Chapter 4
Mana
Inside a long tent set up by the battle mage troops. Cade is busy healing Jace while Beth watches over the unconscious Kim.
Regeneration spells infamous side-effects is intense pain. Even for Jace, he couldn't get used to it. To distract himself, he thought about something mundane. Something he read a few days ago on the net.
History of Mana
Mana, a mysterious energy that suddenly flooded the world ten thousand years ago. Thousands of years of human civilizations ended overnight. Reality itself changed. What followed was what always happened when humanity found something new. War for dominations. The Mana Flood Wars.
Historians have theorized that the flood of mana changed humanity at the genetic level, and as a result, mass panic and chaos. The appearance of “gifted” humans has tipped the scales of society. A few “gifted” became revolutionaries, and corrupt governments and leaders were routed. Some “gifted” became villains, dominating and subjugating entire continents. Corrupt world leaders, afraid of losing their power, made all “gifted” into public enemies with effective propaganda. The resulting wars scarred the planet forever. Humanity learned of the new world order. Mana is the greatest power on earth.
But the new world order was not the only thing that humanity gained from the war. Monsters first appeared in human history after The Mana Flood Wars. Fiends that only have one desire, to feed on mana.
Effects of Mana
An energy source capable of breaking the known laws of science and physics in the chaotic era. The natural characteristic inherent in this energy is the ability to enhance, manipulate, and force mutations in matters. A seed bathed in mana for a prologue period results in a tree with wildly different genetics. The “mutations” have strayed so far from the norm that the tree could only be considered a different species altogether.
This same phenomenon also happens to humans.
“Huh, that's interesting” Jace was distracted by an article on the deep net one lazy afternoon.
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Beth watched Cade heal Jace a distance away from herself. Outside, the battle mages are preparing to support Sir Windshear to go hunting the chimera. They must hunt it before nightfall, or a merely dangerous situation could become catastrophic.
A beautiful senior battle mage walked into the tent and greeted her.
“How is everyone? I just wanted to ask for any information about the beast, anything could be helpful” The senior student gave Beth a pretty smile.
“Aside from exhaustion and Jace’s hands, we are not injured seniors,” Beth answered. “She is not simple” Beth was no innocent girl. She knew what this senior was doing. The way she smiles, the way she acts, the sweet voice she is using, even what she is wearing. The standard battle mage robes are body-fitting but it is not tight by any means. This senior’s robes were tight and stuck to her body lines to accentuate them. “she is probably from this troop’s information network”
“Is that from the beast or another monster? That is a nasty wound. How did that happen?” the senior shrank back after seeing Jace’s mangled hand.
“Surprisingly naive or a great actress” Beth saw her reaction and thought to herself
Beth had known since seeing the wound that it was not caused by any monsters. The way the blood splashed on his face and clothes, it seemed that his hand had exploded. After she saw the way his bones were sticking out of his skin, she knew that it was a result of some spell. If it was done by monsters, his bones would not be in pristine condition despite the mess of his hands. In the case that his mana was strong enough to defend against a monster’s bite, his skin wouldn't be shredded like that either. This means the effect of the spell probably comes from his own hands, spilling out mana from within and shredding his skin.
She also saw the beast’s leg getting blown away. No spell that she knows of can do that. Not in that peculiar way. A hole suddenly appeared on the beast’s leg and then it was blown away after a moment’s pause. Then there was that zapping sound and intense wind. She couldn't fathom if it was a wind spell, an electricity spell, or something else. Furthermore, she couldn't sense any mana, which means it is difficult to predict or protect against if the opponent couldn't sense the trace of mana before the spell is launched. She wasn't sure if the spell was designed this way or if it was an accidental side effect.
An original spell, and quite a powerful one as well
The side effects are almost deadly, but that could be a result of many factors. Jace is famous for having low magic intensity, it could be as simple as his low magic intensity couldn't protect his body from the side effects, etc. or it could simply be an unfinished spell. There are many ways to fix a spell's side effects. In any case, strong side effects are not enough to stop people from wanting it.
Many factions will try to find out what it is and either steal the spell or recruit him shortly.
“I saw the chimera up close. I can give information on the mixture of beasts” Beth quickly changed the topic. She wasn't quite sure why she did that, perhaps it was simply her way of paying him back for his help.
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Side Quest
Humanity’s Peak
Witness the power of one of humanity’s strongest. A wall that the chosen must surpass.
Immediate Reward: Trait - True Sight
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Failure: the loss of True Sight
After the healing session, a new quest appears. Jace couldn't help but feel happy. A trait! Unlike a spell, traits are inherent to each person, it can not be acquired by normal means. In truth, a trait is a mutation at the genetic level. A swordsman can practice swinging a sword for 50 years and cannot become a swordmaster. But a lucky child could have been blessed by mana with a sword mastery trait and reach the state of sword saint at a young age. Such is the power of traits
Jace focuses on his new traits
True Sight
To look but not to see is worse than being blind.
The Chosen can see the true nature of things.
“True nature of things? Does that mean I can see through illusions?” Jace pondered about the meaning of that sentence and decided to test it out. He looks up at Sir Windshear floating in the air. Transparent letters appear next to him
Julius Lee
Title: Windshear, First Elemental, Teacher, Hero
Race: Human (80), elemental (20)
Age: 785
Vitality: 45(50)
Magic: intensity 30(50)
Control 70(70)
Mana 40(70)
Traits: Elemental body
Spell:?????
“Wtf?!?! He is not human? At least not completely. Furthermore, his levels are high but this is the level of one of the strongest of humanity?” Jace has many doubts after seeing this information. He has forgotten about the true power of his trait. Jace looks over to the girl sitting on a bed at the deep end of the tent.
Mistearia Nishi
Title: Prodigy, Liar
Race: Human (50), Elf (50)
Age: 26
Vitality: 10(15)
Magic: intensity 20(20)
Control 50(50)
Mana 10(60)
Traits: Hyperbrain
Spell: Basic elemental magics
Advance nature magic
Elvish magic (bloodline)
“Fake name. An elf? Is there a single normal person in this academy?” Jace felt like he saw something he wasn't supposed to see. He decided to apologize to her at a later time.
Dwarf and then an elf, since coming to this academy, it was as if fate was bringing him in contact with these other world races. Jace thought it was a weird thing to call them “other world races” even though they are simply mutations of humans guided by mana.
After comparing Sir Windshear’s information with another person. His doubt was not without merit. Sir Windshear's stats are much lower than he anticipated. If this is the level of humanity’s strongest, then it's no wonder that they are struggling against monsters.
Jace felt disappointed. He dreamt of being an archmage, a hero, only to realize that they were not much different from himself. But the quest still needs to be finished.
Jace got up from the bed and exited the tent. For some reason, Beth and Cade followed him outside. Cade had a tired look in his eyes, Regeneration was much more taxing than he anticipated. Or rather, Jace’s wounds were quite severe.
Beth, on the other hand, had a sharp look in her eyes. They were not exactly close friends, he had only talked to her a few times in theory class, why would she look at him like that? But that is a problem for later.
Jace looks to the sky. Sir Windshear is still floating in the air with his hands clasped behind him. Looking down at the dark forest, the battle mages prepare various oils and draw magic runes all around the area.
“They are setting trap formations. But if Sir Windshear can't kill it. Those things won't help in any way………..By the way, thanks for saving us earlier.” Cade said with a tired voice and pat Jace’s shoulder.
Burying the thoughts of his friends and family deeper into his mind, Jace managed a nod and a slight smile.
“Can you use that spell again?” Suddenly Beth said from next to him.
He turned to her and saw a look of understanding. She must have already deduced everything about how he got injured and she also saw what his spell did to the beast.
“Indeed, a prodigy,” Jace thought
“I heard the battle mage talking, a wave seems to be forming in the dark forest around the academy. The other teachers are helping to secure the other area. Sir Windshear is tasked with getting rid of the chimera.” Beth stopped talking and played with the chains on her skirt. “It's very unusual, monster waves do not form unless there is a concentration of mana, and if monsters are not prune regularly. The academy always limits the number of students to avoid the first conditions and the battle mages also prune monsters in the dark forest regularly. Then what triggers the formation of the wave?” In the 3 months since the start of the year, they have never heard Beth talk so much.
She raised an interesting question. Why did a monster wave begin to form? And why at this exact time?
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The battle mages started to form a line across the edge of the forest. Sir Windshear swung his hand casually. Without sound or any dramatic effects, the entire tree lines at the edge of the forest were blown away. The trees were simply pulverized, only the roots remained on the ground.
The sun is slowly going down across the horizon. The battle mage line moves back with the retreating sunlight. Jace and his group moved with the troops. Kim has already woken up.
The beast can be seen with all its monstrosity without the foliage to hide itself. The mighty power that crushed the gigantic trees around it did not seem to damage it at all. The reason Sir Windshear was able to stay in the air and simply attack from a distance without worry is that they had information on what type of beast made up this chimera. None of the main heads can use ranged attacks.
Without the protection of the forest, the beast tries to run back to the tree line instead of fighting a troop of mages.
Seeing the fleeing chimera, Sir Windshear’s eyebrow twitched, showing his displeasure at the cowardly beast. His hands made exaggerated movements as if to collect and gather something invisible in the air.
The beast felt something amiss and realized it was choking. The air was being sucked out from its lungs. A monster it may be, but it still needed air to breathe. The snake head’s eyes can see traces of mana. The snake noticed the air moving towards one human floating in the air. Enraged, the snake bit a nearby tree and threw it at the floating human.
Sir Windshear saw the tree flying at him and stopped his spell to dodge the tree. His fingers trace the air and pockets of air appear near the beast. The beast immediately jumps sideways, crashing its gigantic body far away from the air pockets.
“Are those air pockets?” Beth asked senior Yulin standing near the group.
“Yes, it's a very basic spell that even I can use. But I never thought of using it in combat” Yulin said.
“Air pockets are harmless, aren't they? The monster is just scared because it doesn't know that. Sir is making it waste its stamina.” Cade said a little confused
“No, if air pockets travel to the brain, lungs, or heart. It can cause heart attack, stroke, or respiratory failure. That was a deadly attack” Beth said while thinking deeply “but I don't know if the beast knew that or it was just instinct”
Jace realized, most of Sir Windshear’s spells did not use high intensity to accomplish. It relies heavily on the characteristics of his elements.
The beast now looks at him without retreating. Now it knows that running away is not an option. If that man was allowed to freely cast a spell, then he might get killed.
Sir Windshear smiled at the beast that had stopped retreating. It was smarter than he expected. He started to spin and compress the air around him into small air pockets. He stretched out his right leg, bent his left leg under him, left arm clocked beside him and right arm stretched out with open palm. An eastern martial stance.
He punched out with his right arm and the air pockets around him shot out invisible, compressed air bullets the size of his fists.
The bullets were invisible and much too fast to dodge. The beast’s grotesque body exploded in blood, but an ice wall soon surrounded the beast defending its body. One of the main heads, Northern Wolf’s ice breath is quite a versatile weapon. The blob of flesh that was damaged is slowly healing
“A monster that has successfully fed on a mage is strong after all…..” Sir Windshear saw the beast in relatively undamaged condition and realized that it was much stronger than a normal chimera.
Suddenly, he felt a mana trace below him. He immediately flew upwards. Both of Sir Windshear’s legs are gone. He looked at the beast far away and saw the snake's head coming out of a tear in space. Its mouth was covered in blood, it was chewing on his legs.
The beast has used the cover provided by the ice wall to launch a sneak attack.
Sir Windshear's face paled from blood loss. He created compressed air pockets on his wounds to keep himself from bleeding out. He could not retreat, if he did so, a hundred students below would become food for that thing.
“This is junior Lee's Portal.” Yulin, watching the fight, bit her lips. One of the most gifted students, student Lee, was an outstanding mage who only practiced 1 spell for the entire 5 years he was in this academy. Portal, a spell that tears the fabric of reality itself. The user can tear reality at 2 separate locations and move between them. The principle behind this spell is unable to be explained with the chaotic era’s science.
“It learned his spell after eating him? Or did it know this spell beforehand?” Beth was shocked. If it was the former, this was something that has never been witnessed until now.
Jace looks at the beast far away, on its 4 heads, a grotesque mocking smile.
The sun has gone down.