The trainer is standing next to the displayed human body and she points at it. “We are both human and so have humanoid bodies. That is the theory most others agree on and by that frown you clearly have different opinions on this subject as well. So do I in fact. If all humans were the same then why do cores get formed in different places when not controlled? Why are certain methods of moving energy more effective for some and not others?”
“Simple enough to understand if you throw out the idea that a human is the same as every other human. I don’t know how this became popular anyway. A tall person can reach items on a high shelf. Now every human is still a human. You aren’t an elf if you’re skin is lily white or a dwarf if you're shorter than normal.”
“However, each person is unique and their body will have some differences from the classical model for how a human's energy system should work. There are numerous charts for the so called qi channels, chakras, dantien, and so on. Bloodlines will tend towards being similar to one another and are a better indicator for what you look like on the inside.”
“It doesn’t help that you travellers came along and decided to just upended everything by seemingly being able to choose how your insides work to a certain extent. Everyone missed an important little detail though. Well, I say missed. Been forever since I started shouting at all the other elders here about my realization. I can’t help it if they build their whole foundation on certain incorrect ideas.”
“What is important for you to realize is that all the different mystical powers are not physical. Sure, earth attuned mana will tend towards become rocks when not controlled and lightning attuned qi tends towards flowing through stuff like electricity. None of that matters though because when kept under control they flow through everything that is physical, equally well. Whatever mental construct you make for how your insides work is your mind putting up barriers made of whatever energy you are using.”
“Now I won't say there isn’t body parts that can interact with stuff like mana. In fact, I can with 100 percent certainty say there is. A good example of this is the scales of anything related to dragons. The scales are tough but the biggest feature of them is their ability to stop mystical energies from passing through them. This of course works both ways which is why dragons are so famed for their breath weapons. With a creature so magical and only one proper outlet what else can they do?”
“I can’t even say there aren’t any sentients lacking in such body parts. The goblins third eye and halflings in their entirety are good examples. A goblin’s third eye has a mystical construct in it which allows for various vision modes such as magnification. Halflings are their own can of worms as at any point in time their whole physical structure into a mystical structure.”
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“You're a human though so we can ignore those exceptions. If it wasn’t for your mind imposing a basic level of resistance energy would just flow through you like, you weren’t there.” At this point Jason raises his hand. “You have something to say?”
With a nod Jason explains that, “I have a movement skill that does something like that. After some training my skill desolate traversal gained the effect distanceless step. The description doesn’t explain it. When I use the effect, it feels like I am not only letting the surrounding energy pass through me but pulling myself along.”
The trainers gestures and all the other chairs and desks in the room are moved to the side, “show me.” Jason gets up from his seat and moves around the room. He takes a moment to get into a groove. Once his pattern is set he starts to actively use the skill. At first he steps farther and farther. The energy in the air flows through him. Unlike usual though because of the trainers explanation he is able to improve.
With the same effort he would move three steps with one Jason with his new understanding is able to go five steps. That improved he shortens the distance until he looks like he is walking in place. Then with his improved control of the effect he moves backwards with each step forward. He takes a moment to get used to this new way to use the skill. Happy with his improvements Jason turns back to the trainer and bows to her before returning to his desk.
The trainer holds her chin with one hand and has the other rested on her hip, “hmm, that is interesting. It is quite similar and I think you should train that effect more. At a high enough level it might let you pass through magic before it finishes. Now you won’t be able to jump through a lightning bolt as that turns into lightning as soon as it leaves the mage. However you should be able to pass through a fireball before it explodes and other similar effects. Basically, any spell that activates on impact or when a person enters its range. For a certain subset of barriers you would be their bane. Just have to watch out for any mage who can trigger their spells early.”
“Anyway, since you can already display the concept, this will be a lot easier. Mages and some Qi users have a tendency towards using runes. The biggest problem for them is they need to form them outside of their body in fear of messing up their internal energy structure. Guess what we don’t need to worry about? At the most basic level my war stomp guides whatever power source you use into a self organizing rune. Too many people who have gotten ahold of the skill take this the wrong way and form it outside of their body. If you ever see some idiot shouting war stomp and having a giant rune appear below their foot, you know what is up.”
“With this skill you are limited to letting the rune form by itself. One of the earliest travellers called it a procedurally generated rune and after he explained it I agree. While the effect you can get out of a power source will always be the same, everyone will get a different effect. I could change the skill to let you form the skill and others have. Mostly because without forming it inside one’s body the skill level is limited so they make a variant. However that is the wrong path.”