The Inauspicious Route to my Happy Ending

Adrien settled into the carriage, the seats not as comfortable as what was in the Mallorne carriage. He pulled out a book to read during the short ride back to the academy.

Understanding Mana

[Mana is the emergence of magical power, also known as the life essence, within a living object. It has been dubbed as the Source of Magical Power. Mana flows throughout the entire body by following the flow of blood, with the highest concentration of Mana being in the heart.]

Adrien read over the intro, finding the information it provided similar to what he had read in another book, although that book did not concentrate on how to freely use Mana like this one was supposed to.

[Mana is similar to the DNA found in one's body, meaning that it is unique to each individual while possessing similar traits to blood relatives.]

That was something Adrien did not know. He knew that people could sense their own Mana, but didn't know that one could gleam deeper information from their own Mana and the Mana of others on a molecular level. Wouldn't this mean that Mana Sensitive people could find long lost family members just by seeing one use magic, or something like that? Was it a good thing, or a bad thing, that most people weren't sensitive enough to deftly read Mana on the molecular level?

Adrien looked out the window and noticed that they were nearing the Academy. He closed the book and placed it back into the bag.

Once the carriage was back at the stables, he alighted from it. He then made his way to the boys' dormitory, eager to finish reading The Beginnings to Magical Theory and Mana Control.

He closed the bedroom door behind him. After placing his newly bought books away, he settled down onto the bed with the book that will hopefully help him control the Mana inside him so that he could use the Water Element.

Meditation is the Basics for Mana Control

[When one is just starting out with learning how to use Mana, proper breathing and a relaxed mind with a clear focus can help until one can access their mana like it is second nature. One way to accomplish a way to sense Mana within oneself, and it's usually the easiest and most often overlooked method, is Meditation. Meditation is a practice that involves focusing or clearing one's mind. Using meditation to sense one's Mana allows for a deeper connection to be established between one and their Mana.]

Adrien found himself nodding along. He had read several books where the author had integrated this kind of method when explaining the flow of magic in that world. Although, those were fantasy novels and this was reality. . .sort of.

He flipped the book over onto its open side and laid it down on the bed. Getting into position, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He cleared his mind and focused on his breathing.

. . .Inhale. . .

. . .Exhale. . .

. . .Inhale. . .

. . .Exhale. . .

Repeat.

Adrien felt the world behind his closed eyelids spin. Before he could open his eyes, his head and side hit the soft bed.

Opening his eyes, he saw a pinkish-orange glow outside the window. Huh?! I fell asleep?! But I was just breathing in and out, how did I fall asleep?

Adrien picked himself up off the bed. He flipped the forgotten book back over and read where he left off, hoping to find another way to access his mana.

Should I just try practicing the way the Count had taught the Original Adrien?

Adrien placed the book down once again and climbed out of bed. He grabbed the pitcher of water that one of the Academy's maids had refilled upon his return earlier that day. He poured some of it into a bowl and sat it down on the floor. He then sat down before it, sitting with his legs crossed as he did so. Holding out his hand, he took a deep breath, focusing his mind onto his hand.

He tried to imagine an invisible connection between his hand and the water. He imagined the water surging up, following the invisible connection to his hand. An icy cold feeling surged through his blood, concentrating at his hand.

A faint, blue light shimmered around his hand, flickering in and out of existence. A heaviness overtook him as exhaustion came over him in thick waves. The flickering blue light grew fainter and fainter before blinking out for the final time.

Adrien fell backwards, breathing heavily as sweat poured over him. He was not expecting that small experiment to completely drain him, and he didn't even move the water, not even a small ripple!

After a few minutes of trying to catch his breath and waiting for the room to stop spinning, Adrien slowly climbed to his feet. He decided to give it a rest. If he couldn't produce Mana tomorrow for one of his core classes, then so be it.

He put the water in the bowl back into the pitcher. He then pulled the string that was hanging near the bed, signaling for a maid to come.

I love being a noble. Maids are a blessing in disguise.

Amelia, a maid with strawberry blonde hair and reddish-pink eyes, knocked on the door before coming in. "Is there something you need?"

"Could you get me an orange tea and some biscuits," Adrien asked with a smile.

"I'll be right back."

While Adrien waited for Amelia, he pulled out his diary and sat down at the desk.

5-27-984

'Hello Seo-yeon, Seo-ah. It's officially been two weeks and one day since I've reincarnated. Today, I tried practicing Mana.' Adrien didn't bother with explaining what Mana was or about the magic of this world since he had explained it in an earlier entry. 'So. . .it's not as easy to do as the books make it sound. Two attempts got me a nap, a headache along with mental fatigue, and nothing to show for it.'

He tapped the ink pen against the paper as he tried to think of what to write next.

'Okay, this isn't exactly important, but I have now figured out why Seo-yeon always droned on and on about that voice that American actor in all those pirate movies has. When is was out shopping for books, I ran into someone with a voice that I could listen to all day long and never get sick of it. Maybe this is why I prefer men over women, because I was subconsciously attracted to their voices?'

Amelia returned just then.

Adrien shut the diary and pushed it off to the side as Amelia brought his requested snacks. The aroma of the tea made his mouth water.

After taking a sip of the delicious tea, he picked up a biscuit, which was just a plain butter cookie, and took a bite. He felt his fatigue lightening up a little as he ate the snacks in front of him.

Once he was done, Amelia cleared away his mess. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Adrien shook his head. "Not that I can think of right now."

After Amelia left, Adrien flipped the diary back open. 'I miss you guys. How have you been? How has Ha-joon and little A-rin been?' He looked down at the words, realizing that he didn't actually have that much to say.

He decided to stop writing for the night. After putting away the diary, with the plan of writing more tomorrow since he will have something exciting to write about by then, he grabbed the steamy romance book that he had bought and took it with him to the bed.

He wondered how the boys' love genre would be in this world. He was also curious about this world's definition of mature content.