The Retired Hero is an Extra

Jash's move demonstrated his intense control over the mana, but that wasn't something he actually liked; it was a testament to his own hardship.

Yet he remained without choice. He was forced to manipulate the water elemental mana and form an innate connection to it, in order to awaken the element and exit this dreaded place.

A thin thread-like structure extended from his palm as he deliberately waited for it to take shape.

It was too thin, too fragile, as if it would break with the slightest tug of even wind.

The shimmering hues of different shades of blue covered it whole, as the hues wavered between dark and light blues, indicating its own duality.

It could become the strongest connection or the weakest—it all depended upon Jash, who chose to wield it and attempted connecting to it.

His feat of controlling elemental mana as pure mana was unmatched and rarely achievable, yet he wasn't satisfied.

'Manipulating mana is about finesse,' he mused, unable to calm his racing mind that struggled desperately to hold on against his explosive thoughts.

Usually, pure mana, being a mixture of elements, could also function in a similar manner to telekinesis or psychokinesis.

It could be used to remove objects, grab things, or even affect the environment around oneself, if one had enough mana pool and control.

Similar to an invisible extension of oneself, one could use mana.

However, all of it held untrue in the face of elemental mana as it really couldn't do any of that.

Though it had its own distinct advantages, they could only align with the nature of the element and the wielder's understanding of the element itself.

Weapon wielders used this as an extension of their Weapon Aura to form ranged attacks, or they simply condensed the energy on themselves.

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That was something Jash could already do and even some rare geniuses in the Entrance Test had showcased their elements.

'But, the way they did it was immature,' he thought on reflection, imagining himself in their place and being pushed to use their half-assed elemental powers.

He would surely not be able to do it, in fear of embarrassing himself.

While in his previous life, Jash had a clear goal which pushed him to do anything for his objective, he lacked such a strong sense of conviction and belonging to this life to achieve a similar feat, given the same situation.

'I didn't know the necessary procedures back then, but now...'

Obviously, being the second son from an esteemed Ducal family, he was well-versed with all kinds of knowledge despite him remaining unwilling to it.

That's why he realized that while he had been able to manipulate mana in certain ways in his past life, there was a lack of refinement in his control.

It was one thing to not know it, but now that he did, how could he let it go and make the same mistake twice?

That was just impossible!

Only some idiot would be willing to make the same mistake more than once.

Hence, he focused all his time on his body, sword, and his mana control, but not everything could be changed about his past life habits.

And it was especially difficult without clear guidance.

'I could've asked for guidance, but how to explain my situation...?'

The question had plagued him all the way until now, so he had no answer and could only focus back to the present situation as the elemental mana had entered his body and was about to possibly form a connection with his mana core.

While he intended to use the nodes for the five core elements, he couldn't awaken them if his mana core didn't react or allow for it.

Imagine being unable to use the element wholeheartedly but being able to control its elemental mana...

Yeah, that sounded absurd and pure nonsense.

And he really didn't want to have to do anything with such a notion, so he quickly closed his eyes, focusing on his internal mana.

He tried to shape it, force it to bend to its will and create a clear path to the water elemental mana without any other specific goal in mind.

It was somewhat similar to his past life, but not completely as it didn't have such grand ceremonies for elemental awakenings or such a tedious process.

One could randomly awaken their element or never do it throughout their lives.

'There were relics and tools that let one awaken to their element if it were of the same element,' Jash recalled, and let the information sweep by.

He didn't dwell on it for even a second, letting all his focus be on the wavering bluish thread that seemed to be on the verge of reaching his mana core.

Yet it remained elusive, as if it were never there, slipping through his attempts to control it.

However, this time, Jash clenched his fists until the palms of his hands turned white, a surge of frustration bubbling within him.

'This is a lot harder than I thought.'

He suddenly understood the reason why people were this jealous of geniuses when it came to mana sense.

After all, the former Jash was someone who didn't have access to any proper control techniques, relying on pure instincts.

And the current one didn't have the natural sense of mana, or so he stubbornly believed.

If only he could open his dog eyes and look at the crazy shit he pulled!

Therefore, it was natural for him to underestimate himself and be unable to understand and grasp it as easily as breathing.

But it wasn't as though he had failed; it would just take longer, maybe a few minutes or hours.

However, it was not like he had infinite time, if his bodily status shared by his ID Bracelet reached the

Safety Hazard

level, he would be pulled out.

But what worried him about that situation was being unable to enter the Elemental Manifestations in the near future.

As if that kind of grim result was painted in his mind, Jash's deliberate, slow breathing got hitched, caught in his throat.

In the next second, it was akin to water bursting through floodgates after a heavy rain.

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With a fluid motion, the thread-like mana wave directly broke through the different layers of mana veins, internal organs, and whatnot to directly strike for his mana core.

His mana surged, condensing around the thread-like intruder bursting through the layers of his body as if they didn't exist.

Yet he didn't feel anything except perhaps slight discomfort, but it was too meager in the grand scheme of things, as if negligible.

Defying expectations, his mana, which seemed to be on an immune path, ready to destroy the intruder, changed its course.

Suddenly, it reached out, gently enveloping the thread, tenderly catching it and leading it to his mana core as if it were the most precious, fragile treasure.

Feeling this sudden change, Jash almost opened his mouth unconsciously. 'Ah, I understand...'

He didn't force the mana, but understood it not as an external energy he was manipulating but as a part of himself.

It was more about understanding its flow, nature, interactions, and gently persuading it to follow one's will as if one was also mana itself.

On one side, Jash thought everything was contradictory as he just bruteforced things, but on the opposite side, he felt like a deeper understanding of mana itself.

'It's surely not something I can explain to anyone or help them achieve...'

Those were his true thoughts, only able to understand them himself inexplicably as if his understanding was unique to him, and everyone must cultivate their own unique understanding.