Atticus settled in his training room and retrieved the art from his storage ring. With focused determination, he channeled his mana into it.
The runes upon the pages ignited, bathing the room in a blinding light.
It was a surreal and almost ticklish sensation as a surge of knowledge flowed into his mind. After a few seconds that felt both eternal and fleeting, the brilliance dimmed, and the book crumbled to dust.
The art's knowledge now resided within Atticus's mind. Delving into its depths, he discovered why it was important to expose this art to trainees early on.
Mastery of the art depended mainly on an individual's talent and their body's adaptability. At the initial level, one could superficially mimic the movement of their bloodline element's characteristics.
The effects grew more remarkable as one's mana capacity increased and their body adapted.
'It takes time to master and it heavily depends on talent,' Atticus realized. Talents were simply a measure of how adeptly an individual's body could adapt to mana, and this art thrived on such adaptability.
The more adaptable the body, the swifter the progress in mastering the art.
The art was a boon for Ravensteins, primarily elementalists. 'This art would increase the base strength and give the trainees a stable foundation to better master their bloodline element,' Atticus concluded, his mind brimming with possibilities.
With a newfound sense of purpose, he decided to cease pondering and commence training.
The knowledge he had gained described how this art would make his body movements mimic the characteristics of any elemental bloodline abilities he possessed.
For example, an individual with a water elemental bloodline could mimic the flexibility and fluidity of water, while air would grant swiftness, fire would bring explosiveness, and earth would offer firmness, all without the need to actually control the elements.
'Since I possess all four elements, I should be able to use all four,' Atticus thought, his anticipation building. This was the first thing he thought about when he first saw the description of the art. Learning this art would significantly enhance his fighting repertoire.
"So, the first step is to stimulate my bloodline with mana from my core and stabilize the mixture, then move it around my body a certain way until my body gets used to it," he recalled from his newfound knowledge. He then closed his eyes and focused inward.
He concentrated on the four tiny glowing orbs around his heart, starting with the blue one representing water. It was the safer choice to begin with. Atticus willed the essence of water to flow out of the orb, moving down toward his mana core.
Simultaneously, he controlled the mana from his core, directing it toward the same point. The two met in the middle and immediately began to react. After giving them a moment to stabilize, he initiated the process of circulating this mixture throughout his body as he had learned.
At first, it felt like an intense coldness flowing through his veins, slightly painful. However, as he continued to move the mixture back and forth throughout his body, his system gradually grew accustomed to the sensation.
Atticus persisted for a while, and he began to sense changes. His body felt more fluid, his joints exceptionally flexible, expanding his range of motion.
After acclimating to this new sensation, he opened his eyes and started moving his arms. It was as if his hands were flowing like water, every motion adopting the graceful form of liquid.
'This is awesome,' he thought.
He stood up and tested his legs, discovering that they too had become more fluid. The art seemed to affect every movement he made, imbuing him with a newfound grace and adaptability.
After becoming accustomed to the water-like movements, Atticus decided to shift to another element. He sat back down, focusing his attention on the element of air.
Following the same steps, he concentrated on the transparent orb within his heart, willing it to move and simultaneously channeling mana from his core.
As the elements met and merged, Atticus initiated the process of circulating this mixture throughout his body, following the art's instructions. This time, Atticus felt something coursing through his veins, akin to a maddening itch he couldn't scratch from within.
After a some time of practice, he opened his eyes and executed a punch. The punch was noticeably faster than his regular mana-infused punches. While not as potent as Hella's, he sensed that his body had become incredibly lightweight, almost weightless.
This sensation was fundamentally different from manipulating the air around him; it felt as if his hands and body were made of air itself.
As Atticus delved deeper into his training, he followed the same procedure for the element of fire. It proved to be the most painful of all. The sensation of hot lava coursing through his veins wasn't exhilarating, to say the least.
Nonetheless, he persevered and managed to produce punches with an explosive quality. His movements became swift and agile, resembling the dancing flames of fire.
This newfound movement allowed him to change direction rapidly, making it challenging for an opponent to predict his next move.
Next, he focused on the element of earth. The Earth-based movement didn't have the same visual flair as the other elements, but Atticus sensed a difference compared to his regular punches. They felt harder, heavier, and more solid.
As he practiced, Atticus couldn't help but notice that switching between elements took a considerable amount of time. The transition wasn't as seamless as he'd hoped, so he decided to dedicate more time to increase his proficiency.
Sitting cross-legged, he stimulated each bloodline element in turn, moving it around his body and maintaining the sensation for a while before transitioning to another element.
Atticus persisted in his practice for several hours. When nightfall arrived, he paused to have dinner before retiring to bed, fully prepared to continue his training the following day.
***
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