There's also the possibility of a third option, it could be that despite having undergone a transformation and now being able to sense the gray substance, my body can't handle magic. If so, I would have to wait until Danamus wakes up to be able to solve my doubts and give me some ideas on how to solve the problem. But according to my observations, the first option seems more logical, it is also the one that suits me best, but anyway I cannot completely rule out the other possibilities.
Trusting that my assumption is correct, I opted to implement the squirrel technique. Cut the fruit into small pieces and store them in my cheeks for the winter or this time as a portable battery, a squittery. Also, sleeping on the ground is not very like, so this time I built a bed of leaves in case the above events repeat themselves, which is very very likely.
With my feeble preparations ready and morale returning to its heightened state, I was already prepared to overcome whatever challenges may come. I won't allow any obstacles that arise in the future to truncate my way to the pinnacle of magic, unless that means dying, becoming an abomination, or any pain I can avoid. It's not that my will is weak, I'm just a cautious person.
Despite being a bit agitated due to nerves, it only took me a few seconds to establish the connection with the energy. But instead of sensing the pulses and being left with nothing, I tried to locate the pathways that carry the energy to the brain, but the expenditure of mental energy was huge and I could even feel myself being draining with each breath. My concentration is divided into several aspects such as maintaining my meditative state, locating where the magic travels and not choking by mistake on the fruits that I store in my mouth.
These actions were sucking my mental strength like a hungry puppy suckling. In addition to these aspects, I must add that I had to keep my mouth closed to prevent the fruit from escaping. It may be the least important, but it would surely be a serious blow to my now extinct dignity. But apparently, these four tasks are more than I can handle, and for the first time, I could see how the strand connected to my chest wavers as if it were a weak seaweed struggling against the ocean currents.
cough*cough*cough*cough*
"Fuck"
I didn't want to lose my chance, so at that moment I tried to clear my mind in a hurry so I could focus only on keeping the connection and I succeeded, after a slight struggle I managed to do it, but doing it by force was counterproductive and the next moment due to the lack of coordination of mind with body, I failed because of the pieces of fruit that went down my throat without asking permission. Catching my breath was difficult and the pain in my throat made the task more difficult.
"I thought that with the reconstruction of my brain I would become smarter, but as things stand, instead of improving my mental abilities, I became dumber"
Despite the bad experience of choking on fruit, I feel like I made a breakthrough, I mean, I didn't pass out after coming out of meditation, so I believe my previous assumption if it was correct. With this, my mood improved tremendously and I was ready to proceed with the next attempt, but for now, I need a short break. Despite not having passed out, I do feel a bit dizzy. Also, I don't think it's a good idea if the inconvenience with the fruits repeats so frequently.
My break extended longer than I had originally planned, so by the time I decided to return to my work, it was already latea fternoon, but the walls protect me, so I'm not worried about the night coming. The process remains the same, the regulation of breathing and concentration is something that I can already do almost instinctively. Besides, the fact of knowing how and what I want to achieve is of great help to get a faster and optimal result.
The original plan was to find the place where the energy is flowing, but with the previous attempt, I realized that dividing my focus is not something I can do at the moment. Therefore, this time, I plan to swallow the fruits at the moment when the connection with the energy strand is established. This way, I can avoid using part of my concentration to prevent myself from choking, and I could also increase the amount of energy circulating in my body at that moment.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Which brings me to the second part of the plan, which is to verify a few things, such as whether the energy I am establishing a connection with is all I can handle, or if instead I am being deficient and not making optimal use of my newly acquired magical abilities, and in reality, I can manipulate more than just one strand of gray energy. So, with the changes to the plan done, I proceeded to carry out its execution... Sadly, things don't usually turn out as I expect. As my mother would say, "Man proposes, but fattens the horse".
cough* cough*
"Shit"
cough* cough*
"Not again"
Here I am, a person who used to enjoy a quiet life, whose only problems were self-imposed, but who for some strange reason, is now trapped in the same ruined place that appeared in his dreams, choking on a fruit that apparently contains magic and whose name or type I do not know. If someone asked me some time ago if this is how I expects to live, I'd probably have told them to go see a shrink, but here I am. Where did I go wrong?.
*HAAAAAAAAA*
'That wasn't the result I was expecting. Was it my mistake that caused it, or am I unable of eating while in a meditative state? But that wouldn't make sense if I've been able to do it before, why not now?'
Maybe I got carried away by the first results and although for me the concentration may be the same, the focus and energy circulation is different. That might explain why in one version I can split my focus and in the other it seems so difficult. In any case, it seems like something I can only solve through experience, so the next steps are trial and error.
Could I give up and try to focus on a new project? Yes, and no one would blame me, basically because there is no one here, but I firmly believe that just this experiment is very important, it's key to achieving my future aspirations. Being able to connect the energy from the environment to my eyes would mean being able to see magic from a distance, which in turn leads me to observe how it works, how magic reacts when an animal uses it. That would greatly expand my ideas. It would be a huge step forward, so I don't want to give up that possibility. Besides, I am unbreakable and a small setback will not make me give up my purpose.
"Because that's my magical arts: My wizard way"
cough*
But first, I need a bit of water and some viscous juice to moisten my throat, which is drier than a bone. The weather is ideal, the view is magnificent, the water was extremely refreshing and the fruit juice tasted as delicious as the first day I tried it. The combination of these aspects was a compelling enough deterrent. So, I decided to take the rest of the day off. Well, all my days are free, but more free than other days.
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The day was spectacular as always, so I went through my morning routine as usual and then resumed my magical studies where I had left them the day before, but as before I got the same result, a failure. At this point the fruits are becoming an annoying problem, so after a break and a deliberation with my thoughts, I decided to leave the fruits aside, which led me to replicate the same initial test.
I admit I've become a bit lazy. They say that bad habits are learned faster and it was only natural that after living all this time with the sloth-type dragon, some of his bad habits would rub off on me. In any case, it was almost nightfall when I decided to resume my work. Why didn't I wait until the next morning? Well, because although it may not seem like it, I'm a responsible person who doesn't put off until tomorrow what I can do today.
Well, it was also influenced by the fact that I was bored, I had nothing to pass the time and I wasn't sleepy either. But just because it was an action taken out of boredom doesn't mean I won't put effort into it. On the contrary, at the moment when I started my meditation session, I had the feeling that I was at my peak concentration, and to confirm my determination, after a bit of effort and maximum concentration, I managed to feel the flow of magic.
Because I was concentrating on a single point and without a divided mind, my focus didn't waver, and I quickly managed to feel the magical pulses rising to my brain. But along with these pulses, I could also feel how the more effort I put into feeling or seeing the magic current with my mental map, my body weakened slowly. The strength was slipping away like ice cream melting under the scorching desert sun.