Report
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Griffin Scans
Author – Hero of death
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Chapter 5 - The Mana Awakens
A month of unrelenting training had transformed Ji-Won.
The pale, trembling boy dragged from his world into this cult-like nightmare was gone. In his place stood a lean, sculpted figure—muscles defined, posture firm, and eyes sharp. His six-pack glistened under the low candlelight, his once-soft hands now hardened with callouses. Despite his grueling training, he hadn’t lost his youthful charm—his features retained the sharp handsomeness of a Korean actor, now only enhanced by his hardened aura.
Ji-Won approached Jojo, breathing steadily. “Is my training over… or do I still need to train?”
Jojo gave a rare smile. “Your body is ready. You’re perfect. Now comes the real challenge—mana.”
Ji-Won’s expression tensed. “More pain?”
“Much more,” Jojo replied, solemn. “Because your origin is from another world, your soul doesn’t naturally align with mana. To accept it, your heart must be forced open. And it will feel like dying. Again and again.”
If I don’t learn this, they’ll kill me anyway, Ji-Won thought grimly. So I have no choice.
He clenched his fists. “Let’s begin.”
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The ritual was brutal.
Jojo gathered thick strands of ambient mana and dark energy from the air, shaping it into a burning orb. Without hesitation, he pressed it directly into Ji-Won’s chest—straight into his heart.
Ji-Won screamed. It felt like his heart was being torn apart from the inside. His veins glowed red, as if magma flowed instead of blood. His body convulsed, his skin steaming.
And then… blackness.
He woke the next day—barely able to move, barely able to think—only for Jojo to repeat the process. Again. And again.
Each day was the same—agony, collapse, fainting. But each time, Ji-Won’s body resisted less. Endured more. Adapted.
By the seventh day, something had changed.
When Jojo forced mana into him this time, Ji-Won didn’t scream. He gasped—but held it. His heart pulsed in rhythm with the mana. It moved. It flowed. He could feel it.
Jojo’s eyes widened. “You’ve done it. You’ve formed your mana core. The keystone of all magic.”
Ji-Won collapsed to his knees, smiling through the sweat. “Then… teach me.”
Jojo wasted no time.
Jojo started to teach magic.
“Magic is formula. Intent. Control. Mana is your fuel, but your mind is the engine.”
He taught Ji-Won how to gather mana into his palm, how to visualize heat, combustion, and form.
For two weeks, Ji-Won practiced relentlessly.
At first, the mana fizzled. Then it sparked. Then… a flicker.
And finally—one quiet night—he extended his hand and summoned a tiny, hovering fireball.
Small. Weak. But burning.
Jojo watched, satisfied.
“Congratulations, Ji-Won. You’ve cast your first spell. From here, the real path begins.”
The flame in Ji-Won’s hand shimmered, unstable but undeniably real. He stared at it in awe, the soft crackle echoing like a song of victory. His heart beat faster—not from fear, but from something else. Pride, maybe.
Jojo nodded, arms crossed. “Your fireball may be simple, but it’s the first step toward becoming a mage.”
Ji-Won dismissed the flame with a flick of his hand. “So… what’s next?”
Without a word, Jojo turned and strode toward the far end of the chamber. From a dark alcove, he retrieved a tightly rolled bamboo scroll, bound with black string. Carefully unrolling it on a stone table, he revealed ancient scriptures etched with flowing calligraphy—mantras, elemental charts, and strange diagrams.
“Next,” Jojo said, “we need to build your foundation.”
“ Foundation means creating a base for your body and spirit to accept all kinds of elements—fire, water, earth, shadow. Only then can you become the perfect vessel for Dell'thos.”
Ji-Won tensed slightly at the name. He still wasn't sure what to believe.
Jojo continued,
“To build this foundation, you must first learn to sense each element. Feel them. Fire is heat. Heat is in everything—your body, the air, even the stone beneath your feet.”
He sat cross-legged and began to meditate, demonstrating the technique with slow, focused breaths. Ji-Won watched closely, then closed his eyes and imitated him.
For an hour, there was only silence.
Then—heat.
A sudden awareness. The warmth pulsing in his chest, the invisible waves in the air, the subtle burn of energy lying dormant all around him. Ji-Won’s eyes snapped open.
“I… I felt it,” he said, stunned.
Jojo smiled faintly. “Good. You actually sensed it in one hour. I thought it would take longer.” He gazed at the bamboo scroll.
Ji-Won tried to ignore that part.
“Next,” Jojo said, “is water. Water is everywhere—in your blood, in the mist, in the breath of the earth. You must learn to hear it. Feel it.”
For three days, Ji-Won practiced tirelessly.
Listening.
Focusing.
Doubting.
Until one morning, just as the sun’s faint rays broke through the thick clouds outside, Ji-Won gasped. He could hear it—the rhythm of water flowing beneath the soil, the condensation gathering on stone, the pulse of his own veins.
“I hear it,” he whispered.
Jojo’s grin widened.
“You’re starting to become the vessel.”
~~~~~~~~~~Chapter End~~~~~~~~~~~
