Jonathan sighed, exiting his mana core, and picked up a nearby rock, etching the Rune of Consumption onto it with the spike of one gauntlet. He was not going to risk placing the rune on his skin again. A vortex of light formed almost immediately, sucking in the ambient mana from the air around it. Jonathan could feel it tugging at his own mana pool, but he ignored it for the most part, and he was able to keep his mana safe.
The rock started to glow as more and more mana was siphoned into it, and once it had reached a blinding white hue, Jonathan canceled the rune with a spike of Divinity, leaving the rock glowing on the ground. He cautiously picked it up, and it was extremely hot to the touch, even for him, which likely meant that it was easily over a thousand degrees in temperature. With a grunt, he crushed the rock between his fingers, letting the mana come rushing out.
As it poured out into the world like a cloud of shimmering mist, he began to gather it with his will, using its connection to his skin to pull it into himself. It felt like he was trying to fit into a hole that was too small for his body, but he kept at it, and his mana bar ticked up one point above its maximum. It was nothing like what had happened in the skies over the capital, which was good in terms of safety.
Most of the mist was lost to the air around him, but Jonathan managed to capture about ten mana points worth of it in his core, causing it to glow marginally brighter than it normally would. He could feel that this extra mana was of a different type to his normal mana, as it lacked the Void essence that the rest of his mana contained. It was gradually corrupted, but he could feel that it felt different. Perhaps his elemental energy, as the wielder of a True Affinity, was more intertwined with his mana than it should have been.
Experimenting with the new mana, Jonathan snapped his fingers, expelling it from his index finger. The mana traveled outwards, but kept going, seemingly eager to escape from his hands. It dissipated about a dozen feet away from him, but it was a start to achieving his goal. Heartened, Jonathan kept at it.
A few hours later, he had come closer to his goal, but there was still a boundary standing between him and ranking up. The mana that he was packing into his core was still foreign enough to resist advanced manipulation, and it was unable to do much to the world around him. Again, Jonathan assumed that this had something to do with his affinity. However, he could see that he was going around this whole ranking up thing a bit differently than normal. He could sense that the real lesson of Apprentice Rank was the ability to sequester parts of his mana, but because of the pervasive nature of his Void energy, he was having to use exterior mana instead. His next step would likely be to be able to separate his mana out from the Void energy. That would be a lot harder than it seemed though. For now however, he would be able to get by with this little trick.
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Eventually, he got the hang of it, and was finally able to manipulate the exterior mana enough to create a small projectile that arced through the air, slamming to a piece of rock some feet away. The rock cracked in half, and Jonathan let out a sigh of relief. A notification appeared, and he opened it, already knowing what it would be.
You have reached Journeyman Rank 1 with Mana Manipulation!
Many mages fall into the trap of assuming that only their own mana matters. In the grand scheme of things, this is the furthest thing from the truth. The world around oneself possesses far more mana than anyone can use, and it is waiting eagerly to be called upon. In discovering this separation, one can further their own abilities.
+15 to Intelligence, +10 to Wisdom
You have access to a skill!
Mana Rocket:Rare
A basic skill that allows for one to project their mana outside of their body in order to extend their reach. This skill is weak, but serves as the base for far more powerful abilities.
Accept?
Y/N
The stat bonus was more than he had been expecting, and he quickly accepted the skill too. As he did so, he could feel the new knowledge entering his mind, and he stood up, eager to try it out. Holding out one hand, he summoned mana to it, and then expelled it with a quick effort of will.
What he had discovered was that for mana to leave one’s body, and have any sort of effect on the world around it, it had to be partitioned from the rest of the wielder’s mana pool. Now that he had gotten the hang of that, it was time to practice. A small orb of light shot out of his hand and raced towards a nearby wall of the ruin, slamming into it with a dull thud. The stone cracked, but little more happened, because of the relative weakness of the skill. That was not something that he could pump an unlimited amount of mana into, seeing as the integrity of it was very difficult to keep up.
The next logical step was to add his Void mana to it, but he was not quite ready to take that leap yet. For now, he had accomplished his main goal, which was getting the skill to Journeyman Rank. However he could feel that there was now a literal wall standing in between him and his next rank, a mental block made up of pure complexity. Bridging the gap to Expert Rank could very well take months, if not years. However, that was a discussion for another time.
It was time to find Edgar and keep going towards their destination. The other man had wandered off a few hours ago, and had still not returned. He was presumably practicing some of his skills, but Jonathan was a little wary. What if he had gotten into trouble, or had been apprehended by a unit of soldiers? Jonathan snuck around the side of the ruin, and peered over the ash for his friend. There was nobody in sight. However, there were a few footsteps heading away from him, and he quickly followed them.