Though it was still dark with the sun shining behind his tree, Adam had been up for a couple hours. After eating yet another of the bland fruit, he began trying to unlock one of his skills. Mana absorption he was sure would refill his mana when used, once it was no longer full anyway. He pulled and released a few mana from his body to lower the amount he had, then used mana sense to feel the mana around him. He first tried to mentally grab onto the mana floating around, drawing it to his body. He could feel his mental grasp on the mana succeed but no matter how hard he tried pulling the magical energy into his body, there was simply too much resistance.
Eventually He realized he was trying to draw in all the mana around him rather than a small portion. Refocusing his mana sense, he could feel the mana all around his body. He tried to narrow it down by isolating the mana he focused on, to around his hand, then his index finger and finally to the tip of his finger. With a small tug, he felt the smallest sliver of energy enter the tip of his finger with a slight tingle. After about thirty seconds of repeatedly drawing in small amounts he felt his mana increase by one.
Mana Absorption I Unlocked
AP + 1
Adam never felt the joy of leveling up a character, increasing skills and getting stronger as everyone around him seemed to. This was probably why he was never interested in those kinds of games. Now however there was something different about figuring out and unlocking skills when it was his skills. Not just some avatar on a monitor. There was a challenge to it and it was his accomplishment. After taking note of his new attribute point from unlocking mana absorption, he reviewed the new information from his two recently unlocked skills.
Mana Manipulation I
Shape and Manipulate mana drawn from one's body
Mana Control: 1/100
Mana Absorption I
Draw in excess mana to replenish the mana in one’s body
Maximum Rate: 0.05/second
To increase the skill level further, he figured he had to be able to absorb higher amounts of mana. Testing the absorption rate himself, he was able to absorb one point of mana in about thirty seconds, which was less than the max rate the skill allowed. Which he still thought was pretty good until he realized if he did have any spells that could rapidly consume all his mana, it would take him fifty minutes of repeatedly pulling tiny pieces of mana into him to replenish his full one hundred mana. Fudge that, he didn't have that kind of patience.
Now back to ninety nine mana, he continued to practice his manipulation of the golden energy. This was something he found much more stimulating akin to fidgeting. After an hour of adding one strand of mana at a time, Adam found it increasingly easier to control each mana individually. He now had twenty mana swirling around his hand as one, then scattering in different directions like fireworks going off only to reform into a sphere. Occasionally he would lose his hold on one of the golden strands, which would descend in a scattering of glowing dust into the ground.
He wasn't able to do anything about the lost mana, but he did discover that he could bring the mana still under his control back into his body with no resistance. He figured since it was already his mana, it could be absorbed much more quickly.
Drawing his mana back into the palm of his hand, Adam took the last of his fruit and began eating as he walked towards the town gates. Upon approaching, the same two guards were standing on either side of the gate. As he started getting close, one of the guards pointed past him drawing the attention of the other with a few words. Looking down the road Adam saw a carriage being pulled by a beast the size of a horse but with much larger legs and body similar to a rhino. At first glance, Adam thought the creature was fully covered in armor, until it got closer and he could see it had dark green scales covering its entire body. Its head rose up a bit higher than its body, which made it reach the height of the carriage it was pulling with little effort. Though its body looked similar to a rhino, it had no horn on its head and its face was shaped more like a scaled lion with small ears to each side of its head.
Making sure he stayed to the side of the road but close to the gate, he continued to watch as the carriage stopped in front of the gate. A man wearing simple brown clothes underneath leather armor was at the head of the carriage holding very large bulky reins. With nothing but a glance from the man, Adam was ignored by the driver. He saw a large lizard like tail that followed the beast, dragging along the ground and underneath the carriage.
The two guards approached the door to the carriage, one of them shoving Adam out of the way, causing him to trip backwards. With a quick laugh, the guards turned back to the door of the carriage as it began to open.
A young green haired woman wearing a black dress with silver edging stepped out. Looking at Adam on the ground she gave him a sad look. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed as he knew he must look an absolute mess, covered in dirt and not having cleaned himself since his arrival to this world. Not that he really cared about his appearance, but couldn't help it under her pitying gaze.
After he looked away, she approached him and bent down. Speaking she offered her hand to help him up. After a slight hesitation he grabbed her hand. She firmly grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, as a mother would her child. Here he was again, feeling like the weakest person to exist in this world. Was everyone here so strong he wondered. What surprised him more was how soft the skin of her hand was, yet tough. Now on his feet, he realized she was a good few inches taller than him. She was staring at him expectantly. All he could think to do was take a step back, and give her a slight bow in thanks, hoping she would understand his meaning.
With a smile she turned back to converse with the guards. When paying her entrance fee Adam noticed she gave the guard four copper coins. As she headed into the carriage, she turned towards him again and with a smile tossed something small, which he surprisingly caught. Looking in his hand it was a silver version of the copper coin. He wasn't sure how much it was worth, but he returned her smile thanking her with a slightly deeper bow then previously.
The door to the carriage closed and headed into the city. The two guards looked at him, obviously not happy with what happened nor he assumed with him receiving a silver coin. Doubting anything good was going to happen at this moment in time, Adam turned and headed back to his tree.
Taking a roundabout way back in search for more food, he found a tree with green fruit on the edge of a small river. The juiciness of the first fruit he found was enough to sustain him but having a source of water was a source of joy. He took a long drink from the river using his hands, one scoop at a time. The water was perfectly clear and tasted wonderful. Sadly the fruit were not as easily accessible. Looking around, he found a decently long and sturdy stick which he used to knock the fruit down. They were very large, around the size of a watermelon but more elongated with the crispness of an apple. Not able to carry more than two, he found his way back as he ate.
Sitting on his bed once more, Adam examined the silver coin he received more closely. It was small and rectangular with softened edges, and it had what he assumed was writing on both sides. Putting it back in his pocket he focused on the last skill he had locked. Mana materialization. Until he unlocked a skill, he couldn't get any information on it besides its name. He thought that to materialize something was to bring it into being. After drawing and releasing two mana from his body, he tried to focus and use his will to materialize one of the missing mana. since willing things seemed to have worked so far, he kept trying. When it didn't work, he tried to manifest smaller and smaller amounts of mana less than one point. Again without success he tried the same strategy but outside his body, hoping to have it materialize in his open hand.
After fifteen minutes of failure and getting nowhere closer to figuring it out, he knew he must be thinking about it the wrong way. Instead of materializing mana, what if he flipped it around and used mana to materialize… something. Mana appeared to him as a form of energy. Since he hadn't seen much magic while being here, the only reference he could use was the light that had no source when he first arrived in this world. Okay so could he materialize light.
Bringing a single mana outside his body he began swirling it around just above the palm of his hand. Then he imagined and tried to will the mana changing to the photons that make up light. He thought it was pointless since the golden mana already had a faint glow to it but after a few seconds, the mana condenses into a single point and began to shine a brilliant white, blinding him. Focusing, he was able to decrease the intensity of the light to a more manageable level.
He started moving the point of light around just as he could with his mana, able to suspend it anywhere around his body with little effort. This would be useful at night. He wondered how long the one mana would last as a light source and if he could continue to add mana to it or would he have to create a new source of light with more mana. Putting his thoughts aside he paid attention to the new notification.
Mana Materialization I Unlocked
AP + 1
Now that it was unlocked he could get more information from the skill.
Mana Materialization I
Materialize mana into matter and energy.
Must have come into contact or have understanding of composition.
From his understanding, It told him that he could essentially convert mana into basically anything so long as he understood it’s composition or had touched the item before. With a smile Adam wondered if that mana, a source of energy as far as he knew, could be converted into solid matter? He couldn't help but think about how awesome that would be, though he was doubtful.
Adam took the silver coin out of his pocket, holding it in his left hand. Then he drew one mana above his right hand. Focusing on materializing it into the coin, he pictured the structural makeup of silver and forming the mana into the shape of the coin. The single golden thread of mana started converting into an exact copy of the coin, forming one end and expanding towards the other. After making one sixth of the coin, it stopped and the partial coin fell to his hand. Adam couldn't help but feel excited at the fact that it worked, yet stupid for thinking one mana would be enough.
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Trying again with seven mana this time, he repeated the process. Six of the threads formed into a full silver coin, identical to the one in his hand, except much shinier. The original coin having been tarnished over time with its use.
Adam thought about all the money in his bank account from his job back on earth. He had continued to donate to various charities as he didn't have much need for the money apart from his basic needs and hobbies. He knew he didn't have a high standard of living. After living outside and eating nothing but tasteless fruit, he felt he definitely had some use for some more money in this world.
He made eight more of the silver coins, bringing his total to ten silver and his mana below half. After pocketing the coins and moving the light source away from him so it would dissipate, he headed back towards the town, hoping he could get in and buy some food. Meat specifically, along with some better clothes and a pair of shoes.
Arriving in front of the guards, he walked up to them blocking his path with a stern look on their faces. They began talking to him but stopped when he held out the silver coin given to him. Both guards quickly tried to be the first to snatch it from his hand, with the left guard being slightly faster and the right guard giving him a disapproving look. With only a moment the two guards stepped aside to allow him to pass.
Finally he was able to enter the town. As he passed through the gate, he heard what sounded like bickering coming from behind him. He saw many wooden buildings ahead to the sides of the road. Many of them looked like they could fall over at any moment, holes and gaps in the walls with plants and moss growing all over them. Walking straight ahead past the houses, he came to a large stone building surrounded by a large open area. There were dozens of people walking around with basic wooden stalls on the exterior or blankets laid out with various items. Scattered about in between buildings and around the marketplace he saw many people who were just as dirty as he was, if not worse. They were sitting against walls, or laying down in areas away from the people who were walking around. With how scrawny many of them were he wasn't even sure how they were still alive.
He wished he could help them but there were more people that looked on the verge of death than people walking around. First he wanted to find out about the value of money in this world. He saw two stalls which appeared to be selling food. The first had an array of colorful fruits and vegetables which he had never seen before. The second was closer to a small open shop that had smoke coming from it and the sound of sizzling meat. Walking up to the fruit stand he received a smile from the salesman who said something unknown to him. Pointing to a large basket of red pear shaped fruit Adam then took a silver from his pocket and handed it to the man. With a bigger smile, he seemed to be asking Adam a question but not knowing what he said, he just pointed to the basket again. The man looked at him a little confused but picked up the basket and handed the entire thing to Adam. Then after reaching into his pouch, he pulled out and returned five copper. With a smile and nod, he turned and took the basket with him towards the largest group of people that were sitting around with glazed over eyes.
He started placing one of the fruits in front of each man, woman and child he saw. Each of them quickly took and started devouring it before looking after Adam who had moved on to the next person. There had been two dozen fruit in the basket and he made it through about half the people that were directly in the market area but he could see many more people who were in the alleyways between buildings. One silver had gotten him two dozen fruit with five copper in change. He now knew silver was worth a decent amount for the amount of food he had received but without knowing the conversion rate of copper to silver he had no way to know the value of a copper coin.
He returned once again to the fruit stand, and repeated the same thing as last time with a different and much larger basket of plum sized fruits. This time he handed a single copper over. The man had seen him pass the fruit around and didn’t say anything this time but still looked confused. Adam understood he must seem strange as a man as dirty as any of the people he was giving fruit to, buying and giving away food when he apparently couldn't afford clean clothes or a bath. Clothes and a bath would have to be his next goal for sure. This time he had been handed three of the small fruits. Again he pointed to the same basket and handed a silver coin over. Holding out the basket Adam had received the first time the man started counting out and placing one after another into the basket. After placing thrity into the basket the man stopped and smiled saying something unknown to him. This told him that one silver was worth ten copper.
After handing over one more silver to receive another thirty of the same fruit into his basket, Adam heading back to where he had stopped handing out fruit. This time however, many of the people had gathered in the area watching and waiting for him. Many of the people must have seen and come out of the alleys as there was now at least fifty people. Knowing he had sixty three fruit in his basket he would only be able to give out one to each of them. Rather than handing the fruit to each of them, he held out the basket to them in turn. Soon enough he had stopped walking to them as they had begun to form a line to him. He was astonished that every single one of the people that came to him, barely clothed and ribs clearly visible beneath their skin, took a single fruit each and moved away to allow the next person in line to step forward. Many of them saying something to him before moving on. He had feared the large group of people swarming him, all trying to get as much of the food for themselves. Yet they all patiently waited in line, receiving a small single piece of food.
After the basket was emptied Adam realized he was crying. The tears flowing freely from his eyes. Occasionally he had seen homeless people in the streets, as he lived in a large city with a population in the millions. Every time he gave them what money he had on him. He didn't care what they used the money for, whether it was food, clothes and other necessities or what people always seemed to assume, drugs and alcohol. He just hoped to help them even a little.
The scene before him though hit him much harder. On earth he had seen one homeless person from time to time, but here there were more people near death than the people who had been walking around, leisurely shopping and paying no attention to the bodies on the ground all around them. He didn't blame the people, as they did look cleaner and with better clothes, but they definitely didn't look like they had large sums of money to go about feeding all these people, day after day. He was sure they had gotten used to ignoring the starved people and just trying to make it in life themselves.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Adam marched over to the same stand and handed the man the seven silver and four copper he had left, motioning to the eight baskets of fruit that were left. Then pointed to the group of people. Were there more people again, he wondered. The man let out a large hearty laugh with a big smile on his face. With a nod to Adam he motioned towards the baskets in return and picked up one himself and began walking to the large group of people. Adam followed suit, each of them placing the basket on the ground in front of the group, only to return and grab another basket. Adam doubted the coins were enough to cover the total amount of food, but the man had helped him bring every basket over to the people and watched as they all were passing the fruit around to each other and making sure everyone had something to eat.
Adam noticed many of the people walking around the market were now looking on, whispering to each other. Many had slight smiles on their faces, while a few he thought looked almost angry. Leaving the groups of people behind, Adam started walking around the market himself. With his mana back up to sixty, he put his hand in his pocket and focused on creating eight more silver coins, one by one, bringing his mana down to twelve.
On the other side of the stone building he saw many more buildings except these were in better condition. Being made of much sturdier wood with stone in a few locations they didn't look to be falling over and rotting. Glancing back at the larger stone building he saw the entrance with a sign above it depicting four coins with writing to their left. He recognized the first two coins as copper and silver, the third looked to be gold. The last one he didn't know, an electric blue colour. Guess he knew where the bank was now, but wasn't sure how he'd use it with the language barrier. He really wished there was a way for him to communicate without having to learn a whole new language, with no one to even teach him. He knew he'd have to figure something out if he couldn't get back to Earth. Pointing and gesturing to things wasn't going to get him very far.
As he continued to look around he came upon a woman who looked to be in her forties sitting behind a blanket laid out with various clothing. The variety was very limited, with three sets of shirts and pants which only varied with their size. Along with two simple dresses and a single cloak. All of the clothing was brown with some of the trimming in black, except for the cloak which was entirely black.
The woman was wearing one of the brown dresses herself, which had black trim along the neckline and around the waist. She simply watched him as he approached to inspect the clothes. Adam pointed to a pair of pants and a shirt which looked closest to his size. Holding up her left hand she raised two fingers. Adam held up two silver in which she nodded. Passing the two silver to her she placed them into a small pouch on her waist, then again using only her left hand passed the pants and shirt to him each in turn. This made Adam glance at her right arm, or lack of arm as he now saw.
Adam was about to leave when he stopped and pointed to the black cloak. He hadn't been cold at all since arriving here, even when he slept in a hole in the ground but he couldn't be sure how the temperature fluctuated here from night to night. He also thought it looked a lot better quality than the brown fabric of the other clothes. The woman held up four fingers this time. Twice the price of his shirt and pants combined, he wasn't surprised now feeling the rough texture of the clothing he bought. Handing her the silver, he took the cloak and continued on his way. As expected the cloak was noticeably softer and felt smooth to his touch.
To his relief with a bit more searching he found someone selling a variety of shoes and boots. They were all simple designs made of the same brown leather, tied using a crude piece of string. The bottoms were meade of a harder and thicker piece, with a decently soft leather for the rest. Finding only one pair of boots that fit his feet comfortably, he paid the two silver for them.
Adam was heading back to his tree, holding the basket he had purchased with the first lot of fruit under his left arm with his clothes. In his right hand he held a stick with a decent sized piece of meat that had been grilled for him, costing him one more silver. It tasted gamy and didn't have much to it apart from its natural flavors, but he was delighted to finally have some meat again in his diet.
On his way back he made a stop at the river, removing his pajamas and walking into the water that barely came to his knees. The water isn't as warm as he was used to but not frigid either so felt he couldn't complain. He began forming a bar of soap in his hand after drawing out his limit of twenty mana that he could successfully control, leaving him with five. After the swirl of mana began forming into a white bar of soap it stopped with only a sixth of the bar materializing successfully.
With a shrug, he began using the chunk of soap to wash himself and his pajamas the best he could in the shallow waters. Finally clean he gathered his belongings and continued his way back to his tree, allowing his body to dry off before putting on his new clothes. After hanging his pajama shirt and pants on a branch of a smaller tree to dry he placed his stuff inside. He put on his brown pants and shirt which he found almost as itchy as wool. He found the pants had a small pouch tied to the inside of the waist, which could be removed and reattached on another loop of material on the outside.
Adam practised his mana sense and absorption with only slight improvements in each. He found it difficult to keep his attention on just feeling the energy around him and repeatedly drawing it into his body a small sliver at a time. Once his mana had reached forty he began practicing his manipulation of it. He had no difficulty with this task as he had more flexibility in what he could do. He found he could pull the mana from any part of his body and what he could do with the mana was only limited by his imagination, forming it into all kinds of shapes and having each strand of golden light move around in various ways similar to a light show.
Practicing his manipulation for the rest of the day, his mana had refilled to its maximum at some point and he increased the amount of mana he was able to control to thirty at one time. Feeling mentally drained and ready for sleep Adam made sure to use up his mana, creating sixteen silver coins bringing his total to sixteen silver, then promptly fell asleep.