I seem to awake confused, I was feeling my body but I just couldn’t make sense of the situation.
I found myself warm but complete immobile like I was paralyzed.
After a few monuments I started to calm down as I tried to make sense of my situation.
I was then hit a way of exhaustion that came on quickly before my consciousness faded.
. . .
I remember resting now a few dozen times. Each time was the same result. I would awaken, try to move my still ‘paralyzed body’. Feel my body for a few moments before returning back to sleep.
‘Looks like I’m an unborn baby right now’ I finally admitted during this period in which I was awake. What confirmed it was finally getting a grasp of feeling my body which was disproportioned. First off my head is huge with the rest of my body tiny. ‘From these proportions I guessed I would need another of month or two to develop this body before being born.’ I though as I tried to estimate how much time I would be living is this womb.
‘First priority is to connect with my mana pool at try to cure some of my curses.’ I thought about my objective before realizing that my eyes were still not fully developed. “I wonder if my mana vision would work’ I thought before I tried to think about see with my eye.
I strained trying to use some aspect of my vision from my yet to be developed eyes. After several moment of mental strain I became extremely fatigued and fell asleep again.
. . .
I explored the action I can perform with my new body but have focused last several awake cycles I have been focusing on trying to see with my eye mana vision. The mental strain of trying to sense this organ that was still developing was very tiring but was slowly becoming less tiring. A few times after intense focusing I think I can see mana but not continuously. ‘I’ll have to practice more so that I am able to see continuously instead of just a few flashed of mana vision’ I thought summarizing my training goal for the near future.
I have also tried to move my arms and legs. This proved to be about as hard as using my mana vision but became easier much faster. After several focused attempts I manage to make my left arm twitch. This achievement was quickly followed by my other three limbs. My ‘awake’ time also seem to last longer than it did before. Now I can stay awake for quite a while just thinking. Actions that decrease my ‘awake’ time include on any attempted manipulation of my new body and the use of mana or a skill. From my basic mana manipulation knowledge I can barely feel my mana pool. Actions that try to manipulate mana are several time more exhausting than any other activity I have tried. It seems that I can only briefly struggle to manipulate my mana before I exhausted and fall asleep. This occurred so rapidly I was unsure if I was improving or not after several attempts. This prompted me to delay magic training until I could improve.
‘Time to focus on my mana vision’ I though before starting the mental connection to my underdeveloped eyes. Suddenly a stream of visual information comes to me for the first time since I left the void. My mana vision allows me to notice two different auras within my field of vision. One was toward the bottom half of my vision and closer small contained swirling clumps of all different mana. The second was larger and a calming green. ‘So my new mother has a green aura’ I though before returning to my priority goal; Finding then fortifying my mana in order to purify myself from the curses I took on.
I focus on my aura the tried to look deeper into it. ‘I need to find my mana pool’ I though as I tried to move my eyes and head to visual the core of my body, toward the place where I found my mana pool in mana manipulation training. Because of my previous attempts at moving my limbs this was tiring but manageable. I then tried to focus on my where I felt my mana pool. If I concentrate on focusing and ca faintly make out the location.
In the center of my small still developing body not too far from where my heart would be I found a small faint black orb. ‘I’m getting tired but let try to reinforce my aura’ Reaching out to my mana pool I then focus on flowing mana into my aura.
I instantly felt a huge crushing pressure upon me, my head ached and my body felt like it was on fire. The pain was for intense than anything I ever experienced including dying. On reflex I stop this action immediately as I suffered under the after effects of feeling like I was crush and burned alive.
‘So tired’ I thought after I calmed when the pain stop rapidly returning to a sleep state.
. . .
After my setback in trying to purify myself from curses I thought to try a few different things. ‘Maybe my stats or something are still too low for something or I need a different approach. Maybe pulling up information about my new body will help.’ I reason thinking back to volume of information I went thru in the void. ‘Character Status!’ I though loudly am attempting to get some visual response.
‘Huh. Why is nothing happening? Did I think it wrong? Charter Status. Character Info, Show status, Display Status, Display Character’ I tried every possible combination that I could think of with no change at all. ‘Nothing works to bring up a status or more information about myself. What else can I try?’ I ponder for several moments before recalling my identification training.
‘Identification is a magic ritual used to examine details of a person or object. Never I’m my training did I use identification on myself but it should work in theory’ I proceeded to visualize my mana pool then preformed the identification ritual.
Name:? AmariLevel:1Affinity:Strong Fire affinity
Strong Water affinity
Strong Wind affinity
Strong Earth affinity
Strong Light affinity
Strong Dark affinityCursed
After review the information I collected other than the fact I now new my last name I was no closer to curing any of my curses.
The original plan of visualizing my mana pool and then using it to purify my curses was still the best shot. The uses of my mana vision greatly improved with constant use. Constant unfocused use of the mana vision is nearly effortless. Focusing still takes some mental effort but the clarity that I am capable of seeing has improved greatly.
When focusing on mana pool the details are very interesting. While initially appearing swirling black on closest inspection there seems to be thin stacked layers of the black that may be the curses effect on my mana pool. ‘Maybe if I can link to my mana pool without interference of the curse I can get a better’. I thought before tried to think of an approach. ‘First I would need to focus inwardly to with far more precision. Secondly I would need to be able to make my mana connection as flexible as a thread and weave it though the mana a center of a mana pool.’
With a new approach in mind I started to focus on my mana pool in as much detail as possible. This time I could clearly see a least seven layers of thin black smug that wrapped around my mana pool. Each layer varied is shape and size. Shape was ameba like with a main body with several arms that stretch out. Some had the blackness thinned out on the edges and sometimes the center while others had a very uniform. The sized varied but were generally covered around a 1/4 to a 1/3 of my mana sphere surface.
I tried to perceive deeper by moving pass the first few layers then moving laterally around some of the mid layers in order to preserve deeper. I stared to move my perception underneath one of the top level curses when I notice an accumulating effect the closer I got. Pressure, weight or gravity would all describe the feeling of everything becoming hard to do. While this pressure was heavy and slow progress down significantly I found it to be manageable. ‘At least there isn’t the sensation of burning alive as well.’ I chuckled toward myself before steeling my resolve and navigating deeper towards my man pools core.
After moving under the next cured area the pressure was increased again which made moving more difficult and slower. While it was still possible to move I also found it extremely tiring. Struggling to move deeper make slow steady progress. Until I move under a third layer of a curse and the pressure increased again. The pressure left me completely immobile and fatigue rapidly increased as I released my focus and allowed my consciousness to fade.
During the next awake cycle I had to start all over. ‘I feel like I’m spelunking in an underwater cave and I’m at the point where I need a pressure suit’ I complained inwardly as I accepted this weight and move my perception inwardly. This time I was able to navigated under four curse layers before needed to rest. The follow cycle it was six.
. . .
Steady progress was made until navigating under the 20th curse layer. At this point the process of navigating was quite long and a momentary lapse of focus now would cause me to stray my perception into the middle of a curse layer which was extremely painful. While now I was able to endure this level it caused stress on the mind and slowed progress down significantly. ‘I need to figure out how to rest at a midpoint without the need to start completely over.’ I thought as I started to think of an approach.
‘Meditation the most likely thing I can do. Some types of meditation have to clearing your mind while under near a water fall. I already learned several types of meditation for mana control as well as for the body. Body Control!’ I thought loudly after recalling that past training. ‘By using body sensing and body control I should be able to control some of my bodies function like sleeping.’
I started right away by first navigating my consciousness so that I was feeling the pressure of one curse layer. ‘Now I just need to concurrently induce rest and maintaining this position.’ While it sounded easy it was not. When I first tried to use body control to induce a sleep cycle I immediately felt my consciousness drifting. I found that as a minimum a portion of my consciousness need to focus on my position in order to work. I solved this by inducing a sleep state in all but the area I need to maintain by focus position.
After a period of time I ended the sleep cycle and felt refreshed. While not as effective as a fully sleep it seemed was still restful activity. Feeling that I just developed a key to success I start to dive deeper underneath layer of curses on top of my mana pool. After diving under a tenth curse I started to feel some of the effect of fatigue. Deciding to induce I partial sleep state here I discovered a problem. It appeared at this level of pressure I needed to keep almost all of my consciousness active. This only allows a small portion to rest of my psyche that likely would not provide any net benefit to my fatigue level.
‘Take it slower, Body control is still at the novice level. I need to train to get a better result.’ I thought in response to the setback that stemmed my earlier optimism. I then moved my focus upward until I was under less pressure before attempted the induced sleep again. Going up level by level made it easier to induce more effective sleep but it was not until just under the 4th curse layer that I could induce a partial sleep state that would rest about 3/4 of psyche.
. . .
After a dozen partial rest cycles I’ve improved greatly my ability to use the partially induced sleep. After managing to rest well when under 18 layers of curses I decided to attempt to dive deeper. I was surprised that my navigation limit had also increase. Previously I have only made it underneath 20 layers of curses. But now I made it under the 28th curse layer before becoming extremely fatigued and needing to enter a full rest cycle.
Upon awaking I realized that the longer I stay underneath the pressure of the curses the easier it become both for resting as well as navigating. I the thought up a new plan first reaching a level that I could rest at followed by diving deeper for a few level before moving back upward and attempting to rest on a high level. Once a partial rest is achieve dive deeper again. ‘With this I should finally be able to reach my mana pool.
. . .
‘It seemed that partial resting was impossible after the 25 level for now’ I concluded after several repeated attempt to increase the depth under which partial resting could be completed. ‘I guess my final dive to my mana core starts from here.
Moving my perspective down again around the last few layers of curses I started to see glimpse of my mana pool. At While trying to pass the 30th level I found that the curse area was far larger than the other covering as much as 3/4 of my mana pool. This looked similar to the next level but it looked like there were only 31 curses. It was both inspiring and frustrating to be able to see the finish line only to fall a little short. The curse on the 30th level felt like it double or tripled the pressure felted so far. After struggling to move for several minutes I had to give up and enter a rest cycle.
. . .
It took another 3 attempts to navigate to the gap in the 31st level. Under near that was my glowing mana pool core. However by passing the 31st level the amount of pressure double yet again. ‘Dam there the goal but the pressure it so much I can’t move. But do I need to If I can stream mana from here to my aura I can start to purify these curses.’ I though trying to maintain focus of the extreme crushing pressure I felt.
I then tried to stream mana to my aura. This time instead of in all direction I directed it in a thread. I moved it towards the first gap in the curse layers and then threaded it to the next gap. While this step seemed easy maintain focus while under this pressure was not. After only threading my mana string through about half of the curse I mental collapsed in exhaustion entering a sleep state.
‘Dam I was so close to the goal that time.’ I thought after remember my action during the last mental dive into my mana pool. ‘This time I should last longer.’ This proved true as I could thread the need to now 25 of the 31 layers before collapsing.
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On the next attempt I managed it navigating to the center of my mana pool then threading my mana around the curses toward my aura. Feeling tired and excited I started to stream mana though the thread. Immediately I was hit with a painful sensation of being burned alive. While this was extremely painful I was somehow less than the first time I experienced it and I was able to endure it. After several moment of streaming my mana The pressure and pain made me lose focus and I drifted into sleep again.
Awaking again I was eager to see some results. Diving again I found the pressure was reduced, and there were only 29 layers this time. While the pain from streaming mana to my aura was the same the layer pressure let me hold for a few dozen moments before collapsing.
‘I know I need to do it but I don’t like the feeling of burning at all.’ I signed before returning to finish the task. The last session allowed me to burn off 11 curse layer at the same time. Knowing that only 18 curse remain I focused hoping that this would be the last time that I felt like I was on fire.
Navigation to my core was easy but that provided me little solace before the pain I was about to receive. I began streaming mana, the pain returned but the pressure felt far lighter. I streamed the mana for nearly twice as long as I had the last session before stopping before being completely spent. ‘Now let try partial resting here’ I though before I found myself easily resting almost all of my consciousness. Upon waking I started the mana stream again. Again the pain returned but the pressure almost seamed absent. I was approaching a similar time streaming mana that I did the previous attempt. I almost thought to stop and take another rest cycle when the pain suddenly stopped.
‘If I knew that I needed to go thru that much pain to get those extra creation points I may have reconsider.’ I briefly shuddered in remembrance of the pain of purifying a curse. Then I started to look around my surrounding some more.
My mana vision was much more developed now. I could now see my clean but multicolor aura and the pleasant green aura of my mother much clearer. I could also make out other aura that looked like other people around me. After being able to see the world, outside my mother's womb, it naturally started to capture my interest. I then started to identify things.
I started with myself again.
Name:? AmariAge:-11 daysLevel:1Affinity:Strong Fire affinity
Strong Water affinity
Strong Wind affinity
Strong Earth affinity
Strong Light affinity
Strong Dark affinity
‘Finally curse free’ I though triumphantly while focusing on the new information suggesting that I would be born in less than two weeks.
I then tried to identify a few of the close aura and then my mothers.
Lvl 1 Auloniad
Lvl 1 Auloniad
Name:Midori AmariLevel:2Affinity:Average Water affinity
Weak Wind affinity
Good Earth affinityCursed
‘huh?’
‘Why is my mother cursed? I thought before focusing on trying to do something about it. ‘Here aura doesn’t look like she has a curse. I wonder why?’ I commented trying to examine my mother aura closer.
Within the bright green aura when I looked very closely I could see multiple tiny black flecks floating around. ‘That must be the aura effects of this curse. It looks like nothing I have experienced before. After concluding something about the curses nature I then focused on the treatment.
I started to dump mana into my mother aura. After a long time, near twice e as long as any curse I had experience with during my training. I stopped trying to figure out what when wrong. ‘This must be some higher level curse.’ I concluded before focusing back on a small part of the aura.
‘Those black curse particles are still in the aura so why aura cleansing not working.’ Applying my mana again to my mother aura I tried to track some of the black particles. My mana seemed to enter my mother aura it streams. When one of the streams enters the aura it seems to create eddies. Somehow the curse uses these eddies to escape purification by moving aware from the mana to area where the purification is least effective.
‘So this curse is mobile. So how to I kill it or failing that restrict it then kill it?’ If the original method is like using fire to purge bacteria what do you do to eliminate spore that can service normal fires. Autoclave is one option that implies high pressure as well as temperature. Hmm that could be harmful to a person aura and I would prefer not to hurt my mother while I am still unborn. There may be cleaners or maybe antibiotics that could be toxic to mana but It harmful to mana there is a high risk it could be dangerous for living being as well. I would need something that if harmful to the curse but doesn’t kill my mother. I’m also unlikely to find something until I’m a few years old.
‘What about filtration? Sound in theory but how could it be done to an aura. I created strings with my mana before what if I use those strings to create a net. A net that had small enough pores to filter the curse particles could work. First I would need to create the net and then see if I could insert it into my mother’s aura.
I was able to make a net quite easily by using my string of mana. There also didn’t seem to be any problem when I pushed this net into my mother s mana aura. However the net failed to stop and virus particles. ‘Need to be a much tighter weave I guess.’
I returned to making a mana net now focusing on making the thread a thin as possible. With a thinner thread the weave can be tighter leaving smaller pores. This tire weaving the net takes a lot of effort. The job wasn’t hard but reparative and long. By the time I was finished I was tired and needed to use a partial rest cycle to continue.
This time the net worked. It seemed to push curse particles away from the net. Meaning I couldn’t catch them but I could push them. ‘Smiling with a simple idea akin to a broom and dust pan I created on think band of mana, twice as thick as my mother aura. I then inserted both the net and band into the aura right next to each other. After checking to make sure I didn’t miss any curse practical between the net and band I slowly started to move the net around my mother’s aura while keeping the band stationary. The net continued to push the virus particles around the aura as they slowly accumulated. About 3/4 of the way thru it became harder to push the net but not impossible. As the net started to approach the band again the started to look turbid and like a traditional curse. Eventually I was unable to push the net closer to the block. This left all curse particles condensed in a small section of the aura. Focusing I saturate this area with purifying mana while maintain the net and block. After a few moments I realized that I succeeded.
Feeling both elated and tired I decided to enter a fully sleep cycle.
. . .
For the next few days I practices several skills that where available to me including, mana manipulation, identification, Body Sense, Body Control as I could use them without needing be born into the world.
One of my focuses was on using light magic to promote healing or maybe regeneration. Use Light man. At first I tired just to inject light into body part, then smaller area and then individual cells. This however seemed to be incorrect. I also used my identification on my own magic which was possible because I was touching it.
Blessing
‘So that how I use light mana to produce a buff’ While I may be able to generate new spell in other elements this doesn’t help this doesn’t help me find healing magic. I need try different approaches. Maybe I should try on damaged tissues’ Think that was a worthwhile approach. I created a small fire to scalding wound my left forearm. Wincing in mild pain mostly because it reminded my of a whole body burring feeling I closely examine the injury with my mana vision. Seeing the damaged tissues I then try to infuse them with light mana. There is definitely a reaction so I try to identify the spell.
Purify
‘No luck there either maybe I need multiple elements for healing. Life need water, food and heat or light to survive. While I don’t think fire mana is involved Water mana likely is and maybe earth mana as well. First I try a combination of Light and water mana.’ While I thought this I realized I haven’t attempted it before. Without thinking about it too much I tried to channel the two types of mana thought to my burnt wrist. Unfortunately they didn’t fuse instead cast alternately both. This resulting in some water being created and my wound purified again.
‘What happened when you weave the different man together’ I think due to my previous experience with weaving mana to cure my mother’s curse.
I made strand of the light and water mana and wove them into a mana string. The effect was promising. When examined with Identify skill.
Heal wounds
‘So that healing magic, water and light mana types interwoven produce healing. This implies that several magic may be woven together to produce an effect. The more finely the mana is woven may also affect the quality of type of spell.
Satisfied with some productive experimentation I relax and sleep.
. . .
Several cycles passed with me practicing simple combination of mana. I used every combination of two or three that I could think of as long as an offensive spell wasn’t expected. While I generally avoided them a couple of mishaps occurred requiring some healing magic to follow. From what I could tell I never seem to run out of mana. However the large or more complex a spell is woven creates significant mental strain making me tired quickly.
After a few day was inspecting thing with my identify skill when I noticed a change in myself.
Name:? AmariAge:-1 daysLevel:1Affinity:Strong Fire affinity
Strong Water affinity
Strong Wind affinity
Strong Earth affinity
Strong Light affinity
Strong Dark affinityCursed
True to the identify skill I found my mana pool affected by a single layer curse. After enduring the pain from purging the single curse I started to examine my aura closely. A similar but different curse remained in my system but was not detected by my identify skill. I ended up using the same method I used to cure my mother which removed these latent curse particles from my system.
After a quick rest I awaken to find my surroundings contracting. Recognizing my birth was imamate If found myself in a bad position as my head was pointed the wrong direction. While I currently could not move much after a few moments the contraction of the womb relaxed that gave me a moment to turn myself head down.
The next several minutes involved me being respectively squeezed until I am finally born. Being awake for of your own birth felted weird and slightly disturbing. I could feel my own head swishing and only slightly bouncing back. While this was not very painful with was surprising and felt very weird. This caused me to come into the world yelling ‘whoooaaaaaah’. I enter the world with a scream with my eye still not working properly. With my mana vision I could tell that at least 4 adult and likely a child surrounded me and my mother. With woman used her hand to support me as I was born.
I stopped the yell with really sounded like a baby cry a few moments after I felt a little more better in someone arms when the held me securely. I was starting to feel tire from the ordeal when something unexpected happened.
A very unwelcomely familiar pressure was immediately felt. The pressure was on the scale of all 31 of the curse I had in my womb. Reflexively I immediately pushed back as the sensation of burning also occurred. Due to the pain I started yelling which helped me to focus to keep the pressure off. Looking toward my mana pool I found that I was actually clean with no cures layers visible. Looking toward my aura I could see several black strand of mana try to forcefully invade my aura.
‘So that how a cure is applied. Identify’ I thought focusing on the black mana swirls and battling against my mana aura.
Greater Curse of Species Soul Collection
‘Like hell you are’ I though defiantly as I streamed as much mana as I could into my aura. In a moment the curse was burnt away with its mana tendrils fading into nothing.
I stopped my screaming which clam the people around me. Feeling completely drained after fending off a curse just as I was born focus on sleeping.
‘The first day of my new life’ I thought just before letting sleep claim me.