A Bug In Fate

Alden was now left alone in the open field. The lake was calm and crystal clear, as one could see its bottom with the naked eye.

The monster bodies were now gone, and the field had returned to its original state. It was filled with beautiful flowers of various colors, and most of them were even glowing with mana.

He looked around and wondered if this place was really safe.

But he shook his head and returned his attention to the books on the table, as there was no reason for his teacher to lie.

Now he had exactly seven days to develop his own cultivation technique by reading those books.

"...Let’s do it."

He said to himself and sat down at the table after looking around one last time.

His first step was to divide the books into their respective categories, as there were exactly twenty-seven books, and reading them without planning would only waste time.

He began reading each book’s title, and after finishing, he let out a long exhale before speaking.

"Hmm... Ten elemental cultivation techniques, five bloodline cultivation techniques, three special physique cultivation techniques, and two eye-related cultivation techniques."

Alden placed twenty books on the other side of the table, leaving seven books behind.

That will be more than enough. I didn’t think she could have so many techniques.

Alden was amazed by his teacher’s arsenal, and he didn’t think she carried everything with her, so there was a possibility that she had even more.

His gaze then shifted to the seven books, and he had a reason to separate them, as they weren’t cultivation techniques but were related to them.

Three of them were based on mana flow, breathing, and posture.

Three were based on the principles behind cultivation techniques and some fundamental rules.

And last but not least, one was about mana itself.

Now that he had divided the books into two groups, he prepared himself for a long study session.

He looked around and decided to read about mana itself rather than rushing directly into the cultivation techniques.

"Let’s do it."

He cheered himself on, and a serious expression filled his face as he opened the book and he finally began reading.

As he began reading, he discovered some amazing things, and some of them left him speechless, forcing him to think in silence before continuing.

The book said that mana wasn’t always on this planet, and that it arrived due to a cosmic incident. No one knew what that incident was, but there were some theories supporting the claim.

Alden continued reading, and it took him four hours to complete it.

The sun was on the edge of the horizon, and a red hue was spread across the sky because of the sunset.

Alden looked up and shook his head before picking up another book. This time, it was about mana flow, breathing, and posture.

In other words, it was about how a normal person was supposed to draw mana from the environment. But everyone was different, so it wasn’t ideal to force the same method onto everyone, hence resulting in the birth of so many techniques.

"I see... so for a normal human, only 20% of a refined mana particle is ideal, and the remaining 80% has to be left in the environment."

It described that mana in its raw form wasn’t compatible with humans, but in order to have a safe cultivation journey, a normal person could only refine mana up to twenty percent, while the remaining eighty percent had to be left behind before repeating the same process.

"Interesting... so in the beginning, humans could only refine five percent, but as generations passed, it has reached twenty percent."

Alden read in amazement, and he came across another interesting piece of information.

It was about the other races.

The book stated that the race considered to be the closest to mana, the elf race, could absorb a total of sixty percent of mana, while vampires were at forty-seven percent and Dragonskin at thirty-eight percent, respectively.

Alden continued reading in amazement. He was surprised by the sheer difference between humans and the other races, as even Beastkin races like Wolfkin and Catkin could absorb twenty-five to thirty-five percent, depending on the individual.

"At this point, I believe the world itself is bullying us."

Alden said without thinking. It seemed unfair to him that the other races already possessed superior physical abilities, like the Dragonskin, while the elves had the best control over mana.

But he didn’t realize that he was being unrealistic.

After all, one of the biggest jokes one could say was literally the so called equality.

In the end, he shook his head, focused on what he was doing, and continued reading.

Next, he read about breathing and posture.

They were both important and essential parts of a cultivation technique.

Breathing was important to guide mana in a safe way without damaging one’s insides with raw mana, and a breathing technique helped one keep their rhythm in check and continue the same cycle again and again.

As one can do anything instinctively if they keep repeating it, the breathing technique was basically meant to help develop muscle memory.

Alden’s mind couldn’t help but remember some reels he had watched about muscle memory, but he shook his head the instant they surfaced, as everything had its appropriate time and place and he lacked both.

There were some examples of breathing techniques given, which were simple but helpful for a normal person.

As for the postures, there wasn’t much to them, as most of the postures drawn in the book were almost identical.

It looked like a yoga position, and in a sense, it was. Alden’s mind surfaced with another memory where he had taken some yoga classes during his school days and...

*Don’t... don’t remember... I don’t remember anything... hahaha, 24 × 52 equals...*

It seemed he was trying his best not to remember those memories, and one couldn’t help but be curious if there was a reason behind it.

He tried his best, but history and countless brokenheart people were proof that the moment you tried to forget something or someone, it came back with even greater force.

The same happened to him as he remembered his yoga teacher telling the class to do a specific yoga posture where one had to bend forward and then stretch their neck upward to increase flexibility.

It was a great experience for him...

If not for the person in front of him, who followed the teacher and bent forward, but instead of stretching his neck upward, somehow pushed the strength somewhere else in his body , resulting in farting loudly right infront of Alden’s face.

*Ah... enough. This is bullshit. Nothing happened. It was the sound of a balloon popped by some people celebrating a birthday.*

He tried his best to forget the trauma and came up with the most believable excuse he could think of, as anyone could be convinced that someone was celebrating a birthday, especially at school.

Back to the importance of postures, they were meant to assist the mana flow and breathing. For example, how a valley and mountains help a river flow forward and eventually reach the ocean.

It was the same for cultivation techniques, as if a person wasn’t in the proper position, the mana flow might be blocked or disturbed, resulting in it changing its course entirely.

The book also said that there were techniques that allowed one to keep cultivating even while moving, but there were many limitations, and it depended on the individual and the technique as to where those boundaries were.

But most techniques offered two percent to twelve percent of passive cultivation to their users, provided they were doing mundane activities and not charging into a horde of monsters.

"I have really learned many intresting things today."

Alden said in satisfaction as he stretched his arms and limbs before letting out an exhale.

To sum up the knowledge he had gained, he now knew what mana was, how it flowed into the body, how it worked, and how much a human could handle.

As for breathing techniques and postures, he now understood their importance, along with other basic things such as their limitations and dangers.

Alden exhaled again and let out a deep breath as he stared at the lake ahead.

Its surface was now reflecting the two moons in different directions, while a red and blue hue surrounded it with a mythical glow.

It was a beautiful view, and Alden couldn’t help but stretch his neck upward to gaze at the stars, which were shining with their own unique glow even though they were outshined by the two moons.

"Now this is what I call proper stargazing"

Alden muttered in a soft tone, and a smile appeared on his face.

Suddenly, he stood up from his chair and, without wasting any time, lay down directly on the grass before looking up at the sky.

A few moments later, his eyes closed. He had been reading continuously without taking a break, and the information wasn’t light either.

Within moments, sleep consumed him, and he slept there without caring about anything in the world.

Tomorrow would be a new day, followed by new knowledge.

New interesting facts were waiting for him. Some were going to shock him, while others would force him to change the way he viewed the world.