Rylan stepped closer to the others, motioning at them to try. He then looked at the soldiers.

"As for those of you who can't use mana, we'll start from the basics of mana gathering," he said. "It's an essential skill that serves as the foundation of what you'll be learning, so we need to do it."

He glanced at Scott, whose expression was a bit dark. The man met Rylan's eyes, allowing Rylan to glimpse a variety of emotions.

I know you have your story, but…

Awakening Aura wasn't a simple process. Until he could guide the soldiers down that path, they would need to use Mana Cultivation, Scott included. There was simply no leeway to slowly train with the Empire's next move being unknown.

Come to think of it, I never asked what the story was.

Jack stepped forward, drawing Rylan's attention to him.

"Young master," the man started in a low tone, as if afraid that the others would hear him. "I've told you before. I'm talentless when it comes to magic. I don't think a skill reliant on mana will work for me," he said.

Some of the soldiers behind him nodded to themselves or at Rylan, who only smiled.

"Trust me," he replied firmly. "You will become strong. Just follow my lead."

It was still a bit too soon to disclose the existence of Aura, even if he trusted most of the people in the room. Of course, Damian likely already knew that Rylan's strength wasn't entirely born out of Mana Cultivation, but until the question arrived, Rylan was planning to keep it to himself. He hadn't considered all possibilities just yet.

Of course, it won't take long at all. If my luck is bad, he'll ask right after this lesson is over. Nothing to do about it.

Jack smiled.

"Like before," he replied.

Rylan smiled back, pushing the idle thoughts out of his mind.

"Like before."

He then looked at Scott, whose expression was still a bit dark.

"I'll talk to you later, Scott. For now, just listen to me," he continued.

The man hesitantly nodded.

"Alright. I believe you, Master," Scott replied, almost grumbling.

Rylan scanned the rest of the soldiers before moving his gaze to his family, friends, and master. Apart from Damian, who was staring at him with a furrowed brow, the others all looked confused. Hayden looked at Rylan and raised his hand.

"Can you make it clearer?" the boy asked. "I'm not sure I get it. What do you mean, exactly?"

Rylan looked at him. Deep within the boy's eyes, he could see frustration.

He's not used to not understanding something.

It was a feeling that a genius like Hayden, who had achieved so much at such a young age without any support previous to the Academy, was unfamiliar with.

Rylan took a few steps back and placed his hand over his abdomen.

"I'm sure all of you can feel your Mana Core," he started, running his gaze over everyone he knew could use magic, including some of the soldiers and his family. "What do you feel when you perceive it?"

Hayden tilted his head, while Jasmine only blinked.

"It's our center. Our power source," Damian replied, drawing a few looks. "It is what makes magic possible."

Rylan nodded with a grin.

"And what if you could make it behave a bit differently? Or at least have different effects?"

Damian slowly furrowed his brow.

"…What do you mean?"

Rylan met his gaze.

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"Remember how I said the essence of Mana Cultivation is to make your mana empower your body, as if you're a spell about to be cast? To make that work, you need to look at your Mana Core differently," he looked back at all the others. "Pretend your Mana Core is like a heart. Every time it beats, it sends mana flooding through your blood vessels. Your muscles and bones are mana itself, your blood vessels are the formulae, and your organs are magic structures. You're the spell. To begin all of it, you need your Mana Core to send mana through your physical body."

The soldiers readily nodded, but every Mage frowned at him.

"Spellcasting is the art of making mana affect the world around you to create a desired effect," Rylan continued before they could say anything. "In this scenario, the desired effect is only the empowerment of your body."

Silence.

"You," Damian abruptly said loudly after a few seconds of stillness. "You changed your Mana Core?"

Rylan readily nodded, making the man almost jump in place.

"Do you have any idea what the consequences—" Damian continued with clenched fists, looking like he'd just been slapped.

"Damian," Rylan interrupted, making the man's words die in his throat. "We both know my spells didn't get any weaker. Trust me, I was careful. There have been no negative side effects. It's only a new skill to be learned."

Damian stared at him.

"I think it makes sense," Hayden suddenly stated, making everyone look at him, including Rylan. The boy looked both intrigued and surprised, but not outraged like Damian. "In hindsight, it makes perfect sense to start with the Mana Core, but I think that's why nobody figured this out before. They were too afraid of the possible consequences. I know I wouldn't have thought of it."

He then smiled at Rylan.

"As expected of you. I'm surprised once again," he continued.

"I think it's a great idea," Jasmine said. "Especially because we know Rylan isn't suffering because of this discovery. Even the System classified it as a Skill. Wouldn't the Skill description make it obvious if there were pitfalls?"

Damian shook his head.

"Even so, we can't be sure. This is the kind of thing that requires extensive studying," he said, then sighed. "But I understand there was no time for it. I'll take it as a successful gamble."

Rylan nodded, making Damian sigh again.

"Now," Rylan started. "Those of you who can wield magic, focus on your Mana Cores. Perceive it and understand it, as usual. Then, slowly try to make it mimic a beating heart. Every beat makes your mana resonate with your body."

Aelfric and Sarah were the first ones to close their eyes. Elizabeth stepped a bit closer to Gerard before following suit. Some of the soldiers also did so, alongside Regis and Lillia. Hayden, Jasmine, and Damian closed their eyes almost at the same time. The last one to do so was Gerard, who nodded at Rylan before doing it.

The large room went completely silent. Instead of speaking further, Rylan circulated both his mana and Aura to sharpen his senses to their limits. He could feel everyone's mana moving within them, resonating with the world around them like they were about to cast a spell. He remained silent as the seconds turned into minutes. What mattered now was creating the perfect environment for them to focus. As if they understood this, the soldiers who hadn't formed even a single Circle also said nothing, staying in place, either looking around or staring at the floor.

Time slowly passed. Rylan remained focused on the others, perceiving their mana's movements.

Hayden and Aelfric are the ones improving the fastest. Damian is a close second, then Jasmine, Mom, and Father.

Regis, Lillia, and Sarah, alongside the soldiers, ranked below them. Of course, nobody had made incredible progress. To begin with, Mana Cultivation wasn't a simple thing to learn, especially for people who had lived their entire lives used to the ordinary magic system. Rylan knew that without his past life's memories and knowledge, he would have taken far, far longer to figure it out.

We'll do this one step at a time.

He continued to wait. Every time someone opened their eyes, they would ask him a question, and he would answer, prompting them to close their eyes again. This continued until the end of the third hour. Naturally, many people lost focus during that time, but Rylan tried his best to make them concentrate again.

Once the third hour was up, he started emitting his mana as a way to rouse the others without breaking their focus immediately. Gradually, they opened their eyes until all of them were looking at him, waiting for his next words. Rylan looked at them and nodded.

"It won't be easy," he started. "But you've now taken the first step. I'll try my best to make sure all of you learn Mana Cultivation as soon as possible."

"I need to talk to you," Damian said, making Rylan nod at him.

"I'll talk to all of you. I just needed to introduce the concept to you guys first."

He then looked at the soldiers.

"As for you guys, we'll take things slower and start training like we used to. We'll start with physical training, then magic lessons," he continued.

The soldiers readily nodded, while the four who were part of his squad smiled at him. Rylan clapped once.

"Alright, I think that's enough for now. Feel free to return to your rooms and rest. I'll be there to talk to you guys shortly."

Rylan looked at Gerard and Elizabeth and nodded. Gerard nodded back, and Elizabeth belatedly did the same. Aelfric smiled at him, and Sarah slightly bowed with a grin. The group followed the soldiers out of the room. Finally, the only ones remaining were Damian, Jasmine, and Hayden. Rylan looked at Damian and motioned at him.

"Go ahead, ask your burning question," he said.

Damian scoffed.

"What you've told everyone isn't all of it, is it? I remember the way you fought against the imperial Mages. Mana Cultivation might be able to strengthen your body, but that's not what it was," the man said.

Jasmine looked at him with a frown.

"Rylan isn't lying," she said defensively.

Hayden only looked at Rylan with an interested gaze, as if he couldn't wait to find out what Rylan's answer would be. Rylan breathed in.

Alright, here we go.

As predicted, his luck was bad after all.

"You're right," Rylan started, making Jasmine snap toward him and Damian nod knowingly. "During that battle, I discovered something else."

He raised his right hand, circulating his Aura. The pure white energy flowed through him and gathered around the raised hand, covering it with a white hue. The three people's eyes widened almost immediately.

"It's called Aura," Rylan stated. "And it's the only reason why I was able to win."

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