Mana Manipulation was no longer the same, Tercius concluded as he did some quick tests.
There was a shift in the way his skill behaved. Runes he made with red mana lingered in the air in front of him, their form more compact and less prone to spontaneous dissipation— with little input from him. The focus he had to exercise to do these things, just minutes earlier, had fallen down by a degree he noticed immediately. A burden had been taken off of him, now seemingly shouldered by the skill itself.
Mana Manipulation [21]
Allows the manipulation of Mana. Every skill level increases the effect by a small degree and lowers the cost of its use by a small degree.
Nothing changed in the description, and frankly, he did not expect it to. So far, Tercius had a lot of skills that had broken their first barriers, and none had changed a word in the aftermath. Still, it didn't hurt to check every once in a while.
"At eleven years of age I am almost at a meter and sixty centimeters in height," he murmured Rurds, as his index and middle finger left Runes hanging in the air.
Written in three neat rows, the circular Runes lingered in a state of clear geometric lines for just over a minute, with no input from him whatsoever. Compared to the barely twenty seconds he had been able to do, this was a world of difference. Focusing on his Mana Manipulation, he wrote the same text once more.
Minutes went by and his mana stayed just as he wrote it. Pulling back his active control after counting to three hundred, once more it took a minute for the mana to start falling apart.
Test after test, he checked and then rechecked his conclusions, a surge building up in him. Humming a silly tune he heard Lomera sing, from time to time, he thought about what just happened. The breakage of the barrier had altered his skill, not by changing its primary function, but by adding it a secondary one. He knew this was the case, but this was the first time he had overcome the barrier with a clear goal in mind, and the reward was well worth the effort. As he got up and stretched his stiff back he thought, If done properly, a barrier is a kind of a small scale evolution for a skill. I should think about how to modify my other barrier-bound skills.
"Oh, that feels good," he uttered as his back gave an appreciative warmth in thanks. Glancing down, he gave a smile to Amber. "Let's eat,"
Taking out a small knife and a couple of fruits out of his backpack, Tercius sliced off two small pieces off of each, for Amber, while keeping the rest for himself. Both of them munched on the sweet fruits in silence, enjoying the wind in the shade of the towering tree.
"Do you want more? Hungry?" Tercius asked.
Full, he interpreted her answer, as she used her tongue and paw to clean herself. For now.
Tercius took a long waterskin and then maneuvered it between his elbow and torso. Squeezing it, he washed off his hands and the knife he used, the water falling around the giant roots that bound the tree to the earth.
An hour of Well development, and I should be on my way, Tercius thought.
***
Your kind comes! Amber alerted him. Humans!
Keeping the pressure he built in his Well under tight control, Tercius opened one eye.
Some three hundred meters ahead, walking across the green grass, was a familiar crowd. The hum of their conversation reached him, and he released the mana pressure he had built up in his Well. Amber ran over to stand behind his foot, the kitten-sized lioness' head poking out behind cover to see who it was. Friendly? Tercius interpreted the stream she sent via Familiar Bond.
"They are friendly," he confirmed and gave a wave to the newcomers.
"It isn't like you to be late," Seliana said once they came within earshot.
"Sorry, I got carried away," Tercius said and then smiled. "My Mana Manipulation is finally at twenty-one,"
Sonia scoffed, crossing her arms. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Probably because he beats you all the time,” Penelope said, getting a glare in return. Using a tone he heard from Mistress Helfira, one the elder used when she was in a particular teaching mood, Penelope continued unbothered by Sonia’s piercing brown eyes. “You know, he has a Well and you don’t—”
Sonia said nothing, but if eyes could cast spells…
Without skipping a beat Penelope continued, using a single finger like a pointer at obvious things. “So you have probably accustomed yourself to losing to him. Given a bit more time—” Penelope shrugged, seemingly sad for whatever she was about to say.
“What? Say it, you—” Sonia said, her cheeks red.
"Now, now, girls," Seliana said, placing a calming hand first on Sonia's and then Penelope's head. "Play nice, you two."
Tercius rolled his eyes at the interaction between the two. Sometimes they got along like two peas in a pod, and then a day came when they woke up primed for barbs at each other's expense, using anything available.
“C-congratulation, T-Tercius,” Lomera said, nodding her head his way.
“Thank you, Lomera,”
“Well done, Tee,” Euria said as she spread a blanket on the grass.
“Thank you…” Tercius said, as his upper lip twitched. That nickname…
Congratulations followed as the group blanketed a large shade-bound space. Seliana deposited the basket she carried in the middle and gave sandwiches to everyone.
“We thought about going to the pools tomorrow,” Seliana said. “So don’t go off like a ghost in the night again,”
“Yea, Tercius,” J’ro said, his eyes on his sandwich. “If you were there, we could have gone today,”
“First of all, the sun was already up when I left the house,” Tercius crossed his arms. “And second, it’s not my fault all of you sleep too long. Besides, I told you that I don’t mind if you go off without me,”
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"His uncle used to be the same way when we were kids," Seliana said, as memories clouded her eyes. "All practice, practice, practice. From sunup to sundown, practice. While I can certainly understand that sentiment—" Seliana winked to the kids. "After all, I sometimes lose myself in my potions— it's also important to relax from time to time,"
“I do relax with—”
“Don’t say with a good book, please,” Seliana groaned, as the kids laughed. “You read all day long, and when you don’t, you stare at that gray glass lump,”
His mouth clamped shut.
“Actually, Miss Ana, my Father always told me that those who want to be mages need to focus on getting the mana skills before anything else,” Sonia said. The little girl cleared her throat and spoke in an apparent imitation of a deeper voice, her face scrunched. “Focus, discipline, and constant practice are needed for basic mana skills. You need to be of a single mind about it,”
The kids laughed at the poor imitation and even Sonia gave a weak laugh.
"... how long did it take you? I mean, how old were you when you finished the mana skill set if you don't mind me asking?" Tercius asked, curious.
“Four cycles ago… so just before I turned seven,” Sonia said.
“Seven,” Eunim and Euria shared a glance and muttered in disbelief.
The chat about mana skills lasted hours, everyone sharing their two bits about the skills they had or were trying to gain. It was illuminating, in many ways. The perspective of those traditionally trained by mages, along with the perspective of those who had no clue about the skills in the first place, and then combined with his own self-taught style gave inspiration to everyone present.
***
The next day they went to the pools and to Tercius' complete surprise, none of his young friends knew how to swim! They just splashed around the shallow pools or floated like driftwood in the medium ones, where the water came up to their necks. Floating was a favorite of his, so he couldn't begrudge them for that, but he could teach them how to do more than just that if they wanted.
“Tercius be careful, and step away from there,” Seliana cautioned, extending a rescuing hand to him.
Standing on the edge of the deepest pool on the large compound, Tercius did some stretches. Confidently, he said, “Don’t worry aunty, I know how to swim,”
“I don’t care if you know how to walk on water, come over here. Right now, Tercius,” Seliana said, with fierce eyes, yet seemingly apprehensive of coming close to the edge of the pool.
Rolling his eyes and stepping away, he wished that time would speed along. Tercius was tired of these kinds of situations. He could refuse Seliana's request, but what kind of an example would that set for the kids? I’m her guest, as well, he sighed.
“Are you insane? What am I supposed to do if you start drowning? I don’t know how to swim…” she said and flicked him on the forehead, giving him a start. Grabbing him by his shoulders, she pointed to the pool where the rest of the kids splashed around, she said, “You can use that one. If you even think a single contrary thought, be aware that while I don’t like beating children, that doesn’t mean I won’t do it. Idiotic actions in children invoke that in me,”
Rubbing the spot Seliana flicked, Tercius made his way to the pool while the kids pointed at him and laughed.
“Ha, ha,” Tercius said dryly. “What’s so funny?”
Tercius was reminded of his old childhood, the frustration of his old parents, so similar to the one Seliana had now, and all of their efforts to make him mingle with his peers while he stubbornly wanted a quiet place for himself to go to and be alone. Maybe read a book or two, but most of all to stay away from the chaos that was peer interaction. Of course, now he had a different perspective through which he gazed upon the world— this one contained a little bit less stubbornness and a lot more experience and melancholy.
Spending time with a bunch of kids was nothing new to him, as each part of his life had one of those. First came his siblings, while he had been growing up, and then his nephews and nieces, once he had grown up. Wryly, he noted that with each group that came along, he was getting better at playing along and handling groups.
None of them answered his question, but all of them started splashing him.
“It’s like that, is it? Well then…” Tercius murmured with a smile, and ran for the last few meters towards the pool, jumping into the air in the last possible moment while folding his knees towards his chest. Grabbing his arms in a lock over the legs, he dropped onto the water surface just a meter behind the offenders. Water shot out everywhere as his bottom touched the bottom of the stone pool.
As he came back out with another spray of water, cries, and shrieks of outrage and excitement surrounded him. Hair that had been dry was now wet, Seliana was completely drenched, her thin summer clothes clinging to her skin. Honestly, even at fifty years of age, Tercius could see what had drawn his uncle to Seliana. The woman had it all, mind and body.
Children laughed and pointed, while Seliana looked at him with narrowed eyes. He only shrugged in response.
***
Finger-painting Runes, in all their geometrical glory, was Tercius's go-to for relaxation in the days that followed. There was just something about surrounding yourself in large letters of an invisible script, one that only became visible once his Mana Sight was turned on.
His daily quest for Mana Metamorphosis continued but in a secondary capacity. For now, he focused on Mana Sight. His recent experience had opened his eyes to more possibilities related to his skills, in this case, the barrier itself. Rather than searching for new ways to break barriers randomly, he figured that he could formulate a plan around a weakness a skill had, and solve it in the process.
Mana Sight had two big weaknesses.
The first weakness was that the skill stripped him of vision while it was active, a considerable impediment in most situations, yet also a boon in some.
The second weakness was the blindness that could result when too much visible mana was present. He knew that the sensitivity was in part because of Precision, but even without it, that effect was present in some conditions.
Being able to spot mana that had been morphed to seem invisible was also a point of great interest for him but, from what he heard and read, simply by leveling a mana-sensing skill, that problem would be solved. Worth looking into, in any case.
After a particular brainstorm that came about when a real storm interrupted their daily pool sessions, Tercius realized that the second weakness could stem from the first weakness. The sudden contrast of colors his brain received, was one of the things he wrote down as possible roots of that particular problem. Ultimately, he decided to go for number one. If he was lucky and his guess was right, he could solve two for the price of one. If not, then there was always the next barrier.
Settled on the weakness to shore up, Tercius came to a stop once more. He didn’t want to lose the current option, where he was able to see only mana while the surroundings faded into a vast nothingness— there was a big advantage to that part of the skill. The inspiration for the solution came when the black storm clouds obscured all light in Chameos, obscuring noontime. Light Orbs.
***
The storm had left the world fresh and bright, as Tercius made his preparations while sitting under a now-familiar tree. He only had two more days before he had to return to the Academy, so the time was more than right.
First, he collected the ingredient without which his plan wouldn't be possible.
Energy, check.
The solution he came up with was simple, yet he wasn’t sure how feasible his solution was, or even if it was possible. Tercius was of a firm mind to try, nonetheless. Desire has an impact, so I better believe it, he thought.
Desire, check.
Just like he practiced with mana painting to get his Mana Manipulation over the edge, he would now practice, with some limited initial help from Visualization, while Mana Sight was active. His guideline was a switch, a simple mechanism with two positions. While the switch was on, the world was present along with mana, but a simple change in the positions of the switch could bring back the darkness.
Knowledge of how, or rather what, the skill should work afterward, check.
Shoving away the old doubts that popped up, he pushed onwards.
He tried to memorize as much as he could, everything that his eyes saw. From his feet at the bottom of his vision, the vibrant grass, the stone walls, and one little creature that prowled the perimeter. He saw the city in the distance, people, snow-capped mountains, white clouds, the blue sky, and the sun. Over and over again, he went from detail to detail, minutes and hours passing by.
Then, he activated Mana Sight and did the same thing, only now observant of mana.
Even the grass had minuscule amounts of mana, to say nothing of the insects that made their home in it, or little chirping birds that hopped somewhere in the bough above him.
Overlapping the image of the outside world, while Mana Sight was active, was not easy. The darkness of his skill fought for itself, opposing the change Tercius wanted to institute. The counterpart, where he overlapped the mana on what his eyes saw, was significantly easier in turn. Over and over again, persistently, he flipped the two opposites like a coin until a familiar pressure started building up in his Well.
A smile escaped him, but he suppressed it quickly, refocusing his efforts.
The sun moved across the sky, as he repeated the same action over and over again, much like a smith forged a weapon out of a particularly stubborn metal. Pound it into shape, until the final result you imagined comes about.
Mana Sight [20] is now Mana Sight [21]
Once forged, the sword was sent to test.
Mana Sight [21]
A sense that allows for visual inspection of Mana. Every skill level increases the effect by a small degree and lowers the cost of its use by a small degree.
Uttering a small prayer beneath his breath, and then scolding himself for doing such pointless things, he opened his blazing green eyes. Burning with a neon light source of their own, his irises observed the surroundings, unblinkingly.
It worked, he muttered. But it’s so… weak…
Only his and Amber's bodies had any visible mana in the area around him, the minuscule sources of mana nowhere to be seen. This better work. Please work, he muttered as he focused on his skill and imagined a switch going off.
Light escaped and left him plunged in a world of darkness, as mana flared and became brighter than ever. Turning off the skill and rubbing his eyes, he muttered under his breath about a potentiometer function as a potential solution to the mana brightness problem.