The morning air carried the faint scent of dew and polished steel as Klein made his way back to the training grounds. This time, he came alone.
Adrian had invited him to watch a sparring session with the estate knights earlier, but Klein had politely declined. Observation had its place, yet real progress demanded controlled conditions - isolation, repeatable steps, and variables he could adjust at will. The main field was too open, too filled with the rhythmic clash of blades and the shouts of instructors. He needed something quieter.
He chose a shaded corner near the outer stone wall, far enough from the central training area that the sounds of steel faded into a distant echo. The wall provided a solid, unchanging backdrop, and the early sunlight angled across the grass in clear, measurable lines. A small, smooth stone lay nearby - nothing special, just something he had picked up on the path. It would serve as his first target.
Klein sat cross-legged on the cool grass, his back straight and his hands resting lightly on his knees. He placed the stone about two feet in front of him.
"First variable," he murmured under his breath. "Consistency of output."
In his previous life, every energy system had been studied through careful measurement. Output tracked against time. Stability tested under repetition. Here, there were no instruments, no calibrated meters, and no written formulas. But he could still create proxies - mental records, timed durations, and observable effects.
He closed his eyes and turned his attention inward. The sensation of mana came quickly now, almost familiar. It felt like a quiet reservoir in his chest, a steady current waiting to be drawn. He guided a small, measured portion outward, letting it flow naturally through his arm without compression or forced extension. He gathered it gently at his fingertips.
A faint glow appeared - pale, soft, and steady in the morning light.
He held it.
One minute passed. Then two. The light did not flicker or dim noticeably. His breathing stayed even, his focus narrow but relaxed, like maintaining a low current in a circuit. At the three-minute mark, a subtle resistance began to build, similar to pressure against a narrowing pipe. The glow wavered once before stabilizing again when he eased his guidance rather than pushing harder.
Klein continued until the four-minute point, then opened his eyes. He noted the duration in his mind with clinical precision.
"Stable for approximately four minutes under minimal sustained draw," he said softly, as if speaking to an invisible notebook. "Resistance increases gradually. It is not physical fatigue of the body, but a limitation within the flow itself - perhaps pathway saturation or natural dissipation."
He released the mana, allowing it to disperse naturally into the surrounding air. There was no backlash, no sudden drain. Just a quiet return to equilibrium.
Satisfied with the baseline, he moved to the next test.
He repeated the process, but this time he varied the volume. He drew a slightly larger portion from his core. The glow brightened immediately, casting a clearer light across his fingers. Yet it flickered after only ninety seconds. The edges became unstable, scattering tiny wisps of light like static discharge.
"Variable two: Volume versus stability," Klein noted. "Increased input leads to faster degradation. The flow becomes turbulent when pushed beyond a certain threshold."
He leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his hand as he studied the stone. If mana was truly a form of energy, then directed application should produce measurable physical effects - pressure, displacement, perhaps even heat. Even a simple kinetic transfer would be enough to begin quantifying efficiency.
Closing his eyes once more, he shaped the flow differently. Instead of pooling it at his fingertips, he channeled it forward in a narrow stream, aiming precisely at the stone. He kept the volume low, focusing on direction and control, like adjusting the nozzle on a hose to create a focused jet.
A thin thread of light extended from his fingertips.
It touched the stone.
The stone shifted - rolling half an inch across the grass as if nudged by an invisible finger. Nothing dramatic, no explosion or crack, but the movement was undeniable.
Klein opened his eyes, his expression unchanged but his mind already calculating.
"Kinetic transfer confirmed. Minimal force applied, yet observable displacement. Efficiency appears low - most of the energy dissipates into the air before full impact."
He adjusted his approach for the next attempt. This time, he added a subtle compression right at the point of release, tightening the flow just before it left his hand, like pinching a tube to increase pressure.
The thread struck harder. The stone tumbled twice before coming to a stop.
"Better," he murmured. "Compression improves transfer, but leakage remains high. Comparable to an uninsulated conductor losing current over distance."
The sun climbed higher as Klein continued his tests. He experimented with different pathway routes through his arm, noting how routing the flow along a straighter mental line reduced resistance. He tested varying densities - sometimes spreading the mana thin, sometimes concentrating it tightly. He even attempted to maintain two separate flows at once, one in each hand.
That last attempt failed quickly. His focus split too thinly, and both glows flickered out within seconds.
"Divided attention creates instability," he recorded mentally. "Single-point focus yields better results. Multitasking the flow requires improved mental partitioning."
Each small experiment added another piece to his internal map. Mana responded most reliably to three factors: clarity of visualization, gentle guidance rather than raw willpower, and a growing understanding of its natural behavior. Force invited chaos and rapid dissipation. Method invited structure and control.
Hours passed without him noticing. The grass beneath him grew warmer as the sun rose toward midday. His body felt strangely light, almost refreshed, despite the sustained mental effort. The original Klein's supposedly weak pathways no longer felt like a permanent limitation. They were simply unoptimized - hardware that had never been properly calibrated or understood.
He was about to begin a new series of tests when he sensed a familiar presence approaching from behind.
Adrian walked over, wiping sweat from his brow with a cloth. His training tunic clung to his frame, damp from the morning's sparring, and a faint bruise marked his left forearm - clear evidence of the knights' rigorous drills.
"You've been out here the entire time?" Adrian asked, his gaze shifting from Klein to the displaced stone and the faint scuff marks on the grass.
Klein nodded once, rising smoothly to his feet and brushing a few blades of grass from his clothes.
"Testing variables."
Adrian crouched near the stone, picking it up and weighing it casually in his palm. He turned it over, examining it as if searching for hidden marks.
"Variables," he repeated, the word sounding almost foreign on his tongue. "You speak about mana like it's some kind of machine or alchemical formula. Not many people describe it that way."
"In a sense, it is," Klein replied evenly. "Mana is not a mystical gift granted by talent or bloodline. It is energy - something that can be observed, directed, and eventually engineered."
Adrian set the stone back down and crossed his arms, studying his younger brother with open curiosity now.
"Father asked about you this morning. Indirectly, of course - he never asks directly. But he mentioned the training grounds. He said your control yesterday was 'adequate.' Coming from him, that is nearly high praise."
Klein remained silent for a moment, absorbing the information without visible reaction.
"And what did you tell him?"
"The truth," Adrian said with a faint smile. "That you have changed. That whatever method you are using allows you to progress faster than anything the family tutors taught me at your age."
He paused, then added more quietly, "Mother worries, though. She thinks you are pushing yourself too hard because of the decision about the Royal Academy. She fears you are trying to prove something."
Klein glanced toward the main estate building in the distance. Tall windows reflected the bright midday light, giving the stone walls an almost golden sheen.
"The academy is not the goal," he said calmly. "Understanding the underlying rules is. Once those rules are clear, everything else - including the academy - becomes secondary."
Adrian studied him for a long beat, the easy confidence in his posture shifting into something more thoughtful.
"You are really planning to approach magic differently from everyone else, aren't you? Not just learn it, but break it down and rebuild it."
Klein met his brother's eyes without hesitation.
"Not rebuild it entirely. Reveal what was always there. The rules existed before any of us. People simply never measured them properly or questioned the traditional methods."
A light breeze stirred the grass between them, carrying the distant sounds of knights training. Adrian let out a slow breath - half laugh, half disbelief.
"If you keep improving at this rate, Father will not be able to ignore it for long. The Crownoval family has expectations, even for the second son. Position, contribution, strength - they all matter."
Klein flexed his fingers lightly, still feeling the faint echo of the mana flows he had guided throughout the morning.
"Then those expectations will need to adapt to new variables," he said simply.
Adrian shook his head, but there was no mockery in the gesture - only a mix of growing interest and subtle caution.
"Just be careful. Do not break anything important while you experiment. Or anyone, for that matter."
"I will not," Klein replied.
As Adrian turned to head back toward the main training field, he called over his shoulder, "Dinner tonight in the main hall. Mother insisted. Do not disappear into the library again and lose track of time."
Klein watched his brother walk away until the figure blended with the other trainees. Then he looked down at the small stone once more.
He had moved it with nothing but guided energy and precise control.
Next, he would need to measure exactly how much force he could generate, how consistently he could repeat the effect, and - most critically - how to scale the output without losing stability or efficiency.
Because if mana truly followed rules...
Then those rules could be refined. Improved. Optimized.
And the Crownoval family, whether they realized it yet or not, had just gained an unpredictable variable they had never accounted for in their long history of power and tradition.
Klein picked up the stone, turning it over in his palm. A faint smile touched his lips - not wide, not triumphant, but quiet and certain.
The work had only just begun.
To be continued...