Noticing the hesitant look on Hiroto's face, his father clarified, "Don't worry. He is the same instructor who taught Carl about magic."

That's not what I'm worried about, Hiroto thought. 

He never imagined this man would be so generous to his problematic child. 

Maybe I was wrong about him all along. He looked at Fred in a new light. 

"Thank you very much," Hiroto said, a hint of genuine gratitude in his voice.

His father cleared his throat and continued, "You're starting very late. So you must try extra hard. I hope you keep that in mind."

"Yes," Hiroto affirmed.

"Good... Now, Mr. Jamery will take care of you."

"You can leave it to me," Jamery reassured Fred.

Fred nodded. "You can start right away if you want."

"Well, of course," Jamery replied, a glint in his eye. "I also wanted to measure the capability of my new student."

After receiving a few instructions, Jamery and Hiroto left the room.

x

After Hiroto and Jamery left, Fred sat in his chair, thinking deeply. Even though he'd provided an instructor, he was sure Hemal would give up sooner or later. Once he understood how truly lacking he was, he'd surely quit. Fred genuinely hoped for that outcome. When he gave up, Fred would then shape him as he wished.

But if Hemal did learn something by some slim chance, that would also be acceptable. Because, at the end of the day, Fred wanted Hemal to become something. When Hemal had said he wanted to be a mage, it was the first time he'd ever stated he would do something. Perhaps that's why Fred wished to observe Hemal for a little longer. 

He looked at a picture of his second wife, Lusiya, on his desk. 

"Am I doing the right thing here?" he murmured, the question hanging in the silent room.

x

Hiroto and Jamery went to the open garden in front of the mansion. The land was covered with small, well-maintained grass. They sat beneath a tree.

"Before we start anything," Jamery asked Hiroto, "what is your reason for becoming a mage?"

Hiroto thought for a while. "There is something I need to achieve, and for that, I need magic."

Jamery didn't look surprised. "So you're saying that learning magic is just a stepping stone for you to reach that goal?"

"Yes... Will that be a problem?"

"Of course not. Magic is just a tool. You can use it however you want. That's the fun part of being a mage: the freedom and power to make the impossible possible." Jamery smiled. "Let's get started then. Tell me, how much do you know about magic?"

Hiroto pieced his answer with all the knowledge he had accumulated. "Well, I know that mana is everywhere, and mages use this mana for their magic."

Jamery nodded, asking him to continue. "They sense these mana particles and somehow..."

"Wait." Jamery interrupted.

Hiroto paused.

"Why do you think mana is a particle?"

Hiroto looked around with his mana vision. He saw the mana clouds. He was sure that these clouds were made of small particles grouped together. But he couldn't tell Jamery that he could see mana. "I thought that mana was particles."

"No, you're wrong about that."

Hiroto didn't know what to say, especially when he could clearly see what mana really was. "Then what is mana?" he asked, genuinely curious about Jamery's answer.

"Mana is part of this world," Jamery replied.

Hiroto didn't understand his words. He thought it was evident that it was part of the world. Seeing Hiroto's dumbfounded expression, Jamery explained. "Mana is not a single entity. It is interconnected."

"Interconnected?" Now Hiroto was truly lost.

"There's something called a 'Mana Node'. The mana connects to these nodes."

Hiroto didn't understand anything.