The Retired Hero is an Extra

"Mana veins are basically channels for mana inside the human body, present even in the unawakened population. Though their exact location is known, they remain unusable until one awakens."

"The channels simply allow the flow of mana inside the body to be smooth and streamlined. Also, as you already know, they are the indicators for one of the paths the awakened Hunter has to take."

"At awakening, after the formation of the mana core, the mana floods these channels, unblocking them and allowing for the transformation of one's internal physiology, albeit slightly. Naturally, they are only in their rudimentary phase."

"Irrespective of the path one walks, the mana veins and innards evolve and strengthen with advancements in Hunter Ranks, or through certain treasures if one is lucky."

"Well, there are also some mysterious ways to improve them one way or another using extreme mana control. However, they are quite limited and rarely does anyone use it outside their own family."

Reiterating the main points regarding Mana Veins to his grandfather, Jash couldn't help but question, "What's the best time for these secret methods?"

Nodding at Jash to indicate his knowledge was accurate, Inigo answered, "At your current rank, that is, G-Rank."

As if already aware of the next question, he added, "The reason for it is simple enough. Think of it like this, consider a drop of water and you let it slowly fall on a hard surface, maybe a rock? Nothing will happen in the short term, but over the course of days, months, years, it'll bore a hole through it."

"Just like that, your mana will unclog the veins itself as you advance each time, but if you already have them cleansed, it will help you widen them, allowing for a higher amount of mana flow."

"Also, the mana at every advancement can be used to better enhance your body, so it's a win-win situation."

Jash slightly nodded with a contemplative expression on his face. It would be a lie to say he wasn't surprised by Inigo's serious answer.

'He really answered it seriously,' Jash thought before asking impatiently, "Okay, I understand now, so can we start?"

He sported an eager expression on his face as it had already been 11 days since he last met Inigo, and now he could finally go through the process of strengthening himself.

'After this, I can at least try advancing to F-Rank as it can be attributed to the passive effect of training.'

Or at least, that was the plan.

Suddenly, Jash was pulled out of his inner ramblings by the forceful voice of Inigo, "Where'd you go, you brat?"

"I-I am here!"

"That you are. Anyways, you know the protocol, so we can start any second."

Hearing the confirmation, Jash immediately sat down and closed his eyes, removing his shirt.

On the other hand, Inigo looked around before sending a wave of his mana to create an isolation barrier.

He didn't want any interruptions during the process as it could lead to permanent negative effects.

The moment he spread his mana to envelope the training ground, the heads of Sera and Carcel turned in its directions, but they ignored it.

Despite their anxiety worry, they could only believe in Jash.

"Mom, is it time?" Caera asked seriously, bringing Sera's attention back to her.

"Yeah," she answered succinctly.

Caera clenched her fists and focused on her training. 'I can't let that lazy panda become stronger than me! What does it matter if he has more talent? I will work extra hard to make up for it!'

Aware of her daughter's feelings, Sera just smiled. 'Usually, any talented youngster would also work hard, making it impossible to bridge the gap with hard work alone, but Jash...'

Jash truly didn't work like the typical child praised for his talent. He despised training every single moment of the day.

In his words, it was entirely useless.

However, that wasn't meant to say he didn't work hard, he just did it smartly and at his convenience.

'Isn't life all about enjoying? Why go through such lengths every darned day?' That's what he believed in.

Of course, he wouldn't miss an opportunity to get stronger without any effort and he was in the middle of one right about now.

"Close your eyes and don't lose focus of where my mana is going or all this will be useless," Inigo instructed strictly, a stark contrast to his usual self.

Without any moment of respite, Jash felt Inigo's boiling mana flood into his body. The moment Inigo channeled his mana into Jash's mana veins, Jash felt a huge amount of pain..

'This...! I have to bear with it!' Jash gritted his teeth and focused on the flow of mana, trying to not feel the pain.

Although bearable, it was a different kind from any pain he had gone through.

He remained unaware of the shock and surprise in Inigo's tone after looking at his body. "This!? His mana veins are already widened!!"

He didn't know that Jash's awakening method had already widened a few of his mana veins to support his new abilities.

It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Jash was capable of being both a mage and warrior. To add to this, his huge mana pool and dense mana veins would not hinder his progress in either path.

Unfortunately, Jash didn't know of it. Even if he did know, he wouldn't care. Just one path was already tiring enough for him, let alone both.

The sole reason he chose the warrior path was because it felt natural and instinctual. It felt... just right.

Despite the shocking discovery, Inigo didn't stop and his mana kept flowing through Jash's body, unlocking his blocked veins.

The mana forcibly opened the blockages—a dangerous process only Inigo could perform using a secret art to control mana.

It was to the point that thin threads of mana were visible throughout Jash's body if someone looked at his skin.

Jash's body started to leak, releasing blood from his pores. This was different from awakening, as Inigo was disrupting the natural path of Jash's mana circulation and creating new paths by forcibly opening the blocked veins.

Naturally, Jash felt a mind-shattering pain, eliciting all kinds of wails and screams as he struggled to focus on the mana flowing within him.

This was mainly because his path of mana circulation was a bit too natural and it clashed strongly against Inigo's mana.

Thankfully, Inigo had made him exhaust his mana reserves or his insides would be a wreck by now.

Despite being unsure of it, Jash felt inwardly betrayed. 'Damn it! Caera went through it with just a little trouble, so why is it so painful for me?'

And he was right—this was only the foundation that Inigo laid and it would be worked upon by the battle junkie Carcel.

For the young Jash, it wouldn't be anything short of torture.

Alas, he remained unaware of it as he believed only pain would be the cost for such a power-up.

'Damn free stuff! There's nothing free in free stuff!' Jash cursed inwardly with what little focus he could muster as his entire focus remained on the flow of mana.

Suddenly, he felt a stinging pain and heard Inigo's voice, but he couldn't make sense of it.