Kai's body felt cool. His palms were on his knees, and Sylvia was behind him on her knees as well. Her slender hands pressed into his back, a soft white glow enveloping them. His eyes were closed. It was a much more pleasant experience than he believed it would be. 'Would be' save for the fact that he was currently engraving an explosive circle onto his most vital organ…
'Holy, this is stressful'
His face was white, and he focused once more. He had only succeeded in creating four composite points, but every time he tried to draw the lines, an exorbitant amount of mana would flood them, shattering his progress.
Sylvia flushed behind him... she had forgotten to remind Kai that elites needed to create 8 composite points, not four, one for every cardinal and ordinal direction.
'Sylvia! You're an idiot, how could you forget something so freaking simple.'
'He's absolutely done for! How the heck is he supposed to come up with the idea to make 8 points when I emphatically told him only four.'
Inwardly crying, she started to calculate the moral repercussions of crippling a child.
On the other hand, Kai was sweating heavily, his back heaving with labored breaths. The amount of mana permeating his body and being expelled every second was causing his mind to fog, like his eyes clouding behind their lids. His body swayed, and Sylvia caught him infusing the mana through his arms now, teeth gritted.
'Sylvia said four points like a compass. North, South, East, and West... are the four cardinal directions, but isn't that what she said about basic awakenings. She mentioned the Elites, and I watched her fight with another Elite who awakened with a tier two crystal... what makes his core different? Is it just the quality of the stone or something else that makes his heart able to handle the burden of so much mana?'
At this rate, the mana was scouring his insides like a roaring wave of lava, scorching his veins and channels, each pulse of the beast's mana more painful than the last. His teeth clenched harder, painfully blood leaked from the seams of his gums, and the capillary veins in his eyes ruptured. The sweat from before was now thicker, carrying the odor of blood.
Sylvia was beside herself with anguish. All she could do to help was continue her vice-like grip on the mana to keep it from completely ravaging his body. She lamented at her inability to guide him, unable to cry out that he needed more in fear of ruining his delicate control and indubitably killing him.
'North, South, East, West... North South East West... NorthSouth EastWest... no, that wasn't right... Northeast? Southwest? Southeast? Northwest!'
Kai felt a smark in his heart, the faint glimmers of the ordinal points shimmering faintly between the vibrant anchors of the primary directions.
'North.' the point was already there, shimmering with radiant mana.
'Northeast.' A faint point, bijou and dim, started to roar into life.
'East.' The cardinal point responded to the call with its shimmering line connecting to the one diagonally above it.
'Southeast.' A new point flared to life, loaded with white mana. As if drawn magnetically, this point attached itself to the growing contours of the other lines.
'South.' Another anchor already preestablished cleaved itself to the growing shape.
'Southwest.' Once more, a dot winks into existence, joining the others.
'West.' The last cardinal direction joined the fray.
'Northwest.' The mana node scintillates as it seamlessly tethers to the rest of the lines. The construct begins to spin upon his heart.
Eight anchors, the cardinal and ordinal directions, create his mana heart, instantly unlocking the passive effect of every mana construct- mana compass. This allows the mage to absorb ambient mana and refine it within their magic organs. Allowing the initiated mage to manipulate the energy.
Slyvia cried in relief as she felt the beast's will on the mana dissipate and Kai's aura wash out instead. He had done it and had become a purple realm augmenter. She let go of his arms and pressed a hand on his back once more. Healing waves spurred forth from her fingertips and washed over Kai's body. It felt different, more athletic- the brutal time spent being forged in the crucible of beast mana had tempered him.
The young man's eyes opened to the smiling face of his mentor, and her lips parted as if she was going to speak but stopped. With a wry smile, she turned away before Kai could realize her mistake.
"I'm proud of you, apprentice." Her shoulders dropped, and she turned her head to the side,
"Thank you for surviving..." she paused, then added, "It would be a shame if my first-ever student died- of course, that is all."
"Anyway- your clothes are ruined, so I will take my leave!" A faint hint of embarrassment seeping into her voice at the end.
The door slammed, and Kai was left sitting on his bed- his body felt absolutely disgusting, covered in sweat, blood, and decayed skin that had already been replaced by the miraculous breakthrough. He immediately noticed that the synergy between his body and the mana was sublime- it responded effortlessly to his call and could flush it out in a burst around him using his channels- or absorb more to increase the density of his core using his veins. The energy felt soft, supple, and cool to the touch. Given his wind attribute -unlocked from the mana crystal he absorbed- this was to be expected.
Looking at the mirror, he observed himself as the absolute wreck that he was. His handsome features were covered in grime, his clothes in tatters from the wild energy. His exposed skin had thin streaks of blood, which he had sweated previously.
'I need a bath...' Kai trudged to his bathroom gingerly, trying to avoid getting anything on his floor. He would have to change those sheets as well. Once secure in the tiled room, Kai stripped down, throwing his old clothes into the magical waste bin, causing them to disappear. Then he stepped into the small rectangular prism of glass, the magic circle above him sending a torrential downpour of warm water. His body was scrubbed clean, and warm wind swirled through the shower, drying him off.
Once he walked back into the room, he ripped the old sheets off his bed and threw them into the hamper, pulling a soft green tunic from his closet and khaki pants afterward. Finally dressed- he admired his new form. His arms were more defined but not thicker, like much of the unnecessary parts of his body, whisked away, leaving only pure efficiency.
His face was handsome, with amber eyes and now sharp features, the awakening ridding him of his boyish roundness.
The wind around him swirled, invisible to nonmagical beings, his aura. Gentle, Inviting, proud, arrogant, but powerful.