'Wow! I knew my strength had gone up but not that much!'

Thanks to the manacles I've been feeling weak lately, I didn't realize how much my strength has gone up. Just to test it I pick up a rock and give it a squeeze, it turns to powder without me even having to try hard. This is going to be a problem, if I even shake a human's hand I could crush every bone in it without meaning to.

That is a lot of strength to try and restrain all the time, maybe keeping the manacles was a good idea. If it wasn't for the chains I could just wear them all the time like training weights in an anime. Maybe I can get them modified at the mages guild in Illium when I get back there.

Or I could try to do it myself, after all I can still manipulate mana even if I can't use it. So I take the manacles out and lay them across my lap, then I drop into meditation and take a good look at them. The suppression enchantment is only in the manacles which is good, but there are other enchantments going through the chains.

If I disenchant the chains I need somewhere to get rid of the mana since I can't use it. Either that or I need to find something else to do with all that mana, maybe I can improve the other enchantments. The suppression being adjustable would definitely be a nice option to add.

Also being able to take them off without the key would be a good idea, that way I can lose them in a fight if I need to. After taking a good long look at the manacles I think they can handle the extra mana. It is a lot of mana though, if I lose control of it that is going to be a big explosion.

I am fairly sure I can survive it if it happens, but Vacker won't stand a chance. So I pick up the manacles, stand up and start walking away from the camp, I want to be far enough away that the explosion won't reach it. Once I find a good spot I sit back down and resume my meditation, I carefully plan out everything.

Then after taking a deep breath I start slowly moving mana around and changing the enchantments. I just hope I am guessing right in how the effects I want will look as spells. If not the entire thing might blow up in my face and I am not so sure that I can survive that.

The hardest part is I cannot hold the mana for long, so I have to pull some and use it immediately. Then I have to take more before the rest becomes unstable, it is very tricky and requires intense concentration. I should have set Bones to guard me to make sure I'm not interrupted, but it's too late now.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Disenchanting has progressed to level 6!

Disenchanting

Level 6

Int +12 Wis +12

You are skilled at removing an enchantment.

'So far so good, and the skill up will help!'

Working quickly but carefully I continue moving the mana and reshaping it. I had completely forgotten how intense and nerve wracking this kind of work can be. Being in a life or death situation that does not have a physical solution is a test of will all on its own.

Even though it has been a while and I haven't really practiced, I find myself making the changes quite easily. Everything I learned from altering the forge comes back to me and the mana flows exactly as I will it to. As I pull the mana out of the chains they disintegrate and as I put the mana into the new effects in the manacles they glow.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Enchanting has progressed to level 5!

Enchanting

Level 5

Int +10 Wis +5 Cha +5

You can enchant items.

By the time I finish several hours have passed, but I managed to do it. I now have a set of wrist and ankle weights that I can adjust and remove just by thinking about it. I put them on right away to test them out and try the modifications, they work as I had hoped but they are not perfect.

The weight can vary between one thousand and five thousand pounds in increments of five hundred pounds. After experimenting I find that the suppression they used on me in the castle was around two thousand pounds. Right now I can move normally at up to twenty-five hundred pounds, anything above that leaves me unable to move.

When I crank it all the way up I end up lying on the floor unable to so much as lift a finger and barely able to breath. If I couldn't adjust them by thought I would have been doomed right then and there. But the thought control works perfectly, they even drop off with just a thought.

I can even adjust the weight before I put them back on, which is important since I like breathing. After turning it down to fifteen hundred I put them back on and get back to my feet. At this weight I can move normally and it should help keep me from hurting anyone accidentally.

Again I pick up a rock and squeeze it, it takes a decent amount of effort to crush it into powder this time. Now the suppression can work for me instead of against me, and if I get in a serious fight I can ditch it with a thought. It now works just as I had hoped, and no explosions is a definite bonus.

With all that settled I head back to camp, it has been a few hours and the stew should be just about done. I am looking forward to seeing if the hydra meat is as good as the drake was. I hope it is at least as nutritious since that will help Vacker a lot, he needs to regain weight and muscle mass.