Slye walked with Yig to a small, secluded field—close enough to the village that voices could still be heard, but far enough that the words were indistinct.

  The dark silhouette of a mountain loomed above them, and light filtered through the leaves, illuminating everything in sight.

  Once they stopped, Yig’s lamb settled in the grass and began dozing.

  They’d arrived at a ledge, with a somewhat steep drop. As Yig wandered toward the edge, he spotted a path below where farmers were carrying freshly cut crops.

  He thought about waving but knew they were too busy to notice him.

  “You’re all quite nice,” Yig said, pulling his head back from the drop. “My town wasn’t too welcoming to strangers.”

  “The way we view outsiders is pretty divided in Sharirun,” the round man replied.

  Pervoick had told Yig about him before they reached the training grounds. Slye, he remembered Pervoick saying.

  “Don’t expect everyone to treat you the same.”

  Yig smiled. “It’s very kind of you to train me.”

  “You’re aware the Chief asked me to do it, yet you still believe it’s my choice to teach you?”

  “You seem nice. Most of you do.”

  Though Pervoick had not taken kindly to him.

  Slye smiled. “Stand up straight and listen.”

  Yig stood as instructed, now more careful with what he said and did.

  “I explained the concept of aura and mana to you earlier. But using them effectively takes more than book knowledge.

  If you’re going to accompany us on this mission, you’ll need a basic understanding of Exure—the practice of mana control.

  You’ll start by learning two foundational techniques: Activation and Location. Are you familiar with either?”

  The wheels in Yig’s brain began to turn, but he gave no answer.

  “It’s fine if you don’t. That’s why I’m here.

  Let’s begin with Activation. One of the core truths about mana is that it enhances—but in its dormant state, it’s useless to you.”

  “Question.”

  Slye sighed. “Yeah?”

  “What’s the difference between aura and mana?”

  “Mana is the essence of all things. Aura is the buildup of that mana in all living things and objects. Got it?”

  Yig shrugged. “I think so.”

  “Alright,” Slye continued.

  “A common analogy for Activation is that of a flame beneath a cooking pot.

  Imagine a small ember—too weak to heat even a crumb in the pot.

  But through understanding and focus, you can grow that ember into a strong flame, hot enough to boil the entire pot.

  Your aura is the same.

  For most of your life, it exists as a faint spark.

  But with practice, you can ignite that aura—strengthening both body and spirit—though it comes at the cost of stamina.”

  Yig’s stance softened from rigid to more relaxed. “Sounds complicated.”

  “That’s the beauty of the practice. It can’t truly be explained—only compared.

  To understand it fully, you must perform it. You must bathe in your own soul.”

  “What’s Exure, then?”

  “Didn’t I just explain that?”

  Yig stayed silent for a moment, trying to come up with a brilliant reason for why he’d already forgotten.

  “Tell it to me again?”

  The reason never came.

  “Exure is the practice of mana control, usually related to one's own aura,” Slye said.

  “It was developed by ancient martial artists.

  While we in Sharirun don’t follow their teachings exactly, we do use some of their basic techniques—one of which is Activation.”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “…And that is?”

  “The technique with the pot and boiling water.”

  “Oh, right. I get it now.”

  Or at least Yig thought he did.

  Intrigued by the man’s passion, Yig straightened his posture again—legs arced, arms pulled to either side of his waist.

  “How do I do it then?”

  “Try to stand still and search your mind. Like I said, words can only explain so much.”

  Yig closed his eyes and focused on his breathing.

  This phenomenon—whatever it was, Pervoick and Slye both seemed to think he had already trained it.

  They must’ve meant the light on his arm, right?

  Even if neither of them had marks of their own, nor spoke of them, the sensation of that light tingling through him fit the description of aura perfectly.

  With one deep breath, every image in his mind faded away.

  In the black depths of his thoughts, he moved using only emotion—until he caught a glimpse of light.

  He pictured himself holding it, cradling it in his palms.

  Then, with focused intent, he breathed onto it, letting the light ignite into a strong glow.

  His aura burst to life, and the wind around him swirled.

  Blades of grass ripped from the earth and spiraled upward.

  Trees rustled and leaned back from the force.

  His lamb leapt up and took a defensive stance, and as Yig opened his eyes, he saw Slye’s expression—pure terror.

  Stop it. I have to stop it!

  Yig’s aura overwhelmed him, glowing a radiant gold.

  Everything around him shimmered faintly—the plants, the trees, even the lamb.

  Slye’s aura glowed brightest of all as he hesitated to approach.

  “Turn it off!” Slye shouted, snapping Yig back into focus.

  Anxiously, Yig shut his eyes and pictured himself holding the light—then letting it fall from his hands, back into the dark.

  As the tension in his body faded, his thoughts returned.

  He exhaled slowly.

  When he opened his eyes, the glow was gone.

  He dropped to his knees, catching himself with trembling arms.

  His body felt as if he’d just sprinted down a mountain at full tilt.

  He wanted to get up—but it was just so comfortable to stay down.

  Slye approached.

  “You’re not lying to us, are you?”

  “What’s there… to lie about?” Yig asked, still catching his breath.

  “Where did you say you’re from?”

  “Chestnut Town.”

  Slye looked like he was about to say something but stopped.

  Instead, he turned and walked back to where he’d been sitting.

  “Tonight, when you lie down for bed, try it again,” he said over his shoulder.

  “But this time, focus on reeling it in.

  Your body won’t be distracted by trying to balance while lying flat—it’ll make it easier.”

  “Why would anyone want to do this?”

  “Depends.

  The first answer that comes to mind is: ‘to hunt mutant bears.’

  But there are plenty of others.”

  Yig looked at his hands and clenched them tightly.

  “It felt so heavy. Like my own body was holding me down.”

  “Like I said, do it while you’re comfortable. Once you can control it in bed, you can control it standing up. Then you’ll practice walking, running, fighting, and so on.”

  “Then why did you start all this by making me stand?”

  “I didn’t expect you to perform as well as you did, that’s all. I didn’t think you’d actually activate any mana.”

  “Right. Then what do I do till bed?”

  Slye raised his palm toward Yig. “Punch my hand. Don’t hold back.”

  Clenching his fist, Yig awakened the light like he had during the last few weeks of training and punched the man’s hand with full force.

  Thwack! The impact echoed through the woods. To Yig’s surprise, Slye’s hand was as tough as his old training rock.

  “Like that?” Yig asked.

  Slye didn’t look like he felt it, though he must have—the punch was strong enough to break bark from trees during previous months. He just stared at his hand curiously before saying, “You said you thought you’d been training your aura, even if you didn’t know exactly what it was?”

  Yig nodded.

  “Right. Well, I think what you were doing was actually Location. Sure, it seems you’re able to perform a bit of Activation, inefficiently at that, but it feels like you subconsciously rely on Location when attacking.”

  “I only hit like that when I’m trying my best.”

  “Well, think of it this way: without knowledge of your aura, you focus on your fist when punching, putting all your energy there and relocating your mana as a result. But because of that, your body doesn’t actually activate the aura you assign to the attack.”

  “So, Location is moving mana between body parts?”

  “Yes. But I’d say it’s more like ‘moving mana throughout the body.’ If your punch holds twice the normal amount of mana, it’ll hit harder—but far less than if that aura were activated.”

  “Okay. So, what do you want me to do?”

  Slye sat Yig on the grass, cross-legged, palms facing upward, resting on his knees. In one hand, Slye placed a flat, open leaf.

  “Okay. So, I explained Location to you,” Slye continued, “but I left something out. The mana you command can be focused into objects as well. As I said, mana is held within all things, even if only slightly. So, focus some of your own mana—not all of it, just some—into your right hand.”

  “What if I put a lot into that hand?”

  “Without having exercised that hand to do so, you’ll hurt it.”

  “What if I put all my aura into that hand?”

  “Not possible. You need at least some mana in every part of you at all times. And it’d really hurt if you tried.”

  “Okay. Wait, which hand did you tell me to use?”

  “The right.”

  “My right or your right?”

  “Your right.”

  “Right. Which one is that?”

  Slye pointed.

  Breathing slowly, Yig tried to focus his mind on his right hand as he had before. Without the excitement of a punch, it was more of a struggle. At one point, it felt like Yig was straining his head—until his hand began to tingle. As he and Slye looked closely, they saw the leaf begin to crumple.