Infinite Mana - Chapter 154: A Carriage Without Horses (Patreon)

Magic Vision took Sieghart two weeks to learn, although the spell itself was not especially difficult. The real problem was that he kept finding other projects considerably more interesting than staring at diagrams explaining eyeballs. Mira's book began with painfully cautious exercises, teaching him to circulate mana around the muscles controlling his eyes before touching anything connected to actual sight. Sieghart appreciated that caution after remembering his bleeding nose.

He practiced only during short sessions initially, strengthening the surrounding tissues with Protection before allowing tiny amounts of mana to reach his optic nerves. Whenever his vision blurred, he immediately stopped and used First Aid.

The exercises progressed steadily, but Sieghart rarely spent an entire day on them. His thoughts had already moved beyond the basement, toward roads, distant towns, unknown libraries, and magic Lunar Arc could not teach him. If he intended to travel independently, he needed transportation better suited to his plans. Impulse and Wind Magic could move him quickly, but neither could conveniently carry books, tools, materials, food, and merchandise.

Flying with an earth platform technically solved the carrying problem, yet maintaining a floating slab for several hours sounded unnecessarily tiring on his concentration, especially when bad weather or combat could make everything worse.

Sieghart therefore visited Seraphina's markets and began purchasing mechanical parts, damaged runic components, reinforced wheels, axles, steering assemblies, storage compartments, and anything else that looked useful without costing absurd amounts of money.

Eventually, he found an old horseless carriage whose mana core had failed years earlier. The body remained sturdy, but replacing the original power source would cost enough that the owner preferred selling everything cheaply. Most mana carriages worked through expensive cores installed near the engine. Stored mana flowed into prepared runic circuits, producing heat, pressure, rotational force, or whatever combination the vehicle's particular design required for propulsion.

That expense did not apply to Sieghart. A core existed primarily because normal people could not continuously provide enough mana while driving, whereas Sieghart considered continuous mana supply the least complicated part. He dismantled the engine inside a rented workshop bay, sketched every component before removing it, and discovered that the original design used Fire Runes to heat sealed pressure chambers connected to reinforced pistons.

Expanding pressure pushed those pistons backward and forward, gears translated the movement into rotation, and the rear axle transferred that force toward both wheels while secondary runes prevented overheating and structural damage. Sieghart replaced the ruined core housing with conductive channels running beneath the floor and into several metal contact plates installed around the steering wheel where his palms would naturally rest.

Whenever he gripped the wheel and supplied mana, the energy traveled through those channels toward the Fire Runes, heated the chambers, moved the pistons, and turned the axle without requiring stored energy.

The first test almost launched the carriage through the workshop wall because Sieghart supplied mana according to instinct rather than remembering that ordinary runic machinery had been designed around ordinary mages. After repairing the damaged wheel assembly, he installed a regulator between the steering contacts and engine, limiting how much mana could reach the Fire Runes regardless of how carelessly he supplied power.

The second test moved considerably better. Sieghart drove around an empty yard for nearly an hour, learning how braking, steering, acceleration, and uneven terrain behaved without horses correcting human mistakes.

The carriage was slower than Sieghart could potentially become through Impulse, but speed was not the real purpose. A reinforced cargo compartment behind the cabin could carry enough merchandise for extended travel. Sieghart intended to buy ordinary equipment wherever prices were low, improve useful pieces through runic engineering, then resell them in another settlement while gradually financing whatever journeys, books, materials, and experiments interested him.

He had already proven the method worked on lamps, canteens, clothing, and tools. A vehicle simply allowed him to increase the scale without carrying an entire traveling workshop across his shoulders. For someone with Infinite Mana, money remained strangely easy to obtain once magical equipment entered the calculation. The challenge was earning it quietly enough that nobody started asking where his energy reserves ended.

The carriage itself was also an experiment in independence. Food, books, spare clothing, engraving equipment, unfinished merchandise, and camping supplies could all remain stored inside instead of limiting everything to one backpack.

If Sieghart wanted to leave Lunar Arc for several weeks, he would no longer need Mira arranging transportation, guild contacts providing supplies, or another mission conveniently taking him somewhere worth investigating. That realization made finishing the carriage feel more important than its actual mechanical achievement. Sieghart was not merely building transportation; he was removing another practical reason for remaining permanently beneath Lunar Arc.

Once the carriage was ready, Sieghart spent the following week taking Ocular Magic seriously. That meant the entire process still consumed two weeks, but only one contained concentrated training rather than engineering distractions.

The book taught him to stop treating sight as something produced only by light. Mana existed across living bodies, enchanted equipment, spells, runes, and even supposedly invisible illusions if someone knew where to look.

Sieghart began by staring at simple enchanted lamps while feeding controlled mana through his eyes. At first, he saw nothing except headaches, floating spots, and the occasional reason to stop immediately. Gradually, faint halos appeared around active runes. The light was not truly visible, yet his mind interpreted different densities as pale colors layered over ordinary sight, similar to Mira's earlier explanation.

He tested Phantom Image afterward and discovered why ocular techniques threatened disguises. The false appearance looked convincing normally, but magical sight revealed mana spread across the illusion like transparent paint covering his real outline. That discovery mattered enormously if Sieghart intended to travel under changing identities. Anyone possessing comparable sight might recognize that his appearance was magical long before discovering who actually stood beneath it.

Magic Vision could not automatically prevent that, but it allowed Sieghart to recognize similar techniques in other people and identify mana gathering around someone's eyes before they examined him too carefully.

That alone was valuable. If someone capable of seeing through magical disguises approached him, Sieghart could notice the ocular activation first, avoid their gaze, disappear, or change his behavior before becoming suspicious. More importantly, understanding what his own illusion looked like through magical sight gave Sieghart a direction for improving Phantom Image later, perhaps by hiding its mana signature instead of merely changing visible features.

He practiced with moving spells next, watching Fireball gather before ignition, Wind Blade compress before release, and Telekinesis form nearly invisible pressure around whichever object he manipulated through the room.

Runic equipment became considerably easier to study as well. Sieghart could finally watch mana move through circuits instead of merely sensing general activity and guessing which line performed which function. That alone promised to accelerate his engineering experiments considerably. A failed circuit no longer needed to remain mysterious when Sieghart could watch mana accumulate somewhere it was never supposed to enter.

The most useful discovery appeared during physical movement. Muscle Reinforcement sent mana toward specific muscles just before Sieghart accelerated, making his intended action visible fractionally earlier through magical sight itself.

Against experienced Aura users or enhanced Chimerians, that fraction might become the difference between dodging before an attack started and desperately reacting after something enormous was already moving toward his skull. Sieghart realized that truly mastering Magic Vision could eventually become almost predictive. He would not read thoughts, but bodies and spells regularly revealed intentions through mana before physical actions actually followed.

Someone preparing to punch might reinforce one shoulder first. A mage aiming Fireball would direct mana through one arm. Even hidden skills could reveal concentrations before their effects became visible.

The better Sieghart understood those patterns, the more effectively he could predict opponents without relying entirely upon speed, something the Orc King had repeatedly demonstrated was a terrible defensive strategy by itself. On the final evening, Sieghart stood before a mirror while Phantom Image changed his face, hair, height, and apparent age. Then he activated the ocular technique without allowing either spell to collapse.

The illusion became transparent beneath his enhanced sight, revealing the true position of his body, the mana supporting every false feature, and several tiny imperfections he had never noticed through ordinary vision.

Sieghart adjusted Phantom Image repeatedly while observing those weaknesses, reducing unnecessary mana around the hair, redistributing density across the face, and making the outer layer follow his real movements more naturally. He still could not hide the illusion completely from Magic Vision, but anybody examining him would need considerably more attention than before to distinguish exactly where appearance ended and physical reality began.

That was enough for now. Sieghart only needed enough warning to recognize another ocular user before they recognized the importance of whatever magical disguise they had discovered around him.

A familiar System notification appeared before him, confirming that repeated observation, magical analysis, and successful separation between physical appearance and mana structure had finally formed a stable supernatural technique successfully.

A new magical discipline has awakened. Ocular Magic has been unlocked.

Sieghart blinked several times while the world remained layered with faint traces of mana. Another notification followed, defining the first specialization created through the book Mira had loaned him.

Ocular Magic Branch Discovered: Focus. This branch specializes in concentrating magical perception through sight, allowing the user to distinguish hidden structures, follow mana movement, analyze supernatural phenomena, and eventually recognize patterns before their physical effects become fully visible.

The final notification appeared while Sieghart looked toward his reflection, where Phantom Image remained visible as a thin magical layer surrounding the body hidden underneath.

New Spell Acquired: Magic Vision — Level 1. Allows direct visual perception of mana density, flow, magical structures, active enchantments, and supernatural distortions. Each level permanently grants +2 Perception while improving range, clarity, analysis speed, sensitivity, and resistance against visual deception.

Sieghart nodded slowly. Two Perception per level immediately made Magic Vision worthwhile even without its analytical applications, especially when Perception remained one of his least developed parameters. He dismissed the notifications and summoned his complete Status, curious how much his recent training had changed the numbers since the last time he properly reviewed everything together.

Name: Sieghart EmberhartRace: HumanAge: 10Level: 14Experience: 1150/1400Free Status Points: 0

Health: 300/300Mana: ∞Stamina: 300/300

Strength: 23Strength: 25Endurance: 30Vitality: 30Dexterity: 25Magic: 279Mentality: 121Resistance: 57Perception: 21

MAGIC PATHS══════════════════════════════════════

BLACK MAGIC — Level 18

├── Fire Magic│ ├── Flame — Level 12│ ├── Fireball — Level 30│ ├── Giant Fireball — Level 13│ └── Flamethrower — Level 1│ └── +2 Magic per level

├── Water Magic│ ├── Water Creation — Level 14│ ├── Water Cannon — Level 23│ └── Water Jet — Level 1

├── Wind Magic│ ├── Breeze — Level 12│ ├── Wind Blade — Level 23│ └── Impulse — Level 1

├── Earth Magic│ ├── Sand Control — Level 13│ ├── Earth Bullet — Level 24│ └── Earth Creation — Level 1

├── Ice Magic│ ├── Frozen Floor — Level 19│ ├── Ice Shuriken — Level 18│ └── Glacial Fist — Level 1

├── Lightning Magic│ ├── Spark — Level 11│ └── Thunder Arrow — Level 1

└── Poison Magic   └── Poison Sphere — Level 1 

WHITE MAGIC — Level 12

├── Support Magic│ └── Protection — Level 17

├── Reinforcement Magic│ └── Muscle Reinforcement — Level 16

├── Healing Magic│ └── First Aid — Level 18

└── Enchanting Magic   └── Elemental Imbuement — Level 12

SUMMONING MAGIC — Level 11

└── Construct Magic   ├── Mana Sword — Level 17   └── Mana Shield — Level 13

ARCANE MAGIC — Level 14

├── Transmission Magic│ └── Mana Transfusion — Level 40

├── Rune Magic│ └── Mana Rune — Level 13

└── Illusion Magic   └── Phantom Image — Level 12 

PSIONICS — Level 1

└── Psychokinesis    └── Telekinesis — Level 12

PERCEPTION MAGIC — Level 1

└── Sensory Enhancement   └── Enhanced Smell — Level 11

OCULAR MAGIC — Level 1

└── Focus   └── Magic Vision — Level 1 

ALCHEMY MAGIC — Level 1

└── Concoction   └── Potion Refinement — Level 1

NECROMANCY — Level 1

└── Undead Creation    └── Zombification — Level 1

SIN MAGIC — Level 1

└── Wrath    └── Fury — Level 1

Magic had increased after the latest offensive techniques and Potion Refinement, while Magic Vision pushed Perception upward without requiring another personal level.

Mentality had also gained one point from Potion Refinement, another small advantage from a discipline Sieghart still considered suspicious enough that experimenting carelessly with it would be incredibly stupid. The carriage itself had provided no parameters, spell levels, or System rewards whatsoever. Runic engineering remained ordinary learned craftsmanship, regardless of how useful its products became.

Sieghart found that strangely refreshing. Not everything needed a level, notification, or permanent parameter increase to become worth learning, especially when his new vehicle could carry an entire workshop.

He dismissed the Status and looked through his basement doorway toward the corridor beyond, where Lunar Arc continued operating exactly as it always had around him. Then Sieghart looked toward the keys resting beside the ocular-magic book, attached to the steering mechanism of a carriage that required no horses, no mana core, and nobody else's permission.

He had spent years becoming stronger enough to survive outside. Perhaps the question was no longer whether he could leave. It was where he wanted to go first.