Exiting the gates of the Kenji Residence, Kiato stepped forward with Merlin perched atop his head, giving him directions. Their path led through a quiet forest trail toward a majestic tree by a waterfall, where nature's beauty shone resplendent. The melody of cascading water danced in harmony with the gentle half-light, and the air shimmered with subtle magic.
"What am I to do?" Kiato asked, determination etched on his face.
"You will be learning about aura manipulation," Merlin replied, her tone briefly turning serious. "Aura is your life force, and it flows directly with your blood circulation. Concentrate on the flow of aura in your body and direct massive aura to both palms."
Kiato's confidence surged. "That shouldn't be hard."
He closed his eyes, focusing inward, visualizing his circulatory system.
The heart pumps blood through the aorta… it travels down the brachial artery… through the radial… and into the palm.
A one-sided smile spread across his face. Moments later, both palms began to glow with a soft, golden light.
Merlin clapped, her tiny hands creating a crisp echo.
"So your science knowledge isn't useless after all!"
Kiato smiled and released more aura.
"Don't get crunky, though—you just started," she said, though a playful smirk danced at the corner of her mouth.
"Now, concentrate aura around your body—form a thick defensive wall."
Kiato ignored her teasing tone, basking in the thrill of his first success. He closed his eyes again, once again visualizing his inside.
Blood circulates everywhere, carrying aura with it… I can diffuse aura through sweat pores, creating a barrier all around me.
With a deep breath, he evenly distributed the aura around the surfaceof his body, forming a shimmering shield of aura five centimeters thick. With a well fulfilled simile he Proudly declared,
"Next step!"
Merlin's eyes narrowed, filled with a mixture of amusement and challenge.
"Don't get crunky, weak human,"
she snapped, flipping her tail as she turned away with a dramatic flourish.
Here is your revised passage with corrected punctuation, sentence structure, and a more polished fantasy tone, while preserving your original word count and style as closely as possible:
Seconds late, she exclaimed in excitement.
"Next section: Outward Aura Control."
This time, she took her time explaining.
"The outward flow of aura in the body is almost the opposite of the inward flow. Here, there are no veins or arteries that transport a mixture of blood and aura. Therefore, you create them externally yourself."
"For example," she said, shortly demonstrating.
Taking one arm forward, a thin line of aura extended from her hand like it was sketching a sword. It formed the outline of the blade, and after the outline had been completed, aura began to flow between the edges until it was full—radiant and capable of striking without fading. Then, she slashed through the air as if it were no big deal.
Kiato stood still beside her in contemplation. How did she manage to give it such coordinated shape? he thought. It's like a perfect aura swordsmith.
Merlin then let go of the aura-made sword, allowing it to dissipate into the atmosphere.
"Now try," she ordered.
Kiato stood still for the first few seconds, visualizing Merlin's demonstration and replaying her voice in his head.
Finally, after long thought, he came up with a strategy. Pushing one arm forward, he released a thin line of aura from his palm as he continued to murmur to himself,
My hand is the heart, and the thin aura is the vein. The heart supplies, and veins connect in networks…
Slow but steady was his progress. He had successfully managed to make a bend with his aura. Steadily, as he approached the center half of his aura sword, his teeth began to shimmer in fear of losing his progress. Just at the edge of the sword—which marked its center end—the aura failed to return, washing away at the tip.
Merlin slowly flew to his head and gave him a knock.
"Can't you use this brain of yours to be of some use?" she said with an ignited tone.
"You are supposed to increase the aura output at that edge, because you're turning back! And then, immediately as it comes in contact with your hand, you distribute it in equilibrium to both sides," she explained furiously.
"How am I supposed to know? You never said any of that at first!" Kiato replied in an oppressed tone, and an expression of pain on his face.
The half-light narrowed her eyes at him. But Kiato decided to put her explanations into practice. Concentrating once more, he formed a thin line of aura. He poured more aura steadily until he reached the turning point, where he increased the output, maintaining the straight line continuously until he fully approached his goal. Then, he swung the aura-made sword at Merlin intentionally.
She narrowly escaped the terror of its edge as he roared in excitement,
"Take this...!!"
Merlin took her stance and just let that slide, like it was his award for completing that segment.
With a mischievous grin, she flew toward the stream, settling on a branch with a commanding pose. Kiato followed on foot.
"Create a vase of aura and draw water from the stream," she instructed, offering no further guidance.
Kiato blinked, confusion on his face. "Seriously?"
But deep in his heart, a flicker of challenge ignited. His first attempts ended in failure—the aura construct shattered repeatedly. Still, he persisted. Eventually, he managed to form a glowing vase denser than air. Yet when he submerged it, the stream washed it away.
"Damn it!" he exclaimed, splashing water on his face. "It's denser than air… but not denser than water."
He dropped to the ground, frustrated, staring up at the sky. The forest whispered around him. A leaf floated lazily through a ring of circling mosquitoes.
Then it struck him.
"That's it!" he roared, springing to his feet. He ran aura in a spiral path between his palms, forming a dense vortex.
With a triumphant breath, he dipped the spinning construct into the water—this time, it held. A centrifuge of liquid swirled perfectly within.
As he lifted it high above the stream, sunlight struck the aura vessel, scattering shimmering reflections across the riverbank.
Merlin opened one eye lazily—then leapt to her feet, startled.
"You… you actually did it!"
Kiato smiled faintly, exhaustion tugging at his limbs.
"Yahh, I finally did it…"
And then he collapsed, unconscious.
Merlin hovered down, inspecting him with half-annoyed affection. "Oh, come on. You can't pass out after impressing me…"
Suddenly, the tree above them rustled, its leaves glowing faintly for just a moment—as though nature itself had acknowledged Kiato's progress.
Unseen from the shadows, a pair of golden eyes observed silently, vanishing before the leaves settled once more.
Merlin glanced around, sensing something, but said nothing. Instead, she gently adjusted Kiato's head against a soft patch of moss.
"You're not as hopeless as I thought," she murmured.
"Maybe… maybe you really are the one."
To be continued!!