[A/N: I am so sorry you guys have to pay twice, but by the ti I realised it was too late and couldn't delete the chapter as it's premium. It's a copy of the previous one.
Don't read it and I promise this won't happen again.]
Wait," Noah interrupted, "are you saying we can just pull mana from nature? Like, there's fire mana just floating around?"
Maya nodded, her expression serious.
"Exactly. Every elent has a presence in the natural world—fire, water, earth, air, and so on.
When you harmonize with the elent, you're essentially connecting your mana to the elental flow that exists all around you.
But it's not as simple as just pulling in power. You have to be in perfect sync with the elent, or the spell could backfire."
Noah frowned, leaning over the diagram. "So, how do you achieve this synchronization?"
"Professor Jacob explained that it's about matching the frequency of your mana with the natural mana of the elent you're working with," Maya explained.
"Each elent has its own unique mana signature.
For fire, for instance, it's wild and aggressive, so your mana has to reflect that kind of energy.
If you can do that, you'll harmonize with the fire mana around you and be able to cast much stronger spells."
Noah absorbed this for a mont, thinking it over.
"That sounds… dangerous. What happens if you fail?"
"Well," Maya said, grimacing slightly, "if you don't match the frequency correctly, you could end up with a spell that's too weak to work, or worse, a spell that's too unstable and explodes in your face.
That's why Elental Harmonization isn't taught until later years—it requires a lot of control over your mana and a deep understanding of elental magic."
Noah nodded.
"Makes sense. I guess that's why it's considered advanced."
He looked over at the diagram again, his curiosity piqued.
"Did he give any practical examples? Like, how do you even start practicing sothing like that?"
"Yeah, he did," Maya replied, flipping through her notes again.
"He ntioned starting with ditation exercises to get a feel for the elental mana in the environnt.
For fire magic, you'd sit near a source of fire—like a candle or a bonfire—and try to feel the mana in the flas.
It's a subtle energy, so it takes a lot of focus to even detect it at first.
Once you can feel the elental mana, the next step is to slowly rge your own mana with it."
Noah tilted his head.
"That sounds a lot like mana sensing."
"It's similar, but more advanced," Maya clarified.
"With mana sensing, you're just detecting the flow of energy around you.
But with Elental Harmonization, you're actively interacting with that energy, shaping your own mana to match it.
It's like tuning an instrunt.
You can't just hear the sound—you have to produce the right note yourself."
Noah smirked.
"I never knew magic could be so musical."
Maya laughed softly.
"It's all about balance and precision. If you're off by even a little bit, the whole thing falls apart."
He leaned back in his chair, thinking about the implications of what she had just explained.
"So, how does this apply to the Placent exams?
I an, are we expected to harmonize with elents during the test?"
"Professor Jacob didn't say for sure," Maya said, her voice thoughtful.
"But he did hint that the exams might include scenarios where we have to use elental magic more effectively.
I think learning Elental Harmonization would give us an edge, even if we're not required to do it perfectly.
Just being able to enhance our spells a little could make a big difference."
Noah nodded slowly.
"I see. It's definitely sothing worth practicing."
He glanced out the window, his mind wandering again, though this ti with a clearer sense of purpose.
The demonic corruption still lood in the back of his mind, but right now, his focus needed to be on the upcoming exams.
Maya must have noticed his montary distraction, because she reached over and lightly tapped his arm.
"Hey, don't overthink it. You've always been great with magic, Noah. You'll catch on to this quickly, I'm sure."
He offered a small smile, appreciating her attempt to reassure him.
"Thanks. I'll give it my best shot."
Noah was busy scribbling down notes in his notebook, the sound of his quill scratching against the parchnt filling the quiet room.
His focus was sharp, his mind locked onto the magical formulas and key points from their study session.
Across the table, Maya sat silently, staring at him.
Her eyes traced the way his hand moved fluidly across the page, and she found herself srized by how intensely he concentrated on his work.
Her heart skipped a beat, and before she realized it, a soft blush crept across her cheeks.
She quickly looked away, biting her lip.
She hoped Noah didn't notice.
But when she dared to sneak another glance, his eyes flicked up from the parchnt, eting hers.
Startled, Maya's face turned a deeper shade of red.
She quickly averted her gaze and focused on the book in front of her, trying to act as though nothing had happened.
Noah gave her a curious look but shrugged it off, returning to his writing.
Maya, anwhile, couldn't shake the strange feeling that had been bubbling inside her every ti she was near him.
It was a warmth that spread through her chest and down her arms, making her heart race.
She didn't know what it was, but it was becoming harder to ignore.
Her breathing beca shallow, and she could feel her pulse quickening.
It was as if just being in the sa room as him made everything around her fade away.
Maya placed a hand over her chest, clenching her shirt, feeling the rapid thumping of her heart.
'Why am I feeling like this?'
She thought to herself, squeezing the fabric of her skirt.
Her body felt hot, almost uncomfortably so, and her fingers trembled slightly.
'This has been happening a lot recently, hasn't it?'
She couldn't explain why it felt like this around Noah—why every glance, every mont shared in silence, seed to ignite sothing inside her.
She closed her eyes for a mont, trying to steady her breath.
'It's probably nothing. Just... nerves, maybe?'
But deep down, she knew it wasn't that simple.
There was sothing about him—sothing about the way he carried himself, the way he spoke, the way he looked at her sotis—that made her feel things she didn't quite understand.
Maya's fingers dug into the fabric of her skirt as she tried to calm herself, her mind swirling with unspoken thoughts and emotions.
But no matter how much she tried to push them aside, the warmth inside her only grew.
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