We began training first with the management of mana flow in our bodies, moving it from one point to another and being able to concentrate it, as well as imbuing our mana into other objects.

  Of course, Garrl already knew this, but he still accompanied me. I also took the opportunity to conduct tests to understand what mana is, and although it doesn't resemble anything I could compare from my previous life, it adheres to some fundamental natural principles.

  As a source of energy that releases heat; I not only feel it in my body, but when I infused mana into water, it heated up slightly, to a saturation point where no more mana could be added. I wonder if we can purify water with mana. Also, unlike solid bodies, in water mana flowed more easily and, in the air, it dissipated completely; so, the challenge when mana leaves our bodies is to be able to contain it and concentrate it. This difference in the various transmission mediums must be due to the molecular structure of the materials, or at least that's what I think; I need to investigate further as soon as I can.

  Also, the fact that mana flows easily in water would explain why it travels through our bodies and why we can manipulate it; every living being is mostly made up of water. And the fact that our crystal is close to our heart makes perfect sense—if you want to pump mana, what better medium to use than our blood and circulatory system? I confirmed this by doing physical activity where the more active I was, the more mana flowed. The only thing I can think of is that our evolution and that of other beings with mana crystals occurred in such a way that the creatures that adapted and developed these crystals gained a natural source of heat that doesn't accumulate in the body since, once it reaches the skin, it dissipates easily into the air, so the body doesn't overheat. I still don't know if we are cold-blooded or warm-blooded, but that wouldn't matter much since our crystals help us regulate our temperature. The same goes for the great serpent and the lady spider, but how did this particular evolution occur? It's the only thing I can wonder about. On the other hand, I would like to conduct more tests on different minerals, but it's better to focus on learning to manipulate my mana; I'll have time to research later.

  Now then, there's the topic of magic; it is basically the manipulation of mana to perform some physical, chemical, or biological reaction. It's not like the magic from fantasy stories, it's just a manipulable source of energy with its limits. In our case, performing magic requires concentrating the mana that we initially radiate and that is distributed throughout our body.

  By concentrating it, we exhaust it and have to wait for it to redistribute throughout the body, through the circulatory system, so in the case of a fight, the first magical attack is essential and it must be effective, because the subsequent ones will have a lower concentration of mana, and so on until only the one circulating in the blood remains. It is also possible to overcharge our crystal to produce more mana, but it is not advisable; it can literally explode, and I don't have to tell you what would happen if the crystal were next to our heart, and that's what almost happened to Garrl.

  Returning to magic, once the mana is concentrated, the topic of manipulating it comes into play; and that's where the magic literally happens. The great serpent told us that any creature with a mana crystal can manipulate their mana and give it a specific characteristic; of course, depending on what reaction you want to perform, it will consume more or less mana. For example, the great serpent taught us what she specialized in, which was using her mana to harden a part of her body. In her case, her tail, with which she managed to destroy solid rock without suffering any damage, was incredible.

  Feeling this hardening up close, it was literally a mana armor covering his tail; he could also sharpen that mana like a sword to make clean cuts even in solid rock. It was astonishing; it only required replacing the mana lost due to the inertia of the blow, but it also required concentration and knowing that the accumulated mana would withstand the impact. Similarly, the more you want to cover, the more mana consumption there will be, so a full-time body armor is not effective and wears you out quickly.

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  Another thing the great serpent showed us is that she could also launch sharp mana blades which, combined with the speed at which she launched them, caused great damage. Of course, it had the limitation that the moment the shaped mana leaves your body, it begins to lose its properties; therefore, factors such as distance and speed are fundamental for such an attack to be effective; of course, she had more than enough experience and made it all seem very easy.

  Then there's the use of mana to imbue it into a target. The spider lady showed us with her webs, increasing their strength and elasticity; or at least that's what Garrl explained to me, since I still can't fully understand the spider lady. But what she told us is that with mana one can enhance the properties of a material and that it consumes less mana if this property is innate to the material itself; otherwise, it will consume more and, of course, it's not like one can give any property to any material.

  He also taught us how to heal with mana; apparently, what you do is reinforce cellular regeneration. Of course, he didn't say it with those words or emotions, I should say; ………………………… but anyway, the point is that only creatures of the same species can help each other heal, as our bodies become accustomed to their specific mana, so a different mana is usually rejected; it's also not that you can heal any wound, as it's more of a stimulation than an instant regeneration.

  Lastly and not least, there is provoking reactions with mana; curiously, the expert turned out to be Garrl, although his initial explanation was "you concentrate it and release it," something that generated more questions than answers for me. While he showed me the same thing Kirkarrg did when launching fire, the trick is to concentrate the mana in a single point, which makes it violent and unstable, and before it explodes, you release it with your mana out of your mouth if you don't want it to explode in your mouth; it seems risky, and of course, it is; but it turns out that in our mouths, we have sensitive terminals that allow us to concentrate mana more easily and, secondly, to know when it's about to explode. The great serpent and the lady spider do something similar, only they don't take it to the point of exploding but just release the mana violently.

  In summary, they taught me that magic is manipulating mana, whether by changing its properties or hardening it. You can also improve or alter the properties of other materials to a certain extent by infusing them with mana, you can stimulate cellular regeneration to a certain point, and you can concentrate and compact the mana to make it violent before releasing it; in short, it's incredible, but it also has its limitations.

  Now, as a separate point, there are the spells or seals with mana; in this case, the great ancestor explained to us that you do this if you want to perform something more complex, for example, the Orgarrl seal. To create a miasma magic barrier, you need not only mana as an energy source but also part of it must be altered in different stages, and each rock and symbol serves a specific function to work together and thus create the magic barrier. There are also the tablets we have that together allow the inheritance ritual; however, the great ancestor did not want to explain more details to me because he said that this knowledge belongs to the wise kobolds, and until I prove that this will be my path, he would not teach me. Honestly, I was disappointed, but I also understand, besides, what matters for now is to finish the seal, and if what needs to be done is to move stones and make some symbols and imbue it with mana to complete the mana circuit; so be it, if that protects the caves; I will have time later to learn and discover the hidden secrets of more advanced magic.

  Also, there is what humans do, which are mainly spells and magic magic barriers; the great serpent explained to us that in the absence of mana, humans must use tools imbued with it, and to be able to use them, they have the pact with the great spirits; these are the ones who give their mana to perform or activate the spell; these beings, apparently invisible to most, decided to help humans during the war against the dragons, or at least that is what the great serpent understood, and since then they have been collaborating with humans; this means that only humans can use their own mana weapons or tools because the great spirits know when a human uses them, due to the pact they have with humanity; I wanted to ask the great ancestor, but he only confirmed what the great serpent said and that, as their descendants, we don't get along well with the great spirits, nor could we use the humans' mana weapons, because they would be useless to us. He told me to forget about that possibility, and he didn't say anything more. I didn't insist either, given the tone he used; it was clear that our race is not on good terms with the great spirits. Although I have several questions, they will have to wait because we need to practice everything we were taught and demonstrated to us, to finally begin to complete the magic seal.