Ethereal Meditation

Some things were better left understood by oneself.

"Your mana was almost depleted in today's fight. Are you sure you don't need my help?"

"Mana replenishment?"

The corner of his mouth curled up, his eyes brimming with anticipation.

"Um, my lord, what are you thinking? This is the Ethereal Meditation."

Jeanne handed him a scroll.

Aurelian was clearly taken aback, confused as to why Jeanne was giving him a meditation method.

Although he was an illegitimate child, he still had access to the Archmond family's orthodox meditation method.

"This is different from the meditation methods used to cultivate mana. This one is for restoring it."

"Restoring mana? The orthodox meditation method can do that too."

Jeanne shook her head, then raised her little face and looked at Aurelian seriously. "The orthodox meditation method is good for cultivating mana, but it isn't the best choice for restoring depleted mana. So an assassin who had seen countless battles created a meditation method that could restore mana quickly in a short time. It's called the Ethereal Meditation."

"This is the first I've heard of the Ethereal Meditation, but I'm more curious about the assassin who created it. What was his name?"

Aurelian looked intrigued and asked curiously.

A bewildered expression appeared on Jeanne's pretty little face.

"I don't know. I think he was called something like the Old Man."

"The Old Man?"

That name didn't seem to have anything to do with the unglamorous word "assassin."

Aurelian took the scroll and unfurled it. The yellowed parchment opened, releasing an air of age as row upon row of densely packed writing came into view.

His eyes skimmed over it quickly. The writing all described the body's mana nodes. The ideas were peculiar yet incisive, forming a system of their own.

Countless mana nodes were scattered throughout the human body, and each one served a different purpose.

Some refined mana, some gathered it, and some even broke it down. There were many other functions as well.

Gradually, Aurelian's eyes widened, filling with astonishment.

The idea of drawing in and absorbing natural mana directly into the body without refining it through meditation was utterly insane.

Natural mana was so impure, and its properties so varied.

Every mana practitioner had their own mana affinity. Aurelian, for example, possessed Star Magic.

If mana was absorbed directly without being refined, the different mana within the body would repel one another and then run wild. The practitioner would meet a gruesome end!

But as Aurelian read further, his expression slowly grew serious.

The scroll's author had actually provided a solution, and it was just as crazy: make the mana within the body actively adapt to the complex foreign mana, then fuse with it. That way, one could draw unlimited amounts of natural mana into the body and reach the bottleneck directly.

That idea was even crazier!

Anyone else who saw this would surely call the scroll's author a complete lunatic!

How could the body adapt to multiple kinds of mana?

There were the four common elemental affinities of earth, water, wind, and fire, as well as rare types like Star, Dawn, and Dark Magic. There were far too many to count. How could anyone adapt to them all?

Having two mana affinities was already a gift from the heavens. Aurelian's older sister, Fiona Archmond, for instance, had composite mana and possessed both Dawn and Star affinities.

By the time he reached the end, Aurelian was utterly stunned.

Once again, the author had provided a method of adaptation!

He listed row after row of complicated paths through the body's mana nodes and routes for mana to flow along. Clearly, he had mastered the body's refinement and absorption of mana inside and out.

By continually testing the mana nodes, one could find the best method.

The author explained that everyone adapted differently to mana affinities, so one had to keep experimenting with his method to find the optimal solution.

A perfect route could allow the body to absorb every kind of mana.

The author called this the Ultimate Mana Node.

According to him, it was the true treasure the Creator had left within the human body!

Once one found this series of Ultimate Mana Nodes, one could use them as a foundation to restore vast amounts of mana in a short time.

Restoring vast amounts of mana quickly meant that from then on, there would be no need to hold back when releasing mana. One could let loose as much as one wanted.

Aurelian could already picture it: a long sword in his hand, its starlight blazing, vast quantities of mana surging in every direction as starry-river-like beams of light fired one after another, leaving his enemies in utter disarray.

After the first barrage, he could rest a moment, then unleash a second, followed by a third, a fourth...

Who could withstand that?

Was this really the work of an assassin who killed without a trace, rather than some battle-crazed man wielding a greatsword?

Aurelian drew a sharp breath, his heart pounding.

This person was either a genius or a lunatic!

How could this possibly be done? And what was he supposed to use for trial and error? One wrong move, and the mana in his body could repel itself and send him spiraling into oblivion, just like his predecessor.

As he looked over the earlier part again, Aurelian's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Wait. If I run through all the mana nodes he listed, I can indeed reduce the clashes between different types of natural mana. Then I just keep repeating the process. That's it—constant trial and error to find the optimal solution. The person who came up with this method must be a monster."

Think of the countless mana nodes throughout the human body. Who could claim to understand the function of every single one?

No one. At least, Aurelian had never heard of anyone who could.

Yet this so-called Old Man had managed it. Not only that, he had even made improvements on top of it.

It was downright terrifying. Like someone in a novel, Aurelian drew a sharp breath.

"Jeanne, this scroll is far too precious. You're just giving it to me for nothing?"

Aurelian looked at Jeanne and asked in confusion.

"I've already given it to you, so go ahead and use it. I've learned everything in it."

Jeanne looked away, toward Roundball, who was snoring. A look of rapture unlike anything she had ever shown before appeared in her eyes.

"Is that so? Th-thank you."

He, who usually had a face as thick as a city wall, felt a little embarrassed. After all, he had accepted her gift.

"The rest is up to you, but be careful. If it really doesn't work, you can give up," Jeanne reminded him.

"I'll be careful."

To make sure he wouldn't be disturbed while circulating mana through the nodes, he went to the castle's basement.

Jeanne stayed behind to look after Roundball.

Aurelian wiped the dampness from the corner of his eye. He hadn't believed it before.

Now he did. So love really could be transferred.

He soothed the hurt in his heart and opened the basement door.

The crisp sound of his footsteps stood out in the darkness. It was so dark and deep here that, without the faintly glowing candle in his hand, Aurelian might not have dared to go any farther.

He took out an old key and unlocked a tightly sealed door.

Orange-yellow light crept through the crack in the door, and a familiar feeling washed over him.

This was the place where he had first arrived.

It was also thanks to how quiet and deserted it was that no one had discovered his predecessor's sudden death.

Holding the candle, he walked inside. The room was brightly lit, with yellow-white candles burning all around, yet the furnishings were so bare.

He set the candle on the wooden table and sat down cross-legged.