The Otaku's Odyssey: Reincarnated with a Grand System

Astrid sat in his room, in a lotus position, his eyes were closed, his face showed his focus, his seriousness.

Large amounts of Aether were constantly being absorbed into his body, forming a little cyclone of energy that surrounded him.

His core was currently shining two different colors, as if it was split half way. Half of it shone a dull purple color, that was his qi. The other which was his mana, shone a bright red color, showing he had unlocked his first Element as fire.

Little cracks began appearing on his core slowly forming a web.

"Haaahh!!!" He sighed. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly opened his eyes, trying to adjust to the sun rays that tried to blind him.

"Finally! My mana has been fully incorporated with my Qi. My core is complete."

It had been a full week now, he had done nothing but constantly absorb Mana, as Lia said he should. Though the progress was slow at first, absorbing only threads of Aether, to convert it into mana in his core.

But after two days of doing it constantly, he slowly began to increase the amount he absorbed. Still, what happened the first time always pinched at the back of his mind.

He was still afraid of having his core explode, or rather, he explodes instead, like a goddamn pinata.

So even as he absorbed large amounts of aether, he still.made sure to take it slow, just like his mother said.

"She said I should meet her at the training field immediately I am done." He muttered quietly.

'I'm just gonna guess that she could already tell that I had finished absorbing enough Mana to match the Qi I currently have.'

He slowly stood up, before leaving and heading to the training field.

On reaching, he could already see his mother waiting for him, with her eyes closed.

'Damn this woman! Does she sleep here, how is she always here first'

"Astrid! I see you are late again" she said calmly, her voice making Astrid shiver.

"Y—Yeah! It took longer than I expected"

"Well! Now that you are done, we can move on to do next stage" she said, before taking a short pause.

"I want you to try casting a spell— Like this!"

A large amount of mana surrounded her, the atmosphere suddenly glowing with power and heat.

The Mana concentrated on her palms as a large ball made of flames began forming, the heat emanating from it made it look like the air itself was burning.

Beads of sweat formed in Astrid's fore head, his expression showung his nervousness as he stared at the size of the fireball.

'What the fuck is this! That Novus spell looks like a small ball compared to this'

She suddenly fired the spell to the sky, the speed was crazy, reaching the sky, it exploded, a large explosion that made nuclear bombs look insignificant.

The explosion brought large gusts of wind, like a mini cyclone had struck.Astrid felt like he was about to be carried by the wind. He covered his eyes with his arm, protecting it from the dust.

As the dust settled, his eyes shone in amazement as he looked at his mother's gentle face. 'well no wonder that Scarlet vein members died in her hands! In fact, I don't think he even put up a fight.'

"Now that you have seen the way a spell is casted! I want you to cast the exact same thing." She said softly with a smile on her face, her hair fluttering in the wind due to the speed she used to rotate to face Astrid.

A scene looking as though it was copied from an over dramatic romance series

"W—wait! What? How the hell do you want me to do that?"

"Figure it out!" She answered.

A look of disbelief crawled onto his face as he watched her walk a few meters away from him, before stopping, and waving her hand, telling him to get on with it.

'Dammit woman! How do you expect me to replicate that spell after only seeing it once

He took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, Concentration, calmness, all where expressions he wore on his face.

'I could sense it! I wasn't able to do it before, but after absorbing Mana, I could sense it, the way her mana flowed through her veins from her core just before she began casting the spell.

The way the Mana slowly burned as it constructed the spell, I could sense it all.'

He pushed his hand forward, his face showing his determination as he thought back to the exact same way his mother did it, the way that Novus casted his, hell even the way the Scarlet vein members casted theirs.

'I can feel it! The Mana, it's flowing through my veins— it feels hot.'

The Mana slowly reached his palm, he thought of the fireball his mother had just casted, it's shape, it's size, the heat, everything about it.

And as those thoughts played in his head, a fireball began shaping In his palm, it's size slowly growing until it reached the size of a basket ball.

"Y—yes, I'm doing it! I'm doing it—"

BOOM

His words were cut short as the fireball suddenly exploded in his face, charring his face as well as his clothes black. He blinked twice in shock.

"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!"

He heard his mother, as she slowly walked up to him while nodding her head slowly."Listen up, Son, because clearly your brain's on vacation," she said, cracking her knuckles dramatically.

"Casting a spell with mana isn't just thinking of a fireball and supplementing yourself with mana. Your spell was rough, and it lacked control.

Let me explain this to you from the beginning, slowly."

"First of all, you channel Mana from your core, right?" She asked, in which Astrid slowly nodded as a reply.

"Then you guide that mana through your mana veins like water through pipes, and no, blasting it out like a fire hose isn't smart unless you want to pass out like a drama queen.

Next, you shape it. That means forming a mana construct—a blueprint for the spell—it's like forming a basic shape In your head that represents the spell, for fireball, it's literally just a sphere. You can manage that, right?

Astrid slowly nodded, 'Of course, a sphere. Got it. I passed preschool shapes! I wonder if a fire chicken nugget is a valid alternative?'

Lia looked at her son's expression, she wondered what he was thinking about, but just went on anyway.

"Then comes elemental resonance—the part where your mana syncs with your element.

You are Fire, right? So if your spell doesn't feel like it's about to burn something, you are doing it wrong. After that, you imprint your will onto the spell, telling the mana exactly what to do like a stubborn boss yelling at lazy employees.

Then—and only then—you release it. Boom. Instant magic. Unless you screw it up. Then it's boom and you wake up bald next time. Got it?" She leaned closer with a grin.

"Spellcasting is an art, a science, and a death wish all rolled into one. Now try again… and don't let it explode in your face this time."

Lia ended, before walking over to the same spot she was in previously.

" Alright,no pressure," Astrid mumbled, exhaling shakily.

"Okay, channel mana. Shape the sphere. Feel the heat. Fire. Fire. FIRE." He could feel the flow inside him now—warmth spreading from his core, rising through his veins like magma. For once, it didn't feel unstable or chaotic. It felt... right.

He closed his eyes and pictured the spell—his mana compressing into a sphere in his palm, pulsing with raw, fiery energy. The heat licked at his skin, tingling but not painful. 'Resonate with fire... think like fire. Loud, hungry, destructive, and slightly dramatic... like Dad on caffeine.'

Lia's voice cut in, softer now. "Now imprint your will. Make it yours. Give it a purpose—and then release it."

Astrid's eyes snapped open, a fiery glow flickering in his irises. He raised his hand and thrust it forward.

FWOOOSH!

A bright, searing orb of flame roared to life and shot from his palm, spiraling through the air before exploding into a brilliant burst of heat and light.

Astrid blinked. Then blinked again.

"…Holy shit. I actually did it," he whispered.

Lia chuckled and walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder with an approving smile. "Not bad, firecracker. You did not blow yourself up. That's at least a C-minus in my book."

Astrid smirked, still staring at the rising smoke. "Next goal: A+. Preferably without third-degree burns."

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