Chapter 139 – Legacy (Part 4)

Daichi opened the book and turned to the next page from where he’d last left off, the words that had made him unable to stop thinking about the book.

‘The path to becoming a God’

His eyes had previously turned red when he reached these words. He’d wanted to keep reading but he’d held himself back. Now he began reading with nothing weighing him down. He’d been torn between whether he should or shouldn’t before that he’d all but forgotten how piqued his interest was in what lied in those pages. Although with just a re-reading those few words has rekindled that fire. Within a few paragraphs that interest returned and turned into a fervor.

There were only a few pages left, but he read them quickly unable to stop himself from wanting to consume the information contained within the words. After reading everything, he turned back to the first page and re-read it all with more patience, as he cautiously read word by word making sure not to miss a single detail. He continued the process over and over as if wanted to commit the words to memory.

That fervor turned into excitement, then confusion, then wonder. A myriad of emotions coursed through Daichi as he studied the pages and sat in wonderment at the possibilities.

‘Whether he was right or not. The man was a visionary. I can’t be certain this is right, not even he was certain, but for him to have come up with such a clear and possibly viable path onto a road he hadn’t walked himself is just… Incredible’

Within the pages of the book was a guide as to how Daichi’s father believed a human could reach the level of a god, both in terms of survivability, power, ability and lifespan. Although he himself had not tread on such a path, after studying countless books for years and then gathering all of the information he could on what he and Lumea had come to understand about the “gods” he’d come up with a method he believed sound. Seiichi had come to realize that every human he’d come across was truly weak, not because he had seen someone or something stronger, but because the proof was right before him. Years after reaching Lumea he’d come to believe that there were many worlds. Not just the one they were on, the world of the gods and the world of devils. Truly numerous worlds amongst the stars, and that when beings became strong enough they could travel amongst the different worlds under their own ability.

He’d believed that the dungeons from the past were in fact doors to other realms. Realms that were the tunnels from one world to another. Humanity had an understanding of the wide variety of creatures that existed (or so they thought) so he hypothesized “Perhaps some of these creatures have their own world, perhaps they’re the dominant species in their own world?”

Although most of his theory was untested and based on assumption, they certainly raised a lot of questions and posed answers to those questions that others no longer asked because they themselves couldn’t find an answer.

The thing that truly made Daichi believe was the first realm in which Seiichi mentioned: The Soul Realm.

Seiichi’s theory explained how to reach the soul realm one must not only have a high comprehension of an element that exists within the universe. One must also understand or choose a path in life, an understanding of one’s self. Then make a commitment to oneself. Creating a soul, making it corporeal is equivalent to choosing and determining who you are. By making it corporeal your soul is created from intangible to corporeal, and it does away with all else of your personality that doesn’t conform to the path you’ve chosen. Creating a soul is essentially steeling yourself to become a type of person with a purpose.

The premise itself made some sense but it was just part of a theory, normally Daichi would have only given it as much thought if it weren’t for one of the things written that stood out. Part of Seiichi’s theory included some of the things that someone could do once they reached such a state… And it sounded very similar to what had happened to himself when he had experienced the mist all of a sudden and been transported into a corporeal version of himself within the mist. Where he was himself but wasn’t…

DING DONG DING DONG

A loud noise suddenly dispersed Daichi’s thoughts as he was brought back to the present by the loud ringing of a bell. Even worse was that it was as if the bell was ringing directly inside of his head.

Although he wanted to focus on what he was doing before, the ringing only kept getting louder and louder. When the 100^th ring came it was nearly mind-splitting to the point that Daichi couldn’t stand it anymore and had to get out of the courtyard. Even without thinking he made his way to the exit at the gate and walked through without hesitation. When he finally came out on the other side his face was covered in beads of sweat as the pounding his mind only eased slightly as the ringing finally stopped.

He had to gather his breath and put himself together before looking at Lydia who was smiling at him. Damien and Leo were standing in front of her with tired looks with some pity and sympathy in their eyes. The kind of sympathy only those who’ve shared your pain can show.

“As I was explaining to these two. This is my courtyard. These are my accommodations, but even so once I’ve given entry to another into one of these spaces only they can enter and only they can give another permission to enter. There is no way to contact someone inside of their courtyard, but there is a system in place. An alarm of sorts that has always existed, and you’ve just experienced it. When it begins to ring it will only get stronger as it absorbs the mana within that space to increase the intensity.” Lydia said still smiling at Daichi.

Although he couldn’t be sure, he got the feeling she was relishing in his pain for some reason.

“Professor… Why did it feel like it was ringing right in the head?” Damien asked trying to look normal but the pain from the bell was still evident in his brow.

“It does. Luckily you two came out before the 60^th ring. Once it passes 100 it starts to become dangerous…” That smile on her face only grew wider making Damien and Leo nearly shiver.

“So basically if we hear the bell, it means to come out? Did you set it off?” Daichi finally collected himself although his head was still throbbing, he didn’t like feeling at a disadvantage.

“Yes. Only I can since this is area is mine. When it begins to ring, it is my way of telling you all to come out. There’s also one more thing… It shouldn’t have taken you all very long to realize that the mana inside of your courtyards is especially thick correct?”

They nodded in unison.

“Well the bell uses the mana within your courtyard to activate and ring. The longer it rings the more mana is sucked dry. Although it’ll replenish itself, it’s still a detriment to you. After all a well that has gone dry is no good to anyone.” Her tone was turning more stern as she said everything slow enough for them to understand and memorize.

“Okay! Are you ready for your first lesson?” Lydia clapped her hands together her smile still present and a hint of giddiness in her tone.

Daichi couldn’t help but wonder why the mana in their courtyards was so thick but he didn’t find it appropriate to ask, or perhaps his mind was too preoccupied with other more important thoughts that he didn’t care enough to ask.

Even so, Lydia looked his way and could somehow guess what he was thinking as she glanced at all three of them quickly “I know what you’re wondering. There is a formation, I won’t say how it was created, but it is the reason for the mana being the way it is within your courtyards. There are even more amazing courtyards and spaces within the academy. If you can figure out the reason and main benefit, I will give you an opportunity to see one such place.”

Daichi’s left eyebrow shot up in curiosity, as of now he had already formed a theory but he didn’t want to say anything, not yet as he didn’t think Damien or Leo would figure it out before him. Even as he thought this Damien spoke up.

“Is it because the formation was created through blood? And… Is the purpose to create a space that makes it easier for someone to sense elements within mana once they’ve entered meditation?”

Leo and Daichi both looked at him which shocked expressions. Leo was shocked by the answer which suddenly made sense to him even if he wasn’t sure whether it was right. Daichi was shocked that he’d come to the same conclusion as him and so quickly!

Even Lydia looked a little surprised when she looked at him “How did you guess that?”

Damien gave a calm smirk “My grandfather once told me that the oldest and more powerful formations could only be created through the maker’s blood. So I figured that might be the catalyst. I don’t know much about formations myself, but I know that normally a formation is created through skill and knowledge, and the greater the two the more powerful a formation can be, but when it comes to blood formations… The power of the formation is related to the creator’s strength and mana. It could be extremely simple and still be incredible.”

Lydia nodded “Correct. The rest?”

“Well I recently had a bit of a break through with my fire element. So I was practicing and I could sense the fire element more clearly than I ever have in the past…” although he said it in such a way, Damien failed to mention that normally he couldn’t sense the fire element almost at all. Thus causing him to fall behind in that area of expertise despite being training and taught since he was 3 about the fire element. Due to his lack of talent in that regard, once he tried sensing the mana within his courtyard, it was like an entirely different experience for him.

Lydia nodded again “That’s good.” Although her smile didn’t waver there was a hint of laughter in her eyes. She already knew that when sensing the elements, this made a far bigger difference for those with less talent. Normally these spaces were reserved for professors who were told of the benefits before hand, or a hand full of students who took quite a while longer to notice the difference due to their aptitude.

“Then let’s begin the first lesson. I’m going to have a quick spar with each of you. If you can land a single hit on me, you pass and you can move onto the next lesson. If you fail, you will not be allowed to leave here and explore the rest of the academy until you can both tell me your weakness or land a hit on me. Understood?” The three of them looked at her with varying levels of surprise.

Footnote: I considered including this into the novel but felt it would have been too forced. Therefore I plan to include it as a note now, and in the future (if relevant) explain in further detail.

Meditation (in this novel) is allowing the mind to completely un-focus. Initially only in this state can someone begin to feel/sense mana and the elements around them. Once someone has entered a meditative state their mind will naturally wander and can’t be focused, and when someone becomes adept at meditation they can begin to focus those wandering thoughts onto a specific topic where the mind can focus in such a way it can’t normally do consciously.

I would like to state, that regardless of how adept one is, to enter into a meditative state one still has to be able to be able to un-focus completely. If someone can’t due to lingering thoughts that can’t be left behind, it’s impossible to do so.

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