Sunny's teachings had proven to be of great help, and Merlin's meditation became a success at last.
However, it had had no effect on his Intelligence.
Not that Merlin wasn't glad that another of his Attributes had begun to see some uptick, it was just that what he needed the most, at the end of the day, was his Intelligence, which tied to his ability to deconstruct spells. And he would have been more than glad if simply meditating could help with that, seeing as he had turned the main focus of his exercises onto progressing his Strength.
But all hope wasn't lost. He had one more thing left to try.
Since falling into a trance is different from meditating, and Perception is different from Intelligence, then maybe if I focus on falling into a trance instead, I will be able to achieve something related to my Intelligence.
It was a reach on his part, but all he had ever been doing since he'd gotten the System was a bunch of trial and error; there was no point in stopping now.
Merlin took his blanket and placed it on the floor; it was not as welcoming to his buttocks as Sunny's mat had been, but it was human nature to improvise. There was no use grumbling about it.
He sat cross-legged, placed his hands on his thighs, and inhaled deeply. The problem now was, it was easier for him to fall into a trance when he had no idea what he was doing, because now that he was well aware of how meditation worked, he suddenly found it hard to turn his brain in a different direction.
However, it was nothing more than just a hurdle for him to get by.
Merlin got to work.
Trance, like meditation, involved altering one's state of consciousness, but from Sunny's explanation, Merlin understood that, unlike meditation where one focused on the outside, in a state of trance their focus was aimed inwards, towards themselves. If Merlin was to compare it to something, it would be sleepwalking, but with one's consciousness retained to a considerable degree.
Basically, he had to let go of the wheel of his body, as if giving control to someone else, becoming a simple observer.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Merlin cleared all his thoughts with every breath he inhaled and exhaled, relaxed all the tension in his shoulders, neck, and face, until his heartbeat slowed to a crawl. He was simply repeating the process he had undertaken while meditating earlier, but in a reversed manner.
He kept at it for a few seconds on end, maybe even minutes, he wasn't sure anymore, and then there were no more sounds—at least from the world around him. What came instead was his heartbeat getting louder and louder. Merlin realized that it was not because he was anxious or tense, since the beats were at a steady rhythm, but because he was slowly finding himself being pulled to the backseat of his body.
And that didn't take too long. Because soon after, a disorientation swarmed his mind as he found himself completely detached from his own body, floating within a darkness where everything both seemed close and far away at the same time.
Merlin didn't allow himself to have any superfluous thoughts, though. He knew that such would only break him from the state he had fallen into. Instead, he focused on what he had fallen into a trance for, and poured his mind into visualizing the flow of his mana.
From his experience with his attempts at deconstructing Nora's spells, Merlin had come to figure out that mana—unlike the rest of the internal components of the body which were warm—was cold. And that made seeking it out a lot easier, because it stuck out like a sore thumb, located within his blood as it flowed throughout his whole body.
Merlin wasn't sure what to do here now that he'd found his mana, and he could not recall if Kieran had done something like this in Singularity Mage, nor could he force himself to recall, lest he ruined everything up until now. So, instead, he did the only sensible thing he could do, which was, make contact. After all, he was here to connect with his mana, become one with it to a greater degree as a means to see if he would perhaps get anything out of it, and if the knowledge he had gained from his years of living served him right, the only way to connect with something was by making contact with it.
Merlin hovered into his veins, where the blue particles of his mana nestled, riding the wave of his blood, and reached for one, cold like a snowball in his palm. Immediately, his subconscious trembled as his mana tried to pull away from him, stubbornly, and with so much intensity that Merlin feared it would explode if he kept on holding to it.
Right away, Merlin realized that what was happening was his fault. He calmed himself instantly, and his mana settled down as a result. It had been reacting to the mild nervousness that had built up within him as he'd taken hold of it. It was easy to see that his mana reciprocated his feelings. If he was chaotic, it would be too. And if he was calm, it would be too.
Merlin sighed and reached for more and more particles, studying them as he hovered around within his body, moving from one area to the other. And the more he interacted with them, the more he understood that his mana was not bound to his blood stream like a mouse to a cage. He could take them out, and put them in a different area in his body, be it his navel, brain, eyes, ears, nose—anywhere he wanted. What they did when they were moved, he was not really sure, since he was nothing more than an observer in his body at the moment, and couldn't feel the results of his findings.
But that was more than enough for now; because he suddenly had an idea of something he wanted to test out, which, of course, resulted in his trance-like state shattering into countless pieces, bringing him back to take control of his body.
His stomach churned in that instant, as a wave of dizziness hit at his core. His head pounded like he had been struck by a mild migraine, and his nose, ears, and eyes were no different—they all stung. No one had to tell Merlin what was the cause of that.
Not more than a few seconds later, though, his body returned once again to its normal state, finally giving him the grace to see that his exploits had been successful.
[Progress to leveling up Intelligence: 6%/100%]
The progress of his Attributes usually went up by one-point-five percent for an hour of activity done regarding it, but when Merlin picked up his phone to check how many minutes had passed, he was pleasantly surprised to see that his Intelligence had gone up by one percentage for just twenty minutes of him being in his trance-like state.
He recalled how the progress of his physical Attributes had doubled when he'd worked himself earlier until his body could take it no more, and wondered if that was what had happened with his Intelligence.
It's possible. Maybe entering a trance for my Intelligence is the equivalent of pushing my body to its limits for exercising. There's still so many things I don't understand about this System. What's the point of me being its co-creator if its modifications are this over the top.
Merlin sighed and rose to his feet. He had something he wanted to try out and did not have the time to be dwelling on thoughts he had no answers to.
Luckily for him, when he got to the sitting room, Nora was still there, seated and playing Tower Raider.
He was about to bother her now—which she wouldn't like—so he decided to make things as snappy as possible and not keep her from enjoying her game. After all, he too would be pissed if she bothered him while he was reading novels.
A few seconds later, and a knife in hand, Merlin stood before Nora, sending a jolt coursing through her body as soon as she noticed his presence, or, precisely, what he held.
"W-What do you think you're doing?!" Nora asked, her interest in her game pushed aside as unease painted her face. "Put that down, will you?!"
"Cast a spell," said Merlin. "I want to try out something."
Nora furrowed her brows, glanced between him and the knife he held, and furrowed them even further.
"Are you threatening me to cast a spell right now?"
"Huh?" Merlin looked at his knife and suddenly realized how he would look from a different point of view. "Ah… No. That's not it. I learnt something when I went in and I'm just trying to test it out."
Nora still had a disbelieving look on her face. "With a knife?"
Merlin clicked his tongue. "Trust your brother, will you?"
"Don't blame me; you're the one who just walked up to me with a knife, of course I'm gonna be cautious. You may have been possessed."
Merlin sighed, not having the energy for any back and forth at the moment. He was really exhausted; he was yet to have time to himself to rest, considering all he'd been involved in throughout the day, from his exercises to his meditation lessons. His body was aching.
"Just…cast the spell, huh? You'll get to see what I'm trying to do."
"Why don't you tell me what that is then, eh?" Nora was adamant. She would not change her stance, Merlin realized. He had been hoping to surprise her, but there was no point in that anymore.
"I think I learnt how to transfer my mana to an external body," he said. "This might sound stupid, but I'm trying to see if I can deconstruct a spell without directly involving myself."
Nora blinked, now interested.
"Really?"
"Really."
She remained seated for a few seconds, then put down her phone and rushed to her room, bringing her Grimoire back with her.
"How did you come about that?" she asked as her Grimoire flipped open and took to the air as her Air ball promptly appeared on her palm.
"It's kinda complicated," said Merlin as he took a deep breath and sat down on the couch, folding his legs as he assumed a meditating posture. "I got an idea for it during my lessons with Sunny. This is me trying to put it into practice. I'll explain it all later when I'm sure it works."
Nora nodded and sat down opposite him. "Alright."
"Give me a moment," Merlin said, and then closed his eyes.
Two seconds later, he was drawn into the darkness beneath his eyelids, and, as he'd suspected, so was the knife he held. It seemed it had become an extension of his body as soon as he'd touched it, and that made things a lot easier for what he wanted to do.
He sought out his mana particles and coated the knife he held with them, and then broke out of his trance by opening his mind to the countless thoughts he had blocked on his way in.
When his eyes shot open, he was met with the pleasant surprise of Nora being amazed—he didn't see that too often—and that was because the knife in his hand was glowing with an ethereal blue tint.
It worked.
"Merlin… What the heck have you gone and learnt?"
Merlin grinned. He almost felt smart. But he knew that once he taught Nora the whole trick behind what he'd done, she would overtake him as quickly as a hare racing a tortoise. She would improvise and learn some new tricks he had never considered, and that was what made someone smart, not figuring out a basic concept.
But that didn't matter; whatever he knew, Nora had to too. They were siblings.
"I'll try to deconstruct it now," he said, and Nora nodded.
This was his main hurdle. Hopefully it worked.
Activate Perk: Reader Mage…
[Perk: Reader Mage Activated]
[Analyzing spell…]
[Analysis complete]
[Spell: Air Ball.
Category: Novice, Tier II
Spell Wielder: A-Class Mage.
Spell Description: A multipurpose fast spinning ball of air made from the redirecting of the motion of air currents to flow in the opposite direction of the Earth's rotation. Spell can be launched, do be careful it doesn't make an impact with you.]
[Deconstructing Process: Air currents cannot be stopped. However, their flow can be disrupted through a break in circulation. Sever the cohesion of the construct by slicing through the path of the currents.
[Deconstruct?]
[Yes?]/[No?]
The words of the deconstructing process had changed once again, seemingly taking into consideration Merlin's possession of a weapon. This soothed him a bit, but it also made him wish that his deconstruction would really work. After all, if it did, then he could keep on practicing with Nora. But he could only hope.
Merlin gulped, and looked down at his knife. For a moment there, the feel of a weapon in his hand made him see himself as a Warrior and not a Mage, but he immediately pushed the thought aside. Now was not the time. Then, with a mental answer of: 'yes', he sent the knife through Nora's Air ball.
However, as soon as it made contact with the spell, a crack instantly appeared over its blade. Nora noticed this, and immediately canceled her spell as a means of preventing any unforeseen situations, knowing that Merlin had failed again. And, sure enough, the knife shattered a second later, destroying the tiny ray of hope Merlin had had prior.
[Deconstruction Failed]
[Intelligence too low to deconstruct Air ball, Novice, Tier II]
Merlin chuckled awkwardly at the sight of those words, after a moment of silence shared between him and Nora.
"I guess using a weapon doesn't change the fact that my mana is still low… Haha…"
Nora sighed, licking the edge of her lips. "It takes time, Merlin. Soon enough."
Merlin's expression crumpled. The way time moved for someone as talented as her moved quite differently for him. So those words did nothing to comfort him. However…
"Yeah…" He couldn't keep being a downer. "Soon enough, I guess."