He and Akjan were coming back after gathering certain type of plants; they were within a forest inside Karatengu territory. The reason he is with Akjan is due to her ability, if he is in any danger she can warp him away. Master Korgan said something about a special type of training that will only be possible after extracting the oil from this certain plant. The reason they sent Ren was because he happened to be the botanical expert of sorts within the clan, for some weird reason his ability to find anything plant related was top notch. The other clan members were busy working the fields, with more demons joining the clan, the farming area had to be expanded, thus creating more jobs to take care of.

"I can lend you my mana." She created a ball of darkness within her hand and pa.s.sed it to Ren, who proceeded to take hold of it.

"But I don't understand, why would you need to use magic, we are here to gather herbs after all." Akjan asked confusedly.

"Huh, it has nothing to do with herbs. It is just I noticed that every demon I met can use their mana in order to help with their tasks, heck Korkau's ice magic was potent enough to make the vermin go into hibernation if not freeze to death, and Karli did something to extend the shelf life of the meat and vegetables. I can't help but feel inadequate."

"But the only reason they are able to help out the Tengu clan is because you let them join us, isn't that enough of an accomplishment already? Besides, she just enchanted the cellar with freezing spell; it will make the food last longer, yes, but not indefinitely. It is not like the spell will make the food last forever."

"But the point is, they can use spells to do something, I can't. Even if I can bend someone else's mana to my own will…" the darkness mana now changed shape from a sphere to a cone, then to a ten sided star. "It is still not mine. I need something of my own if I wish to get anywhere far."

He is thinking of the Second Trial already? I know that Second trial is less than a month away, marked with alignment of all three moons, glowing with green piercing light, Master Korgan said that this marks when the second trial begins, and Great Ones will announce where to go to in order to partake in the trial. But to think he wants to be more powerful for what lies ahead…I see. His thought process is indeed something worthy of praise. He has a mighty goal. The only thing I can do is aid him.

As Ren was fiddling with Darkness magic and used it up while chopping randomly at trees, Akjan called out to him.

"Ren, could you come closer? There is something I wish to show you."

"Oh, ok. Sure thing." Ren hopped to her, apparently his shoe ended up being stuck to a plant, so he was hopping towards her with only one shoed leg.

To his surprise, she walked behind him and placed her hand upon his back. He felt a surge of energy coming into his body from the area she was touching. For a minute he felt the energy being absorbed into his body, a mighty power, his body eagerly accepting the nouris.h.i.+ng power of this energy.

Then the feeling of incoming energy stopped, the hand was no longer touching his back. But he still felt the energy inside his body.

"What did you do to me?" Ren asked, scratching his back, trying to determine what just happened.

"Mana transfer." Akjan said while panting. It seems like the process was not exactly easy, she seemed worn out from doing it once. "Considering that you can manipulate my mana, I thought you might be compatible with it, so I transferred it to your body."

"Are you saying your mana is inside my body?! Really?" Ren could not believe his ears.

"Indeed. I am glad you indeed were compatible with Darkness magic, unlike the five elements, you have to be compatible with Darkness mana in order to house it inside your body; I feared the possibility of you being incompatible with it."

"What would have happened if I was incompatible?"

"You would have exploded." Seeing Ren cringe, Akjan tried to calm him down while holding out her hands to make him not panic. "No, no, no! It is not what you are thinking! Darkness mana only is lethal if you are incompatible and have taken in a large enough of an amount. I would have definitely stopped the mana transfer and taken the mana back to my body if your body was not compatible. But fortunately you were alright."

"Am I going to explode?" Ren seriously was shaking from fear.

"No, no, no, you are compatible with Darkness mana, so my mana which has affinity for darkness should not harm you. Probably…" She turned around, trying to hide her hesitation.

"I heard that!" Ren shouted out.

"Are you feeling anything weird? It is ok to tell me, it will definitely not hurt my feelings that your body and my mana are not compatible…" as she was saying that she was fidgeting with her fingers, her tail was trembling, and her ears were down.

If I tell her I am feeling weird, would she be upset? Not a bad kind of weird, but so full of energy.... Oh no, she is tearing up! Gotta play it cool…

"I am feeling fine, though can you tell me what the mana transfer entails, exactly?" Akjan's hesitant expression instantly changed into expression of confidence. It was as if she was relieved that nothing was wrong.

"In theory, for a limited amount of time, mana transfer allows the party that was given the mana to have the same mana abilities as the donor. Though I am not sure if the same applies when the accepting party is unable to use mana of their own, and then there are issues with the difference in control…."

"Your point?" Ren saw that she began to mumble to herself nonsensically, if she kept going she would only upset herself more.

"Yes! You should have access to my mana abilities."

"Awesome! For how long?"

"About a week's worth, sorry I never did mana transfer before, I was taught the concept by my grandfather by I never practiced it until now, sorry."

Are you saying I was your guinea pig?!!

"So that means I can now do what you do. Alright here I go."

Ren concentrated his mana, or Akjan's mana within his body, twirling it around in waves, now it was time to use it. From his hand, a steady stream of darkness extended. He was emitting mana, and it was darkness type mana too. For him to be emitting his own mana to use was extraordinary.

Now it was time to bend that mana to his will.

Obey me!

Ren's mental command was seamlessly carried out, and the stream of darkness mana solidified, now in Ren's hand was a trident of pure black color that seemed to absorb anyone's gaze into it.

"Nice pitchfork" Ren remarked as he proceeded to use in on the soil, testing out its capabilities. With this mana within his body, he should be able to conjure so many gardening tools; he will no longer have to worry about breaking them and apologizing, and making trips to blacksmith to make replacements ever again.

When Aijasyl found out that I broke the hedge shears, demolished the shovels, and made the rakes look like a modern artwork, and tried to have them replaced with Kizilkoz's custom made tools, she was so angry. Why does everything Kizilkoz make look like a weapon? Even the shovels looked like a bladed tools of murder…

As Ren was testing out the capabilities of darkness magic, Akjan couldn't help but watch him in awe.

Though I know he can control my mana when I lend it to him, I never thought that he would be so natural at using it, heck, how did he make a trident from it? I can barely make a substance, let alone a weapon! Well, at least he did not explode, thank Great Ones….

* * *

As Ren was summoned by his grandfather, he couldn't help but recall a small detail of his return trip, while bringing the herbs back with Akjan.

Akjan placed her hand her hand upon Ren's chest.

"For a good luck." She said with a smile.

What the heck was that about? Is placing your hand upon your friends chest is considered a sign of good luck? I might as well take that into account…

As he was walking to the designated training location, a s.p.a.cious place, apparently Master Korgan wanted to avoid spreading destruction so he chose a somewhat remote area with less trees and very little gra.s.s. It was a precaution to prevent spread of fire, last time Ren trained with Aijasyl, two of them ended up torching the entire training area. Then both of them spent hours cleaning it up, but the burn marks were still there.

"Well, I got this, so no more burning!" Ren produced darkness type mana that now came as a floating dark matter. Manipulating the dark goo with his will he proceeded to have it change into a ball then he proceeded to turn it into a certain tool with two sharp sides. It was a rather well made pickaxe that was floating in the air at Ren's command.

"Neat!" Ren began playing with the pickaxe, trying to shatter the nearby large stones with it.

He didn't even notice as Master Korgan walked up to him.

"While I did summon you, grandson, but I didn't think you would arrive so soon."

"Oh! Grandpa! I didn't even see you! Sorry."

"There is nothing for you to apologize about, grandson. I was sitting under the shade of the tree, so it is natural you would have missed me. But do tell me, what exactly is that? It seems to be made of darkness mana just like Akjan's…did she lend you some of her mana for practice?"

"Sort of, she did something she called mana transfer…"

"Mana transfer?! Are you ok? Anything feel wrong? This is darkness magic we are talking about…if you are not compatible it could be catastrophic…" Master Korgan panicked and rushed over, shaking Ren's shoulders, as his grandson could only stare in confusion. "Is your body feeling like it is expanding or contracting? If there is any pain it might mean that your body is rejecting it which could lead to explosion…"

"What is up with you and Akjan saying I am going to explode?! I am feeling fine! Better than fine, I feel like I could work in the fields all day and still have more than enough energy left afterwards."

"I see, but just in case." Master Korgan activated his demon eyes. His eyes obtained an ethereal white glow. After giving Ren a complete look over, he turned his demon eyes off. "It seems like your body has adjusted well to darkness mana, thank goodness. Grandson, there is a reason other demons put darkness mana inside containers instead of their bodies. Although using mana from body is more effective than carrying it around in a flask, darkness mana has severe risks a.s.sociated with it. IF one is incompatible with it, it means certain death."

"Oh boy." Ren ended up gulping.

"Don't get me wrong, grandson. I am glad you have thought of ways to alleviate your dependence on mana in containers and inability to use your own mana, but this was tad bit too reckless even for you. But I am glad you have thought this far ahead. I am impressed."

"Thank you, grandfather."

"Now for the reason I called you here. Though I do believe you already know what the problem is, considering you tried to solve it yourself with usage of mana transfer. What I wish to teach you is another way of overcoming that hurdle…However, it is extremely dangerous to use. But considering our circ.u.mstances, it would be for the best for you to learn this skill. It is a Demon Lord level ability that allows the user to absorb the mana of their surroundings, not just emitted mana, but the mana in the atmosphere that is spread out less densely."

"Uhm, right…" it was safe to say Ren had no idea what his grandfather was talking about.

"It is appropriately called Absorption of Atmospheric energy, or just Absorption for short. This ability allows the user to utilize the mana outside their body instead of their own mana, making the user a much more versatile force. There is mana everywhere, but unlike our bodies that concentrate mana, the mana in the atmosphere is much less dense, almost unsensable, so it has to be gathered by the will of the user. Let me demonstrate."

Master Korgan took out a neck shackle and put it on his neck, closing it with a twist of a lever. Apparently it was designed to be put on and removed at will.

Seeing Ren's questioning looks, Master Korgan explained.

"The neck brace is made of mana binding material, as long as I wear it, I cannot use mana inside my own body, but the same cannot be said about the mana outside my body."

With a movement of his sole arm, the lights around the area started to gather around him, slowly surrounding him, glowing brighter and brighter as the fairy lights approached him.

"The mana in the atmosphere is very thin, so in order to use it has to be condensed. The mana responds to my call, and with it I concentrate it upon myself."

Now the mana became concentrated around his left arm area.

"Then you take the mana and absorb it into yourself."

The amazing glowing lights illuminating everything around Master Korgan were now absorbed into his left palm. There was no trace of the light show left, almost as if it was just a mirage, an illusion conjured by an untrained eye.

"The absorbed mana is concentrated inside your body and then released." With a movement of his hand the mana now emerged, but now they took on elemental forms.

There were five elements, each one floating according to Master Korgan's will. Chunks of stones, ball of fire, sphere of water, a bolt of lightning suspended in one place, and small swirling gust of wind. Somehow, Master Korgan conjured al five elements at the same time, although he only had access to fire, earth, and lightning magic, the other ones he had no affinity for.

"But how?" Ren asked in confusion.

"The mana in the atmosphere has no set form; it can be molded into any element, even if my body cannot produce that type of elemental mana, who said that I couldn't just manipulate the mana in the atmosphere to change into that elemental form for me?"

It was a clever trick. Using the fact that mana in the atmosphere could be molded into any element to overcome demon's own inability to produce certain elements.

"The trick is, the mana has to pa.s.s through your body, even if you manage to call upon mana with your will, it is not yours to control until it is within you. After your body claimed the mana as your own, you can freely change it and use it as your own."

"But you are wearing mana cancelling neck brace, how can you use mana then?"

"Mana cancelling brace prevents me from producing and using my own mana, it cannot stop me from using the mana that is already out there, everywhere around me. And that, my grandson, is a rather clever loophole if you ever get placed in mana binding chains."

"Sounds very useful, grandpa."

"But there is a catch. There is a reason this is a Demon Lord level skill. Improper usage could be lethal, which is why I will be supervising your training instead of letting you do it on your own."

"What will happen if it is not used correctly?"

"Depending on how the mana was handled, though of different types, demise is guaranteed. If you end up losing control of raw mana without changing its nature, then the mana will simultaneously exit your body. Your body, the vessel for mana will be pierced from the inside out as the mana escapes, shredding you into tiny pieces. If you manage to make the mana fire type, then it will melt through you. With water, your body will be reduced to a b.l.o.o.d.y puddle as everything in your body turns to liquid. With earth mana, your body will turn to stone and crumble away. Wind mana will splatter your body everywhere. Lightning mana will cook you from the inside."

Ren's expression expressed pure terror, but due to his extreme fright, he could only mutter "Got it" with a blank face, before trying to run. However, master Korgan stopped him by grabbing on to his shoulder.

"Grandson, as long as I am watching over you, nothing like that will happen, I promise you."

"That is too scary! Why would I want to learn that skill?!" Ren asked, those descriptions were too horrifying to just dismiss as calculated risk.

"For one, during the trials you might not have your allies by your side and what will happen when you run out of the mana that I gave you? You cannot use mana inside your body, so the only option left is this."

"But I can take over control of my enemy's mana that worked well so far!" Ren vehemently protested.

"Only because your enemies were using low level spell with weak will, what are you going to do when the phoenix demons or other high level spell users come against you?"

"Wait, grandfather, what do you mean by levels?" Ren was confused by his grandfather now using strange terms.

"Just like ranks that signify the strength of demons: Earth, Stone, Bra.s.s, Copper, Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. There are ranks or should I say levels for spells a.s.sociated with the demon's rank: Ordinary, Talented, Rare, Exceptional, Extraordinary, Infernal, Celestial, and Divine. However instead of calling them that, each one is just stated by increasing number, with ordinary being the level 1 spells, the weakest spells available."

Ren continued to listen as his grandfather kept explaining.

"Earth ranked demon can ordinarily conjure a level 1 spell, same goes for other levels. I am a silver ranked demon, the highest I can conjure at this point is level 7 spell, as for Sento, he is one rank higher, I believe he is able to use level 8 spells. However, the higher the level spell cast the more mana, willpower, and concentration it takes in order to achieve the desired effect. I can attempt to cast a level 8 spell, but that would bring me to the brink of death, the higher level demon becomes, the greater the mana capacity the demon has. Even for a gold ranked demon, casting the level 8 spell is no small feat. Just using level 7 spell once is enough to make both Sento and me drained."

"Understood." Ren nodded, asking his grandfather to continue the lecture that he could only partially understand.

"With strong enough willpower, it is indeed possible to take control of someone else spell by forcing your will upon their mana, but…level 4 spell: Fire Blaze" Korgan conjured a black fire that seemed to be sparkling red, almost as if it was fuzzy. "Now, grandson, try to control it."

Ren extended his hand in front of him, trying to force his willpower upon it.

Obey me!

Yet, nothing happened.

"But how?"

"The answer is simple. The willpower it takes for me to conjure the spell of this level is higher than the willpower you tried to enforce on it. I theorize that you can currently only take over control of enemy's spell if it is below level 4 and that is with the added condition that your willpower overwhelms your enemy's will. However, the higher the levels of spells go the more skilled and strong of will the demons are. That is why I wish to teach you this skill, this way if you encounter a foe whose willpower is strong enough to make it impossible to hijack his spell, you will have a way to fight back."

"Wouldn't the enemy take control of my spells then?"

"No, the mana in the atmosphere requires tremendous control and will over self. Someone who is inexperienced in this art will be easily overwhelmed by it. I am confident that unless you encounter someone close to the level of demon lord, that your enemies will not be able to take control of Absorption based spells. Also, with training in using this skill of Absorption, your willpower will be sharpened and it will make you be able to take control of higher level spells as well. So there is a double benefit of this training."

"Sounds very scary, grandpa."

"Indeed. This skill is only meant to be taught to those who have reached the level of Demon Lord, at least Silver rank, due to how dangerous the technique is. Originally I didn't even want to teach this to you, but in the light of recent events, including your kidnapping, I am not willing to take any chances. I cannot protect you while you partake in the trials, if I teach you this skill your chances of survival will increase. Ren…"

Master Korgan approached his grandson, placing his left hand upon Ren's shoulder.

"I lost two sons; I don't wish to lose another one of my fledglings."

Korgan Karatengu lost too much, first in his youth he lost his brothers, in his adulthood he lost his wife, and in his old age he lost two of his sons. Now the only one he had left was his grandson.

"I understand, grandfather."

"Do not get me wrong, I am proud of you, but I am scared. During the trials I cannot help you, those who have taken the trial before are forbidden from entering, lest a tragedy shall occur. I know this skill sounds scary, I was scared too when I was learning it. But the rewards are well worth the risk. Please let me guide you."

Now unexpectedly, Ren pulled his grandfather into his own embrace.

"Guide me well, guide me wisely, and thank you, grandfather."

Korgan couldn't help but think

Like father like son…Ymit, my son…I will protect what you left behind even if it costs me my life!

Ever since then, Master Korgan began to teach Ren the skill of Absorption every day in the morning.