Chương 37: Chapter 33

Once he learned how to visualize mana, Hakon showed Astrid and Björn what his mana mass looked like. Theirs might be different for all he knew, but considering the looks he received, that didn't seem to be the case. Following the creation of his mana mass, Hakon materialized the pathways leading from it. Only a few pathways were connected directly to the mass, but creating them was far from easy.

Maintaining the existing structures while adding more was strenuous and worsened the headache brewing in Hakon's head, yet it felt like it helped him grow at the same time. With a goal at hand, Hakon created a series of four pathways leading from the mana mass. Then came the hard part: demonstrating how mana was supposed to be moved through the pathways. Showing that through his conjurations was a little too difficult for the time being, which was why he picked the easier solution.

Hakon explained what he did and how he practiced it verbally. Following that, he tried to explain everything he knew about pathways to Björn while giving visual examples with his conjurations, all while ensuring Astrid heard and understood him as well. Björn's face scrunched up. He still looked confused even when Astrid nodded slowly.

"The pathways. Lifeblood flowed around them when I use my Skills." That was news to Hakon. He was about to ask more when Björn exclaimed, "Yeah. I…I think that's it! Lifeblood flows out of that thing you talk about. Sometimes around these tunnels, sometimes not. It hurts a little, but…" He shrugged.

"Pain is weakness leaving the body," Hakon completed.

"Yes." Listening to what his friends had to say about Lifeblood was curious. Clearly, neither Astrid nor Björn used their pathways as intended. Maybe it was too difficult for them, or they simply didn't know how. Or they were taught something else. To pick the less complicated path even if it causes pain. He thought, eyes narrowed. The conjured mana construction fell apart, and he only maintained [Mana Sense] to watch his friends demonstrate some of their Skills. First of all, they did not have many Skills.

Most of the Skills they acquired were either Skills the Ancestors recognized or those created with the guidance of their Ancient Powers. That was not necessarily bad, but it showed Hakon enough to fall deep in thought. Cleansing his pathways hadn't been easy. It had been disgusting, and it took a considerably long time before the Ancestors rewarded him with a Skill. Then, even when they recognized [Flow Control], the Skill hadn't been particularly useful.

One of the only reasons he had continued to cleanse his pathways had been Enhanced Comprehension, and another had been [Dash]. And even [Dash] was only awarded because he followed his instincts and his Ancient Power's insistence to keep going. That made him wonder what most Barbarians would do if they did not have Enhanced Comprehension. They wouldn't learn Skills as quickly as Hakon did, leaving them with nothing but black sludge and Skills they might not even learn.

Cleansing their pathways enough to earn [Flow Control], let alone [Dash], would take a fortnight. Maybe a little less if they were fortunate. I am just fortunate enough to awaken The Mind. He mused quietly, reminding himself that regular warriors learned from the older generation. They didn't have to figure out everything on their own and learned all that was important straight from those who had fought and survived hundreds of great battles.

If they moved Lifeblood around their pathways instead of cleansing them for moons to circulate it through their bodies, then neither would the younger generation. This was a generational problem, one that had existed for a long time. Worse still, their reasoning made sense.

To those too impatient to cleanse their pathways–to those who desired bloodshed and earned most of their rewards from the Ancestors through intense combat–'wasting' moons on cleansing pathways when they could just move their energy alongside them made no sense. Especially when the latter provided results much faster than the former.

"That is going to take a while." Hakon scratched the back of his head, wondering if he had made a mistake. What did the Ancestors plan for him? The Shaman was adamant about him using his gift, but did that mean they wanted Hakon to keep it all to himself or to share his knowledge? Denying the teachings of the older generations by making his peers cleanse their pathways and learn Skills in ways Barbarians usually frowned upon would most definitely stir trouble.

The entire tribe might descend into chaos if he did that. But did they really have a choice? The neighboring tribes had grown more aggressive over the cycles. Cycles in which Tribe Taskur's younger generation was unable to awaken. Then there was Tribe Pearot and the Ancestors' wishes for a new Warlord. War was inevitable, and Tribe Taskur was at a severe disadvantage. They had to make up for cycles of missed Rites. One way to do so was to teach the young warriors.

Another was to force the old generation to grow stronger. That won't work. They won't listen to me until I am strong enough to defeat them. Hakon shook his head and only now realized that Astrid was looking at him, waiting. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! Even if others, including Björn, were more likely to resist his teachings, Astrid was different. She wanted to learn. And her wishes were not only based on her mother's order.

Astrid looked genuinely interested in the power he had acquired with The Mind. She, too, wanted to grow stronger, and she was willing to try unconventional methods to do so. So Hakon had Astrid move mana through her pathways. That, as it turned out, was far more difficult than he had suspected. Astrid knew what she was supposed to do after the earlier demonstration, but she simply couldn't do it. She couldn't even tell him why it didn't work.

"It doesn't work. Lifeblood won't enter the pathways. It wants to move around them," was all she grumbled and groaned about. Since that was not particularly helpful, Hakon stepped in to help using yet another tactic. With [Mana Sense] active, he stepped behind Astrid. Placing his hand firmly against the midsection of her back, he could sense something.

It was barely perceptible, but that was more than enough to adjust his hand's position until he was sure that he was as close to Astrid's mana mass as he could get without carving her open. [Sensory Expansion] helped him sense more of her mana mass and the mana oozing from it. Teaching her what she was supposed to do, however, was still as difficult as before. Sure, Hakon could sense what Astrid was doing, but by the time he tried to correct her, it was already too late.

Instead of forcing a quick success, they slowed down, taking no more than one step at a time. That, however, carried yet another set of problems. As patient as Astrid was usually, she quickly grew frustrated every time she failed to follow his orders. Having a legendary power made her think that she would learn [Dash] and maybe even [Circulation] in no time. That couldn't have been further from the truth, which agitated Astrid more and more.

Hakon felt her slip away more easily every time she failed to follow his orders, and so he switched to yet another plan he came up with as they worked.

"I want to try something," he called out. Astrid nodded firmly but let out a high-pitched shriek when Hakon used [Mana Infusion] on her. The Skill did exactly what it was supposed to do, infusing mana into the target, yet the target was not a weapon but a fellow Barbarian. Astrid stiffened, and her body purged the foreign mana entering her body in an instant. However, she seemed more concerned with her shriek than the mana infusion. It only hurt her pride, leaving her ashamed, her cheeks burning bright red.

Björn did not hesitate to tease her with verbal jabs and knowing looks, which Hakon ignored as he mused the situation.

"Can we try that again? Try not to block me out this time," he commented, tilting his head. It took his friends a while to regain their demeanor, and Astrid's ears were still bright red when she told him to try again, but that was probably fine. Hakon used [Mana Infusion] once more through his palm, infusing less mana than before right into Astrid's back. She didn't shriek this time but flinched and pulled away, severing Hakon's contact with his mana.

"One more time," Astrid mouthed, without looking back. A few seconds later, hand pressed against her back's midsection once again, they tried for the third time. This time, Astrid didn't flinch or pull away. She leaned into Hakon instead, his hand all that prevented her from falling to the ground. [Mana Infusion] worked as intended. Hakon held tightly onto the mana entering her body and retained full control. But while he could will mana through Astrid's body, the entire situation was… complicated.

Astrid had to lower her guard for him to successfully infuse her with his mana and to retain control. She was completely exposed to him, creating an intimate moment that neither knew quite how to deal with. Heat rose to Hakon's cheeks, and he nearly lost control of the mana within Astrid, while her ears and face turned several shades redder. It took a moment to regain his calm and curse his racing heart, but he continued and started to move mana through her body, which admittedly worsened the situation.

Moving mana through Astrid while she leaned against him, trusting him wholeheartedly, made him feel like they were becoming one. The sensation did not fade as long as his mana was within her. Instead, it grew more intense as he closed in on her mana mass, and, once her mana reached out to his, Astrid gasped. She jerked away, her face burning bright red.

"I– I think we should try that other thing again. This… This doesn't work," she stammered. Hakon nodded and took a moment to calm his racing heart. Only after a while did they resume their initial strategy, palm pressed against her back with [Mana Sense] and [Sensory Expansion] active. But the tension around them prevailed. Astrid squirmed when Hakon touched her again but calmed down after a few deep breaths. Then, they tried again. He guided her with words rather than infused mana, and Astrid listened.

She did not succeed right away, yet there was progress once Astrid no longer tried to force her way. She complied meekly, which only seemed to accelerate the progress. Unsure how much time had passed, Hakon knew they succeeded when a familiar smell reached him. He watched Astrid, blood flowing from her nose, and was about to congratulate her when her concentration slipped.

"What is that?" she screamed, gagging as soon as the pungent smell reached her as well.

"That? I don't know the details, but the black sludge that's blocking the pathways has to go somewhere, and that–…"

"You knew this was going to happen?!" Astrid interrupted, her voice shrill, her eyes filled with terror. She gagged again, looking like she was about to vomit when she found the culprit. A droplet of black sludge oozing from her abdomen.

"Urgh." Björn grimaced and gagged as well, which was quite the exaggeration. Hakon was about to chide his friend when Astrid cursed something. She didn't look at Hakon once and rushed to the hut, shouting for the servants to help her clean up instead.

"She's a stinky little one," Björn chuckled loud enough for everyone to hear. That comment earned him a stab in the side. Hakon grunted.

"Be nice to her, or she'll kill you."

"You started it," Björn grunted, rubbing his side.

"She wouldn't dare kill me either. Before she can kill me, I would tell you her deepest secrets." That caught Hakon's attention.

"You know her secrets? Something I don't know?" Somehow, that hurt. He had always thought Astrid was closer to him than to Björn. Had he been wrong all along?

"Of course." Björn laughed through the pain, throwing his friend a knowing look.