Alex took a seat in one of the chairs and flipped open the book. The two main reasons for which he had come to Cedric were to train his mana control and learn Cedric’s Mana Amplification skill, which would allow him to use skills with way less mana.

He slowly read through the book and finished it within fifteen minutes.

In short, it described mana as mystical energy that permeated every part of this infinitely vast universe and acted as one of its pillars. Those who could feel this mystical energy were called Chosen, and those who could use it were called Mages.

"Hmm... It isn’t that different from what we learn at Solace Academy," Alex mumbled.

His gaze shifted to the final line, and he mumbled in a somewhat surprised tone.

"Contrary to common belief, mana is not the creator of all things – instead, it is a byproduct of creation itself."

On Earth, everyone believes that mana or a higher form of it is what created everything.

This was the only dissimilarity he found within the knowledge of this world and Earth. He closed the book and placed it beside the ones stacked at the edge of the table, and out of curiosity, he tried to pick one of the stacked books.

"What the hell?" He muttered in confusion. No matter how hard he tried, the book didn’t budge, and after trying for a good minute, he glared at it and walked toward the bed, which had appeared in the corner.

"Stupid book," he grumbled and sprawled in the bed. Soon, the built-up fatigue took him, and he fell asleep.

Calm moonlight fell on his body, and suddenly, the shards of the broken glass window and pieces of the cracked furniture rose above the floor and put themselves back, reverting everything to what it was like before.

Night passed quickly, and the warm sunlight greeted Alex way earlier than he had thought.

He was standing in a grand chamber with an open roof, and before him was Cedric.

Unlike yesterday, today Cedric was wearing a blue cloak with golden trims and threads. It was his mage cloak.

Why do we have to do this so early?

Alex screamed inwardly. The backlash from resurrection had been too much for him, and he needed more rest to return to his optimal state.

"Surprisingly, you already have a mana pool. Though it appears that you have no stars around it," Cedric said while rubbing his chin.

Surprisingly?

Alex wanted to beat the absolute crap out of him, but he knew his limits well. Letting out a cough, he explained, "Ahem. Things work differently now."

"Now everyone can form a mana pool or aura heart after reaching a specific milestone."

"Oh..." Cedric whispered. His eyes gleamed in surprise and curiosity. "It must be easy to reach that milestone."

Alex frowned. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, even someone like you has it, so there is no way it is that difficult," Cedric explained.

Alex opened and closed his lips a few times, but he couldn’t say anything... Cedric was right after all.

After a few moments, Alex calmed down and asked the question that had been troubling him.

"Ced—"

Cedric narrowed his eyes. "What?"

Alex coughed. "A-hem! Master, why do you keep insulting me? Even though I am not that strong, I am doing everything I can to be better."

Cedric looked at him in confusion. "I am not insulting you, Alex. I am showing you the reality. As far as I can sense, you haven’t even tried drawing mana out from your Mana Pool, yet you say you are doing everything... At least do not lie to yourself."

Hearing him, Alex finally understood why Cedric was looking down on him and why he had been so blunt.

It wasn’t because he was weak or his talent for mana or magic – instead, it was directed at his lack of hard work... his lack of actively trying to become stronger, and instead just looking for fortunate encounters and connections.

"I... I am sorry, Master," he whispered and clenched his fists in determination.

I just have to prove his worries false.

The corners of Cedric’s lips arched slightly. He walked and stopped behind Alex.

"Let us begin with drawing out your mana." Cedric placed his right hand on Alex’s back and whispered, "Close your eyes and feel my mana."

Alex exhaled deeply and nodded, then he closed his eyes.

Cedric smiled and carefully flowed a wisp of his mana into Alex’s body.

Alex immediately felt a warm feeling, and he focused on it – however, just as he did so, his jaw tightened like a vise.

What the hell is this mana?!

He screamed inwardly. He had expected Cedric’s mana to have the warmth of a grand mage – however, contrary to his expectation, Cedric’s mana was like a heavy flood carrying the power to destroy absolutely everything.

Cedric’s mana had so much spiritual pressure that Alex’s muscles were tearing apart, blood drops were trickling down from the corners of his lips, and his eyes had turned foggy, but even then, he didn’t break his focus.

The foreign mana moved from one mana channel to another before it reached the pool, and following it, Alex also gazed at his mana pool, which was like a translucent bowl covered in golden fog.

The wisp of Cedric’s mana continued forward and settled into Alex’s mana pool.

When it did so, Alex felt as though cracks had appeared across his mana pool, but nothing like that had actually happened.

"Focus on the mana pool and think of pulling out mana from it." Cedric’s instructions rang in his head.

Alex gritted through the extreme pain and followed. Slowly, he drew a faint wisp of mana from his mana pool, and Cedric whispered, "Make it flow through the mana channels that I had used."

Although it was Alex’s first time, with his calmness and Cedric’s support, he aced it.

Mana flowed through his channels, and warmth rose in his body. A foggy breath escaped his lips, and his eyes shone with radiance.

"I did it..." he whispered, a wide smile spread across his face.

Suddenly, a blue screen appeared before him.

[Ding!]

[System: Congratulations! Host Alex, you have found the Mana Pathway of Reformation on your first mana usage.]

[System: Host Alex, your body is being reformed.]