Did I just commit suicide by adding two skills to the mix? Well, poor future Nathaniel indeed. Poor guy.
Rest in peace.
Fuck.
I activate my [Mana Crown] and extend [Mana Domain] around me and through my body. Then I use [Focus] to better split my attention between the skills.
Myrra is currently working on her lessons with Lissandra, that damned woman. Doesn't that cockroach have training of her own to do? Why does it always look like she has so much free time?
I resolve to stop wasting energy on my petty complaints and shift my focus to concentrating on my training.
Two orbs are floating in the palm of my hand. It goes better now with my crown activated, I’m using it as a crutch to help with my training. The five skills that have the highest chance to get there are [Focus], [Redistribution], [Mana Manipulation], [Perception], and [Resonance].
I would love to replace the last two with [Mana Crown] and [Mana Domain], but both of these skills are as difficult to level as [Tether] is.
For the following ten hours set aside for mana shaping, I continue to just split the two orbs over the palm of my hand while a few of my skills run in the background.
Nothing else.
As the hours pass, I do not find it boring. Annoying, yes. Frustrating, totally yes. But it's not boring.
Every time I think I'm done improving the process, I come up with another idea. A slight change to the shape of the orb. I find that by tweaking the density of the orb I can pull on it with more force, denser mana being easier to move.
I guess it also shows how much effort I’ve put into making black mana usable, setting normal mana aside, as even Lissandra pointed out. That damned past Nathaniel is always causing more trouble for future Nathaniel and me with his ridiculous bullshit.
Once I’ve finished, I check the notifications.
[Mana Crown - lvl 24 > Mana Crown - lvl 25]
[Mana Crown - lvl 25 > Mana Crown - lvl 26]
[Perception - lvl 46 > Perception - lvl 47]
Okay, this is bad. Why the heck did my crown level instead of [Mana Manipulation]?
“I need to fight monsters. The stronger, the better,” I tell Lissandra.
“No.”
Well, I could fight the woman in front of me instead. She won't kill me, so she might even work better than the monsters.
I stand up, my crown still active brimming with mana, and my skills start activating as well.
Lissandra watches calmly. “How much do you really want to rely on life-and-death situations to force yourself over the line?”
Her words hit hard and that causes me to hesitate.
She continues with the same calmness, “If you only rely on fights to push you through and treat training as an afterthought, you will never grasp the skills properly. Then, one day you will get into a fight, expecting yourself to break through, but there will be nothing. And you will die.”
Frustrated, I still release a huge chunk of my mana at her.
She pulls a bit of mana from the dagger, using it to disrupt the field of mana around her canceling out any effect it may have had.
“I won’t lie, combat has its place. When all your senses are heightened and the rush of battle is all consuming, it can allow for some unique opportunities, but you shouldn’t rely on that alone.”
Taking a few steps, she stops in front of me. Before I react, she presses the tip of the black dagger into my chest, barely piercing my skin. Like a vampire, the black dagger I made so long ago starts pulling the mana from my body.
It's been heavily modified of course, and it feels more solid than simple mana that I could disrupt. Lissandra sure made some big changes when she turned it into her external mana heart.
“Why did you decide not to kill me?” I ask her directly.
It's probably not the best time to be asking. But I need to know why she didn't kill me when I first appeared.
Why did she break ranks with the ruler of Envy when she was clearly ready to take me out?
This time she answers, “Because you are trying, little pup. I’ve seen too many candidates and disciples grow complacent as their hunger for growth faded away.”
The dagger absorbs half of my body's mana, and only then does Lissandra stop, taking a step back.
“Maybe it’s just because you don't know anything about the world. Maybe it’s just your inexperience and lack of information pushing you along. But seeing you try so hard and show such passion allowed me to recognize something. I, as well, have grown complacent and that's how you found me on the second floor.”
I put my hand over the small wound she left on my chest, blood flowing around my fingers as it starts to heal.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Now that I look back on it, I despise how pathetic that version of me was. Where was that hunger that allowed me to survive the war and become a Champion? Where was the greed that made me one of the youngest Absolutes ever? Where was that pride that allowed me to reach the top and the wrath I turned on everyone who dared to defy me?”
Her words quiet down, a memory flashing behind her eyes.
“All of it eroded. Dampened. A fake without a spark. I was a shadow of myself, fit only to be manipulated like a toy, even before I was trapped in the tutorial. But then you appeared. Throwing away the powerful item I gave you, sacrificing it to witness the last moments of my old self. A brilliant flame of determination she discovered once more before the end.”
I find myself grasping for a response, but nothing feels right. So I listen, as she puts her true feelings on display.
“I only truly realized when I saw you again a few days ago. Even though you were clumsy, I could see the signs of the path you’re trying to carve. Your passion shining through. And so I remembered that it was thanks to you that I was able to regain what I had lost. And for that, I will face the Ruler, I will break the deal I made and I will change my plans. As my thanks, I'm even willing to end you and I will without hesitation if it comes to it. Should you fail the same way I did, I will kill you. For ruining that beautiful image.”
“I see.”
“Is that enough of an answer for you, little pup?”
“More than enough.”
“Great. Now for the next three hours, you will continue your assault on me. You will use the same pathetic attack you attempted just a few moments ago. If you fail to improve, I will destroy that damaged ax.”
“And if I succeed?”
“I won't destroy it.”
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Almost three hours later, I'm being left in the room with Myrra as Lissandra heads out. I’m barely starting to catch my breath, curled up in the corner of the room. My head is spinning, and even now my hands are shaking. Every sound and even the soft light seemingly make it worse.
Well, at least the ax is safe. That shitty weapon better prove itself useful in the future.
Squeezing my hands into fists, I wait for ten more minutes and then, as Lissandra said, the inscriptions all over my body activate. The Burden Enhancement Inscriptions.
Just on time as the three hours passed and five hours of training of kinetic energy started.
My body crumples to the floor, and more than ever before, I find myself wanting to remove these inscriptions. It would be simple enough; she didn't make them permanent on purpose, and I examined them extensively.
Instead, I reach for the kinetic energy stored in my core and let it flow into my body.
Five hours pass, and by the end, I'm able to twitch my pinkie.
I don't remember the last time I was so happy.
----------------------------------------
Without even a moment to rest, I find myself being led out of the Workshop by a man whose class is Solar Ascendant. I figure his class has to be somewhere around level 300 where two question marks become three. Probably one of Champion Niall’s disciples, along with the other man.
My head is still spinning, but at least Lissandra didn't put any limit on me, and in the next five hours, I'm allowed to hunt as much as I want.
When the doors open, the man gestures for me to leave.
“I will be back here in five hours, good luck on your hunt.”
The door closes, and I'm left alone in the shadow of the giant metal door.
I have no weapons, all I’ve brought are the clothes on my back, which I will have to replace once again because of all the damage they sustain.
I place a series of anchors, using them to leapfrog out of the dead zone surrounding the bunker. Then I boost myself high up and use a nice chunk of my mana to activate [Perception].
When I detect the first one, I head there. Now without the inscriptions Lissandra made, I let kinetic energy flow through my body instead of mana, strengthening it.
Vega always has preferred doing things this way; though I would rather use mana instead. Both for the efficiency and the fact that I'm more used to it.
I do have to be more careful though, a burst of kinetic energy can easily surpass the damage from a similar burst of mana.
The first monsters I face are old friends.
[Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 230]
[Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 212]
[Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 216]
[Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 222]
[Ebonwood Stalker - lvl 199]
They do seem to be fairly common in the area.
Now that I’m not having my mana throttled or trying to test my efficiency, I try to move kinetic energy through my body the same way I do with [Infusion] and armor. I find it clumsy, but the sheer amount I have stored in my Vortex Core does render the monster’s attacks useless.
Their spikes stop the moment they touch my skin, their kinetic energy being absorbed. The same goes for their other attacks. I redirect that energy and use it in my own attack.
The amount of mana I use is limited, rather I force myself to fight with kinetic energy. The fight takes much longer than it should but the goal was only ever experimentation.
In the end, I flood my body with kinetic energy and tear them apart. I still remember my fight against that group from before.
[Lvl 239 > Lvl 240]
Then, using [Perception], I head deeper into the forest. My Mana Wavelength Iris is put on hold as the trait is the main reason I haven't used [Perception] much lately.
----------------------------------------
Five hours later I return to the iron door feeling much better. I think I might have grasped strengthening my body with kinetic energy just a little bit better. I already have a few cheeky plans for the next time Lissandra activates my new inscriptions.
As on cue, the door opens and instead of the Solar Ascendant, I find myself faced with a young woman who smiles at me the moment our eyes meet. It's a bright, cheeky smile without any hint of ill will.
The woman looks a few years older than me. Her blonde hair falls over her shoulders flowing down her form like a waterfall. Her eyes though, are surprisingly normal, their common brown color, providing a pleasant contrast to her hair.
Her clothes are simple. Clean and sturdy without being pompous, consisting of a pair of black pants, and a white shirt with long sleeves. She wears no jewelry other than a necklace with a single beautiful mana stone that gleams like somebody trapped a galaxy in its facets.
“May I have a bit of your time? That bitc… ehm, pardon me, your companion, master, whatever she is, has already been informed. I’ve agreed to help with your training.”
[Mana Juggernaut - lvl ????]
That's a lot of question marks.
I take a step back allowing Champion Niall to exit the Workshop.
“Sure, I’ve got a moment,” I answer and the door closes, leaving us outside.