Well, I must say, that's a first. I've never seen a Ningish Serpent dealt with in that way.

Jeff detected a note of surprise in Misty’s voice.

Once again, he was rewarded with more coins, denoting the end of the challenge. Jeff got to his feet, wincing in pain from the bite wound on his leg.

Congratulations! Your High Pain Threshold Skill has now reached Level 3

Surveying the most recent battlefield, Jeff limped over to the remnants. From the severed heads of Mistress Vasuka which lay scattered about the floor, he harvested twelve of hir sapphire like eyes; [Ningish Orbs of Mana Replenishment], which according to their description, would temporarily boost available Mana Points by 50%.

Suddenly, a triumphal chorus of unseen trumpets sounded, heralding the arrival of a larger than normal, highly decorated system message, resembling an ornate scroll.

Congratulations! You Have Been Awarded Your First Loot Box!

Reward: Five Omega Energy Points

Blinking away the message from the center of his HUD, Jeff was startled to discover a large, bronze colored chest floating in midair in front of him.

The rectangular chest was roughly the size of a steamer trunk, and was finely crafted from polished wood bound by bands of brass.

Casting Identify, Jeff was granted a bit more information by the System.

ITEM: [Boss Box—Common Tier]

ITEM TYPE: Loot Box

REQUIREMENTS: None

EXPANDABLE: (Not Expandable)

DESCRIPTION: As a reward for successfully clearing this training stage, you have been awarded a Boss Box. [Hidden]

Marveling, Jeff approached closer and tentatively reached out to touch the glowing box, only to be rewarded with the anticlimactic message:

Loot Box Locked.

Unlock Criteria: Grade I or Higher Required to Unlock.

Disappointed, he pulled the box into his ring inventory, resolving to level up as soon as possible.

Jeff winced once again, the pain in his leg worsening, and his face still smarting from the effects of the serpent’s poison.

The glowing icon in his HUD indicated that the Store was now accessible, so Jeff quickly toggled it, causing the usual metallic door to materialize in the trunk of the tree by the side of the gigantic leaf.

Wasting no time, he stepped through. The cool air within the store was a pleasant relief from the humid jungle outside.

He immediately purchased a Potion of Healing and downed it in one. Soothing waves of healing pulsed through his body, the blisters and pus filled sores on the side of his face drying up and falling off in the process.

Exhausted, Jeff stumbled into the library. Sinking into one of the overstuffed armchairs, he let the potion do its work; soon he had fallen into a fitful sleep, his dreams populated by a hostile menagerie of demons and aliens.

When Jeff awoke he was both hungry and dehydrated. Browsing through the store once more, he discovered a [Magical Water Flask] for 20 coins which, according to the blurb, would provide a never-ending supply of pure drinking water. Jeff—returning to the library—held the purchased flask in his hands and studied it.

It was an unremarkable receptacle, made from what looked like a muted metallic alloy, with a twist top secured to the body of the bottle with a simple hinge. Flipping it over revealed a complex rune etched into the base of the flask.

As Jeff stared at the fractal-like sigil, he again felt that strange resonance in his core, this time flavored with images of wetness, water and fluidity. Within the complex pattern he made out the water rune from his earlier research. The elemental rune seemed to have been combined with another, secondary rune he did not recognize, no doubt controlling or adjusting the behavior of the spell.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The instructions specified that the user was to imbue the rune in the base with two MP in order to charge it and thus fill the flask with water. Try as he might though, he was unable to activate the rune, leaving him feeling frustrated and still thirsty.

Adopting a mock professorial tone, Misty perched on the arm of his chair and began lecturing Jeff on the basics of mana use.

“For millions of years, even before the advent of the System, Cultivators of many species from across the universe have pondered on the flow of energies, and how to utilize them. The Five Tenets of The Cultivator can be boiled down to the following essential points.

Sense - Feel the movement and types of mana around you. Auras become more distinct, the harder you look for them.

Channel: Let the mana flow freely through your Core and your pathways.

Accumulate: Strengthen your inner mana pool.

Purify: Clean and convert the mana for your intended use.

Cycle: Move the mana through your mana channels in a steady stream.”

Feeling slightly foolish, Jeff took a breath and settled himself cross legged on the polished wood floor of the library. Whilst studying martial arts in his teens, Jeff had explored the concept of Chi, along with other aspects of Eastern mysticism, mostly gleaned from old kung fu movies. For a time, he had dabbled with meditation and yoga, seeking to understand and harness the power. In the end though, he had come to believe that Chi was nothing but a metaphor, a symbolic representation of human potential energy, and not some real ‘force’ external to the body that could be tapped into.

Now, concentrating on the concept of mana and trying to enter a receptive state, Jeff attempted to shrug off his skepticism, and reached out with his senses.

Nothing at first, then slowly he started to see sparkles of light at the corner of his vision. He concentrated some more. All of a sudden, he was aware of strange glowing blue particles all around him, clustering in greater concentrations in certain places. As he extended a hand towards one such cluster, he was amazed to see the mana slowly gravitate towards his hand, then smoothly enter into his body.

Congratulations!

You have learnt the Skill [Mana Essence] (Level 1)

A light bulb moment: this ambient collection of mana particles in the air around him was the very reason his reserves replenished over time. Simply moving through these shimmering clouds was enough to naturally absorb the mana.

Closing his eyes and looking deep within himself, Jeff descended into the depths of his mind and discovered a new inner dimension which he felt sure had not been accessible before.

Focusing on this newfound inner world, or ‘Core Space’, Jeff found himself instantly transported to a small luminescent grotto or cave, in which he floated, disembodied. The walls of this inner world were dense with mana, bathing the cavity all around with a rich, warm glow. Within the heart of the space was a small pool, composed totally of mana—so dense was the concentration that the energy had the consistency of a thin fluid.

Concentrating once again, Jeff began pulling the ambient mana clusters in the air towards himself, slowly at first but then with increasing ease. As the mana flowed into his body through his meridians, the walls of the grotto began to pulse brighter, imperceptibly at first but then with increasing intensity, strengthening with every new influx of energy.

As the grotto walls rapidly lit up, imbued with more and more mana, Jeff started to notice a change in the pool of energy at the very center of his Core Space. Slowly at first, as the surrounding walls became brighter, the liquid in the pool began to move, a cycloidal current or vortex picking up and stirring the mana, sluggishly churning the liquid in a clockwise direction. As more and more mana entered his body, the current accelerated, until the mana in the pool was spinning, a mini whirlpool developing in its midst.

Jeff, fascinated, observed the working of this strange interior environment for some time, sensing the movement of mana as it processed in through his skin and its onward journey to and through his Core, beginning to gain an intuitive understanding of the movement of energy through his body along an intricate tracery of energy highways branching throughout his body.

Finally, not knowing what more he could do, he exited his Core Space.

“Well done Jeff!” Misty cooed, attempting to give him a celebratory hug.

“You’ve begun the process of channeling and cycling your mana. That's not an easy feat for beginners. Now try to push some mana out of your body.”

Jeff concentrated, attempting to visualize and in some way control the mana pool in his Core Space. Employing the mental imagery of his newfound mana grotto, he imagined a small stream of mana exiting the pool and running across the cave floor into the walls. He guessed that the glistening walls of the cave symbolized his body in some way.

Sure enough, Jeff felt a mild burning sensation from his core, a tingling passing through his chest and then down his right arm into the hand holding the flask. It was as if the channel was being forced wider, its bandwidth expanding. Gradually, with the creation of the improved pathway, he was able to push a small stream of mana through his body and out of his hand.

Jeff picked up the flask and held it in front of him, concentrating on the rune engraved in its base. Employing his new ability to manipulate mana, he sent a small trickle of energy out through his hand and into the rune on the flask. His MP level ticked down from 30 to 28 and the rune flashed, signifying that the flask had been charged.

You have Spent 2 Mana

At the same time, the weight of the flask increased in his hands, indicating it had filled with water.

Feeling more than a little proud of his achievement, and energized by his newfound abilities, Jeff took a moment to refresh himself. First, he quenched his thirst, and then he used the cool, crisp water from the flask to clean off some of the grime from his recent battles as best he could. He resolved to study the workings of the flask some more, and eventually to make something like a portable shower for himself.

Jeff played around with the [Mana Essence] Skill for a little while, noting that he could turn it on and off at will. He could see streams of energy moving through his body, pouring continuously into and out of his Core Space. But when he turned his newly acquired Skill on Misty, he was surprised to see an absence of Mana. It was as if she was not really there…