CHAPTER 22 (Patreon)

Finding out what happened at one percent was taking longer than I had hoped. Even though I was making progress and learning to understand the different states mana could take, I hadn’t made tangible progress in cultivation.

Fortunately, in the meantime my Skills did improve. I was using Mana Sight and Mana Manipulation constantly, and almost every experiment started with Mana Absorption. 

[Mana Sight level 19]

[+4 Perception]

[+2 Mana Flow]

[Mana Absorption level 11!]

[+2 Magic Power]

[+2 Focus]

[Mana Manipulation level 20!]

[Skill Upgrade: Mana Manipulation → Mana Manipulation II!]

[+2 Mana Flow]

[+1 Magic Power]

[New Perk Unlocked: Mana Resonance!]

Description: While Mana Manipulation is active, Magic Power is increased by 1% for every full 10 points of Mana Flow.

[Mana Resonance strengthened to 7%]

Well, well, this was new!

My trusty old Mana Manipulation had upgraded. Mother had taught me about these. Skill upgrades were common and they were a direct power increase for the existing skill. They were a lot less exciting than a Skill Evolution, which would fundamentally change, and usually expand on the existing skill. Still, an upgrade was an upgrade, and I wasn’t one to complain.

I really loved the synergy this Perk would build over time.

The upgrade would also give me an extra Attribute point with each new level. My old levels stayed the same, unfortunately. Apparently this worked in addition to Skill Evolutions. Mother’s Sixth Sense had been Heightened Senses II before the evolution. Now she was getting four Attribute points per level, despite the Skill being Rare.

And the Perk was good too. With my increasingly high Mana Flow, that was a nice boost to my Magic Power. I pretty much always used Mana Manipulation when I used mana, so the perk was basically constantly active. It didn’t seem as powerful as Arcane Convergence, but that had apparently been affected by the Sage Perk, whereas this seemed like a standard upgrade. Was this Perk normal or affected by the Unique variant?

How did all of this work? The hell did I know! I was just a baby trying to make sense of a System screen.

Either way I was excited by these upgrades and wanted to see them in action.

I immediately tried another transmutation, putting my improved abilities to work. I started working with a string of mana I had pulled inside me and I worked to find the right frequency. It seemed manipulating the mana was somewhat easier. Inspired by my growth, I indulged in a long session of trying out different variations in states of mana. I was getting closer, and Mez seemed very pleased with my progress during this session.

But I was still essentially at square one.

The mana had refused to become part of my body.

Damn it.

Back to training.

Days passed and I took regular breaks to go eat and sleep with my mother. She clutched me fiercely whenever I slept, and it made me feel happy and safe. After breakfast, I would leave and go learn with Mez. But even though I was leveling up in Mana Transmutation, I couldn’t comprehend what state was required of the mana to be integrated with my body. And whenever I asked this of Mez, he refused to tell me, and only urged me to play further.

My training consisted of drawing in mana and transmuting it into a different frequency. Like trying on different shades of color. I leveled up in several Skills doing this, but I couldn’t get anything to fit. 

I was trying to find a state of mana my body could accept. I could infuse my muscles and my bones to enhance them, which Mez told me was close. So I tried all the fifty shades of mana around that. There was one thing that I couldn’t measure with any System given skill that I got really good at: accuracy.

I now sensed even the smallest changes in mana's state because of my extensive practice. However, I couldn’t get it quite right.

Until I did. There was no magic trick. Only a relentless grind I threw myself into.

After two weeks of play and instruction, I finally understood. 

I transmuted mana into a state I hadn't discovered before. I immediately recognized it to be something profound.

“Yes!” Mez said excitedly. “That is it. This is the purified form!”

My body absorbed it and I guided the tiny amount to the tip of my index finger. In my Mana Sight it now glowed faintly blue.

[Cultivation Insight Obtained: Purified Mana!]

[Arcane Body Art — First Layer: 1%]

I groaned with relief and threw myself on the floor.

I bent my finger. It moved like normal. My skin still felt like skin. But underneath it I could sense a tiny bit of mana that wasn't going anywhere.

It wasn’t a spell or structured magic. It was something alive.

I now understood the nature of cultivation Insights.

Magical Insight usually gave me a flash of understanding that faded like a dream. Afterwards, I always had to struggle to repeat what I’d done.

This cultivation Insight stayed. It was like seeing a magician’s trick and being unable to unsee it. I could recognize purified mana now, and I knew what I was trying to make. Producing it was still hard work, but at least I wasn’t guessing anymore.

I looked happily at my tiny magical fingertip. All of my work here had culminated into this singular point, and there was something truly beautiful about it. That tiny tip of my baby-sized finger? That was connected with the magic of the world somehow.

I drained mana into it from the surrounding space with Mana Absorption. Dozens of particles surged into it effortlessly. I didn’t need to impose structure on them or hold them inside the finger. It was as natural as breathing.

I pointed my magical finger at a wall and created water by using Mana Transmutation. I used the leftover mana inside my finger to transmute and shape into kinetic energy. Not kinetic spell components. Just pure kinetic energy. Instantly and easily.

The Water Bullet splashed into the wall. It wasn’t as powerful as a structured spell formula I could charge and craft carefully. Structured magic was still clearly supreme and the First Ones had used both of these systems for a reason.

Of course, there was only so much mana that a tiny bit of cultivated finger could handle. The Water Bullets I created purely with cultivation were merely cute for now. I tried to avoid cackling like a villain about the ‘for now’ part.

But I could use this magic from my cultivation intuitively and instantly. I admired my finger in pure joy. I could already see the many possibilities of combining these two kinds of magics. Could I create water out of the cultivation and structure spell formulas around that?

Endless opportunity…

“Astounding…” Mez muttered. “How are you feeling?”

“Happy…” I said. “I figured it out. It’s the sweetest feeling I know.”

Mez chuckled and shook his head.

“Thank you,” I said. “For all of this.”

Mez bowed. “You are a good pupil. Intelligent, industrious, talented. Everything a teacher wants.”

“Stop buttering me up, it’s embarrassing.”

“I only speak the truth.”

“Distinctly untrue,” I said. “You omit and obfuscate constantly.”

“I must. It is my directive. Find me again in the tier 1 zone and I will tell you more. But you will still be unsatisfied. Even if I brought you back in time and gave you the keys to the Grand Library of Boxus, it would not quench your thirst for knowledge.”

My eyes lit up. “Can you do that?”

“I was merely jesting, child.”

“Oh…” I said and sniffed. “Hey, why was this so damn hard?”

It was the understatement of the century. I had never been challenged like this. Mez had guided me with gentle feedback. I had transmuted mana and he had told me if I was getting closer or not. I had started to get closer and closer when I was creating more intricate mana frequencies. 

That, combined with a few minor breakthroughs aided by Magical Insight had let me progress. For the mana to be accepted by the body, it required an insanely complicated pattern that took me a painstakingly long time to even create a speck of. I looked at my finger. When I activated my Mana Sight, it glowed with a dim blue light that radiated power. It made me so happy. I knew I had done something really difficult and succeeded.

But boy did I have a long road ahead of me.

“For one, your relevant Skills are low. Mana Absorption, Mana Manipulation and Mana Transmutation are all required, as well as a mana sensing Skill. I am profoundly surprised you managed to learn this quickly. I thought this would take months.”

“Months?!” I cried out. “I would have missed the Moon Festival.”

“Interesting priorities…”

“Hmph,” I said. “My mother would have gone crazy if I was here for months. My dad would lose face, and I want to kick that little punk Vorok’s ass.”

Mez laughed. “Earnest. I like that. Is this why you practice magic so relentlessly? For family, pride and power?”

“No,” I said. Then I considered my words. This intense training that I had kept going since entering the ruins had tempered me. I was now even more focused than before. On some level I felt I was still a child, but one that had grown fast. “Those are just things I get because I can. What I want is to simply pursue magic.”

“Why?” Mez asked.

I shrugged. “Why? Do I need a grand reason?”

“Usually people claim one.”

“I have that,” I said. “Threw my old life away, don’t want to waste this one, so I pursue this.”

“I sense a but.”

“But it’s not the whole truth. It’s just a story. Some stories we tell others, and some we tell to ourselves.”

“I think no story would have allowed you to train this rigorously,” Mez said. “Something must have kept you going these past weeks.”

I smiled to myself. “I just really love magic.”

*

I was done here. I had cleared my first trials of the ancestors. There would be many more to come, for I knew I needed to embark on this quest to find the other temples. I had to go find Mez in the tier 1 continent.

I was so ready for that. I had gotten strong. Strong enough to defeat the Silverback. I could tell. Ever since gaining the cultivation Insight, I had additionally practiced using my cultivated mana finger in conjunction with structured magic under Mez’s instruction in these last few days.

He encouraged me to do it, for he would hate to see all his effort go to waste in the maw of a monster gorilla.

However, that insufferable teacher wouldn’t just give me all the arcane secrets of spell formulas. He gave a few hints here and there and told me he had much to tell if I reached the further temples.

He could have easily just told me now!

Overall I spent a week with Mez after the breakthrough, because it was better to be safe than sorry. In addition to Spellcrafting, I also practiced the purified mana state until I could reproduce it without his help. I was still slow, but at least I knew what I was doing now.

[Spellcrafting level 12!]

[+1 Mana Flow]

[+2 Magic Power]

I also gained a few more levels in my mana Skills. It felt good to see my abilities improving, even if I was nowhere close to completing the First Layer. I only had one percent. But I had to admit, even having that felt amazing.

I couldn’t wait to see how further increases in my cultivation would increase my connection with magic.

I asked if I could take the Skill scroll and the spellbook, to which Mez agreed.

“You have been an outstanding pupil and I have enjoyed your company,” he said when I was ready to depart.

“Likewise,” I said. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Will I be seeing you again?”

“Oh, absolutely,” I said and grinned. “I will find a ship to take me to the tier 1 continent as soon as possible.”

This pleased Mez. “I would expect nothing less. Travel well, little magician.”

I made to leave, before he added:

“The temple will be sealed after you leave. The abundant mana around it will start to dissipate.”

“Aww,” I groaned. “I wanted to come back and train here.”

“You will find thicker concentrations of atmospheric mana as you venture deeper towards the pole of this world.”

“Okay,” I said. “I guess I’ll see you there. Bye. Thanks again!”

Then it was time to pick up my mother and go face the Silverback. Before I left, I looked at my status screen, and I enjoyed the pride of having come so far.

Name: Luka

Attributes:

Perception: 95

Focus: 45

Mana Flow: 91

Magic Power: 88

Skills:

Meditation (Uncommon): 19

Mana Sight (Mythic): 19

Mana Manipulation II (Uncommon*): 22

Spellcrafting (Rare): 12

Mana Absorption (Epic): 13

Mana Transmutation (Epic): 8

Total Level: 93

Skill Slots: 6/6

Cultivation:

Arcane Body Art — First Layer: 1%

Insight: Purified Mana

Perks:

Sage, Contemplative, Unique, Magical Insight, Arcane Convergence (18%), Mana Weaving, Continuous Casting, Perfect Initiation (Mana Absorption), Mana Augmentation, Mana Resonance (9%)

Special Achievements: Awakened Mind

Achievements: First Skill, Unique, Cultivation