Chapter 103 Episode 103: Mana Suppression

Akira’s POV

We stood in the private training room Kael had booked for the whole morning. The walls were thick and the air felt still. I knew this session would be different from the usual drills.

Kael faced me with a calm look on his face. "Today we work on mana suppression. You need to hide your signature so the demons inside a dungeon cannot feel how strong you are when you step through the gate."

Surprise moved through me first. Then respect. I had always felt his presence as steady and controlled. Now I understood why dungeon threats never seemed to read him clearly.

"You have used this for years," I said pointing out tge obvious.

"Yes. And it has kept me alive more times than I can count. You will learn it too." His voice stayed even, but the care in it was easy to hear. "At your real rank it will be harder. You have more mana to hold down. We start slow."

Affection warmed my chest at the patient way he spoke. We had only just become official. The soft feelings still sat close to the surface for both of us. I felt shy and happy at the same time while I nodded.

Kael stepped behind me and placed both hands on my waist. The touch was light and familiar. Heat rose in my face because of how close he stood and because my body still remembered the night and the morning we had shared.

"Feel the mana the way you always do," he said near my ear. "Then pull it inward. Do not push it out. Fold it close until even the air around you cannot taste it."

I closed my eyes and tried. My mana answered at once, large and bright after the recent rise in rank.

Pulling it inward felt like trying to stuff a full breath back into my lungs. Strain built quickly. Frustration flickered when the signature leaked again after only a few seconds.

"I lost it," I said quietly.

"I know. Again." Kael’s hands squeezed my waist gently. "I am right here. You can do this. Breathe first. Then fold."

The quiet support sent a wave of gratitude through me. I loved him for his patience. I loved him for the way he stayed close without making the lesson feel heavy. Determination settled in my stomach and I tried once more.

We worked for the first hour without a real break. Each attempt lasted longer than the last, but the suppression kept slipping.

Sweat built on my back. Embarrassment rose every time the mana flared outward and Kael had to stop me.

"Too much force," he said after one failed try. "You are pushing it down instead of drawing it in. Soften your shoulders. Let me feel the difference."

He pressed his chest lightly to my back and guided my breathing with his own. The contact made shyness and comfort mix together. I followed his rhythm and tried again.

"Better," Kael murmured. "Hold it. Stay with that feeling."

The signature slipped at eight seconds. I let out a sharp breath of irritation.

"This should be easier," I said.

"It is harder because you are stronger now." He turned me around so we faced each other. His thumbs brushed the marks still hidden under my training shirt. "Treat the mana like it belongs only to you. No one else gets to feel it unless you allow it. Try again."

I looked up at him. Love and concentration mixed in my chest. "But it feels too big to hide."

"I know. That is why we practice." He leaned in and kissed my forehead. The gentle contact made shyness and warmth bloom together. "Thirty seconds is the first goal. We will get there. I will not let you stop before we do."

We started again. Hour after hour passed. My head began to ache from the constant effort of folding the mana inward.

Physical tiredness joined the mental strain. Still, every time I wanted to stop, Kael’s steady presence pulled me forward.

"Talk to me," he said during one difficult stretch. "Tell me what it feels like when it starts to leak."

"It feels like water slipping through my fingers," I answered. "I close my hands and it still finds a way out."

"Then close them slower. Don’t grab it. Guide it." His hands covered mine for a moment even though the work was inside me. "Like this. Soft and sure."

During a short water break he stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my middle. I leaned back into his chest and let the embrace calm my frustration. Safety and love filled the quiet moment. His chin rested on my shoulder.

"You are doing better than I did at first," Kael said. The pride in his voice made happiness rise sharp and bright inside me. "My early attempts lasted less than ten seconds. You already passed that."

Hearing that eased some of the embarrassment. I turned my head and kissed the side of his jaw. The small action felt natural now. Fondness moved between us without words.

"You stayed patient with me for a full hour of failures," I said. "Most teachers would have gotten sharp by now."

"I am not like most teachers. I am your man." He kissed my hair. "Failure is part of the work. We keep going."

The fourth hour brought real progress. I held the suppression for twenty seconds before the mana slipped. Hope flared inside me. Kael’s eyes lit with matching satisfaction. He grinned and pulled me into a short, tight hug.

"There it is," he said against my ear. "Feel the difference? That is the control we need. Again. Right now while your body still remembers."

"Again," I agreed. Determination and affection mixed in the word.

We reset. Kael stayed close, one hand resting on the center of my back. I folded the mana inward and counted silently. Twenty-two seconds. Twenty-five. The leak came and I groaned in frustration.

"Almost," Kael said. "You tensed at the end. Your fear of losing it makes you grip too hard. Trust the hold. Let it sit."

I nodded, breathing hard. "I get scared it will slip so I pull tighter. That makes it worse."

"Exactly. So try."

The fifth hour hurt. My control kept wavering under the growing fatigue. Irritation at my own limits burned under my skin.

Kael noticed and slowed the pace. He placed one hand over my heart and one on my lower back, guiding the fold of mana with quiet words and steady touch.

"Breathe with me," he said. "In. Hold. Fold. That is all you need to think about. The rest is noise."

Affection and trust mixed with the strain. I focused on the feel of his hands and the sound of his voice. The suppression lasted for twenty-five seconds.

Then twenty-eight. When I finally reached thirty seconds without a leak, relief and pride crashed through me so hard my knees felt weak.

Kael laughed once, low and happy. He cupped my face and kissed me full on the mouth right there in the training room.

Joy, desire and shared success moved through the kiss. I held onto his wrists and kissed him back until we both needed air.

"Thirty seconds," he said, forehead against mine. "Clean. Stable. Good. I am proud of you."

Happiness and tired pride filled my chest. "It still feels fragile."

"It will feel stronger with more work. We need sixty. The gate entry can last longer than half a minute. Demons watch the threshold carefully. Thirty is not enough. We will go again."

Tiredness pulled at every muscle, but determination rose stronger. I nodded. The soft, lovey feeling between us made the demand feel like teamwork instead of pressure. I wanted to reach the goal for both of us.

"Sixty," I said. "All right. Give me a moment to catch my breath."

"Take it." Kael handed me the water flask and watched me drink.

"Your form is good. Your will is good. The only thing left is endurance. We build it the same way we built the thirty."

We reset once more. Kael stayed close, sometimes correcting with a hand on my hip, sometimes only watching with quiet focus.

Each successful interval earned a small touch or a soft word of praise. The praise sent fresh warmth through my tired body.

"Forty seconds," he counted aloud on one try. "Stay soft. You have it. Forty-five. Do not grab. Forty-eight..."

The mana slipped. I opened my eyes and stared at the floor.

"I keep losing it near fifty," I said. "It is like my mind gets tired of holding the shape."

"Then we rest our minds for thirty seconds and try again." Kael stepped in and kissed the space between my eyebrows. "You are not failing. You are training. There is a difference."

Gratitude washed through me. "You keep saying the right things."

"I keep telling you the truth." He smiled. "Again, Akira. I am right here."

By the end of the sixth hour my legs shook and my head pounded. The suppression finally held for a clean thirty-second interval three times in a row. Pride filled my chest even while exhaustion sat heavy in my limbs.

Kael checked the timer and nodded. "Thirty seconds is stable now. We need sixty. Rest for five minutes. Then we go again."

I dropped onto the bench against the wall. Kael sat beside me and pulled me against his side. I rested my head on his shoulder and let the care in the gesture soothe the leftover irritation and strain. Love sat quiet and full between us.

"You are learning fast," he said. His hand moved slowly up and down my arm. "Harder rank means harder work. You are still meeting it. I am not surprised, but I am still proud."

Gratitude and affection mixed so strongly that my throat felt tight. I turned and pressed a soft kiss to the side of his neck. "Thank you for teaching me this. Thank you for staying patient even when I kept leaking mana for hours."

He smiled and kissed my hair. "You are my man. I will teach you everything I know that keeps you alive. We get to sixty seconds. Then we get longer. One step at a time. I will be here for every step."

The five minutes ended. We stood together. My body protested, but the soft determination in Kael’s eyes and the warm bond between us made it possible to start again.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," I said. Determination, love, tiredness, and quiet joy all sat together in my chest. "Count for me."

I closed my eyes, felt the large bright mana, and began to fold it inward once more. Kael’s hand rested on the center of my back, steady and caring. His voice came low near my ear.

"In... Hold... Now fold. There, I have you. Stay with it."

The next interval began. We kept working toward the sixty seconds while the private room stayed quiet around us. Frustration, pride, love, tiredness, and quiet joy moved through me with every attempt. I held onto all of them and continued.

The goal was still ahead. Kael was right beside me, speaking soft corrections and softer praise. That fact made the hard work feel possible and even a little sweet. We went again.