The Retired Hero is an Extra

If one wanted to focus on enhancing their control over fire mana, they'd have to step into the Fire Elemental Manifestations Chamber.

Even the air at its entrance was practically crackling with intense fire mana, making one's imagination of the true situation inside run wild.

Naturally, being close to the element allows one to immerse oneself in the nuances of that element, adjusting their control and techniques accordingly.

But everything has its disadvantages; those without the slightest affinity would probably be burned to a crisp within seconds.

And even those with a mediocre affinity for the element would suffer deeply!

'Even Caera seemed to have suffered in the inner region, not to mention the unattainable depths,' Jash sighed in deep thought.

He knew in his heart that Caera's elemental affinity was second to almost none, or so it was mentioned in the novel.

"But mom's affinity is truly unmatched, even better than Caera, and even she could barely reach the Inner regions after suffering a great deal."

The words unconsciously left his lips as he felt a strange sensation of some heavy weight on his chest, feeling a strange agony.

On second thought, he figured it out with a clear mind... it was the dense mana trying to overburden his greedy mana core.

Although he knew the source and process, he really couldn't fight back the overwhelming mana, left with no choice but to choose a chamber and enter quickly.

His expression darkened; he couldn't afford to waste time thinking.

Either way, each of the Elemental Manifestations chambers were used for targeted training for specific elemental skills or awakening one's element.

Of course, only those who knew their affinity dared to come here and would still hesitate as there was no guarantee that they would awaken their element.

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Plus, there was also some risk of potential injury, hindering quite a few from entering before the high YP cost slumped the willing few.

Of course, the proud rankers couldn't be compared to the riff-raff at all, they were ready to stake it in and prove themselves worthy!

Just thinking of all this made Jash dizzy as he directly entered the Water Elemental Manifestation chambers and almost choked.

The first feeling that enveloped him was the crushing weight of water pinning him as if he was drowning under a heavy load of lead.

He couldn't even move his body at all, and before he could calm down, his chest grew stuffy, as if begging for a breath of fresh air.

Even if Jash expected a lot of things, how could he know that his crazy idea of selecting the highest difficulty level would be so crazy!

Thank heavens he didn't choose Fire, or who knew if only ashes remained of him as of now.

Of course, that wouldn't happen or the Academy would really be put in a tight spot, so there were several tight-lipped guards observing here all day and night.

If Jash's ID Bracelet sent signals for rescue, they would immediately close the Elemental Manifestations chamber irrespective of the loss of resources.

However, if Jash survived and awakened his element, they wouldn't even move as their task was simply to observe and help in case some idiot causes trouble.

Their tight-lipped nature wasn't inherent, but forced upon them due to their own circumstances.

Suddenly, their eyes narrowed as the water currents rose near Jash, threatening to shed him into pieces and push him ashore.

Both of their gazes grew solemn as they understood the situation better than anyone else, having been here for who knows how long.

Yet they retracted their eyes the next second calmly after feeling that it was time to rescue the ignorant boy who dared to challenge the Elemental Manifestations.

Only... they didn't get a chance at all!

Although Jash had made a mistake he was no novice when it came to handling unsettling situations.

It was a habit that unnaturally drifted past his two lives and he instantly calmed himself, forcefully using his mana to suppress his instincts.

His eyes couldn't even open against the pressure, let alone open, but he remained steadfast and let mana do the task of his five senses.

Protecting his ears from all the pressure added another layer of taxing task unto him, but could only grind his teeth and do it.

'If this injures my ears, I'll lose a substantial part of my balancing ability,' he lamented his rashness, but what was done was done.

Jash's demeanor shifted noticeably as he let his body flow with the water, not going against it.

His previous mild panicked and aghast face had only left an aura of focused determination.

It was as if a different person had emerged, determined not to lose or get injured in such a pathetic way when he ought to be focusing on strengthening himself.

Just then, the mana flow around him changed subtly, allowing him to subconsciously relax despite the degrading situation.

The water currents had just begun to take form, and would soon come for him.

Yet as the water swirled, Jash's mind raced with different thoughts—memories and strategies.

Mana is the essence of all things supernatural. It is the energy that flows through our world, and as Hunters, we harness it to perform incredible feats.

Just that one line was enough to rouse him from his drowsy state as he knew that there were mana particles and even some mana essence scattered everywhere.

Even without full control over his mana, he felt faint, shimmering particles dancing in the air.

'In normal circumstances, a mix of various mana types is present in the environment,' he mused for a second.

But in his current condition, only water-element mana particles remained, or rather, they made up the vast majority.

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These mana particles responded to his own mana, and as a Hunter, he could manipulate them using specialized techniques or through direct comprehension.

Currently, he didn't have anything regarding the former except his own mana circulation technique, so he could only bet on the latter.

He tried under extreme pressure with great peril upon him... and the mana particles seemed to gravitate towards him, forming a swirling cluster around his body.

Although faint and minimalistic, it was far better than helplessly lying in the water in pain, unable to do anything except suffer.

At the moment, Jash's analytical mind was fixed on the mana particles around him, feeling the weak and feebleness of its connection to him, as if it would break at the slightest distractions.

Yet he could still observe how the mana responded to his fading and growing control, forming some sort of shield to decrease the pressure around himself.

At the moment, what he was doing could be termed as crazy as even Mages struggled to accurately control mana, especially elemental mana.

It was far more elusive than the mixed form of mana, which was usually used after refining.

And that's where the term "true mana control" came into play.

Not being a Mage, Jash needed to learn how to manipulate mana directly, but who knew he would actually grasp it on his first try?

Though it wasn't complete and there was a high chance he would soon let the mana dissipate, it was a big achievement nonetheless.

It relieved the pressure of the surrounding water on his body, only to make Jash realize the imminent threat that hid behind...

The water currents were swirling, ready to strike the intruder who disrupted the balance of the water elemental mana herein.

Yet Jash's mind buzzed with focus, trying to understand the nuances of water elemental mana, its flow and how it interacted with the sparse mana particles of other elements.

Jash's focus sharpened further as he focused deep inside him, trying to imitate what he saw and understood.

He had long figured out that this was the only way to not get kicked out from here for fear of his safety being implicated.