The second day was a bust as well. I had meditated for a total of over 14 hours, but I still couldn't feel mana, let alone learn the <Lightweaving> ouin.

I rested on the third day. I decided it was best to have my body be comfortable with the environment.

And thank God I did that. It was the fourth day; I settled back into a comfortable position and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and focused on my breath. With each inhale, I felt the tension in my body release, and with each exhale, I felt my mind become clearer.

I repeated the process until I went into a trance.

Then, like a gentle ripple on the surface of water, I felt a subtle energy around me.

I focused on it, and it was warm, yet it tingled like a current of electricity.

I knew that this was it. This was mana.

I was excited, but I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I concentrated on the feeling and fell deeper into the trance.

Specifically, Lightweaving is a concept of the ability to manipulate mana in the surroundings to conjure physical constructs based on the thoughts of the user.

Its power mainly depends on the user's willpower, which is why having a clear and strong mind is necessary.

However, even then, it would be weaker than if you were to create a construct with your own magic. So while complicated and powerful constructs are possible, they have limits. This is why the ability was used as a utility than a weapon.

However, that was fine by me. I don't like being a fighter. Heck, even my ability with the tomes will only activate when I'm being attacked.

I sensed the flow of mana more clearly. It moved towards the World Tree with a fluidity that was powerful yet graceful like a river steadily flowing downstream.

Pressing my fingertips together, I tried grasping the flow of mana, and I easily did.

With a burst of concentration, I directed the mana toward my fingertips, feeling the energy flow like a stream of water. It was a delicate process, but I persisted through it.

And my efforts paid off; I could sense them at my fingertips.

Now, there are several ways to create a physical manifestation of the construct, but one that would apply to this ability is to direct a dense amount towards a particular point or form, which is what I'm doing.

I directed more and more mana towards my fingertips, and slowly, I could almost feel it being manifested.

It was a very slow process, so I got impatient, so I directed a large amount of mana to my fingertips in one go, and I regretted my decision.

—Boom!

"Aargh!" I groaned in pain. A small explosion happened at my fingertips, which, fortunately, only slightly burned my hands.

Doing that made me exhausted. I should wrap up for the day. I can rest easy now that I finally made progress. With that, I succumbed to the blissful embrace of sleep.

*****
***
*

Fifth day.

I was back to meditating, and immediately there were improvements.

It's like my senses were heightened, including my awareness of mana.

I did the same process as I did yesterday, but instead of rushing things, I decided to let nature takes its course.

However, even after hours, I couldn't progress any further than that. I couldn't create a physical construct yet.

I stood up and looked at the towering form. I need a place with more mana, and the only place for that here is up.

After taking my things and wearing back the necessary equipment, I walked towards the trunk.

As I stood a few meters from it, a realization hit me: I have no experience in climbing.

However, what could go wrong, right? The surface of the tree was strong and coarse enough that I could easily and firmly grip them.

With the harness, I aimed high up at the trunk and launched the grapple hook toward it.

I pulled it to see if it would fall, and it didn't. So, I began climbing.

And nothing did go wrong.

Within three hours of climbing, I was close to the 5th checkpoint.

Truth be told, it was only because <Judgement's Call> was constantly active. I honestly can't count the number of times where I almost could've fallen if it weren't for the ouin, as it is constantly making me choose the safest hold to grip.

I could've stayed at the other checkpoints, but the mana there wasn't really any better, so I continued climbing.

Eventually, I reached the platform in about eight minutes.

The 5th checkpoint was different from the other checkpoints as it is a tree hollow.

The interior was wide, and it didn't seem decorated or altered in any way aside from the polished flooring and the lights.

Panting heavily, I lay on the cold, hard floor.

Within a minute, I was fully rejuvenated, showing that the mana was more abundant here.

There weren't any people here, so I didn't have to worry about being bothered.

After stripping myself from the equipment, I sat upright and began to meditate.

It was the same process as before, but I could sense the flow of mana even clearer.

I once again pressed my fingertips together and directed mana toward it.

I concentrated deeply, letting go of all my thoughts and distractions.

*****
***
*

Arthur sat on the ground in a lotus position, with his back straight and his eyes closed. He resembled a meditating Buddha statue, serene and still, as if he had become one with his surroundings.

As he sat there, his breathing slow and steady, Arthur was completely absorbed in the moment. His mind was clear; his thoughts focused on the energy of the mana that surrounded him.

However, with each passing minute, his brows became more and more furrowed. He still couldn't make a breakthrough.

However, he still persisted.

An hour has passed, and there were still no signs of progress.

'Maybe I'm just tired,' he thought. Just as he was about to stop to rest, he felt it.

For a split second, he felt the mana physically manifest itself at his fingertips, like a bright spark of light that he could feel and touch.

And when he tried to control it, it disappeared.

Arthur opened his eyes with a smile plastered on his face, slightly showing his white teeth. He was visibly excited. It was progress!

"Haha." Arthur took deep breaths to calm himself down. He couldn't let himself be too cocky here since it may have been luck.

He closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips together as he began meditating again.

This time, he was able to direct the mana toward his fingertips at a faster rate.

As he already expected, the phenomenon didn't happen again, but he wasn't discouraged at all.

It was only through several trials and errors did Arthur get the process to manifest the mana.

With one deep breath, he calmly directed mana to his fingertips, adding more and more to it as time passed by.

Eventually, red sparks started to come out from his fingertips, crackling and dancing in the air, and he vaguely felt it. It had a warm and faint stinging sensation, like a gentle electric current. It was proof that he had made a breakthrough in learning the ability.

Arthur didn't move. He stayed in that position for several minutes as if trying to familiarize himself with the feeling.

He took a deep breath before…

*****
***
*

—Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

"Haha!" I opened my eyes and laughed aloud as I separated my hands, forming faint red crackly strands that connected one fingertip to the other.

This is probably the proudest moment of my life. Not really. Probably the fourth or fifth proudest moment of my life.

I separated my hands even further, and the construct didn't break.

However, I couldn't hold it for too long as it began to tire me out mentally, so I dispersed it.

I flopped down to my back and simply lay there, letting the fact that I could use magic sink in.

Yeah, I can do this…

Since there were still two more days left until I actually had to leave, I decided to train my usage of the ability.

*****
***
*

Sixth day.

I spent the majority of the day meditating to train my mind and body for the ability.

Luckily, through meditation, I don't get hungry, but I still do eat since I didn't want to waste the foods I brought.

The burns on my hand were also healed.

As I stared at the setting sun, a sudden thought came to mind. What is actually the limit for the ability?

Yes, complicated or powerful constructs were possible, but I want to know exactly what the limits are.

After taking the final bite of my sweet snack, I stood up and extended my left arm forward with my hand clenched.

Red-orange sparks came out of my hands as I concentrated on using <Lightweaving>.

A red-orange construct of a sword slowly took form, with me holding it by the handle.

I am now able to easily direct mana to any point, but giving it form was the hard part.

To create a solid construct, I have to slowly and methodologically create an image in my head and manipulate the mana to form that image. Then, I add more mana into the form to manifest it.

But I knew the time it takes to create a construct would lessen over time.

Another thing is that I can't change the visual properties of the construct, so the sword I just conjured was red-orange in color with a few sparks and crackles here and there.

I slashed the ground with the sword, which easily cut through its surface.

"Huh, nice!" I nodded in satisfaction at its sharpness.

Let's push ourselves a bit. I tried willing the sword in my hand to transform into a handgun, which I was able to do easily.

Everything about it seems fine, even down to the weight. I pulled the trigger, but nothing happened.

Confused, I pulled the trigger a few more times, but it just wouldn't shoot.

I tried popping out the magazine, but it wouldn't budge. I tried cocking it, but it also wouldn't budge.

It was like a brick that only had the decorations and form of a gun!

I tried thinking of the reasons for the strange situation until it hit me.

I only imagined a gun in general and not its parts and how they function together.

"Damn it," I sighed in exasperation. Well, I guess I'll see it through the end.

I dispersed the construct and closed my eyes as I imagined the different parts of a handgun and how they operate together.

Fortunately, I did all the work when I manufactured weapons on Earth, so imagining the parts and how they work together to form a gun was second nature to me.

Sparks came out of my hands once again, and I willed it to transform into a handgun with all the necessary parts.

However, doing so was mentally demanding. It took too much effort to create something like this.

I can really see why they don't use this as a weapon.

With the constructed gun in my hand, I aimed toward the entrance and pulled the trigger. This time, the gun recoiled back with a powerful kick as the bullet shot out of the barrel, hurling toward the sky.

Immediately, it felt like I was hit by a ton of bricks. My body turned heavy, and I dropped to my knees, panting heavily as if I had just run a marathon.

I laughed weakly, "Are you kidding me? Even the process of it shooting takes a toll on me?"

“One bullet… is all… I could manage, huh..?" I said in between pants. Soon after, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.