Chapter 32: Last Training.
From that day onwards, Aiden's training under Julia began in earnest. The first few days were difficult. Julia was not a teacher who explained much about the spells; she demonstrated once and then expected Aiden to learn it.
Her lessons were like riddles — short, cold, and absolute. At first, it frustrated Aiden. Every question was met with a nod or a single word, every mistake with an emotionless stare that made Aiden feel like he had done something he absolutely should not have done.
But as time passed, Aiden adapted to her teachings, rhythm, and habits. He stopped seeking answers from her mouth and began to find them through his own effort, through repetition, observation, and intuition.
Her silence taught him patience; her minimalism taught him precision.
Days turned into weeks, and soon Aiden began to grasp the fundamentals of illusionary mana. The spells were unlike anything he had practiced before — subtle, deceptive, and psychological.
At first, it was almost impossible to maintain them in combat. His illusions would flicker under pressure, break apart when distracted, or simply dissolve when he was struck.
But he persisted. Again and again, he practiced, fighting against wooden dummies, against projections, and finally against Julia herself.
She never praised him, never showed frustration either — just observed with eyes that saw everything.
And so, through countless repetitions and silent lessons, Aiden improved.
Three months passed. His illusions had become seamless — precise, adaptable, and convincing enough to fool even a trained eye
. The illusions no longer wavered or broke; they blended into the world as if they belonged there. Aiden had completely mastered illusionary mana.
It was an astonishing feat. Even Julia, the top student in Eldoria Magic Academy — a woman hailed as a once-in-a-generation genius — had taken six months to master illusionary mana herself. Watching Aiden achieve in three months what had taken her half a year surprised her, as she realized something that she rarely admitted even to herself: his talent far surpassed her own.
And so, today, the two stood once again in the center of the garden. Aiden, calm and focused, faced Julia, who regarded him with her usual expressionless calm.
"You have mastered illusionary mana spells," she said. Her voice was even, neither proud nor surprised, just acknowledging a fact. Then she continued after a pause, "Now, to use parasitic mana, you will have to think that everything around you — the thing that you want to parasitize, or a person that you want to parasitize — is a part of yourself. Your own body. Your own limbs. After that, create a small mana and inject that mana into your enemy or an object."
Her words were short, clipped, and precise as always.
Aiden simply nodded. He was already accustomed to these brief, almost null explanations. She would never say more than what was necessary — and somehow, that made her lessons more efficient and valuable.
Turning his gaze toward the stone dummy before him, Aiden took a deep breath and focused. He let Julia's words echo through his mind.
Everything around me… the thing I want to parasitize… is a part of myself.
He closed his eyes, channeling mana through his hands. Slowly, he began to think of the dummy not as an object, but as another part of his body — an extension of himself. His limbs, his nerves, his own flesh and blood.
Mana began to hum faintly between his fingers, flowing like a pulse through invisible threads. When he opened his eyes, a faint glow shimmered around his hand. He reached forward, pressing his palm against the cold, rough surface of the stone dummy.
The mana seeped into it like a slow heartbeat, disappearing from his palm and flowing deep inside.
In that moment, something shifted. Aiden suddenly felt the dummy — not physically, but mentally.
A strange awareness spread through Aiden's consciousness, threading itself into the empty shell before him. It was as though an invisible thread was now connected to his mind that linked it to the lifeless dummy.
He could sense its weight, its coldness, and its structure, though it felt faint and distant — like trying to move a limb that wasn't entirely his own.
He focused harder, trying to draw the connection deeper, trying to feel something more, but what came back was nothingness. No thoughts, no emotions — just emptiness.
The dummy had no soul, no life, no essence to manipulate or control. He could sense it, yes, but he could not command it or change it.
After a moment, he released the flow of mana and stepped back. The faint glow around his palm faded as the invisible link snapped apart.
Julia, who had been observing silently from a few steps away, nodded once — a subtle movement that carried her acknowledgment. Her eyes reflected neither surprise nor pride, only calm analysis as she spoke in her usual quiet, emotionless tone.
"The spell you used is to implant a parasite in your opponent's body to disrupt their thoughts; it's called a thought parasite."
she said, her voice steady as ever. "Then there is a parasite to disrupt their emotion, it's called an emotion parasite. The third is a parasite that disrupts the movement of a certain body part of the opponent; it's called a body parasite. You can only use these spells — not fully take over your opponents' bodies."
Her explanation was brief, but it carried immense weight.
Aiden listened intently, his brows slightly furrowed. To disrupt thoughts, emotions, and movements… The implications of such power stirred unease within him.
This was different from any other element he had practiced — not a force of destruction, but one of control. A silent, invisible dominance that could cripple even the strongest opponents.
He thought to himself, This really is the trickiest of all the mana… and the most dangerous.
The realization sank deep into his mind. A parasitic mana cultivator was a walking nightmare in combat. If a person were to fight one and get injected with a parasite, they would be doomed.
Their thoughts could be disrupted while they were trying to conjure mana, causing a backlash that could rupture their mana veins.
Their emotions could be twisted, changed, or disrupted mid-battle, turning calm into panic, or resolve into despair. And worst of all, their movements could be stolen or disrupted from them, their own limbs betraying them in combat.
Aiden's eyes sharpened. He understood now — parasitic mana was not just an element; it was a weapon against the very essence of being human.
After a few seconds of silent thought, he composed himself, then looked at Julia.
"Should I start training immediately," he asked, his tone calm but determined, "or should I do it tomorrow?"
Julia looked at him for a moment, her deep blue eyes unblinking. Then she replied with her usual flat, emotionless tone, "Your choice."
Aiden nodded as he said. "Let's start from today. I want to master it as soon as possible — then become a stage two mana cultivator."
For a brief moment, Julia's eyes softened, though her face remained expressionless. She gave a single approving nod. "Very well."
That was all she said — yet somehow, Aiden felt a quiet surge of approval beneath her cold exterior.
He took a deep breath, the air around him trembling faintly as he began once more. Parasitic mana was different from illusionary mana.
It was trickier, darker, more diverse… alive. When he channeled it through his veins, it felt as though it pulsed on its own, moving with an intent beyond his will. It demanded precision — and restraint.
Each time he practiced injecting mana into an object, he could feel faint echoes of connection, threads that stretched thin between him and the dummy.
It was exhausting, both mentally and spiritually, as if something inside him was trying to resist the very nature of this power.
But he persisted.
He trained for hours then days now two months had passed Under Julia's silent supervision, Aiden trained relentlessly.
She barely spoke as she only watched him. When he succeeded, she nodded. When he failed, she didn't do anything. Her indifference was brutal, but it forged discipline within him.
With every session, his understanding of parasitic mana deepened. He learned how to control the flow of corruption — how to make the parasites act as extensions of his will rather than chaotic entities of destruction.
He learned to inject mana threads into targets with precision, maintaining control without breaking the connection.
And slowly, he began to feel it — that same eerie awareness he had felt the first day, now refined. He could make an object twitch, make a creature pause, make the air around him hum faintly with his intent.
Julia finally spoke after one long day of training. "You are progressing faster than I expected," she said, her voice faintly acknowledging his effort. "Few can adapt to parasitic mana so quickly without losing their emotions and control."
Aiden, exhausted and drenched in sweat, simply bowed slightly. "Thank you," he said, though he knew she did not give compliments easily.
Julia turned her gaze toward the distance. "Continue tomorrow. Once you can control emotion disruption and movement interference simultaneously, your foundation will be complete."
Aiden nodded, determination glowing in his eyes. "Yes, Ma'am."
As Julia walked away, her figure dissolving into faint illusions before vanishing completely, Aiden stood alone in the center of the garden. His breathing steadied.
He looked down at his hands — the same hands that had once struggled to control even a spark of lightning — now pulsed faintly with invisible threads of parasitic mana.
He clenched them tightly.
He could feel the power growing within him — dark, complex, dangerous, but his.
That night, as he sat on his bed and meditated, the heartbeat returned — that deep, echoing thump that had haunted his dreams before.
It resounded through his mind, louder and heavier than before, as if something ancient and unseen was stirring once more.
But this time, Aiden didn't flinch. He opened his eyes, calm and unafraid.
He whispered softly to himself, "Soon… I will find out what you are."
And with that thought, he closed his eyes and continued cultivating, unaware that far away, deep within the capital, the royal family had just issued an order — one that would change his fate forever.
Author's Note: Aiden's journey through the mysterious and perilous paths of mana continues. With the mastery of illusionary and parasitic arts, he stands on the brink of evolution — yet the deeper he dives into power, the closer he draws to the whispering abyss that calls to him each night. Darkness and destiny intertwine, and the storm in the capital is only the beginning.