Chapter 29

༺ The First Letter (29) ༻

What is mana?

The answer to this question varies from person to person.

Scholars will say that it is the primordial matter that is used to create the world. Theologians will say that it is the seed of power sown by Arus, the God of Heaven, when he created the world. Meanwhile, mages will say that it is an infinite embryonic matter which has the potential to take the form of various objects through means of spells.

However, for the swordsmen, the definition of magic was very simple.

Everything.

Mana was what influenced muscle strength, reflexes, the density and duration of aura, and even the control over your mind and body.

By exaggerating a little more, we could say that mana was literally everything for a swordsman. Because all the skills needed for a swordsman were linked to mana.

Of course, that doesn’t mean mana or magic is a perfect panacea.

No matter how much mana you possessed, it would be of no use if you didn’t know how to use it properly. And depending on how mana was controlled, the efficiency also differed.

For example, suppose you put water in a canteen. Some might make a small stream of water and transfer it to a water tank preventing any loss, while others will squeeze the entire water bottle to fill it.

Both serve their purpose. However, the former had an overwhelming advantage regarding its efficiency.

Mana was also similar to that. The efficiency of your mana differs depending on how you invest the right amount in the essential parts. So, the swordsmen paid much attention not only to their mana reserves but also to its control.

But no matter what, in order to use the mana well, you first had to have enough of a mana reserve to use it. This was an undeniable reality.

So, the swordsmen who are born with a large mana reserve become an object of envy. Even commoners will be able to marry into a noble household as a breeding machine if they possessed a large mana reserve.

With that in mind, it was natural for Thean to be prideful. Because the amount of mana I had was below average.