The Spellbook was a welcome change of pace from the gruesome reality. It made him feel like a student again, which reminded him of just how much the world changed every moment that he read through it but it also let him remember how mundane it was. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing and he even missed it, in a way.

But it was in the distant past now.

So much had happened and he couldn’t imagine himself being content with his old life. However, there was one thing that he would give everything he had to have back —and that was Clara. Still, she was dead now and he could only push forward. Necromancy came into his mind but Sean pushed it aside instantly.

She wouldn’t want that.

And he wouldn’t want that.

If he brought her back due to his selfish desires, he’d be infringing on things that he should not infringe on —that being the gap between life and death.

But then again, did that even matter anymore? Necromancy was a thing, artifacts that could bring the dead to life apparently existed, and even technology if his memory served him right.

It was a steep hill, however, one that he didn’t feel was worth walking down.

His eyes scanned the screen, or rather, it was his consciousness that did that. It was like reading. You took a certain part of whatever you were reading and you absorbed that information by processing it. When you weren’t using your eyes, it became far too apparent that what you were looking at didn’t need to be your actual center of focus.

You could be reading something written on the ground despite looking straight forward. It was the difference between ‘looking’ and ‘seeing’. ‘Looking’ meant directing the eyes somewhere while ‘Seeing’ meant perceiving it. Looking and Seeing were disjointed for Sean now as he started to see things without using his eyes, both thanks to the System’s screens and Mana Sight.

And the first thing that he started reading when he pulled out the book again was the topic of Mana Circuits. He loved how the System made everything easier and the fact that even applied to books and textbooks. It was like how some applications could give you a short and brief description of a word if you clicked twice on it.

So he pressed on the words ‘Mana Circuit’ —it was so easy, too. He did that mentally. It was like seeing it but just a bit different. It was akin to seeing three doors and choosing one of them. He simply made up his mind and then the System responded in kind, showing him a separate screen that overlapped with the larger screen that contained the textbook itself.

As for the textbook itself, it was a simple dark blue screen. Sean couldn’t change the color, sadly, but thankfully it was a color and tone that he didn’t necessarily hate but didn’t necessarily like either. It didn’t get in the way of reading whatever was on it, which was in white.

Amidst the darkness that was his closed eyes, it was perfectly visible and he would have it no other way.

Mana Circuits

Mana Circuits are the vessels of Mana that every living being has. Some may be atrophied due to a complete and utter lack of usage but they are still present in every living being. Some non-living objects may also have Mana Circuits [refer to 96. Core Physiology and the Elsworth Configuration]. These circuits may be seen by the Mana Sight Skill and all aspiring mages are suggested to create and/or morph masses of them called Configurations.

This was the first mention of the word ‘Configuration’.

Sean didn’t know what it meant but considering the fact that it was in the name of the book, he surmised it was something important. Still, even understanding Mana Circuits would take a bit of time so he pushed that thought aside. It seemed to be related to Mana Circuits so he’d read about them either way, it seemed.

Better later than now, especially if it was complicated.

The Mana Circuits were inside everyone and Sean had caught a glimpse of them when he first used Mana Sight. It was beautiful, pulsating with energy so brightly. The items looked dazzling as well. It was like he was in a wholly different world. Then again, it was just another perspective —another way to see the world he was in.

He’d figure out whatever caused that exhaustion and how he could minimize his Mana expenditure.

That way, he could use the Skill more and not run out of Mana too easily.

After around ten minutes of reading, Sean realized that this was all… theory.

Yes, he could learn theory, but at the moment, he needed to get stronger. And to become stronger, he had to learn more about Spell Forging, as it was named. The very word shouted out fantasy and he let out a small chuckle.

Sean pulled out the Table of Contents. It came out on another screen. It was like the textbook was an application in and of itself, parts of it popping out and interacting with him whenever he wanted to. If he’d gotten used to this sort of learning, then he’d never want to learn from school again. It was that comfortable.

Table of Contents

1. Fundamentals of Theoretical Magic:

1. The Mana Ball…………………………………………………………………………………… 6

2. The Study of Magic Circles…………………………………………………………………… 15

3. Mindscape Decoration………………………………………………………………………… 43

4. Spell Forging Basics…………………………………………………………………………… 59

5. Mind Inhibitor Modification……………………………………………………………………..71

6. Timers and Overflow…………………………………………………………………………… 93

7. Simple Guide to Shaping………………………………………………………………………145

8. Opening the Mind……………………………………………………………………………….190

2. Fundamentals of Mana Circuits:

…

…

Most of the book was more or less theoretical, as the name implied, but if he had another Spellbook to use alongside this one, then he could easily translate his knowledge. At least that’s what he assumed it was —a parallel to Computer Science, the basic understanding of how things worked. If he learned that, then he could easily learn everything else.

At least that’s what he hoped would apply to Magic.

With that said, Sean wanted to look at his stats and to see whether they’d grown. Or rather, how much they’d grown since he last looked. He did go a level but he couldn’t abuse his Class benefit just yet, sadly. The heart of the Vampire they’d killed last time had exploded into nothing and wasn’t really something he could eat.

The heart of the giant was also not sufficient.

That brought him to the question of… what was?

The book about monsters was right next to him, but he liked being inside his head, with closed eyes. He liked reading the Elsworth Configuration Theorem because it was System-integrated and it was just so simple to get the will to. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes to read the other one.

Not before he finished looking for whatever he wanted.

Character Screen

Name:

Sean Morris

Class:

Blue Mage Level 3 (1 / 20 XP)

Status:

Conqueror

Title(s):

Practitioner of the Arcane Arts, Big Eater, Legend

Health Points:

430 (+11.4 per minute)

Mana Points:

790 (+5.6 per minute)

Attributes

Strength: 26 (???)

Intelligence: 64 (79)

Agility: 14 (???)

Perception: 43

Durability: 43 (???)

Endurance: 41

Vitality: 34 (114)

Wisdom: 41 (56)

The growth was almost… disappointing?

Rather, he was used to so much growth in-between each time he checked his Character Screen that the growth seemed insignificant now. But he was still growing and that was good. So far, he could recover his entire Mana Pool within 141 minutes. That was roughly two hours. In combat, which he assumed would take 5 minutes at most, he’d be able to recover 28 Mana Points —not enough to matter.

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Well, he had a high Mana Pool in the first place so it was good. He could eat hearts to recover if they were naturally larger than his race but he hadn’t met anything larger yet. Maybe a bear or a rhino?

As for the monsters, he was still uneducated on them.

He’d learn about them soon, but not yet.

He needed at least one new Spell. Explosive Mana Balls were a great asset but he wanted something different —something that could do physical damage instead of exploding. Something that was able to do something more brutal and delicate at the same time.

He wanted a spell that cut things.

Mana Ball, by nature, could rend through things. That wasn’t cutting, though. It was like a beyblade to anyone that touched it but chances of it touching a monster or another person long enough to kill them were slim at best. If it touched someone’s throat, it’d cut apart the skin outside the jugulars but wouldn’t cut the jugulars themselves so that made it not good enough.

Sean’s eyes first turned to ‘Simple Guide to Shaping’ but stopped.

The first, flawed Explosive Mana Ball he’d created was useful, yes, but he didn’t want another flawed spell. He wanted something serviceable out of the gate and to do that, he deigned to read everything until that point.

Back in Veidrheim, he didn’t have time.

But now?

He had only time.

And of course, the Mindscape was the best topic. It seemed like a useless thing to him back when he first read it and had simply ignored most of it. Especially when the title for it included the word ‘Decoration’. But now, it seemed like it was useful.

Mindscape

The Mindscape is what an individual imagines whenever they wish to ‘focus’ on their studies. Advanced practitioners are able to even summon others to their Mindscape for a shared experience or even visit the Mindscape of others. Most Mind Reading Skills deal in venturing through the Unconscious Mindscape of another individual.

The short description provided by either the System or the textbook itself was helpful. Apparently, if he ever learned to read minds, he could… visit others’ Mindscapes?

That was an interesting thought.

As he read further, Sean’s eyes widened and he started to make connections.

Word for word, its very purpose and even functions were similar to a Skill he knew far too well —Research. Something he’d gotten far too used to activating and using. It was interesting how everything seemed to connect, even despite seeming to have absolutely no connection beforehand.

Mindscapes had the time dilation effects provided by Research and most mages ended up learning it due to the fact that magic was a time-draining process to learn and master. Without it, Sean assumed everyone would end up becoming old men like in the stories he’d read as a child.

And entering it was apparently simple.

He just had to focus and imagine a place that he was most relaxed in.

So he thought.

Where was he the most relaxed at?

There was only a single answer to that. He was only really calm and peaceful when there was nothing that reminded him of the world —somewhere where he could just take away his mind from all of his worries. It had to be a place so alien that he instantly realized that he was just not on Earth yet familiar enough that he didn’t feel as if he was somewhere unwelcome.

His eyes were closed before but this time, Sean opened them to nothingness —in pitch-black darkness where he couldn’t see anything in. He could hear nothing as well and it perfectly emulated what he wanted.

He just wanted to be nowhere or at least feel like his eyes were closed.

System Notification

Your Skill ‘Research’ has been upgraded to the Skill ‘Mindscape’. Time dilation effect has been doubled at the cost of less awareness of your surroundings.

Sure enough, it seemed that Research had upgraded to match it. He opened the Skillbook and tapped on it mentally. His body used to try to tap it physically before, but not anymore. He was getting used to what the System provided.

Mindscape

After learning that you can isolate your consciousness from your body, you have learned of the creation of Mindscapes. Time within the Mindscape flows 122% faster than the time of the world you are in.

Skill Rank: D

Skill Mastery: 61%

The rank had jumped up once.

That had to be good, he supposed.

But the moment he finished reading the screen, Sean was pulled out of his Mindscape by an external force. When he used Research and felt an external stimulation, it was as if he was pulled out of his blanket and out into the cold world. In the case of a Mindscape, it was different.

Instead of having his blanket pulled off, it felt like he was being pulled back into his body from wherever he was. He experienced a falling sensation as his eyes opened wide.

He couldn’t recognize what made him come back but he knew that something had. Another disadvantage, it seemed. But the time dilation effect had doubled! That meant he could spend two hours in the Mindscape and only an hour would pass in the real world now! At least with how much the percentage was at the moment.

If he was correct, then 100% meant he was already existing twice as fast. At 200%, he’d be existing thrice as fast? He supposed so.

Sean looked at his body and noticed that it was a sheathed dagger that fell on his laps that had woken him up. His eyes darted around and fell on the person that had woken him up —it was his father, standing there with crossed arms.

“It’s about time you stop moping,” he said. There it was, his perpetual frown. It rarely changed, but when it did, it was to shout at someone —that someone was often Sean.

Yet it was a weird feeling.

He was no longer afraid of being shouted at.

Sean simply stared at him, not even budging. He put the dagger on his laps aside along with the thick book Aunt Charlie had given him and just… looked.

“I… I’ll do it later,” said Sean.

He wanted to train and he wanted to get stronger, just… not yet.

“The world won’t wait for you,” said his father sternly, “It will keep on moving and you’ll be left behind.”

Sean’s eyes wandered to the house and he saw eyes —people staring at him from within. Some he recognized, some he did not, but none he cared for. Mom wasn’t there and neither was Aunt Charlie —the people he was closest to. The other one was his father and he was outside.

“I’ll catch up,” said Sean and closed his eyes, “I have time.”

“It’s about the girl, isn’t it?” he asked.

Sean didn’t answer. His eyes were still closed and his expression did not change. He was acting as if he was acting like he was asleep. Except, this time he was acting as if he was still in his Mindscape —it was a small detail that had changed, but still, he was acting in a way as to not get bothered so the fundamental idea was the same.

“I did not raise you to become such a weak-willed man,” said his father.

Sean was used to being yelled at, especially by his father. So it fell on deaf ears. He was too used to it to even care about the words.

He used to say that he didn’t raise a ‘retarded man’. One word had changed and Sean didn’t even notice it. He was used to just about everything he spouted. Otherwise, he’d have gone went mad all those years ago, when he turned twelve.

“Get up!” he roared, “Aren’t you angry? You can take revenge. You can kill them all. Just stand up and learn.”

Sean opened his eyes and he tried to get pumped up, but he just… couldn’t.

The voices were quiet for once, but they were quiet at the worst possible time. He wanted them to rile him up, almost. He wanted to get pissed off at them. He couldn’t get angry at his father. He was speaking sense for once. There was something inside him that wanted to be angry, that wanted to strangle something and to kill it.

Yet… yet, he couldn’t work up the will to.

The vampires…

They were so far away, in the distance. He was channeling all the rage he got at them, yet he now realized that he just directed all the anger, all the futility he felt, and everything negative at them.

But when he had none of that in the first place?

He couldn’t muster anything out.

“But that’s the son you ended up having,” said Sean, as calm as a cucumber. It was cold, far more than even he intended it to come out as. He felt bad for saying it —a sharp pang of guilt stabbed into his heart.

His father was quiet.

That wasn’t new.

He always went quiet when he was angry.

“Stand up,” said his father.

Sean knew better than to not do so. But right now? Right now, he didn’t care. Not after all the nonsense, he’d soldiered through in the last two weeks. All for nothing at the end. It was a sense of betrayal that he felt as if he was a donkey that had chased a carrot for two weeks, yet got nothing but thin air at the end.

“Stand up!” he shouted this time.

And this time, he complied. Almost too calmly, Sean put the book and the dagger neatly to the side. The moment he stood up, he was punched in the guts. It always hurt before, but now? It didn’t. He didn’t feel anything other than a dull feeling. But his body still reacted and he coughed, making a V-shape in the air.

The punch wasn’t weak —far from it. In fact, it was strong. It was just that Sean didn’t care about it anymore. He was distant now as if he was looking at his body from outside, like a gamer looking at their character. The pain registered and Sean felt it, yet it wasn’t as vivid. Rather, he was hurt but he just didn’t react to that.

“Why?” mumbled his father. That turned into a shout, “Why aren’t you reacting?!”

He could see tears now. Not from his own eyes, but from his father’s. They streamed down like a downpour and his face slightly got scrunched. His father clenched his teeth and fists. This time, Sean saw himself get punched in the cheek. It wasn’t hard enough for a tooth to fall off but he could feel his brain shaking.

“React, dammit!” he shouted, yet, Sean couldn’t do it. It was something so simple but something he just couldn’t bring himself to do. Slowly, the beating slowed down and the blows weakened, “Why?”

It finally ended and Sean just fell down, like a puppet with its strings cut.

He wouldn’t die, not with his Heart Factor. Maybe his father knew that maybe he didn’t. He’d never been beaten this badly before. It often ended with a single blow, yet this time his father had done a combo longer than most fighting game characters did. But somehow, this time felt like it was the softest beating he’d gotten in his life —even softer than him being slapped on the arm.

Sean looked up from the ground and at his father, standing with both arms at his sides, his cheeks wet several meters away from him.

He never cried.

That was new…

“I’m alright,” said Sean quietly. He crawled to his feet and raised both arms to the side. His body didn’t comply well, lagging behind often and some part of his body simply not moving anymore. It seemed to ache, yet he was dull to that. And he whispered, “You wanted me to be a man. I didn’t make a sound.”

He had an unimpressed frown on his face.

Not Jack, but Sean himself. His eyes were hollow, devoid of emotions. It felt like he’d lost all contact with his lower jaw, unable to change his expression or even know what it was in the first place.

“Am I a man now?” Sean asked quietly.

Jack didn’t answer.

“Am I?” he asked, again. Then he felt something. It wasn’t plain ignorance or hate. It was something else, an emotion he couldn’t quite put his finger on. They were quiet now, both of them. Then Sean shouted, “Am I?!”

Within his chest, his heart started to beat faster and emotion started to course through him again. This was anger, not toward an entire kind, but toward a single man. Sean took a step, then another, and then another after that.

Before he even knew it, he’d started sprinting.

Sean felt his fist travel forward and…

For the first time, he’d punched someone.

It felt good.

Sean was breathing hard, staring at his father’s face.

No, rather, he was staring at his own fist.

He’d clenched his hands tightly and had thrown it forward after pulling it back. It felt like he was supposed to do that like it was natural like it was what his body wanted.

That felt good as if a huge load was lifted off his back. It was a huge load that was lifted, but there was far too much left there.

“You…” said Jack, his expression unreadable. But he added, the frown replaced with a momentary grin, “You reacted.”

He was beaming.

“You reacted!” he shouted out, a dumb grin on his face. But that went away as the realization hit his father, replaced with the frown again, “You did it.”

“Again,” said the voices, whispering into his ears, “You want it.”

He’d reacted…

But the emotion went away as swiftly as it came and Sean found himself standing there, exhausted beyond compare, with an empty feeling in his chest. There was no momentary rage to fuel him and drive him forward.

Sean felt a tight hug envelop him and he could smell sweat for the first time. He couldn’t breathe during the hug but he felt good as if he was loved.

“I went too far,” said his father and let go of him, “Now, let’s learn how to hunt.”

Sean reluctantly nodded.

From deep within his chest, Sean felt a warmth. It was as if the heart that had stopped beating was now back in action. It still wasn’t as great as before, but he could move and think with his emotions now.

It was a peculiar feeling.

Everyone blamed their emotions for making the wrong choices, but when it went away, it felt far too empty.

Sean felt the emotions rushing back into him. He started to breathe again. Not quietly and passively, but actively. The eyes of the vampire that resembled blazing embers flashed before his eyes and Sean felt his hands and entire body tremble —his fingers, toes, and even shoulders. That was no fear nor anger —this was more akin to... excitement?

He was cold before, but no more. His eyes were half-lidded and almost lazy before, but now, they were wide open, attentive.

“I’m ready,” said Sean.