Approaching the front counter, he requested to reserve a private indoor space for the next couple of hours. Typically, Aurelius would have needed to make the reservation in advance. However, given that there were no ongoing classes at the time and it was early on Saturday, the attendant managed to find a room for him.
The attendant handed Aurelius a key and directed him to the designated room. As he made his way down the corridor, Aurelius couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement and determination. The room he entered was spacious, with high ceilings and a mirrored wall on one side. The floor was made of polished wood, and various training equipment was neatly arranged around the room.
Taking a look at the training equipment, Aurelius took a look at the various different weapons on display. The weapons ranged from large javelins, to small daggers, giving Aurelius the opportunity he desired.
"What happens if I break one of these weapons?" Aurelius asked.
The attendant raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. "You will have to pay one and a half times the cost of any damages you cause," he said, skeptically looking at Aurelius.
"Great!" Aurelius said with a false smile, slowly shutting the door on the still skeptical attendant. After making sure the door was closed, Aurelius turned around. He was quite confident that he wouldn't break a weapon. Well, fairly confident. He didn't know how difficult it would be to manifest the Arcane Blade. The description had warned that an incorrect infusion could result in a mana backlash.
In the worst-case scenario, Aurelius would attempt to teleport away before the mana backlash, or explosion, occurred. However, although Aurelius didn't know the price of most of the weapons, he was pretty certain that he couldn't afford to have any of them blow up.
Taking a deep breath, Aurelius decided to start simple. Grabbing one of the smaller daggers, he picked it up. Fortunately, the blade seemed to be of high quality, and he wondered if that meant it would be easier to use his Arcane Blade ability. The ability's description seemed to hint that it would.
Realizing there was no point in waiting, Aurelius activated the ability, pouring mana into the blade. The sensation felt odd to him, yet not entirely unfamiliar. Once again, mana seeped out of him and into his hand, reminiscent of his rune crafting. Similar to that process, he sensed a guiding presence, as if the ability was assisting him in channeling and containing his mana within the blade.
As Aurelius focused intently on the dagger in his hand, he began to sense when the blade's mana concentration was nearing its limits. He instinctively knew that pushing more mana into the blade would lead to disastrous consequences, possibly causing it to explode into pieces
With caution, Aurelius ceased the flow of mana into the blade, cutting off his input. He took a couple of deep breaths and continued to observe. Immediately, he noticed a soft blue hue emanating from the blade, giving it an almost ethereal glow. At the same time, Aurelius realized that the mana he had infused into the weapon was gradually seeping out, returning to the surrounding environment.
This revelation led Aurelius to surmise that the blue hue he had observed was, in fact, mana. Fascinated, Aurelius began to infuse more mana into the sword, this time at a much slower pace, just enough to replenish the dagger's mana at the rate it was losing it.
Slowly, Aurelius tested out the weapon, carefully swinging it through the air to see if he could notice any disparities. While he was swinging the dagger through the air, he made sure to always keep a close eye on both his mana connection to the blade and the blade's mana level. On a small side note, Aurelius also noticed that there was no difference in the weight or speed of the blade remained unchanged whether infused with mana or not.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
As Aurelius grew accustomed to the movements, he gradually acclimated to the sensation of his mana flowing from himself into the dagger. He no longer needed to devote his full concentration to it, allowing him to focus on his footwork and swordplay instead.
Before long, Aurelius resumed his customary training routine, engaging in a series of warm-up exercises to loosen his muscles. With the dagger grasped in his hand, Aurelius moved with elegant precision, the dagger and its contained mana becoming an extension of his own body. With each swing, he felt a surge of energy coursing through him and the blade.
Breathing lightly, Aurelius concluded his training routine and moved to return the dagger to its designated place on the rack amidst the other training equipment. However, before setting it down, he gradually reduced the flow of mana into the dagger. Patiently, he awaited as the remaining mana in the dagger naturally dissipated from the blade, returning it to its original, unenhanced state.
Once Aurelius had confirmed that it was completely devoid of mana, he carefully placed the dagger on the rack, relieved that he hadn't lost a hand or finger in the process. Moving along the rack, he selected a larger blade that was more familiar in size to him. With the weapon in hand, Aurelius wanted to test his abilities once more and was about to infuse mana into the sword. However, a thought suddenly struck him, prompting him to quickly check his stat screen to see the current level of his mana pool. Letting out a small sigh of relief, he saw that his mana pool was still full. Nonetheless, this discovery raised some questions. How come the Arcane Blade ability didn't drain his mana? It just didn't make sense, right? He was actively pouring his mana into the blade, so it should definitely use it up. Perhaps he hadn't been exceeding his own mana regeneration capacity while channeling mana into the dagger.
Thinking about it, Aurelius assumed that as the size of the blade increased, it would require more mana to fill and sustain. Testing this theory, he decided to fill the sword in his hand while carefully monitoring the progress on his status screen.
After a minute or so, Aurelius concluded that the blade required approximately 40 to 50 mana to be fully charged and depleted his reserves at a rate of around 3 mana per second to maintain its full power. Ceasing the mana supply and placing the sword down, he patiently waited for his mana to replenish before picking up one of the larger javelins he had noticed.
Compared to the sword, the javelin required approximately 100 mana to be fully charged and drained him of roughly 5 mana per second to sustain its power.
"That makes sense," Aurelius mused to himself. The concept seemed straightforward and logical—the larger the blade, the more mana it required. However, this once again emphasized the importance of leveling up his wisdom and intelligence stats. In theory, he could eventually reach a point where he could sustain his Arcane Blade ability on larger weapons indefinitely.
With a newfound understanding of the mana requirements for different weapons, Aurelius continued to experiment with various blades and weapons in the training room. He spent hours practicing his swordsmanship, honing his skills while carefully managing his mana usage.
As he progressed, Aurelius found himself becoming more adept at infusing mana into the weapons. He developed a natural rhythm, effortlessly synchronizing his movements with the flow of mana. The blades became extensions of his own will, responding with increased speed and precision.
With each successful swing, Aurelius felt a growing sense of accomplishment and confidence. The power of the Arcane Blade ability was becoming second nature to him. It was as if he had unlocked a hidden potential within himself, tapping into a source of power he hadn’t realized he had.
As the day wore on, Aurelius's muscles began to ache from the intensive training. He decided to take a short break to rest and replenish his energy. Walking to the edge of the training room, he found a bench and sat down, wiping the sweat off his brow.
Aurelius looked at the time and saw that he had only 15 minutes left in his training session. He realized that he had lost track of time while engrossed in his training. With a sense of disappointment, he reluctantly put the weapons back in their respective racks and made his way towards the exit.
As he left the training room, Aurelius felt a mix of exhaustion and satisfaction. He knew he had made significant progress in understanding and utilizing the Arcane Blade ability. But he also knew that there was much more to learn and master. With renewed determination, Aurelius made a mental note to spend more time practicing and refining his skills.
Exiting the building, Aurelius took a deep breath, the cool air invigorating him. Despite the cool atmosphere, the sun sat high in the sky, casting a warm glow across the campus. Feeling the ache in every movement, Aurelius made a slow trek back to his dorm room.