7 – Mana Infusion

After finishing his workout, Jonny was absolutely certain. He was stronger. He had broken his records for consecutive sit-ups and pull-ups, and when it was time to play tag, by the time the other kids were all done, he still had plenty left in the tank.

Suddenly, the pain of the mana infusion ritual didn’t seem so bad. Sure, it hurt, but pain was temporary, and if he got stronger every time he did it, it was more than worth it. He could handle a bit of pain if it made him stronger. He had done it all the time in his past life, and that wasn’t even counting the beatings he took in the octagon.

As the other kids panted in the grass around him, he turned back toward the orphanage, where Sister Lucy watching over them all, and ran up to her.

“I wanna do the mana infusion thing again.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“The Abbess wants to make sure you’re fully healthy before we try again.”

“I feel fine,” he said, flexing his arms.

“Well, you certainly look strong,” said Lucy with a smirk. “But you went way too far. We need to make sure there are no side effects.”

“Pleeeease?”

He clasped his hands together, and stared up at Lucy, eyes wide as he hoped to seduce her with cuteness. Her smile made him think he had succeeded at appearing cute, but her response remained the same.

“No,” she said. “Maybe next week.”

“Hmph.”

Jonny turned around, pouting, heading back out into the field to burn off the rest of his energy. Later that day, he asked again, this time cornering Margaret 1, but to his dismay, her answer was the same as Lucy’s. They wanted to watch him for another week to make sure he was alright before giving it another go. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like they thought his condition was as dire as Jonny’s parents had, but it was clear they didn’t want to take too many risks.

For the next week, Jonny did his best to make sure that the nuns knew he was fine. He did his workouts with increased vigor, and even took some extra time to play with some of the other kids. Even Tommy. However, as the days went on, Jonny noticed something alarming: he was getting weaker.

The second day back, he did a few less of each exercise than usual, but he chalked that up to simple exhaustion. He had pushed himself too hard the previous day in his excitement, and coming off a week of inactivity, it was just too much to handle. But when he did even fewer the next day, and the day after that, he knew it wasn’t just that. On the fourth day, he finally seemed to stabilize, at least, and he stabilized at a slightly higher level than he had been before the ritual, but all the gains he thought he had received were gone. This level of improvement was just the natural progression of his strength.

So, when the week came to an end, and the nuns finally allowed him to participate in the infusion ritual again, he was determined to get to the bottom of it. Why had he gotten stronger, and why did he lose that strength after a few days?

“Are you ready?” asked the Abbess with her hands on his shoulders.

“Yes,” he said confidently.

“Then we’ll start in 3. 2. 1…”

Jonny closed his eyes and felt the mana enter his body once again. This time, it came much more slowly than the first time. There was barely a trickle, but that worked out better for him, since it gave him more time before the pain and pressure became unbearable.

He immersed himself in the feeling of having his inner eye opened, feeling the mana as it flowed through his body. Just like before, it seemed unable to escape, building up more and more intensely until it became painful.

Having learned his lesson from the last time, he raised his hand, signalling that it was getting too much, and the flow of mana immediately cut off. The mana within him continued to cycle on its own, but without the addition of new mana, the pain never increased, and the heat in his body remained at a manageable level.

Jonny watched his mana for a few minutes until it became boring to do so. It just kept swirling around, and that was about it. It was kind of cool to feel, but that was about it.

Instead, he focused his inner eye on his surroundings. Without going as far as the first time, it was not quite as sensitive as before, but he could still sense the mana around him, and that was exciting. He waved his hands around, running them through the invisible breeze, sensing how it interacted with his body.

Once he got bored of that, he turned his attention back inward. He had mana now. Mana was what spells were made of. Did that mean he could cast spells now?

He held out his hand, palm up, and imagined a ball of fire appearing. Nothing happened. He imagined harder. Still nothing happened.

With a sigh, he opened his eyes and looked up at Sister Lucy, who was sitting in front of him. He caught a glimpse of a concerned expression, but it quickly turned into a smile when she saw him looking at her.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Great!” said Jonny. “I did it!”

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“You opened your inner eye?” she asked, half incredulous.

“Yup!”

It wasn’t quite as sensitive as it had been with his eyes closed, but he could still sense the mana both within him and around him. It was an extremely strange feeling, but a very welcome one.

Lucy gave him a suspicious look, then held out two of her hands. From one, mana emerged, coalescing into a ball above her palm. It was invisible to his eyes, but Jonny could sense it clearly with his newly-opened inner eye.

“Which–?” started Lucy.

“That one!” he said proudly, pointing to the one with the mana in it.

“Well, I’ll be,” she said. “Looks like you did it!”

“Good job, Jonny!” said the Abbess, ruffling his hair from behind. “You were really fast?”

“Faster than Tommy?”

“No, he actually managed on his first try,” said Lucy.