"Today, we will talk about Aura and Mana."

I immediately became rapt with attention, afraid of missing a single word. I took my stylus¹https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylus and got ready to take note on the wax tablet.

"Aura and Mana are present inside all beings, regardless of race, age, sex, strength, or even living or not. The amount and quality, however, differ from individual to individual."

"The amount of Aura and Mana in a normal person is negligible. The amount of Aura in warriors is larger, while the amount of Mana in mages is larger."

"In the end, however, all beings have both Aura and Mana. I am sure you all know this by now. But, let me ask you this: Where does it come from?"

"Where does it come from?" - I asked myself.

"Isn't it simply produced by our body?"

"The answer to this question is ambient mana." - Erno continued.

"Ambient mana is the mana in our surroundings, existing in the air and all things."

Erno then reached out his hand, and I could see a mist-like white substance gathering on his palm.

"This is ambient mana concentrated to the point where you can see it. At this level of concentration, if a normal person is exposed to it for too long, he will get mana sickness and die, or turn into a monster. Only strong enough warriors and mages can resist it or even benefit from it. In this world, there are many areas with different concentrations of ambient mana, such as monster zones and dungeons. The higher level it is, the more ambient mana in the air, so avoid such places at all costs if you cannot resist the ambient mana."

"Don't. Enter. High. Level. Areas. Got it." - I noted.

Erno then waved his hand and dispersed the mist in his hand.

"Anyways, we will discuss things about ambient mana in another lesson. Now, since you are all warriors, let us focus on Aura first."

"As we discussed, all beings possess Aura. In particular, all beings possess something called 'Aura attunement.' and 'Aura storage.'. We shall first talk about 'Aura attunement.'."

"Aura attunement is our ability to attract and convert ambient mana into Aura. It can be done consciously or unconsciously by a warrior. The process is that the warrior takes in ambient mana and taints it with his life energies, making it his own. The stronger the attunement is, the faster the process. Also, it allows channeling more Aura and with greater finesse. It is because of this that those without the talent to become warriors find it almost impossible to train."

"Now then, any questions?" - He asked.

I raised my hand, and Erno nodded, "Go ahead."

"Sir Erno, how do we attract ambient mana?"

"Good question, Mog. It is through Aura circulation. By circulating your Aura, a transparent halo forms around you, catching the ambient mana surrounding you." 

"Any more questions? Good. Let us now discuss Aura storage. Aura storage is our body's capacity to store Aura. The better it is, the more Aura that can be stored. Aura can be stored inside every part of our body, but it is most concentrated in our blood, marrow, and organs the most."

He then paused and asked, "Any questions?"

This time, Livia raised her hand and asked, "How does the body store the Aura?"

"That, I will answer in biology lesson next week. If I explain it to you now, it will cause unnecessary confusion." - Erno explained.

"Any more questions? Alright. Now, let us talk about Aura quality. As the name suggests, it is the quality of your Aura. Higher quality Aura is better than a lower quality Aura, and it has better effects too. Better talent, circulation methods, and Aura stat will produce better Aura. Higher quality Aura can be stored the same way as a lower-quality Aura, which means two warriors that can store the same amount of Aura can either have a high-quality Aura or a low-quality Aura in the same quantity. This fact can give an advantage to the warrior with high-quality Aura over other warriors of the same rank."²A bit too xianxia for my taste, but meh.

"Any questions?"

I raised my hand, "What are Circulation methods?"

"A good question. Circulation methods are methods used to circulate your Aura. By using a certain circulation method, you can give certain attributes to your Aurae, such as better strength or defense. Some even give certain elemental power, such as fire and wind. Sadly, only a single circulation method can be used at a time. Any more questions?"

Cispia raised her hand and asked, "Can we practice every circulation method?"

"Another good question. No, you cant practice every circulation method. Some require you to reach a certain threshold, and some need you to have certain talents others don't. Some even only work on certain sex, race, and bloodlines. The bright side is that you can always switch a circulation method without repercussions, just requiring time and effort. Then again, time is precious, and the transitioning can take months and even years, and it can leave you weak and vulnerable, so warriors don't opt to do it often. They usually choose a compatible method to continue."

"Now then, on to Aura uses. The most common and well-known applications are for body training, Attacking or defending, increasing speed, detection, stealth, and healing. At high levels, it can even allow levitation and flight. There are also other uses, but we won't cover them here today. Also, I won't teach you how to use those applications. Agrippa will teach you in due time."

I took a mental note to ask Agrippa to teach me how to use Aura.

"Hm... I guess we covered Aura in general. We can now move on to Mana. Let's start with -"

Bang* Bang* Bang*

A loud banging sound came from outside the door, cutting Erno's lecture, and a voice sounded.

"Sir Erno, I have an urgent message to deliver! Requesting permission to enter!"

Erno turned to the door, not seeming too bothered, and uttered, "Enter."

Immediately, the door was slammed open, and a sweating servant ran towards Erno with a sealed scroll in hand.

The servant bowed and presented the scroll, "Sir Erno, this is a message for your eyes only."

Erno nodded, opened the scroll, and started reading. I didn't dare say a word and interrupt him, so I just remained quiet and stared.

After around 20 seconds, Erno conjured a flame and directly burned the scroll.

"Good work, you earned some rest for today. Here, have this." - As Erno said that, he fished a silver coin from his purse and gave it to the servant.

"Thank you, sir, thank you!" - The servant bowed repeatedly and then left.

Erno then turned to us and said, "Children, my apologies, but I need to head out for a bit, so we will continue this lesson tomorrow. You study by yourselves while I am off to do something."

Not bothering to check our response, he directly left the room with long strides. All three of us could only stare at the open door, a bit speechless at this sudden development.

"... What just happened?" - I asked myself out loud.

"... No idea." - Cispia replied.

"... Oh well, no need to continue thinking about it. Hey, Mog, want me to teach you about the Sa'anite desert?" - Livia turned to me and asked.

"Sure!" - I smiled and replied.

"I'll help too!" - Cispia chimed in.

And so, we had a happy self-study session until dinner.

 

 

 

 

Erno's POV:

Inside the special guest room of the Senecio family.

I was sitting down on an expensive chair, and right in front of me sat an old man at the evening of his life. Behind the man stood a fully black-armored and menacing figure that could end my life in an instant.

"So you found the snake den?" - I asked the old man in front of me, the head of the Senecio family, Amulius.

"Oh, we found it, alright, and in fact, we even found several! And it is all thanks to your mistress. As promised, we will take the credit for finding this, while we will give you all the rewards we get and help you arrange a faux marriage with one of my less talented grandsons." - Amulius replied with an amiable smile.

"Thank you, noble sir. The mistress will surely be pleased to hear about the good news." - I gave a sincere smile.

This was what the mistress was angling for, having rewards and a faux marriage with someone useless while staying away from the light. The less attention she attracted to herself, the better. This way, she will be safer from her family strife.

"Ah, don't mention it. I don't need money, and some of my grandsons would have been married off anyway, so it isn't a big deal. It is just a pity that she couldn't marry into my family, instead. That way, I could have ensured her safety while having a capable alchemist."

I couldn't help but smile warily, "The Fidelis family elders are no fools. Although they oppress my mistress, they don't want to give up on her, either. After all, she is like a goose that lays golden eggs."

Amulius didn't refute that. Instead, he asked, "So, how did you find the leads, anyways? Was it a lucky stroke?"

"Ah, yes, it indeed was a lucky stroke." - I didn't lie. Buying Mog was a lucky stroke.

Amulius nodded, "I see, I see. Well, in a week from now, how about having your mistress and her shit of a brother come over to chat over dinner? Oh, right. I remember that she bought a slave in the auction too, right? Some half-orc kid. How about she brings him along as well? I want to see the kid I missed a bid on."

At his words, I smiled awkwardly and nervously said, "Noble sir, I am afraid that he is not for sale. The mistress has taken a great liking to him, you see."

I couldn't tell him that Mog was already an Oathsworn to the mistress after all. Even if we wanted to, we can't sell him.

"Oh, don't be so stiff. I don't want to buy him, I am just curious. I won't attempt to take him no matter how much I fancy him, I promise." - Amulius assured.

At his words, I heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank you, then. I shall relay the news to the mistress once she is done brewing potions."

Amulius nodded and waved, "Alright, off you go, then."

And with that, I left the Senecio mansion.