Hello there! It's me, Chris Reynolds, the one and only MC. I know, I know—you're probably crying tears of joy right now, but keep it together, man. *Haah* I'm just that loved. But enough about that. Let's get to the point.
Lately, I've been doing some studying here and there, but so far, I haven't stumbled upon anything like a magic scroll, grimoire, or anything of the sort. Maybe it's just me, but I think my parents are deliberately keeping such things out of my reach until I turn 10. Why 10? Well, it seems that in recent centuries, awakenings have shifted. Back in the day, people would awaken around 5-7 years old, which, honestly, I would've preferred. But no, I have to wait until I'm 10. Typical.
Anyway, the books I've read all seem to agree on one thing: mana can only be used in the atmosphere after awakening. But here's the kicker—they never talk about the mana *inside* you. They just mention the bare minimum: increasing your mana by forming a spherical core, refining it to its utmost potential, and then absorbing more mana to make it your own. Rinse and repeat. But I'm not entirely convinced. Most of this sounds like stuff straight out of fiction. Still, I can't help but be drawn to it. I'm addicted to stories, man. It's either I read or sleep, and reading feels way more productive.
Speaking of which, I've been researching the various functions of my eyes. So far, all I've figured out is mana sight. I'm hoping that during my awakening, my eyes will mutate and give me something cooler—like essence sight, life sight, or even mineral sight, like in that one book I read. Fingers crossed it doesn't backfire, though. What I'm doing has never been tested before—or at least, it's not widely known. But hey, no pain, no gain, right?
Right now, I'm chilling in the backyard under the shade of a tree, using my hands as pillows while I watch the clouds. Man, I'm starting to feel like a Nara. Anyway, while I'm here, I'm concentrating on the mana flowing through my veins, slowly guiding it toward the nerves in my eyes. It's a weird sensation—like a light burning or an itch that makes me want to scratch my eyes out. But I'm holding on, determined to keep this up for about 15 minutes. Or at least, I think it's 15 minutes—time's a bit fuzzy when you're in the zone. Even after I stop, the stinging lingers. If this doesn't work out, I swear I'm going to develop a time-travel spell just to undo this mess. And while I'm at it, I'll give my past self all the magic I've developed. Time magic? Space magic? Both sound pretty convenient.
Enough daydreaming. The itch is finally gone, and my eyes feel a bit clearer—not my eyesight, but my actual eyes. Apparently, this whole mana-eye exercise makes the color of my irises clearer every fifth time I do it. My once dull, lifeless eyes are now a striking ash gray. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
Oh, and I remember trying to cast a memory charm when I was three. I used it on my mom, aunt, and cousin while they were asleep. The charm was supposed to make people remember you better. I figured it was harmless—just a way to make sure I wasn't forgotten so easily. Because, let's be honest, I'm pretty forgettable. My friends don't even remember me after two years of no contact. Two years! So, I thought, why not? I practiced the formula until I got it perfect, then used a special pen that filters mana as ink. Those pens are crazy expensive—like, two Ferraris expensive. We only have one, and it's usually with my dad. But I borrowed it, made 25 Remembrance Charms (yes, I named them), and used three on my family, one on a girl who's supposed to be my childhood friend (cliché, I know), and the last one on this mutant rabbit-cat hybrid. It's this weird creature that can switch between a rabbit and a cat to avoid predators. I really wanted it as a pet, but it kept running away. So, I lured it with drugged food, caged it, and stuck the charm on it. Five minutes later, I had the servants release it. They gave me some weird looks, but hey, it worked. The rabbit-cat—now named Star—has been my loyal pet ever since.
Speaking of Star, he just plopped himself on my chest, curled up in his cat form, and fell asleep. Guess we're both Nara material—lazy as heck. Anyway, it's been two years since that experiment, and I've officially started my sword training. It's pretty monotonous: unsheathe the sword, sheathe the sword, repeat. My dad said I can't move on to anything else until I can do that a thousand times straight and run around the house 40 times within a five-hour window. So, for now, I'm brushing up on my theoretical knowledge of magic—charms, word magic, and formation magic. Nothing too advanced—just basic stuff like concentration charms or writing the word "concentration" on my forehead to boost focus. Formation magic is all about making a box. Yep, a box. Apparently, it's the easiest thing for rookies to do without messing up. You start by drawing a cuboid on the ground, then use your mana to create formation lines, interconnect them, and stabilize the mana flow for five minutes. If it works, great. If not, the supervisor gives you feedback. Simple, right?
Practicing all this is tough, so I'm trying to figure out a way to automate my mana flow for physical strengthening and eye augmentation. That way, I can focus on other things. But today's a rest day. You can't expect gains without some downtime, after all.
That's all for now. See you next time. Farewell, and have a good day/night/evening!
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**A/N:** Things are finally starting to pick up, and the world is slowly being revealed—though not much yet. This is meant to be a slow-burn novel, after all. Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestions for continent names, feel free to comment. It'll help me flesh out the world and its history. Like, comment, share, rate—any feedback is appreciated!