Shielded by Seals [Chapter 28] (Patreon)

Next week, should be on the correct schedule.

ToC: https://www.patreon.com/posts/132353583

Today’s lecture focused on a variety of medicinal herbs. In a mechanical tone, the lecturer moved through common herbs, the ways they should be harvested, and how to spot them in the wild. He also warned that, in order to survive in the Fang Family one must contribute.

Yaawwwwwn…

It… was my greatest struggle, staying conscious while this man talked.

As I noticed myself starting to nod off, I decisively switched to training Concentration and Mana-Adjusted Physique. I activated Emit Mana, released its bulges of energy through the seals on the ring, and then I just sat and concentrated on the paper in front of me to keep myself from groaning from the agony. Barely, the pain managed to overcome his soporific tone.

It had been a fruitful week, so soon-

Your Skill Concentration has reached a new Proficiency! Beginner II-> Beginner III. The boost provided by Concentration increases. Clarity increases. You gain a minute boost to your focus, even when not activating the Skill. As a result of this increase, your Mana Pool deepens.

For increasing the Proficiency of a Skill while a Child, the Role Child has gained Proficiency! +5%.

For increasing the Proficiency of a Skill, the Role Genius has gained Proficiency! +2%.

I released a breath. With Concentration active, I suddenly felt like, even without listening, bits of information filtered into my mind. The process of learning became relaxing and natural. Ah, I can slack off and still retain information from the classroom? Even if the style has changed, truly, grinding is the only way forward…

Squaring my shoulders, I started another round of training. My attention turned inward, to my Mana Pool. With each small deepening that I experienced with the improvement of Skills, and occasionally with the improvement of Traits, the small thimble of Mana I had started with had swelled to become a pond. Ripples of chilly energy looked almost cheerful, as it represented the culmination of all my efforts.

Its presence within my body remained the same. The central ‘well’ from which Mana seeped had not changed. Yet when my awareness followed the well, the space expanded and the whole of my Mana glittered, waiting for my attention.

Are those… seals? My focus sharpened toward the edges of my Mana Pool. Because as I looked at the limits, arcing lines of energy occasionally flickered. I examined the whole of my Mana Pool, ignoring the tingling sensation as my awareness moved through my Mana. The varying lines were congregated in different areas, forming broad shapes. Yet with the intermittent glowing and fading and the constant distraction of the tingling, I couldn’t grasp any specific shape.

Yet I felt excited; my efforts were paying off. Perhaps soon, I would develop my own natural seals. Will I be able to then see the seals Argyle put into me…?

With renewed enthusiasm, I activated Emit Mana five times in a row. The Mana shifted in my body, moving and bulging out through my arms. With each activation, the energy grew and twisted; my muscles complained and cramped as the icy energy surged through me. Just as I was about to hunker down-- a few sparks shot out from my fingers.

“Eh?” I blinked. The spark quickly went out, but not before burning a hole in my notes scroll. A notification floated in front of me.

For using Emit Mana, you have gained Proficiency. +1% Proficiency. For struggling to activate your Skill through a seal, +5% Proficiency.

For an impressive act, +5% Proficiency to your Role Genius.

For a second, I blinked. Even the pain faded somewhat, while Mana writhed in my limbs. Concentration… with enough stacked activations of the Skill… creates a bridge of Mana in my body, the Skill can use to push through the sealring?

“Ahem, Mister Scowl.” A voice dragged me back to the real world. At the front of the classroom, the lecturer glowered at me. “Did you have a question?”

“No!” I couldn’t help but release a wide smile.

The instructor, disgusted, shook his head. “My question then, is why a student like you was allowed into the Inner Hand Cloister… tsk tsk, at this rate, young man, let me tell you, your future is not bright…”

All the other children looked at me with pity, due to the dressing down, but I was an adult in a Child’s body; who cared about being lectured by a Fang Family crony? They had kidnapped me, no matter how palatable the current environment was.

I could barely keep a grin from my face. Plus, the locked door to my previous grinding had been forced ajar through hard work. Skills became rather Mana intensive, of course. Concentration drained Mana and increased the Mana cost of co-activated Skills, and you needed to use Emit Mana several times in a row to bring the Skill to the surface.

Yet it succeeded. In the end, I couldn’t help it; I beamed around, completely without a care in the world. And when the lecture finally finished, I rushed back to the solarium and pushed open a window. First, I released several Emit Mana’s, filling my arm with chaotic bulges of Mana, then I activated Silk Shot, wondering if they could combine together.

A huge surge of Mana swept through me as Silk Shot and Concentration worked in tandem. My arms shook from the strain, but I felt the Skills activating. Excitement filled me, caused my body to shake, and then ripped its way out of my wrist-

…in such a uncontrolled burst that it hit the window ledge directly in front of me. Because my mind was distracted at the time of activation, because of the pain, the silk came out sticky and looping back on myself.

I pressed my lips together as I looked at the mess I had made, pasting myself to the wall. In addition, because of the extra Mana requirements of Concentration, the whole situation had emptied my Mana Pool. For the first time in quite a while, I felt Mana Hungry kick in and push away the dizzy exhaustion.

When I pivoted away from the window, all of the kids were staring. Some of the attendants, too, had heavy looks as they examined all the spider silk strewn across the opening of the window. I coughed lightly into my hand and ignored them. 

In the short term, controlling my Skills would be difficult. It was enough of a relief to just have access to them, albeit with a little extra hoop-hopping. But this asked a new question: going forward, how should I train?

Concentration pushing through the seal ring earned a huge boost in Proficiency. What had required thousands of Emit Mana’s in the past required only the one accidental activation. These gains would probably decrease as I overcame the ring more consistently, but it gave me a whole new lever with which to spur growth.

Yet…

No, I should wait, I sighed to myself and tried to keep my excitement from bubbling up too much. One thing at a time. I’m so close to finishing the Learning Role. Focus until that completes, then I can try the new way of grinding Skills.

Besides, they are taking us down to the market next week anyway.

I had my plan. I released a breath. I kept ignoring the stares from the other individuals and focused on my own progression.

*****

Ryonu Feng and Keekri sat in a dark room at a table. The old woman, her hands still locked away behind arthritis, took the third seat at the table. They waited in silence.

A few minutes later, a young attendant pushed open the door. The man bowed. “We’ve just received word. The information is contradictory, but what is certain is that the boy managed to utilize his silk Skill while wearing the seal ring. It is only a singular, messy result, but-”

“This confirmation is enough,” Ryonu spoke in a deep voice. His mouth twisted. “Heh, I had resigned myself to retiring, but this… stirs the blood, does it not?”

“His bloodline resonated with the seal,” Keekri whispered. “It’s the only explanation. How pure must his blood be, for that to be possible…?”

“The Emerald Spider has a cold and secret heart,” The old woman observed. “This… alright, this sort of phenomenon cannot be faked. We have a genuine Direct Blood, one whose potential might be one of the most profound in the history of the Feng Family. Greater even than that two-legged girl.”

Ryonu looked at the old woman. “A good point. In the future, the boy will not be able to change the family alone. Why don’t you approach the girl to be an apprentice seamstress?”

The woman offered a grim smile. “She’s bloodthirsty enough. Hah… as expected, the work never ceases. I suppose as long as she agrees, her apprenticeship can be changed.”

“We cannot simply stand by,” Ryonu said. “Now that we’ve identified the rot and the method to remove it, we must prepare.”

“All for the Feng Family,” Keekri whispered and bowed his head.

*****

Due to repeated actions, Proficiency of your Trait ???? Learning has increased! Proficiency +1%.

Due to the Proficiency of Concentration, your Trait Accuracy affects your current efforts! Proficiency of Accurate has increased by 1%.

My eyes opened. Alright, got it.

I looked at my Status and smiled: my Learner Role was now at 91%. Halfway through the week before the next excursion and I could practically taste the new Skill I would receive. However, this last stretch was the most difficult. After learning all the moves, now I had to combine them. Likely, I was to use my innate sense of martial arts to intuit the proper movements, amongst all the variations. However-

Martial arts sense? I don’t have that. I shook my head. Instead, repeat the movements with minute changes, and then memorize the one that pushes up the Proficiency! Trust the System!

After a day of stalling out on the foot movement, I finally found a position that nudged the Proficiency up. I took a few minutes to loosen my muscles and get a glass of water. Then I returned to my corner, where Toad, Toby, and I practiced our Skills. 

Deep in a particularly contentious game of castle building, the rest of the kids ignored us.

In the same manner, over the course of the evening and the next morning, I repeated the step, the jump, and the landing with minor variations. To my surprise, the most difficult was the landing. No matter how I tried it, I couldn’t get my efforts in that area to show any results. Just as I had decided that maybe my landing didn’t matter as much, I took a brief break to do some Mana-Adjusted Physique training. Because the landing didn’t matter, I didn’t wait for the Mana to disperse before resuming. 

And when I jumped with those painful ropes of unshaped Mana radiating cold in my muscles-

Due to the user’s state, Proficiency of your Learner Role Unknown Family Affiliate has increased! Proficiency +1%.

The user’s state? I felt question marks appearing above my head. Yet the notification wouldn’t lie. Then… is what is more important the fact my body is flooded when Mana when I step…? Hum… Well, I’m putting my trust in the System anyway. In for a penny, in for a whole confusing Skill.

I activated Emit Mana Several times, doing my best to ignore the frigid discomfort. I twitched, messing up my form somewhat, but I jumped in this unusual state.

When the Proficiency ticked up again, I smiled.