“So, are we gonna try this?” Skadi asked.

Helena stood up and walked towards me. Then she sat down facing me. “How are we doing this?”

“Are we sure this is safe?” Cassie asked.

“It’s just neutral mana, right? And I will only use a bit. Or, should we ask a teacher?” I was getting slightly worried now. From what we had learned so far, I thought it should be fine. But we were only students.

“I think we want to keep that between us.” Helena said. “If you can help us, it would be a nice boost to our team. No reason to advertise it to others. I trust you Koyuki, you can do this!”

“Meow!” Nyx seemed to agree. Or at least it sounded like encouragement. She was currently on my head.

Helena held out her hand. I took it. Then I focused on drawing a small amount of my mana and pushed it towards her hand. There was resistance.

“Hm. Do you feel the mana? Do you think there is a chance you can accept it?” I asked.

“No. How did you push your mana into someone last time?”

“Um. Overwhelming force. I just threw everything I had at them.”

“What if both of you pricked your fingers? Maybe you could shove it through the blood.” Skadi suggested.

“You are the only one with the right affinities for blood magic.” I pointed out.

“It’s not about blood magic. But if you have mana in your blood and touch hers with it… And you want it to follow the same path anyway. Also, didn’t you kill the plant with mana in your blood? So you know to mix it in there.”

“You might be right.” I conceded.

Helena pulled her dagger. “Let’s try it.”

We both pricked our fingers, then I touched her hand again. The blood of the two wounds mingled. I tried to push my mana through it, there was still some resistance.

“I can feel something.” Helena said. “I am trying to pull on it.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

It was weird. I could feel her now. I did not fight it as she pulled my mana into her body. It was hard to keep a connection. I dropped the water shield that protected us from the rain. I needed all my concentration.

“Some lightning and thunder would be nice. This feels like a sort of ritual.” Skadi said, sounding excited.

“You read too many books.” Cassie responded.

I ignored them and focused on my task. I tried to give the mana in Helena’s body directions. It was awkward. There was a natural resistance to everything I wanted to do. Her body tried to fight the intrusion.

But our persistence paid off. Eventually the mana moved the way I wanted it to. “I think we got it!” I said.

Helena was breathing hard. “Huh. That was exhausting. But you are right. The mana is flowing. What leaks from my core now follows that path. It kind of feels right.”

We all just sat there for a minute. The rain made a nice sound as it hit the unprotected campfire. But it was not strong enough to douse it. Nyx jumped from my head and buried herself in my tail. Helena stretched and moved back to her place.

“So, any side effects? Any desire to consume the living?” Skadi asked.

“Nope. I am feeling pretty alive actually.” Helena answered.

“That is exactly what an undead would say.” Cassie said. She also moved a bit closer to the fire. “Can you bring the rain shield back?”

“Not if I do this again. It needs my full concentration.” I answered.

“Sure, I am willing to join your undead army.” Skadi said and moved over.

“You are the potential blood mage. Maybe you will make me your puppet instead?” I countered.

“I haven’t thought about that. Skadi the blood queen. How about it, Nyx? You would support me, right?”

Two purple eyes peeked out of my tail.

“Is it possible to control people with blood magic?” Cassie asked.

Skadi shrugged. “So, I have read this novel about a blood mage…”

“Did he build a harem of warrior generals?” I asked.

Skadi blushed. She seemed to like a certain kind of book.

“Anyway, I am ready.” Skadi said and pulled a dagger.

This time it was easier for me. I had already learned what to do. But it still required Skadi to accept my magic. I was getting tired as well but not as exhausted as my friends. Soon it was done.

“Puh. I need a nap.” Skadi said. “But it does feel right somehow. Like this is how mana is supposed to flow.”

“I think I can manage you as well Cassie, if you want.” I offered.

She looked thoughtful. She had only joined our group recently. We did not know each other that well, I suppose. Then again, we had fought together. The field exercise felt like a great bonding experience.

“Ok…” She said in the end.

“I don’t want to pressure you.” I assured her.

“No, it’s fine. I just hope it does not require water affinity, since it involves blood, which is a liquid…”

“But true blood control is a water earth combination.” Skadi said. “All Koyuki does is put mana in a part of her body. That part just happens to be blood. And all you have to do is grab that mana and pull.”

“Don’t worry, you got this Cassie!” Helena encouraged her.

Oh. Was she hesitant because she did not trust her ability? I guess her magic was on the weaker side.

Despite her concerns she did fine. By now I had some experience and could guide her a little better through the process. Soon it was over.

“It does feel sort of right.” Cassie said between heavy breaths. We were all rather tired now.

“I think I need a nap now too.” I said. It was getting late anyway I suppose. “Maybe we should call it a night.”

“Yeah, good idea.” Helena agreed. Cassie and Skadi nodded.

We all crawled into our tents. As I started moving, I noticed that Nyx was still inside my tail. And she just held onto it. “Really?” I asked her.

She stared at me. Then she let go and stretched. Afterwards she walked into the tent. I followed her inside. The sound of the rain was soothing and I fell asleep quickly.