After breakfast, I continued training with my brothers and had a short solo training routine after dinner.

  “Reaching the peak, where only a chosen few arrive…” That thought keeps echoing in my mind, sounding almost insane. I trust my family’s judgment, and I want to be strong. If I manage to become frightening enough to intimidate anyone who dares to touch the people I love, I’ll be satisfied.

  Tomorrow they’ll explain the ceremony to obtain magic. I kept insisting during the conversation earlier today, but they didn’t want to give me many hints. It’s time to sleep, and tomorrow I’ll know everything.

  We finished breakfast calmly and headed to the ceremonial temple. It’s quite close to my family’s territory, specifically right next to it, guarded by a few people hired by my family.

  My grandmother and parents stood around the altar, while my brothers waited seated on chairs near us. My grandmother would be in charge of the entire ceremony, and my parents would act as support.

  “As you already know, Maki, the columns are made of your willpower and form a cube. It also functions as a container for mana.” My grandmother begins the explanation. “When the ceremony starts, your mind will be moved inside your consciousness, where you yourself will carry out the transfer of mana to you.”

  “I have to transfer the mana myself?” I feel confused about that. How am I supposed to move something inside myself while I’m within my own consciousness?

  “You can understand it better with this analogy: Imagine a river of water. All rivers always flow into the sea. In your case, your mind must create that river and move all that current toward your cube, which will be the sea. Is that clear?” Grandmother Rita truly has a way with words.

  “Yes, I can understand it now.” The words are easy to grasp; what worries me is the practice.

  “Smart boy. Don’t worry about failing. Once you’re inside your consciousness, it will guide you itself. You’ll know the method naturally.” I’m relieved to hear her explanation.

  “You have a limited amount of time. It varies depending on the person, but I can give you an estimate of about five minutes.” She watches me without blinking, likely trying to read my thoughts through my easily readable expressions.

  “The amount of magic you obtain as a base will depend on you. With each level you surpass in the future, it will grow exponentially. It’s up to you whether you have a solid base with a large amount of magic or remain average.” So all I need to do is try to put as much as possible into the cube…

  “Sounds simple, right? In words, yes. In practice, not so much. Your mind will know how to do it. The only problem is the mana—the more you try to take, the more torrential it becomes. Whether you have the talent to control it depends on you, little one.” She finishes speaking and winks at me.

  They sat me down on a chair, placed two bracelets on my arms, and had me immerse my hands in two basins of water. Everything is a pristine white; just looking at it feels immaculate.

  “These bracelets absorb and store mana and keep it until a ceremony. The water will act as the connector between the bracelets and the mana stones, which are placed below to activate the mechanism.” Each of my parents connected one stone as the explanation continued.

  “It will take about thirty seconds to begin. Prepare yourself mentally, little one.” Each of my family members wished me luck, watching with anticipation.

  “I’ll give it my best. Thank you for your good wishes.” Then I begin to feel my mind darken, and I appear in a white space.

  I can see eight immense circles on one wall. On the wall in front of me are white lines with nothing written on them. The side walls are completely white, showing nothing to indicate any function—but my mind knows they must serve some purpose in the future.

  I observe the entire place until I feel a powerful current outside the walls.

  Just as my grandmother mentioned, my mind knows how to move or transfer mana into my cube. What’s strange is that I can see the cube without actually seeing it.

  I don’t know where the cube is, yet I can still perceive it. It’s filling little by little. I need to focus all my concentration on making that river larger and more fluid.

  My concentration begins to rise. My focus is entirely on filling my cube. They didn’t want to give me advice on how to do it; for each individual, it’s a different process, and advice could hinder me instead of helping.

  A storm of ideas comes to me, and I decide to try every possible method regarding the river in my mind.

  Trying to make it larger doesn’t have much effect. It simply expands sideways—it doesn’t increase the mana volume, only the channel through which the mana flows.

  I change my approach and try to open a second mental river. It works after pushing a bit. I feel the increase in mana, but the problem is that it’s still insignificant.

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  This damn gas doesn’t want to enter any faster or increase in quantity. Gas? Wait—if it’s a river, shouldn’t it be water?

  In my old world, I learned about this. If I need to turn gas into water, I have to remove heat until it condenses.

  Miraculously, it works. I begin to feel the transformation of gaseous mana into liquid. The only problem is the heat—I feel my body heating up.

  When one of the two rivers fully turns into liquid, I begin working on the next one. The heat pressure from two rivers is enough to make me feel dizzy. I try to get used to the dizziness, but it’s impossible.

  “My concentration is almost at its limit. Opening a third river seems impossible…” I talk to myself to maintain focus. “NO, I can’t give up. I have to try something else… but what?”

  I rack my brain, and only two ideas seem reasonable: merge both rivers or turn the river into a solid.

  I begin trying to merge both rivers. The process is painful and torturous for my mind. After struggling for some time, I somehow manage to do it.

  I feel it clearly—if I “pass out” in this place, I’ll be pulled out and left with whatever amount of mana I’ve obtained. I can also feel time running out. I have to endure and gather as much as possible.

  My condition worsens with every moment. My eyes feel tired, my body extremely hot and weak. The only thing keeping me standing is my willpower.

  There isn’t much time left. I have to increase the flow until the end. If I pass out, it won’t matter much. There’s only a little time left—I’ll try to force in as much as I can.

  It’s a constant hammering to my head, gradually increasing the flow. My mind wavers between pushing forward and ending this suffering. I manage to increase the flow by ten percent for a few more seconds and, miraculously, hold on until the time limit. Then my consciousness falters, and I’m expelled from that world.

  My eyes open slowly, and I see my family standing in front of me, waiting. My body is completely exhausted and weak. I can feel my mind wavering between falling asleep and staying awake.

  Most importantly, I feel mana within me—not just in my body and cube, but in the environment around me. It can’t be clearly seen or felt; I just know that something that was always there is now perceptible.

  My exhaustion finally overcomes my willpower, and I fall asleep.

  When I come to, I’m no longer at the ceremonial site. I’m in my room, lying on my bed.

  “How long did I sleep?” I look out the window—it’s daytime. I check the clock; it’s four in the afternoon. “I slept just under six hours…”

  My urge to investigate mana on my own is overwhelming, but I need to sit still this time. I get up and go to look for my family. I head first to my father’s office, who immediately calls for a servant when he sees me.

  My family gathers in less than ten minutes, and we finally talk about what happened.

  “Son, you passed out when the ceremony ended. It happens quite often with some children.” My mother is the first to speak. “How do you feel? Now you can use willpower and mana. The world has only just begun.” Her huge smile makes me smile back.

  “Son, my champion, you absorbed mana like a vortex. At our level, it’s almost impossible to know the amount of mana in your body. Everyone in this room can say one thing—you have far more than an average child.” My father looks happy to see his son healthy and sounds proud at the same time.

  “Little one, as your father said, it’s impossible to determine an exact value. Based on my years of experience and my sensitivity to mana, I can say this: you have between forty and fifty percent more than a normal person. Be proud—only truly talented mages achieve the same result.” My grandmother, the most experienced person in the room, speaks.

  “Maki, I can be considered a talented mage within the marquis’s territory, and I only had twenty percent more. You’re skilled with weapons and magic—I’m happy for you.” Ritmo is always sensible; his calm and measured way of speaking makes him seem even more intelligent.

  “You don’t look surprised, Sers.” I speak to my brother, the only one looking at me with a calm smile.

  “Me? I already imagined this outcome. I always had confidence in you, Maki. If you’d gotten less, I would’ve been disappointed.” He smiles, showing his faith in me.

  Sers—always confident and cheerful. I’ll never tire of saying it: I love my family. I’m glad I assimilated this body, and now I have the tools to protect them. I just need to refine them and turn them into powerful swords.

  My grandmother clears her throat to get our attention.

  “Little one, now comes the important part. Did you see the four walls?” Her question brings back the memory of that place I was sent to during the ceremony.

  “Yes. One had eight circles, another had blank spaces, and the last two were completely empty.” I vaguely recall everything.

  “Yes. The white walls have functions for the future—you don’t need to worry about that now. Even if I tried to explain, you wouldn’t understand. There are rules in this world that forbid talking about it. Your ears wouldn’t work if I tried—you’d only hear blank words.” I don’t fully grasp the meaning, but I trust my grandmother. We’ll move forward until that time comes.

  “The wall with blank white lines is for Laws. There are countless Laws, which we’ll explain in the future. At this moment, it’s impossible to acquire one. You need a deep understanding of a subject and sufficient strength to endure it.” I feel a great curiosity about these “Laws.”

  “The last part is the most important—each circle is a slot for one ability.” I feel slightly disappointed by my grandmother’s words. Only eight ability slots? I don’t know if that’s a lot or a little. She must have read my face, because she doesn’t even let me ask.

  “In some cases, it’s a lot or a little. Don’t worry about it. You’ll gain more slots by increasing your rank and through other methods. Abilities are classified from Rank I to Rank VI, with the latter being the strongest.” I’m fully focused, memorizing everything.

  “Abilities grow the more you train them or modify them to suit your preferences. Everyone starts the same; no one ends the same.” I feel nervous during every pause my grandmother takes.

  “You’re wondering—how do you obtain abilities?” The way she reads my face is terrifying.

  “Yes, I really want to know how.” My curiosity has been bubbling inside me for a long time.

  My grandmother touches her head and smiles teasingly. “You should have received system notifications in your mind when you awakened after the ritual. The problem was your fainting. Don’t panic—just focus on them, and you’ll be able to see them again.”

  I was starting to panic at her words, but I calm down immediately. I close my eyes, search my mind for a moment, and find them.

  “If you’ve seen them, read them to us.” My grandmother’s voice sounds relaxed and calm, though I can’t miss the curiosity in it.

  I open my eyes when I realize something—the notifications are more like information directly in my mind. “I’ll start reading them.”