Such power, much wow.

A full 1.4% increase, whoop-tee-do!

Okay, granted, it wasn't much for now, but Gerald barely just grasped the ability, give the poor guy a break! Just imagine what heights could he achieve after getting even stronger! Would he become a perpetual motion machine?! Probably not, that would break the laws of physics…

But wait! Didn't he already break a few of those?!

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It was the following day. The beasts still didn't restart their assault on that part of the wall, so the defenders went to help elsewhere. Gerald's warehouse and niter production were still going strong so he didn't have to worry about that.

He was currently in the middle of an experiment. He was searching for one particular type of Ether Crystal.

This one wasn't used as much as the rest, but it still had value. We are talking here about the Pure Eather Crystal. The one that got ground down to dust for potions. Well, Gerald needed a few big chunks, and boy was it difficult to find.

"In big chunks?" Arthur scratched his head. "Why do you need those?"

"Come on, man," Gerald grumbled. "You know I'm not going to tell you. I'm just asking if you have them. If you don't, then I'm leaving." He already turned around to go searching for them elsewhere. He already tried many Alchemy shops across the capital, and they only had small pebbles or fine dust. Not what he wanted.

"Okay, okay, let me check in the storage. We usually buy in bulk, there are probably a few big ones there." Arthur quickly remembered and ran to get them.

He came back minutes later with a servant carrying a lap full of Pure Ether Crystals.

They were all mostly about fist-size, with one twice as big. Gerald examined them closely. "Do you have any higher grades?" he asked. "I need them as pure as they come."

"Sorry," Arthur helplessly shrugged, "That's the best we got."

"Hmm, alright then. How much do I owe?"

"Don't worry about it," Arthur waved his hand, "It's on the house."

"Oh, you are too kind!" Gerald smiled.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah… How about you tell me what you need them for, huh? I'm not going to share it with anyone."

"Hehe, nope!"

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The Pure Ether Crystals were of low grade, so they could each store a few hundred MP. It wasn't ideal, but it was the best he had, so Gerald didn't complain.

But just because they could, it didn't mean they actually held that much Mana.

As his understanding of this mystic energy deepened, Gerald came to realize a few things. Mana was free and untainted while in nature. Only after being absorbed by a living being would it gain an Element or a characteristic of that particular thing.

And only after being used to form various effects would it then leave the body to be free again. In that state, it would be less energetic while carrying the imprint of the previous master, and only with time would it recover, returning to its pristine untainted state.

The Ether Crystals, those with an Element, didn't simply store Mana. They also concentrated it and locked it inside. The process was the same as when the being was alive and it was automatic, although quite a bit slower.

The Crystals, depending on their grade, degraded over time. Poor-grade degraded in a few years, turning back into Pure Ether Crystals and losing their ability to concentrate Mana in the process.

The higher grades needed decades, even centuries, to completely return to their base, and were as such used as family heirlooms for increasing generational wealth.

There, of course, existed ways of prolonging this natural process and preserving the Crystals' functionality with Runes and various enchantments, but such interventions were rare and expensive.

They were reserved for the best and most expensive Crystal in important magical artifacts. One such example was The King's scepter. It was made centuries ago and full of runes to preserve it. It was restored to its peak many times since and was, as such, a true marvel of a Mage's arsenal.

Gerald learned bits and pieces of this knowledge over time, but only now did he truly grasp its significance.

As such, as a young pioneering mind, he decided to attempt the impossible. He would fill the Pure Ether Crystals with Elementless Mana and keep it there for later use just as with other Crystals. If he succeeded, he could possibly revolutionalize modern magic and give warriors a way to use Combat Arts for much longer. Such a change would most likely be a paradigm shift for the Kingdom.

Just imagining having endless stores of Mana Crystals gave Gerald a sense of power and importance. But the dreams of greatness had to wait. First, he had to make his ideas a reality.

So he started as he usually did. He took a fist-sized Crystal, held it in between his palms, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

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He was simply trying to push Mana inside, nothing special. The process was slow but effective. There wasn't anything to stop Mana from flowing through the Crystal. Actually… It was going too smoothly.

A few minutes went by and Gerald examined the Crystal. It was empty.

Well, not completely empty, the concentration of Mana inside the Crystal was greater than outside, but it was quickly draining. It was understandable, of course. Pure Ether Crystals weren't something that held onto Mana, instead, they simply let it flow through.

It was like an old bucket full of holes. As long as you keep filling it up fast enough, the water level inside would rise. But, as soon as you stopped adding, it would quickly drain most, if not all the liquid you put in.

For it to be of any use, first the bucket had to be patched up.

"The solution is easy! Even a child could figure that out," Gerald murmured, but his expression carried no joy. That's because… he had no idea how to do it!

"I can try a few things, but…" Gerald hesitated. He knew a few Runes that were made for containing Mana in magic scrolls, but this was completely different.

The ink for scrolls was made by mixing Elemental Crystals and blood, making it a substance that loved to hold onto Mana.

The pure stuff, not so much. He tried writing a few runes directly to the Crystal, but that didn't work. The blood immediately became over-saturated and burst into flames.

Perhaps using silver or gold to draw runes instead of blood would do the trick, but the molten metal was difficult to work with, and Gerald had no experience with it.

But then, just as he was musing over it, he remembered the Flame Barrier. That thing originated from the wall and somehow the stone could hold onto Mana and turn it semi-solid? It was definitely something to be examined up close.

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Gerald stood on the wall in front of the Flame Barrier.

His eyes, glowing with the enhancement of magic, were staring intently into the pulsing reddish curtain of fire.

Seemingly unaware of his surroundings he struck any monster that came his way, beating it into a pulp. Soon the beasts realized the futility of their attacks and avoided coming anywhere near him so he could finally concentrate on the task at hand.

As time went on and the peculiarities of the barrier became clearer to him, Gerald stuck his silver hand inside. He was especially careful at observing it growing stronger, more solid, and hotter with each pulse.

In the beginning, he felt like sticking his hand in honey, but now he felt the Flame Barrier gripping him like a vice. His hand also started to glow from the heat produced by it.

A few moments and his hand would surely melt and be cut in half.

"Hmph!" Gerald exerted some mental pressure and created a small but powerful disruption in the flow of Mana. The barrier around his hand immediately degraded, turning first into mist before returning to its incorporeal form.

His hand was free.

He froze the glowing metal and then rubbed his hand where the barrier gripped him. A small deformity was left on the surface.

He stared at it for a few moments as he contemplated the significance. He then sat down and closed his eyes, completely immersing himself in the fresh memories, the feeling of magic he just experienced.

Having become stronger, he realized many things he previously didn't even know existed, and after looking at them from another angle, he decided to mull them over.

He just sat there in deep meditation while the war was going all around him. Many soldiers were surprised at the sight, of how the monsters avoided him, but they didn't have the leisure to investigate as they fought for their lives.

Slowly Gerald spread his hands and pointed his palms forward. Swirls of Mana formed at his fingertips and gradually increased in size, forming a gray misty circle.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he concentrated on increasing the Mana density of his creation. He was going slowly, advancing by millimeters, all in hope of not making any mistakes.

He opened his eyes and gave an even stronger push with his mind. The swirl stabilized and slowed down while becoming increasingly solid and real-looking.

It had some similarities to a round shield, being the thickest in the middle and gradually thinning towards the edge, where it transitioned back into thin mist.

This Mana Shield, or whatever it was, carried a lot of similarities to the Flame Barrier. And it took all Gerald's power and concentration to make it.

As for its defensive capabilities… Well, there was only one way to find out!

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"Hey, how's it going?"

"Gerald?! Where have you been?"

Suddenly appearing before them after being gone for an entire day clearly didn't sit well with some members of his team. Specifically, the female half.

Blum with his broken hand wasn't able to help much, so he just found a safe place to read a few of Gerald's books.

Warren, on the other hand, fought like mad, only retreating when he couldn't lift his sword anymore. He was already full of fresh scars and the only thing keeping him going was the great number of potions they had.

Nobody seemed concerned with his excessive use of drugs, stimulants, and steroids so Gerald also didn't say anything. The guy seemed in good health anyway.

"I was just... helping other places," Gerald responded. "It's not like you need my help here, right? It seems the beasts are avoiding this place."

"Well, yes, we are fine, but-" Xilia started but got immediately interrupted.

"Excellent! Then you can give me a hand to test something!"

Gerald started forming the Mana Shield again. It took a while and he was clearly struggling, but upon completion, he grinned and beckoned her to come closer.

"Alright," he said. "Now punch me as strong as you can!"

"Huh?" Xilia stared blankly at him.

"Come on, this thing is extremely tiring to control," he urged her. He wasn't kidding, it was much more difficult to sustain it than it appeared.

"Okay…?"

"Just do it!"

"Alright, fine!" She eventually gathered her strength and punched right in the middle of the Mana Shield.

"Ha!"

Bam!

"Ow, my arm!" Xilia screamed and held her hand, clearly in pain. "What is your chest made of? It's like punching stone!"

"Um," Gerald looked under his shirt where she punched the black crystal growing out of his chest. "Well, technically you are not wrong… Wait, the shield!"

The shield was gone, broken apart the instant her fist touched it. It broke into shards like glass and then disappeared like a puff of smoke.

"Tell me, how did it feel?"

"What?" Xilia held her hand, wincing in pain. "I think I broke something."

Gerald took a Health Potion and handed it to her, "Yes, it's a common boxer's fracture, nothing dangerous. We'll fix it in no time. Now, tell me, how did it feel breaking my Mana Shield?"

"It… It didn't feel much of anything," she said. In all honesty, if he didn't remind her she would have completely forgotten she punched anything other than Gerald's chest. But that was not a satisfying answer.

"Come on, you have to be more precise than that. Think! Was it perhaps like punching through paper? Or maybe wet paper?"

"Um…" Xilia furrowed her brows and thought deeply about it. "Oh, I got it!" she suddenly exclaimed. "You know how in winter when water starts freezing for the first time, a thin layer of ice forms at the surface?"

"Yes?"

"It felt like breaking that!"

"It felt like breaking a millimeter of ice?"

"Mhm!" Xilia nodded like a proper bobblehead.

"Fuuuuuu-"