The Retired Hero is an Extra

The Elemental Manifestations entrance lay coldly, marked by an intricately carved archway that seemed to pulse with a faint glow.

It was like neon lights illuminating the surroundings, but in fact, they were all mana particles that had taken the attribute of the special element.

It was a place reserved only for high-ranking students of the academy, a privilege earned through hard work and dedication.

Knowing theoretically about it, Jash stepped into the Elemental Manifestations with pursed lips.

His gray eyes wearily glanced around. A mixture of wariness, anticipation, and unfamiliarity washed over him.

And after taking a good look around, only one thought pulsed through his mind:

'This is one of the gems of the academy. Not many students will ever get the chance to access this place.'

Unknowingly, he recalled that this place was somewhat of a second home to Jyra and instantly put aside all his thoughts.

He felt it better to experience things himself than rely on someone's words or any other thoughts and quickly walked further in.

As his steps laced on the soft, mushy ground, he felt an uncanny sense of familiarity, as if the myriad elemental mana particles were calling out to him.

It was a sense of yearning he couldn't ever misplace, knowing what it was to yearn for someone from the deepest pits of hell...

Not wanting to delve into those memories, he could only shake his head and sigh.

This place was like entering a Mage's home since they would love to spend time here, improving their mana and practicing magic.

'Beautiful,' Jash wondered, taking in the ethereal atmosphere of the area around him.

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The walls seemed to pulse with a soft, ever-changing light, and the air felt charged with energy.

It truly intrigued him, and he didn't care about maintaining a stern expression or his usual calm exterior.

In the end, for whom did he ever put on that facade? It surely wasn't for himself.

'Worlds apart from its description,' Jash thought, wanting to curse the author for his lackluster words and descriptive skills.

He had only read some words about the Elemental Manifestations as Helios had already awakened the light element.

So, most of the time, the process of training was skipped with a few words or the scene changed to some other Heroine trying to help Helios in some way.

That's why he hadn't paid much attention to it, but now that he was here, his senses picked up the clear and pure mana all around him.

"Exactly," he muttered, recalling some of the words the author used to talk about this place.

This place is special because of the mana particles filling the air—these are no ordinary mana particles—they're infused with the essence of different elements: fire, water, earth, wind, and more.

"It's like being surrounded by a symphony of mana," Jash couldn't help but let out a low murmur in slight amazement as he felt the different elements interacting with each other.

It was as if they resonated deeply with his own mana circulation technique and could even inspire him to improve not only his level but also the technique itself.

The Elemental Manifestations or the chamber that was called so wasn't just because it helped one awaken their elements.

It served another purpose: helping students refine their advanced mana control skills.

The dense and diverse mana here challenged the students to adapt and enhance their control.

That was another reason Jash arrived here on his day-off as it was killing two birds with one stone.

Though, it changed to three after he familiarized himself a little with the new environment.

When one practiced techniques in an environment with higher mana density, it was similar to trying to walk against a strong current.

It forced the person to adjust and refine their control, making their mana manipulation even more precise.

Yet what Jash felt after coming here was the subtle sense of familiarity and fully unleashed his mana circulation technique, allowing it to interact freely with the new environment.

Also, considering the latter parts of the novel, he knew mana was bound to get denser and denser on the planet.

'In most books, it was for Demon King's ascension or something along the likes, but here...'

Jash had a mocking smile on his face as he mused on the lack of information about the reason for increased mana concentration.

The way the author glossed over it, it was something like all the mana from different worlds would flow through there just like the time of Mana's first appearance or the other Races' first appearance; thus, resulting in a higher mana density.

"But that's all in the future," Jash sighed in schadenfreude, unsure if he would even survive until then.

However, his smile full of self-mockery soon gave way to a frown.

"Why is this place called Elemental Manifestations when all I feel in this place is it being filled with a dense amount of mana?"

"Isn't this simply a Mana Chamber?" he asked no one in particular before busying himself to scour his mind for an answer.

Since his question made sense, he grew ever-so curious in trying to find the reason for it.

After all, not all types of mana were elemental.

There were unique types that could be called elements, but weren't elements in their truest sense—light, darkness, void, space, time, telekinesis, mental...and many others.

Not only that, even executing a weapon technique or spell required mana, but it didn't really have to be elemental mana at all!

As if finally realizing what he was missing, Jash had an enlightened expression and remembered the reason he was here.

"Shit! This place is really creepy!"

He even forgot that he came here to awaken elements and if dense mana was all it had, then how would that even be possible?

Wouldn't it be utterly stupid to be here if just dense mana could help in awakening one's element?!

That was an environment any rich family could afford, why would the Academy boast about the Elemental Manifestations then?

'This place isn't just about general mana density; it's called the Elemental Manifestations for a reason...' Jash mused with a taciturn face.

It was really difficult for him to believe that he got deceived and let himself get carried away; he chose to stop for a while.

Looking around with all his concentration, there were specific rooms, seemingly dedicated to the different elements.

And as if to supplement his knowledge, his brain also stopped scouring, pouring in all kinds of information about the Elemental Manifestations, which made him lightheaded.

Each room was infused with a much higher concentration of specific elemental mana, making it suitable to awaken to that element, but also rendering the person susceptible to that element.

In simpler words, what Jash experienced previously, the feeling of being deceived and misled, but on a grander scale and feeling as if one would become the element themselves.

Of course, what Jash conveniently ignored was the fact that he had set up the highest difficulty for himself to awaken at least one element by the end of the day.

"If possible, I wish to awaken them all at once," he murmured with a self-deprecating smile.

That was surely delusional on his part, but he didn't seem to care about it in the least.

After all, the rooms were sure to have an even higher density of mana, specifically of certain elements, unlike the place Jash was currently in.

There was no way he wouldn't be affected by it...