It was the last day before the start of military school. Veric just finished breakfast which was nice but not as nice as yesterday. ‘Clearly, The chef preparing his meals didn’t spend enough time levelling up.‘

  Dara came back in the morning and was very happy to see him awake and healthy. Veric could see some bags under her eyes she clearly didn’t get much rest on her day off. He told her that the short coma allowed him to gain a magic-related class and that he even managed to level it up a few times. He told her that he spent all of the points on vitality and constitution and that she doesn’t have to worry about his health anymore.

  He was sitting in front of his status sheet. Thinking of the best way to move forward. ‘Based on what Elora told me. I will have exactly 1 year of safety while she is still in the castle. Afterwards, I will most likely enjoy a lot more attention from Rigon. I have a few options. Based on Veric’s memories I could challenge Rigon to a duel. If I win I will be next in line of inheritance.’

  ‘Alvhar is a country of swordsmen and warriors where your strength determines the line of succession. The oldest child doesn’t inherit the lands and the title due to the pure fact that they were born first but because they had the most time to amass the most skills and levels. However there were cases when a younger sibling defeated their older sibling in a duel, therefore they inherited the title.’

  ‘Thus I could challenge Rigon to a duel. I asked Elora yesterday and there is no explicit rule against using magic because there are warrior type classes which use mana, aether, aura or blessings to increase their battle prowess.’

  ‘If I do decide to have a duel there are many variables to consider. Problem number 1. I don’t want to be a lord, the job seems tedious and takes up a lot of time, I would much prefer to research mana in peace and not worry about the peasants too much, I don’t want any uprisings because I forgot that I have a barony to run.’

  ‘Problem number 2. If I defeat Rigon, he will most likely try to get rid of me using other methods. He already tried to kill me once and from his perspective, it was most likely the most reasonable thing to do. He knew that I inherited our mother’s bloodline and as a mage, I am somewhat of a wildcard. If I do decide to challenge him, from his perspective I might be hard to deal with so he is trying to eliminate me while I am still harmless. The duel will have to end with his death. That is the safest option.’

  ‘Even though I know this is to be the case I am not a killer and the largest animal I have ever killed was a fish. I don’t think I have it in me to kill.’

  ‘Problem number 3. If I kill Rigon during the duel his supporters, which I am sure he has acquired will most likely not be pleased. Their loyalty might be questionable and I will have to deal with them accordingly. Which might involve more killing, which will make me unpopular in my court. Which might most likely lead to difficulties further down the line. I might be overthinking this but this outcome is plausible.’

  ‘Problem number 4. The most important problem of them all. Whenever a new bloodline is introduced into the ranks of nobility, the Crown has the legal authority to arrange marriages for that family for the next 3 generations. I don’t fancy an arranged marriage, just to copulate and create more heirs. Due to all of these problems, the idea of a formal duel might have to be put on hold.’

  ‘Option number 2 is to simply run away somewhere and start a new life from scratch. It won’t be easy because Rigon might still send me his goons after me and starting from scratch is not easy on earth let alone in mediaeval times where I would probably be forced to hide my identity from magic or some crazy assassins. The only solution to that problem, that I can see is to fake my death. But for now, I have no idea how would go around accomplishing that. Therefore option number 2 is on hold for now.

  ‘Option number 3 is to convince Elora to stay in Yorel and become a baroness. However, it would involve me somehow manipulating her. It would completely derail her life and most likely make her unhappy. So option number 3 is rejected.

  ‘Option number 4 is to make the current baron immortal.’ He thought with a smirk. Amused by the absurdity of the idea.

  ‘For now, let’s put it on hold. What do you think would be the ideal solution to my predicament Prometheus?’

  ‘Why?’

  You seem a bit biassed, me too for that matter but what about all the problems I mentioned? Also, I am not much of a fighter?’

  ‘I have considered that but it seems cold and calculated. Plus I will actually have to defeat Rigon. He is a knight like Elora and Alessandra. Their duel was so fast I couldn’t follow their swords with my eyes. Apparently, they were pulling their punches and were not using active swordsmanship skills so as to not injure each other too much.’

  After a long sigh and a moment of silence. Veric pointed at his stats and asked about what to do next.

  ‘Yesterday I have unnecessarily spent 6 free attribute points on agility and strength because I wanted to check on Alessandra and make sure she doesn’t need immediate surgery. Though I don’t know whether they would be able to safely make a small hole in her skull or in the spinal cord to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid. Luckily, high vitality doesn’t only increase HP but also sturdiness and regeneration to a small extent and the ringing in her ears stopped after a few hours.’

  ‘I am glad I did it though, I feel so much better now. Walking and lifting things is not a herculean task anymore. It seems like the stronger and faster I am the less stamina it takes to move around which makes sense. Anyway, If we want to design a fighting style for me what do you think would be the best way to distribute the free attribute points from now on?’

  ‘I was thinking the same thing. Vitality is a must. Willpower somehow affects the Aether which I am not brave enough to touch just yet but is definitely necessary to cast certain spells. Agility will help me to run away and a high constitution will make sure that I don’t run out of steam too quickly while I run away. Dexterity and strength can be somewhat ignored. I will never be as strong as Elora or probably just a normal human that invests in strength so there is no point in wasting too many points on that. Magic will be my main weapon in the future.’

  ‘Speaking of weapons.’ Veric pulled out a small silver spoon he nicked from the dining hall yesterday. The cutlery he was provided with was made out of steel and yesterday he noticed that infusing silver was easier than infusing water so he wanted to perform some tests.

  ‘Let’s conduct some tests and get my head straight about mana. I need to start creating a clear image of mana to develop more spells in the future.’

  ‘I can faintly sense ambient mana; however, I cannot control it. I can strongly sense mana that has been either released by my soul or attracted by it and then converted into the mana core. My soul is capable of storing around 100 units of mana. My mana core is capable of storing far more mana, the limit is undetermined. However, I have never emptied neither my soul nor my core fully. What will happen when my core is empty?’

  ‘Thank you, Prometheus. You are helpful as always.’

  ‘Anyway once my mana is processed it behaves like a pushing force. However, when I used the scroll the mana became processed differently. Instead of feeling somewhat dense like a fluid that I can control It felt cold. Can I process mana differently to give it different effects?’

  ‘Not as much of a test but I need to become better at shaping mana. When using mana it is more of a cloud than anything else. But the artefact and scroll managed to give them a specific shape for specific purposes.’

  ‘Lastly, I need to figure out how different materials react to mana.’

  ‘Ok, let’s start with the first test.’

  He walked over to the window and opened it, in case mana stopped the movement of air in the room and eventually suffocated him. He then sat down on the floor on crossed legs. He sat in the middle of the room and closed his eyes. He slowly started to stimulate his core, with each second the rate at which the mana was being released increased slightly.

  The mana was being released from every pore of his body because he was not trying to control it, he was only trying to empty his core. He couldn’t feel it directly with his physical senses but he could sense that the atmosphere around him was becoming denser by the second. At around 80 cm away from his body he seemed to lose the connection with mana and was no longer able to influence it.

  ‘It seems that I can push out only 60 MP of mana per second and around 30 MP is being replenished each second. The rate at which mana is being replenished seems a bit high. It should take me around 5 minutes to empty my core then.’

  By the second the task of emptying his core became more difficult. If he didn’t expel maximum mana or lost concentration extra seconds were added to the clock. His mana started to diffuse around his room, creating a bubble of mana around him.

  Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

  ‘I can see, something, shapes. Everywhere. Above me, in front of me, below me, behind me. What are they? I am getting dizzy. They are so fuzzy and irregular. ‘ He wanted to stop but persevered even though it had a negative impact on his concentration. The more mana he pumped out the further away from his core he could control his mana.

  After around five minutes thousands of units of his mana were in the atmosphere yet his core was not completely empty. A headache and tiredness grew the more empty his core became. After an additional minute, his mana reached zero at which point his mind became clouded and fuzzy.

  Once he reached his goal he re-opened his eyes.

  After choking down a mouthful of vomit he skimmed the wall of text and decided to lie down. ‘Make a note to never empty my core. Bad idea.’

  ‘Are the fuzzy, dizzying confusing shapes I saw similar to the stuff you see when I reabsorb mana?’

  ‘We will have a huge celebration of the level ups after my head stops spinning.’

  After strange vertigo disappeared. Veric sat up on the bed. ‘My core is back to normal let's. Have a look at my stats.’

  ‘My mana is getting really high right now at this rate it will be more than I will ever need. What will happen if I cast [Mana Domain] using the system? Will that help me with levelling up faster?’

  Veric stood up and selected the [Mana domain] spell. Instantly the mana started to behave in the exact same way as before however this time Veric didn’t have to concentrate on controlling it and also he couldn't influence it in any way nor stop it. The spell was running completely on autopilot.

  Within three minutes 5000 MP were infused into the air once again. The air felt thick yet comfortable.

  ‘No improvements in [Minor Mana Manipulation]. It seems that if I cast spells directly through the system I don’t improve my control so the skill doesn’t get any better. If I want to improve I need actively cast spells.’

  He sat down cross-legged on the floor once more and closed his eyes. He used [minor mana sense] to the extreme while inside of his soul palace and observed the process by which mana is being processed in his soul and core.

  ‘The ambient mana seems formless, it has endless possibilities, but once it gets in contact with my core, it seems to be refined. My core… has a will. The certain expectation of what mana should be. During this process, the mana becomes… tuned like a loose guitar string. It gains form and structure. What if…’

  Veric tried remembering the feeling of mana turning cold while using the scroll. The exact effect that mana wanted to have on the water. How it used the understanding of water in order to freeze it effectively. But it wasn’t enough for him. The original spell was too limited, it focused only on water.

  He used his perfect memory to think about all types of molecular and crystal structures. The most effective way to freeze them all. They introduce a form of anti-kinetic energy into the system that will perfectly clash with kinetic energy to create a net-zero, a perfect zero, an absolute zero.

  The mana stored in his core was formless but with each passing minute, it became whiter and harder the process was slow but the perception of time was greatly skewed inside of his mana core. Once all of it became uniformly hard and cold. Veric opened his eyes.

  ‘A branch? Does that mean skills will gain special effects once you unlock different branches? Are there class-specific branches? Can branches branch out? I wish it would have been a separate skill, that way I could level up faster, but oh well. You can’t have everything in life… Wait a second. 60 MP per minute? That means I have spent more than 3 hours sitting on my ass, I am sure it took me at least half an hour to visualise it properly first. Dara should be here soon with lunch.’ He thought and patted himself on his empty stomach.

  He stood up and grabbed a glass of water and thought. ‘Could I use new mana to make it more refreshing?’

  He infused a small amount of mana into the water. The water inside expanded and froze almost instantly, cracked the glass and cut his hand open. He dropped the sharp cylinder of ice and glass on the floor. The ice was hard and once it hit the floor it didn’t shatter.

  “Fuck!” He swore loudly and started to pick out the smaller chunks of glass embedded in his hand.

  “I should be more careful with spells.”

  “No. fucking. Way.”

  “Prometheus are you seeing what I am seeing?”

  Veric opened his stat sheet to double-check.

  “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”