Long moments passed as Glade’s adrenaline induced anger calmed enough for him to break down the problems he was facing. The most pressing matter was that he couldn’t do anything with his mana manipulation to aid Kedryn. Everything else was pointless if he couldn't resolve that issue.
An oddly worded phrase caught Glade’s attention as read through the warning yet again.
… beyond your skill level to do without express permission…
“Without express permission,” Glade muttered aloud, the distractions of the wind and rain shoved carefully to the back of his mind. According to Bragden, opening mana channels was a tried and true practice that had been perfected over the centuries. Magic users, so long as they had access to the correct attunement and requisite skills, would do the bulk of the heavy lifting.
Logically, that meant said mages regularly gained the necessary access to other people’s mana pools. The question was, did it require a certain skill or was it something more direct? If it was a skill, then he was out of luck. But if all he needed was permission, then he needed to find a way to communicate with Kedryn during a raging storm.
Fortunately for him, he had such a method.
“Kedryn, are you there?” Glade projected, activating his telepathy skill.
A long moment passed before the Corporal responded.
“I’m here sir,” Kedryn replied slowly, his mind radiating extreme strain.
“I’m sorry to have put you into this situation, Kid,” Glade explained in as heartfelt a manner as he could. He was about to move onto the reason why he had linked minds when Kedryn interrupted.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kedryn snorted, which was honestly quite the feat seeing as they were still using telepathy. Glade was kind of impressed. “I’m the one that drank the potion without reading the warning label first. But if it’s all the same to you, can we table this conversation for later? Managing the influx of mana isn’t as easy as I make it look.”
Glade shook his head at the casual gesture of good will, however misplaced it might be. Kedryn’s intent may be genuine as far as he could tell, but the reality of the situation was that he had been the one to push the Kid into drinking that potion. Had even gone so far as to hand it to him.
No, this was his fault and he would find a way to make it right.
“That’s not why I reached out to you,” Glade projected, organizing his thoughts. “I’ve located your air channel blockage using my astral magic. If I can get access to your mana pool, I should be able help you…”
Before he had even finished the statement, a prompt appeared.
Attention! Bei’Kedryn Serevlir of House Serevlir, your bonded, has failed to grant you access to his mana pool as you do not possess the requisite skill - Arcane Knowledge.
Glade slammed his fist into the deck, his teeth grinding in frustration. Why did this have to be so hard?
Though, it hadn’t escaped his notice how quickly Kedryn had responded to his request. Not even a moment’s hesitation before the Kid had tried granting him access. That was a level of trust he wasn't sure he deserved.
Brushing the surge of emotions such thoughts brought up aside, Glade focused on how best to overcome this most recent obstacle.
“Sorry that didn’t work,” Kedryn sent, his thoughts strained.
“Not your fault Kid. Apparently, I need a skill called Arcane Knowledge. But don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.”
Maybe he could use his Will ability to either force the connection or bypass it?
“Have you already used your reward from increasing our bond to the second degree?” Kedryn interrupted, his mental voice wavering.
Glade’s confusion must have been evident because Kedryn shared a notification with him a moment later.
Congratulations! Your ability Shared Bond has evolved to Shared Bond, Second Degree…
Both are granted the following:
* The ability Inner Strength (+25% resistance to fear based spells and debuffs - includes fear, anxiety, doubt, and panic)
* Can learn 1 of your bonded’s skills
Glade face palmed. Less than two days ago he had promised himself he would do better at remembering the many quests and rewards he had received, just like this one. How could he have forgotten already ?
Growling out his frustration, Glade flicked through Kedryn’s status page to his listed skills. Sure enough, Arcane Knowledge was there. And it was already leveled to 8.
Of course, Kedryn had already leveled it as high as he could on his own.
Pushing down another growl of frustration, Glade made his choice.
You have chosen to use your reward for increasing your Shared Bond with Bei’Kedryn Serevlir to the Second Degree. Skill learned - Arcane Knowledge!
Congratulations! You have learned the skill Arcane Knowledge! Even a blind squirrel such as yourself can find a nut every now and then. Though, does it really count if said squirrel is dragged kicking and screaming to the nut pile? Food for thought. +2% ability to advance arcane skills per skill level. +2% chance to learn and develop new spells per skill level.
Glade ignored the insult and focused solely on the influx of information that cascaded into his mind. Learning like this had always been a bit off for him. Sure, the easy buttons in this world were helpful, but it didn’t change the fact that this method of learning was just… weird. Previously unknown insights on mana flows, mana efficiency, and other topics he had never studied before flooded into his mind without context or true understanding. Sure, he now knew that mana convergence was a thing and could happen whenever two or more mages began casting indiscriminately around each other, but that didn’t explain to him what an inadvertent convergence would actually do. Would it explode? Cancel each other’s spells out?
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Something to ask Bragden about later.
“Got it,” Glade projected before another prompt appeared.
Attention! Bei’Kedryn Serevlir of House Serevlir, your bonded, has granted you access to his mana pool.
Note: Due to your current skill level in Arcane Knowledge, you have limited utility. At this time, you may assist Bei’Kedryn Serevlir in directing his mana. Increase your skill level to gain additional capabilities.
Not ideal, but better than he had expected.
Without further delay, Glade cast his mana manipulation spell and shared what he could via their telepathic link. With any hope, the Kid’s hyperactive brain would take the information provided and come up with a solution.
A muffled cry of pain reached Glade’s ears as Kedryn doubled over.
“I can’t hold onto the image… and work my mana… at the same time,” Kedryn mentally cried out.
The surge of panic that came over their shared link crushed Glade’s barely restrained hold on intervening. Knowing his decision was fraught with risk, he grabbed a fistful of mana from inside Kedryn’s pool and pulled.
Far more mana than he could have handled previously was torn from Kedryn’s body, followed quickly by a sharp cry of pain loud enough for both Glade and Bragden to hear over the storm.
“Kedryn!” Glade cried out in panic, holding the lump of yellow mana in front of him as he quickly scanned the Kid for any internal damage he may have caused.
“What’s happening boy?” Bragden yelled over the storm, moving closer so he could help hold Kedryn up.
“Oh, thank God!” Kedryn sagged in relief, the strain in his thoughts vanishing outright. “I’d say let’s not do that again because it hurt like hell, but I can actually breathe now!”
“Glad you’re feeling a bit better,” Glade did his best to keep the fear from being projected with his thoughts as he took in Kedryn’s internal mana system. Nothing looked out of place, but that didn’t mean much seeing as he had no idea what to even look for.
He waived Bragden off as the Adjudicator’s warning about irreparable harm again flashed through his mind.
“Can you try sending that image to me before my mana pool fills back up?” Kedryn asked.
Glade did as he was asked. The spell would last as long as he continued to hold the mana he had just extracted from Kedryn’s body.
“This is incredible!” Kedryn sent back, looking over his mana pool with intense focus. “There is no way I could have found the mana block without it. Now , let’s see if I can work a miracle.”
“I only have a few minutes left before I have to drop the spell,” Glade warned. There was a brief acknowledgment before Kedryn’s presence faded.
Rolling his neck, Glade began working their next problem – expanding the duration of his spell. He had 80% of his mana left but knew that wouldn’t last long.
Again, his thoughts turned to Will. He could temporarily boost his mana pool by increasing his intelligence, but that was more of a last resort. The boost only lasted for a few seconds at a time. Great for a fight where he needed an edge in battle, but useless if he needed to enhance his ability over the course of days.
He still had some unallocated attribute points, but all that would do is buy him a few more minutes. He needed hours.
Knowing there wasn’t much time left, Glade dove into his long list of rewards and notifications. Minutes passed as he rapidly perused outstanding quests and notifications, wracking his brain for anything that could possibly help. Nothing he found seemed to fit what he was looking for.
“I need to drop the spell,” Glade warned as he dismissed another useless notification from his archive.
“No worries, sir. I think I have what I need for now,” Kedryn sent back, then went silent.
Glade leaned heavily against the ship’s railing as he released both his telepathy and manipulation spell, the ball of air mana he had extracted from Kedryn fading back into the cyclone of magic.
A sense of defeat washed over him as he helplessly watched Kedryn shift into that ridiculously complex lotus position he was so fond of. He had done everything he knew how. Now, it was up to Kedryn. If only there was a manual he could reference.
Glade’s thoughts stuttered to a halt, his stomach fluttering as a half-forgotten memory of reading through a large tome came to mind. There had been something about specializations that had caused Bragden to nearly have an aneurism…
In moments, he pulled up the cascade of notifications outlining the specializations he had qualified for. Specialist of Mind, Spirit, Enchantment, Summoning, and Divination were reviewed and summarily discarded, which left one more.
Manipulation Specialist: A Manipulation Specialist leverages one’s own intellect and wisdom to influence the very streams of magical power within the immediate area. Known as the most challenging, dangerous, and potentially most powerful of all astral specializations. A skilled practitioner of mana manipulation can change the very face of magic on a whim by deconstructing, stopping, mimicking, copying, or recreating other magics. Be warned, the few foolish enough to embark on this path more often than not meet with an early demise. Only those who have a drive to learn and push the boundaries of magic should choose this path.
Starting Requirements:
- Intelligence Attribute: 19+
- Wisdom Attribute: 20+
- Knows the spell Mana Manipulation (Lvl 1 – not provided)
- Minimum Astral Attunement Rank: Sympathetic
Note: Selecting this specialization will change the spell Manipulate Mana into a growth spell. Cool down restrictions will be removed. Danger to damage one’s mana channels remains. Must meet pre-requisites to level spell.
Warning: Will require detailed learning of magical theory and other spells to effectively employ this specialization. It is highly recommended that any who follow this path acquires the skill Arcane Knowledge.
Do you want to become a Manipulation Specialist?
Yes/No
The moment he read through the prompt something within his mind clicked into place. Whichever Adjudicator had provided the earlier warning had been leading him here, to this specialization.
The metaphor of the blind squirrel came back to him. He was almost positive that had come from Acumen himself. The petty jab was his calling card after all. But who had sent the other message, and more importantly, why? A part of him wanted to dismiss the prompt altogether and let the scenario play out as is. It grated on him that he was being used in such a way, and in turn, how it affected those around him. Did one of the Adjudicators set the conditions that led to their current situation?
He wouldn’t put it past them. From his limited interactions with the eight powerful beings, they most definitely had an agenda. The question was if he wanted to dance to their tune?
Glade pondered the question as he watched Kedryn sit in that ridiculous pose of his, the spray of water washing over the deck as the Dragonling speared through yet another cresting wave. The whole situation was absurd, right down to the storm that was quickly turning into what he assumed would be a low-grade hurricane.
The obvious answer was absolutely not. Knowingly dancing to an enemy’s tune was nothing short of idiocy.
A flash of pain crossed the Kid’s face. It lasted for only a moment, but the fact that Kedryn was already in pain indicated they were quickly running out of time.
“I guess I’m an idiot then,” Glade growled. He may not trust the Adjudicators, but he would be damned to pass up an opportunity to save one of his people.
Congratulations! You have chosen the path of a Manipulation Specialist! A skilled practitioner of this art uses the very building blocks of the universe to impose their will upon reality itself. You have received the following:
· Title gained - Manipulation Specialist: Gains an additional +10% growth in all magical capabilities. +15% increase in mental fortitude when using spells and skills associated with the Manipulation specialty. +1 Intelligence and +1 Wisdom per level.
· Skill gained - Runes: Gains a basic understanding of magical runes. +2% chance of correctly scribing, identifying, or deconstructing runes per skill level.
· Spell Gained - Mana Deconstruction: Grants the user insight into the makeup of any spell, magical empowerment, enchantments, summoning circles, and other magics, prior to deconstructing targeted magics. User must identify a target prior to casting the spell. + 10% chance to safely deconstruct targeted magics per skill rank in Astral Magic and an additional +5% growth per skill rank in Arcane Knowledge. Range: Touch. Cost: 20 mana minimum; increases based on level of target. Duration: Not applicable. Cool down: 1 hour.
· Spell Gained – Identify Magic: Identifies targeted magical items. Range: Within sight. Cost: 10 mana per tier level of targeted item. Duration: Instant. Cool down: None.
· Spell Evolution - Mana Manipulation has evolved to Greater Mana Manipulation, allowing the caster to truly embrace their path. Caster retains the ability to select up to 1 mana signature to manipulate per rank in Astral magic. Synergistic with other spells, skills, and specializations. Range: Doubled from 5 feet per skill level to 10 feet per skill level. Cost: 5 mana per cast. Duration: Until spell completion or dismissal. Cool down: None.
Branded, may the world tremble in the wake of your strides upon the land.