"Understood." Eden nodded. If that was all that was needed, then he’d continue. He closed his eyes once again to maintain focus.

"Now," Lumi continued, "try to sense the mana in the air around you. It’s similar to what you felt from Sol, but more diffuse. Spread out everywhere."

Eden nodded gently, and tried to extend his awareness outward. He didn’t feel anything, still, but he wasn’t downcast. Because now he knew what he was looking for.

Over time, he began to feel what could only be described as a mental itch. The small sense that something was indeed there, yet he could not entirely perceive it yet.

It was harder than sensing Sol. The phoenix was a concentrated point of energy. The ambient mana was scattered and about in a much fainter way than a living being.

Not to mention, everyone is used to the sensation of the air. The way the wind moved, the still air of a room, how nothingness felt. Therefore, any sensations could easily be overlooked as normal.

Despite these roadblocks, gradually, he began to perceive it. He felt the faint impressions of energy drifting through the space around him.

"I think I’m getting it." Eden said quietly.

"Don’t think about it." Lumi corrected gently. "Just feel."

Eden stopped trying to intellectualize it and simply experienced the sensation. He no longer doubted himself. He simply focused on what he was feeling. There was something there, and he continued bathing in the sensation. An energy that surrounded everything.

He didn’t hurry to move on. He still remembered what Lumi told him at the start. To relax.

One minute, two minutes... five minutes. Time kept passing and passing. Only when Eden was fully confident in his understanding of the feeling did he purposely break his concentration. Then, from zero, attempted to find the sensation once more.

He did it instantly.

No longer did he speak in an uncertain tone. Now he knew. "I’m ready."

"Good work." Lumi acknowledged. "Now, turn your awareness inward. Feel the mana inside yourself."

Eden gave a short nod. To him, that was even stranger. Eden had never thought of himself as containing magic. Yet, he did not rush to reject the idea. He only relaxed.

He felt the magic in the air, and so he moved on to his body. As he focused, he felt it. A reservoir of energy within his own body, flowing through him like blood.

He didn’t rush to speak. This time, he allowed himself to fully immerse himself in the sensation and feeling. It was only after sufficient time had passed that he was intimately familiar with the feeling that he spoke. "I sense it well."

"Excellent." Lumi’s voice carried approval. "Now we begin the actual training."

Eden kept his eyes closed as he listened to Lumi, maintaining his awareness of the internal mana. He gave him a short nod to show that he was listening.

"The first thing I’m going to teach you," Lumi said. "is how to expel mana safely."

"Expel it?" The concept confused Eden so much that he had to ask. Yet, he still remembered how he had gotten this far. By relaxing. So his voice was casual. "Please explain, master."

Lumi grinned on the spot. It was the first time Eden called him master. And so casually, too. It seemed that Eden was finally internalizing and accepting his position beyond mere logic.

Lumi calmly explained to his disciple. "Because if anything goes wrong, anything at all, you need a way to safely release the energy before it damages you. You could lose control, you might miscast a spell, anything might happen."

Eden nodded. It made sense, it was only logical to take precautions when it came to dangerous things..

"How do I do it?" Eden asked.

Lumi kneeled down next to him. "You can open your eyes."

Eden did so.

Lumi grabbed his right hand, opening it, and tracing his finger over his palm. "I’m going to mark a few spots on your body. I’ll press down on them hard, and it might hurt."

"That’s alright." Eden nodded.

Lumi poked at three different spots on Eden’s hand, leaving a lingering sensation. "Feel that? You’ll find it easier to flow mana out through there. Feel the mana inside you. Now imagine an opening at those spots and letting the energy flow out. Whether you’d like to imagine a small stream, or a dam bursting, just try to get mana out through whatever means, for now."

Eden tried. He visualized the mana flowing out of his body, dissipating into the air around him.

At first, nothing happened. He tried again, pushing slightly. He imagined exactly what Lumi said.

That point in his hand was a dam. He imagined his mana as a torrent of water, accumulating, yet stopped by the dam. And when enough accumulated, with force, it burst.

A faint warmth spread through his hand, then dispersed..

"Did it work?" Eden asked.

"Yes." Lumi confirmed. "But you’re only releasing tiny amounts. Do it again. Keep practicing until you can release larger quantities smoothly."

"Understood." With that, Eden got to work. He spent the next stretch of time doing exactly that. Releasing mana, recovering, releasing again. Over and over.

It was quite a strange feeling for him. It was exhausting in a way he’d never experienced before. Not physically tiring like farm work. Nor was it mental. It was like exercising a muscle he’d never known existed.

Eventually, Eden felt completely drained. The reservoir of mana inside him had been depleted entirely.

"I can’t do it anymore." Eden said, opening his eyes. "There’s nothing left."

"Perfect." Lumi said. "Did it feel natural towards the end?"

Eden nodded. "I could use more practice on the speed of expelling it, but I won’t have any problem doing it in a general sense."

Lumi nodded. That means you’re ready for the next step."

Eden blinked. "Already? Don’t I need more practice?"

Lumi gave him a small smile. "And how will you practice without any mana? That’s exactly what the next step will address."