Infinite Adaptation: Starting As A Level 1 Slime

Chapter 62: Beast Nation [PART 3]

Lunaris walked to the front of the classroom.

He picked up a piece of chalk and turned to face the eager faces before him.

"Alright. Let’s start with the basics."

He wrote two words on the board in large letters.

MANA and MAGIC

"Can anyone tell me what mana is?"

Hands shot up immediately.

He pointed at a small goblin boy in the front row.

"It’s the energy inside us!"

"Good."

He nodded approvingly.

Feels just like old times.

"Mana is indeed a form of energy. It exists within living beings, within nature, and even in the air we breathe."

He drew a simple figure on the board - a stick person with a circle in its chest.

"Every one of you has mana inside you. Some have more, some have less. But everyone has it."

He tapped the board.

"Now, what is magic?"

Another flurry of hands.

He pointed at a wolf girl near the window.

"Using mana to do cool stuff!"

Laughter rippled through the classroom.

Lunaris smiled.

"That’s... not wrong."

He turned and wrote beneath the words.

Magic = Using mana to affect the world

"Magic is the act of using your mana to create change. To make things happen that wouldn’t happen on their own."

He set down the chalk and faced them.

"Now, before we go further, I want to make one thing clear."

His expression grew slightly more serious.

"Skills are not magic."

The children looked confused.

"But Lord Lunaris," an orc boy raised his hand without being called on, "my papa uses a skill to make fire. Isn’t that magic?"

"Good question."

This is actually more nuanced than that, but there’s no need to complicate things right now.

"Skills and magic can look similar. But they work differently. For now, just remember - skills are skills, and magic is magic. We’ll focus on magic today."

The children nodded, accepting this.

"Now then."

He wrote two more words on the board.

MANIPULATION and MANIFESTATION

"These are the two forms of magic application."

He underlined both words.

"Everyone, repeat after me. Manipulation."

"Manipulation!" the class chorused.

"Manifestation."

"Manifestation!"

"Very good."

He smiled and set down the chalk.

"Now, let’s talk about what these mean."

...

He walked around to the front of his desk.

"First, manipulation."

He held up his hand.

"Manipulation is using your will and mana as a conduit to make things around you behave in a way that serves your intentions."

He let that sink in.

"In simpler terms - you’re not creating anything new. You’re controlling what already exists."

He gestured toward the floor.

"For example..."

He extended his palm downward.

The floor beneath the children’s desks began to ripple.

"Whoa!"

"What’s happening?!"

The stone floor wobbled like the surface of a pond disturbed by a stone. Desks rattled. Children grabbed onto their seats, some laughing, others shrieking with delight.

"The floor is moving!"

"This is so cool!"

Lunaris smiled and lowered his hand.

The floor stilled.

"That was manipulation. I didn’t create new stone. I simply commanded the existing stone to move."

The children stared at him with sparkling eyes.

"Another example."

He walked over to the window where a small potted plant sat on the sill. It was a modest thing - green leaves, a thin stem, nothing special.

He extended his hand toward it.

"Watch closely."

Mana flowed from his palm.

The plant shuddered.

Then it grew.

The stem thickened rapidly. Leaves multiplied and expanded. Vines burst forth from the pot, snaking outward in every direction.

"Ahh!"

"It’s growing!"

The vines reached toward the students - and before they could react, gently wrapped around their waists.

"Eek!"

"I’m flying!"

One by one, the children were lifted from their seats, dangling in the air as the vines held them securely.

Laughter filled the room.

"Put me higher! Higher!"

"This is amazing!"

Luna giggled as a vine spun her gently. Lina clutched her vine with both hands, her expression a mixture of excitement and mild terror.

Lunaris watched them with a warm smile.

"This is also manipulation. I stimulated the plant’s natural growth and directed its movement. I didn’t create the vines - I simply encouraged what was already there."

He lowered his hand.

The vines gently set each child back in their seat before retracting. The plant returned to its original modest size, settling back into its pot as if nothing had happened.

The children applauded wildly.

...

Lunaris returned to the board.

"Now, the second form."

He tapped the word MANIFESTATION.

"Manifestation is different. Instead of controlling what exists, you create something entirely new out of mana."

He held up his palm.

A small flame flickered into existence above his hand.

"This fire doesn’t come from anywhere. There’s no torch, no fuel. I created it purely from mana."

The children watched in awe.

He closed his hand and the flame vanished.

"Manifestation requires more mana and more control. But it also gives you more freedom."

He looked toward the front row.

"Luna. Lina. Come up here."

The two girls exchanged glances, then rose from their seats and walked to the front of the classroom.

They stood on either side of Lunaris, facing their classmates.

"These two have been studying with me for a while now."

He placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"They’re going to demonstrate manifestation for you."

He looked down at them.

"You understand what to do, right? I’ve been teaching you for long enough."

Luna nodded confidently.

Lina gulped but nodded as well.

"Good."

He stepped back.

"Luna, you first."

Luna took a breath.

She raised her right hand, palm facing upward.

Her eyes closed in concentration.

"O’ spark that dances in the storm..."

Her voice was soft but clear.

"Heed my call and come forth..."

Mana gathered around her palm.

"Lightning."

Electricity burst to life above her hand - a small sphere of lightning that arced and snapped with brilliant blue-white light.

The classroom gasped.

"Whoa!"

"Lightning! Real lightning!"

"So cool!"

Luna opened her eyes and smiled proudly, the lightning dancing above her palm.

Lunaris nodded approvingly and patted her head.

"Well done."

He had passed the lightning elemental affinity to her not long ago.

It suits her quite well.

Luna beamed under his praise, the lightning fading as she lowered her hand.

"Now, Lina."

Lina stepped forward nervously.

She raised both hands before her, palms facing each other.

"Um... okay..."

She closed her eyes.

"Light that banishes the dark..."

Her small voice wavered slightly.

"Gather in my hands..."

Mana swirled between her palms.

"Shine!"

A warm golden glow burst forth.