“If I had known you would have reacted the way you did, I would have talked with you in private,” Glade said before biting into the drake meat he was holding. Grease dribbled down his chin, but he didn’t care in the slightest. Gent was right, ice drakes were absolutely delicious!
“Bah, it be me own fault,” Bragden sighed from across the table. “I know me anger can get the better o’ me at times. At least you caught me. Krazzik just lets me fall on me face. Its why me nose be as crooked as a halfling banker.”
Glade just shook his head as Kedryn barked out a laugh. He had no idea what a halfling was, let alone why they would be crooked bankers.
The hall was full of noise, everyone laughing with the sporadic cheers of congratulations for those who had successfully returned from their judgments. There were even a few laughs pointed in Bragden’s direction. Either the old dwarf didn’t hear them or he didn’t care.
“So, you don’t think I’m ready for a specialization yet,” Glade said just loud enough to be heard over the noise. It was more a statement than a question seeing as Bragden had made his views on the matter very clear. The old dwarf had even taken Acumen’s book and carefully wrapped it in Glade’s cloak, supposedly to protect it from their greasy meal. However, the thought did occur to him that the old dwarf was likely keeping it out of reach so that Glade didn’t make any rash decisions without consulting him first.
“Not until ye can show me that ye have at least half a brain when it comes to magic,” Bragden said around a mouthful of meat. “Ye need to get yer channels to level 2 at the very least. You out o’ anyone else here should know the dangers o’ tearin up yer channels.”
“Yes, that I understand,” Glade sighed. “But you haven’t taught us how to level mana channels yet.”
“Yer right, I haven’t,” Bragden said, tossing the now stripped leg bone over his shoulder before wiping his greasy hands on his shirt. “That said, I think we’ve put that off long enough. It won’t be that hard seein as we have plenty o’ astral and pure mana shards to help. So long as ye learn how to take in mana that is. With any luck, both o’ ye should have yer channels raised within the week. Then we can start talkin about yer slagging specialization.”
“When do we start?” Kedryn asked, his eyes dancing with excitement as he leaned across the table.
“No reason to wait, I suppose,” Bragden sighed. “Now, I usually recommend we do this sort o’ thing somewhere all quiet and private like so’s no one will bother ye overly much. But truth be told, I don’t fancy heading outside in the cold to freeze me already achin head. So, if’n Croon’s music don’t be too much of a bother, then I say we go ahead and start.”
Neither he nor Kedryn objected, Croon’s bawdy tune about gnomish women chasing real bearded men was mostly drowned out by the loud laughter and occasional fight.
“Good. When I taught back in the king’s own academy, I had all sorts o’ charts and the like to help aide others in this process,” Bragden said as he stood from the table. “But we have something even better. You two clear the table while I go wash me hands. For this next part, I’ll be usin the Treatise, which has far better descriptions and charts than anything I had. That being said,” he turned, pointing a finger in first Glade’s, then Kedryn’s faces. “I’ll personally burn off every slagging piece o’ hair from yer bodies, startin from the feet up, if’n ye get a single spot on it.”
The last part he growled, glaring at them meaningfully. At their silent nods of understanding, the dwarf stalked off. When he returned, the table was as clean as they could make it.
“Right, then, let’s begin,” Bragden said, spreading Glade’s cloak out on the table before reverently laying Acumen’s book on it. “Takin in mana can be done in many ways. The easiest is to eat yer fill o’ mana rich food, like we been eating the past couple o’ days. It goes through yer body and settles, all cozy like, just waitin to be processed by usin yer mana processing technique.”
As he spoke, Bragden flipped through Acumen’s book, stopping on a page with a detailed depiction of man that had multiple glowing points spread all throughout his body.
“Is it my imagination,” Kedryn whispered, “or does that look an awfully lot like…”
“Talk only if’n I need you to,” Bragden snapped, after which Kedryn shut his mouth with an audible click.
Glade sighed, having already seen that the diagram looked remarkably like himself. Except for the nose, which was far too large. And hookish. With extra nose hair. Apparently, the Adjudicator of Intellect had a childish sense of humor, which was sad really. He would have thought a demi-god would have tried a bit harder.
Rolling his eyes, Glade glanced at the descriptions on the other page. They were easy to follow and were largely made up of notes that he had already figured out for himself.
“Now, a step up from outright eatin mana be through the use o’ potions or refined pills,” Bragden continued. “However, if’n they be poorly crafted ye still have to use yer mana processing technique to pull mana from yer body. That brings us to one o’ me first rules o’ magic. Never try to attune yer magic or level yer channels by usin mana within yer own body. No one has the ability to identify, let alone control, stray mana within. Best to just send it to yer mana pool where it can be filtered by her body.”
“O’course, most o’ the expensive and well-crafted potions are designed do the job for ye, whether it be refilling yer mana pool, increasing yer attunement, or leveling yer channels. The downside to that is the good potions and pills will cost ye yer weight in gold, and in some cases, sunstone diamonds. So, unless yer from a family o’ slagging royals…” Bragden gave Kedryn a meaningful look, “Ye need to know how to draw mana into ye.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Bragden turned the page, showing an even more intricate diagram… that had 6 toes on each foot. And it was cross-eyed.
“This here be a diagram of a person’s channels. As ye can see, it shows all 8. One for each o’ the basic elements o’ magic. Now, let me clear, not everyone has all 8 channels like you two freaks o/ nature, so don’t go assuming this is normal,” he growled. “Now, the goal is to take physically manifested mana,” Bragden set out three tiny crystals, “like these here pure mana shards, and guide the power free, like so.”
Bragden glanced at one of the small shards. In less time than it took to blink, a wisp of translucent energy escaped into the air, coalescing into a roiling haze of power the size of a fingernail in front of the bald dwarf.
“Now, that was the hardest… part…” Bragden trailed off, looking at Kedryn.
Glade glanced at Kedryn, surprised to see the Kid’s shard had already dissolved, a floating haze the same size as Bragden’s hovering in front of him.
“How did ye do that…” Bragden stammered.
“I’ve already read through that section,” Kedryn said, trying, and failing, to act nonchalant. “Seemed pretty straight forward.”
Bragden stammered out a curse, but Glade had already turned toward his pure shard. If Kedryn could figure it out, so could he.
Reminding himself that this was most definitely not a race, Glade went ahead and engaged his time dilation skill and read through the description on the chart.
Even with all of your obvious shortcomings, this exercise in drawing mana from physical sources like natural treasures, mana shards, mana stones, mana gems, and mana cores should be feasible. Just because children learn it at an early age doesn’t mean you cannot. While simple in theory, learning to draw mana takes time, dedication, and above all patience…
What followed was a description of guiding mana and connecting it within the desired channels. Seemed straight forward enough.
Glade turned his attention to his shard and imagined the energy releasing from its physical container and floating toward him.
Nothing happened.
Because of the dilation, Glade could barely feel the beginnings of an eye twitch.
He tried again. Still, nothing happened.
Really not wanting to be outdone by the Kid in something children could do, Glade cast manipulate mana so he could at least see what he was working with.
The world exploded into color. Mana, in all its forms and colors, practically illuminated the room in ways Glade still found utterly fascinating. The walls were filled with the golden-brown color of earth mana, reinforcing the solid structure in concise geometric patterns that were as stunning as they were simple.
The deep blue of water mana mixed with the pale yellow of air within the ice drakes currently being consumed by the other dwarves. Even the pure mana shard glowed with a translucent, crystal-clear light.
Glade could see the mana hovering before Bragden and Kedryn, but there was nothing else indicating how they had accomplished such a feat. He could use his spell to draw the mana out, but that would only work while casting the spell. He needed to do this without magic.
Again, he tried to pull the mana toward himself as the book instructed, and again, nothing happened.
Knowing he was likely rushing things, and not caring in the slightest, Glade used his internal power unique to himself.
Attention! Due to your basic knowledge and exposure to mana, as well as being skill level 8 in your Mana Processing Technique (Twin Root and Branch), learning to mentally guide mana for internal processing will cost you a total of 3 will points. Would you like to use your willpower to learn this aspect of your Mana Processing Skill?
Yes/No
Three will points was more than he thought it should cost, but he gave a mental shrug and spent the points anyway. The look on Bragden’s face would be worth it.
Information flooded into Glade’s mind as his view of the shard in front of him change. Without fully understanding how or why, he suddenly knew what to do.
Without thought, Glade nudged the shard with his mind, pushing the physical form of mana into flowing energy. In a flash of light, the shard dissolved, the translucent power of pure mana flowed toward him, responding to his will.
Only then, did Glade turn off his time dilation skill.
“…the second fastest I’ve seen,” Glade heard Bragden explain to Kedryn. “Now all we need to do is wait for yer Captain to catch up…”
“Done,” Glade said, letting a hint of smugness bleed into his voice. Sure, others might say that he cheated. He thought of it like using all the resources at his disposal.
Both Kedryn and Bragden looked from where the shard had been to where the energy floated in front of Glade.
“Ye cheated, didn’t you,” Bragden huffed, folding his massive arms over his chest before muttering, “Slagging branded.”
It took some time, but Bragden showed them how to use the condensed energy from the shards to first fill their mana pool, then how to begin leveling up their mana channels. The first part was as easy as breathing. Both Kedryn and Glade had spent hours filling their mana pools using their Twin Root and Branch processing skill.
The second part was far more challenging.
“Alright boys, like I done told ye before. Grab hold o’ the pure mana with her mind and guide it to yer channels. Now, this part may feel a bit… weird. Yer channels don’t like external mana comin in, and so they’re gonna fight ye every step o’ the way. Don’t pay ‘em no mind and keep drawing that mana in until it be gone.”
Glade did exactly as he was told, carefully guiding the mana toward the point where his astral channels met his mana pool. The moment the two touched was when pain shot through him like he’d grabbed a live wire.
“Is it supposed to hurt?” Kedryn gasped, clutching his chest.
“Good lads, good. The burn lets ye know yer doin it right! Now, don’t let up and keep pushin that mana in nice and tight.”
The energy and his channels bucked, like opposing magnets that fought one another. The more he forced the two together, the more burning under his skin occurred.
“Yer almost there lads, hold it just a few more seconds, and… yer done!” Bragden cheered. Glade wondered if he was cheering because they had done it or because the dwarf had made them suffer. Likely the latter. “Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Glade let out a pent-up breath, sighing in relief that the worst of it was over. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to feel sweat beading on his forehead.
“That… was… awesome!” Kedryn gasped, a grin stretching across his face.
“I don’t think you know the meaning of that word,” Glade groaned.
After a brief moment to recover, Glade eyed the bald dwarf.
“So, is that it? Did we level our channels?”
“What do you think?” the bald dwarf said, a knowing smile growing on his face.
A notification appeared.
Congratulations! You have taken your first real step in advancing your magic! You have ingested 1 full point of pure mana, saturating your astral channels in preparation to grow them to level 2. Total saturation: 5%.
“Who’s ready for some more?” Bragden said with a massive grin, holding out two slightly larger mana shards.
“This is just like what happened in a book I read,” Kedryn whispered.
Glade groaned.