I took a deep breath in preparation for using my Meditate skill, my gaze already turning toward the only source of mana available.

The ingots.

I knew that what I was about to do was wasteful. It was like destroying a brand new phone for its materials, so far below its value it was borderline disrespectful. I still didn't have a good idea of how much mana each ingot contained in terms of mana points, but if I were betting, I would be betting on single digits.

Low single digits.

"Doesn't really matter," I muttered as I reached the first ingot, heated it up, and started to destroy it methodically. It wasn't the first time I was trying to extract mana from the ingots, so I was familiar with the process. At first, I destroyed a tiny portion, hoping that it would be enough to trigger the skill.

It was not. The little mana I managed to generate dispersed no matter how much I tried to interact with it. I repeated the process again, doubling the size of the pieces, but I failed every time. There was not even a response from my Meditation skill. It didn't even engage with the mana.

I focused on the remaining half. First, I heated it up more, not just turning it red, but even melting the edge. Then, I raised my hammer, took a deep breath, and demolished it as quickly as I could, turning it into a liquid putty.

Then, I closed my eyes, and engaged my new skill once more. This time, I felt momentary feedback, similar to the instructions I got when I tried to repair something. I crossed my legs and took a position, but unfortunately, those instructions disappeared before I could pull some mana.

"Close enough to show viability, but not enough to actually work," I muttered even as I heated up another ingot. The skill required a really strict pose and flow, very different from the ease Maria had displayed while she was gathering mana, but I couldn't compare myself to her when it came to mana manipulation.

Not when my skill was just at one point.

"Let's try again," I said as I positioned myself perfectly before I destroyed the ingot. The mana radiated freely, and I let the skill run, not bothering to ponder on its impact or process. I just let the skill do its job. Most of the mana still dispersed, but I didn't care about it, not when a small part of it stuck around me, grabbed by the skill.

The mana slowly circled around me before it started to approach closer. It took more than a minute, but I was fascinated with the process. The tendrils of mana circulated around me, getting closer and closer as if they were planets orbiting the sun.

Then, they touched my skin. From there, they disappeared with a soft tingle, replaced by a notification.

[+1 Mana]

I tried to understand the process. I tried to touch the reservoir of mana in me, but it failed utterly. Not a surprise. I had Health for three years, and I could barely channel it, and I needed to injure myself beforehand to trigger the flow.

"Now, let's see if I can use it," I said as I raised my work hammer, and used my Mana Manipulation perk. A glow appeared on my hammer as I felt a tingling sensation travel through my hand.

[-1 Mana]

I tried to absorb it back … but it just dispersed. All my effort had just evaporated in one blow, but I didn't let that bother me. Ultimately, it was just another experiment. One that was more expensive than I would have liked, but an experiment nonetheless.

I destroyed another ingot, once again letting the skill catch some of the mana while the rest dispersed. This time, I paid more attention to the movement of the skill, feeling a sense of rotation inside me, similar to how I felt whenever I used to inspect.

The mana pulled toward me. It was a slow, painstaking process, too complicated to understand with just one attempt. I let the mana seep into my skin once more.

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On the next attempt, I tried to interrupt halfway. It worked to give me a better understanding of the process, but the mana that was under my control had dissipated before I could absorb it. A waste, but considering I wouldn't have been able to do anything with a few points, not exactly a big one.

I thought about using the last five ingots, but I decided against it. Every ingot represented a chance to improve my Mana Forge skill, which was more important than another ineffectual experiment. I had already understood the basics, and while I wanted to experiment more, I needed hundreds, maybe thousands more repeats. One more repeat wouldn't help.

I just needed to decide what to do with the sole point of Mana I had. "I wonder if I can release it by reversing the meditation technique," I said to myself. It seemed like a reasonable risk. I closed my eyes, trying to visualize the same effect, wanting to see if I could control it like my other skills.

Unfortunately, I failed to engage the skill. Helpless, I destroyed another ingot, the presence of mana allowing me to trigger the skill. I tried to replicate the same effect, but pushing the mana instead of pulling. An operation that was much harder than the summarized description would have suggested.

But, I did it —

[-1 Mana]

[Meditation (Common) - 1 - 8]

Any other time, I would be very happy to see seven points of jump in my new skill. But, right now, I had other priorities. Like, the worst pain I ever felt hitting me hard, like someone had been ripping my insides. I pushed my Health into overdrive in panic, trying to fix whatever I had ruined even as I vomited blood, dazed and shivering.

The discomfort lasted for minutes while I laid on the ground, somehow managing not to shout, but it was a close call. I kept my voice suppressed, and only because I could feel that whatever damage that was done had recovered.

[-582 Health]

"Well, that was a way to improve," I muttered as I stood up, realizing just how close I had pushed myself to death. It seemed that I had become arrogant in my recent chain of successes. It was a close call. I had lost almost two-thirds of my Health in one mistake, and that was with all my leveling up.

I didn't even want to imagine what such a botched attempt would do to a mage. Most of them didn't have Double Vitality to absorb the damage of accidental self-harm. And, that was only one point of mana.

Even though I had improved my skills far more than I had been expecting, I wasn't entirely happy. The pain had been horrible, and the damage had been devastating. I stood up to go to the small attached pantry, cooking a large piece of monster steak. It would slowly recover my lost Health, but it would take a while.

So, before eating it, I took one of the emergency concentrated potions designed to replenish Health, filling it completely. Luckily, a workshop was a dangerous place with a lot of fire and sharp objects, so keeping a stock of health potions was always a smart idea.

A chain of notifications appeared, showing the slow recovery. Even with the potion, it wasn't exactly an instantaneous process.

[+1 Health] … [+1 Health]

At the same time, I grabbed a second one, preparing myself for another attempt. Painful and risky as it might be, the ability to rapidly increase my Meditation skill was too valuable. Not only did I need to support my two skills, but I also needed to discover its secrets as fast as possible.

I wanted to see if I could improve it to a higher grade before reaching level fifty, and see if I could get a new class. The risk was acceptable, especially since this time I had brought a second potion, ready to assist.

First, I destroyed another ingot, using Meditation to absorb it. The initial pattern stayed the same. Some kind of illusory orb inside me, spinning while it captured a point of mana into its orbit, slowly dragging it close. However, the higher skill level allowed me to absorb mana faster.

[+1 Mana]

I crossed my legs, taking a deep breath to prepare myself for the torture … and reversed the flow.

[-1 Mana]

[Meditation (Common) - 8 - 11]

[Perk Options — Efficient Absorption / Controlled Flow]

As much as I would have loved to ponder on the new stats, I was too busy vomiting blood as I trembled. For ten more minutes, I lay down, trying to catch my breath as Health did its job.

[-519 Health]

"The damage wasn't as bad," I muttered as I forced myself to accept the pain. It was a good sign. Maybe, someday, I could repeat it without almost killing myself.

I drank the potion as I stood up. I pondered on which perk to choose, but after a while, I settled on Controlled Flow. Once again, if it turned useless, I could just use a Perk Reset stone. Then, I destroyed one last ingot, absorbing the mana. There was a slight increase in absorption speed, but not enough to be about a new perk.

Then, I used my mana attack trick, and noticed the gathered mana was easier to control. "Excellent," I muttered. Control was a much better perk than faster absorption for me; both as a blacksmith and as a scientist.

And, if it made my reversal trick less suicidal, even better.

I wanted to go and sleep. Depleting my Health twice left me even more exhausted than I had ever been, and the mental load of a close call with death wasn't any easier to swallow. Yet, before going to bed, I cleaned the forge twice, making sure I got rid of all of the evidence.

No need to ruin everything due to a bout of carelessness.

My bed looked even more inviting than I had remembered. I threw myself to its depths. The darkness claimed me before I could hit the bed.