Ben lay sprawled out on the floor of his apartment, dull ache in his head and drenched in sweat. He stared at the text hovering a few feet above his head.
[Congratulations! You have awoken your Prominence: Perfect Understanding]
He passed his hand in between his face and the mysterious writing but it passed behind the text instead. The words began to change. The new text read:
[Statistics unlocked. View?]
“Uh, yes?” said Ben, confused. For something called Perfect Understanding, he was certainly not understanding anything that was happening at the moment. Again, the text changed. This time instead of a simple message a sheet of data entered his field of view.
General Statistics
Might: Weak
Governs your Physical strength, Raw Power, and Running Speed
Vitality: Below Average
Governs your Stamina, Endurance, and Resistance to Diseases and Poisons
Will: Greater
Governs your Mental Strength, Ability to Manipulate Magic, and Determination
Finesse: Average
Governs your Agility, Precision, and Manuel Dexterity
Abilities:
Prominence: Perfect Understanding
Ability to see statistics, Perfectly Recall anything known, access to specialized divination spells to better collect and assimilate information
Mana Manipulator: Apprentice
Manipulate Ambient or Stored Mana into spells depending on the mana type used
Warning: Local Mana Levels too low to manipulate
Boons:
None
Conditions:
Fatigued
Dehydrated
Hungry
Ben took in the sheet in front of him. He spent a long while staring at his second ability. Mana Manipulator? He had not heard that term before. This ability seemingly promised him the spellcasting he had always desired. Immediately he wanted to believe that this was one of his brother’s poorly executed jokes. He dismissed the thought. Strong as Charlie was, he wasn’t this subtle.
This left him with a few other options. The first was that someone else was manipulating his mind. Ben decided this was unlikely as he really kept to himself, and no other mages he knew had anything to gain by deceiving him. The second option was that his earlier headache had, in fact, driven him mad. This was more likely, but he doubted this as well. He had studied madness in some of his earlier readings when considering bartering with ancient eldritch beings and it often was a subtle thing. Madness was a slow burn. Starting small and building to something terrible. A sudden madness like this would have to be the work of a mage and he had already ruled that out. This left only one option. This was all real. A jolt of energy shot through him.
Quickly, Ben hopped to his feet. The sheet stayed centered in his field of vision. He spoke, “What else can I see?”
[View Spell list?]
“Please.” Said Ben, a wide grin spreading across his face.
Spell List
Tier 0
None
Tier 1
Understand Language, Analyze
Tier 2
Lesser Locate
[New Spells will appear as you successfully cast them]
[Advance Mana Manipulator ability to unlock higher tier spells]
[Warning: Local Mana Levels too low to manipulate]
The grin fell from his face. Only three spells? He knew of at least several dozen. And that warning again. What did that mean?
[The Ambient Mana in the local surroundings and/or stored in nearby containers is too low to manipulate at your current ability. Seek higher ambiance zones or refill containers.]
“Ahh.” Said Ben, as the text shifted at his thoughts. He could control it with his mind. That certainly was useful. This was shaping up to be quite good, assuming he wasn’t stark-raving-mad. The school had been located here in Rakatesh because it was a low ambient magic zone, that way there was minimal interference with the training of new mages. He’d need to seek out mana batteries then. They weren’t very common as many people here in Rakatesh simply didn’t need them in their day-to-day lives or just powered things off their innate mana. Perhaps Lady Eldaria had some she might lend him.
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“Lady Eldaria’s books!” Shouted Ben. As he was about to throw himself out the door he stopped. At the library, he had a pass to the restricted sections. This was a golden opportunity to get some answers about what exactly it meant to be a Mana Manipulator, or whatever the hells was going on at least.
As Ben walked down the corridors of the school, the thought occurred to him that he was taking all this in stride. He had been hoping for this day, or something like it, for a very long time. Now that it was here, he thought he’d be frantically running around showing off his newfound powers. Well, he technically didn’t have any yet, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He was happy, more so than he’d been in months, but he was overtaken by this sense of clarity that helped keep him focused. For the best, he thought, he needed to gather as much information about this Prominence of his as he could. Entering the library’s entrance floor, he walked over to the clerk. She was a young brunette woman about Ben’s age.
“Hi Amy, I need to pick up some stuff for Lady Eldaria,” Ben said. “Some of it is down in the restricted sections, just a heads up.”
She smiled “Shouldn’t be a problem, Ben. Do you have something to verify that though? My boss has been giving us hell since he found out that Krista let someone down there last week without authorization.”
“Yeah, I’ve got it here.” He said reaching her the list. “Oh, by the way, I haven’t been down there in a good while. Do you have anything that might help me find what I’m looking for?”
“Uh, let me check really quick,” said Amy as she handed back the list along with a special pass. “Be right back.” A moment later she returned with a small disk in her hand.
“This is a Tome Finder. You just think about what you’re looking for and the little arrow points the way. It’s like a compass that works on books. It only works on the things in here though, so I’ll need it back when you’re done.”
“No problem. You’re the best Amy.” Said Ben.
As he took the device text filled his vision
[Divination Mana Container obtained. Mana levels sufficient for manipulation]
He froze for a second reading the text.
“You ok Ben?” asked Amy.
“Oh, yeah I’m fine.” Said Ben, mentally dismissing the message.
“Ok well if you need anything else don’t hesitate to ask. Better helping you than sitting here going over inventory reports.”
“Will do.” He said. Turning towards the stacks of books across the floor, his mind raced with thoughts of casting his very first spell.
Ben shut the door to one of the library’s study rooms behind him, placed a chair under the handle then sat at the table. He inspected the Tome Finder in his hands. It was just as Amy had said, it looked like a compass with a red needle spinning slowly around. He thought of a book on Eldaria’s list, one he knew the location of. Sure enough, the needle ceased spinning and rotated to point in the direction of the shelf it would be on. He realized it must be enchanted with a divination spell to do so.
He set the Tome Finder in front of him and then realized that he had no idea what he was doing. With a sigh, he unblocked the door and then sat back down. He might be a Mana Manipulator, but he didn’t have a clue how he was supposed to go about doing that. He mentally summoned his statistics and then focused on the ability to bring up its description.
Mana Manipulator: Apprentice
Manipulate Ambient or Stored Mana into spells depending on the mana type used
He mentally asked “How do I go about manipulating mana?” his power responded.
[Mana Manipulation is the process of bending mana to your will. Focus on the mana around you and envision the spell you wish to cast.]
Turning back to the tome finder, Ben closed his eyes and tried to feel the mana in it. He placed his hand on top and focused his mind. Slowly, he connected with the mana and drew it into his palm. He could see it twist and writhe in his hand, glowing a gentle pink. Ben thought of the spell he wanted. Slowly he began to will the magic into an arcane circle. This was the moment he had waited seven years to realize. If he was successful here, he would become a real mage. His heart was pounding out of his chest. With a moment of hesitation, he spoke, his voice not a statement but a command to the very mana itself.
“Analyze.”
The diagram obeyed. Flaring bright it flowed over the Tome Finder and new information flooded his mind.
Tome Finder
Magical Diviner
Bound (Library of Mages)
Focus on a tome in the bound location and the needle will point to it.
Mana Capacity: Lesser
Ben opened his eyes and looked at the device. Everything that he could know about the device he now knew. He simply understood he could cast about cast that spell about 9 more times before he’d deplete its mana reserve. If he wanted to cast a 2nd tier spell he’d need to expend twice as much mana. This feeling of knowing was very eerie. It was as if he had always known.
Ben recalled his other two known spells. Understand Language and Lesser Locate. Both of those could prove invaluable here in the library—the former he could use to read any text and understand any spoken words. The former worked as a more powerful version of the Tome Finder. He could use it for objects that met certain qualifications. For his purposes, this meant he could find books that covered specific topics without knowing their names. With that in mind, Ben began his descent into the depths of the restricted sections.
Ben began by writing down a list of topics he wanted to read about. The top items on that list were Mana Manipulation and Prominences. Other topics included mana batteries and differences in mana ambiences. These were things he hadn’t bothered researching before as most conventional mages didn’t need to worry about them. His second task was to track down Eldaria’s requested materials, the Tome Finder proved itself as it all but trivialized the search. He made a mental note to ask Amy how much one of these costs to buy.
Utilizing the remaining mana stored in the Tome Finder, Ben began searching the restricted archive. Guided by Lesser Locate he found an entire shelf of books dedicated to Mana Manipulation. It was lined with dusty tomes, their titles etched in faded gold. Ben chose a book off of the middle row. Its title read “Mysterious of Mana Shaping.” He found a secluded corner and began to read.
The room was dead silent, the quiet only being broken by the crackling of paper as he devoured the book’s secrets. He learned about the nuances of channeling mana and how to weave it into spells. As the knowledge entered his mind the text became more than words. It was a guide, a mentor walking him step by step through the process.
Perfect Understanding stood up to its name. Ben had always been quick to grasp new concepts, but this was something entirely different. Esoteric concepts became clearer, and the complexities of mana manipulation became simpler. He began to understand that this power of his was more than just spellcasting. It was total control over magic. If he advanced himself far enough into the field, he could do things other mages could only dream of.
With the secrets of mana manipulating now in his grasp he turned to his next topic, Prominences. He quickly located the tome “The Gifted- Unraveling the Mysterious Prominence.” He dove into the pages. The history, theories, and fables of those who wielded the powers unfolded before him.
Ben felt an odd kinship with those who had also unlocked these powers. He marveled at the abilities listed. Things ranging from total control over the elements to the gift of prophecy and reviving the dead. It seemed that all those who could muster this ability were destined to be great or terrible. He wondered where he would fall on that spectrum.
As his journey into the restricted section continued, his newfound hunger for knowledge grew. He explored mana battery theory as well as mana collection systems. He studied mana ambiences and the network of leylines that carried mana across the planet. He sought out answers to magical theory that had eluded him for years.
Time blurred as Ben spent hours in the depths. The library, once a labyrinth of books and shelves, now was a treasure trove of infinite knowledge. Only after the Tome Finder’s mana reserve was completely exhausted did he return to Amy, Eldaria’s books in hand.
The librarian smiled as he approached, noticing a difference in his demeanor.
“Find what you were looking for?” She asked.
“More than I ever imagined.” Said Ben, his words exuding confidence. “Thank you again for the Tome Finder, it was invaluable. By any chance do you know if they make general-use versions of these that work in more locations than this one?”
“I’m not really sure, sorry. As for cost, these cost us about a hundred gold pieces each.”
“Yikes, that’s more than six months of my salary. Oh well, thanks again. I have to get these back to Eldaria. Have a great day, Amy.”
“You too Ben!” Said the librarian as Ben left the library.
As Ben finally approached Lady Eldaria’s office, he saw the lights off and a note on the door. It read:
“Ben, my timetable for helping with the demons has been pushed up, I likely won’t be back for several weeks if not a few months. Leave the books on my desk. I’ve arranged for your pay for the next 2 months to be advanced, just visit the financial office to get it. I want you to take that time off to vacation. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard lately and you need to relax. Once I get back, I strongly feel like we’ll make a breakthrough with your magic.” - Lady Eldaria Stormsinger
Ben chuckled as he read the notice. If she had only waited a few hours, she would have found him a different man.
Two months' pay was nothing to sneeze at, 30 gold pieces could get him pretty far. This was perfect timing too. With his new powers, he needed to get out of the city and expand his potential. His mind wandered to Arthur and his quest. That damned Draconian had been right! He supposed that if he was going to leave it wouldn’t hurt to travel with another Prominent. He’d meet him at the gates in two days. Right now, however, it was time to finally eat something. Ben was famished.