Basic Magic Manipulation gave Mark a strengthened spellcasting ability, but it still felt sluggish while he molded a Magic Missile. Manipulating magical torchlight was so much easier than casting the spell. It took him five to ten seconds on average, though he always did succeed in the end.

It was a good thing that the magic contained inside his pocket plane was much higher than the magic in the cave. Plenty for him to practice with. He first hurled a Magic Missile into the portal and listened for a sound. He heard nothing, and went back inside, free to practice to his heart's content.

For over ten minutes, Mark solely focused on hurling Magic Missiles into the distance. He watched them soar for a few meters before sputtering out. But every passing minute gave him increased confidence. He grew better and better, shaving down the time to only two to three seconds of concentration, and seeing the spell fly a little further each time.

Towards the end of his session, he had developed a dull headache. Nothing to worry about at first, but it worsened with every additional spell he cast. After twelve minutes of practice, or around a hundred Magic Missiles, the ache grew unbearable, and he found himself failing to cast the spell for the first time.

Mark took this time to rest, soaking himself in the warmth of the sun. He managed to recover quickly enough. Though he still felt a degree of exhaustion and pain, magic had returned to his fingertips. He pushed through the headache once more to try and cast Magic Missile again.

But the spell finished even slower than his first attempt. The Magic Missile wouldn't take a complete shape until after a minute had passed. He wondered what went wrong. The situation reminded him of the second time he summoned the portal, when it unexpectedly became slower.

Mark stepped out from his pocket plane and recalled the portal back. Then he immersed himself in his gray mindscape and came closer to the spark of light. It was much dimmer than the first time he saw it. This didn't happen while he was opening up his pocket plane.

He theorized that spellcasting required the use of many sources of energy. One came from inside him, stored inside this spark of light, and was used to cast traditional spells. Draining this type of energy too quickly would cause headaches.

The other source of energy came from his environment, which he could somehow draw on to summon his pocket plane. It was also possible for this type of energy to influence how quickly he replenished his first store of energies. He did not know how quickly they would recover, but there was one thing for sure: regeneration was much quicker in the pocket plane.

"Magical energies," he muttered. "What a mouthful. I'll call it mana instead." In other words, his mana regeneration rate was much higher in the pocket plane, and it seemed possible for this to change in the opposite direction. This was all his assumptions, though. He would need to do more extensive testing for confirmation. But it never hurt to prepare for the worst.

Mark began thinking of a method to quickly improve his spellcasting ability. When he entered that gray inner world, magic became much easier to command. This state was only accessible once the pocket plane's key returned to him, though.

He wanted to try and experience that feeling for a longer time. Doing so might attune him more deeply to the magical spark, bringing its benefits outside of his meditative state.

To be safe, he first waited a few more minutes for some of his mana to refill, watching the cave's exit for any signs of movement. He did not want a wandering monster to catch him off guard with a regeneration rate this slow.

Then he sat down and closed his eyes. Within moments, he was able to enter the gray inner world again. Instead of pouring mana from the spark into the glowing orb, Mark tried to have it flow in a cycle. He directed his magic to leave and return in a constant stream.

Somehow, it seemed to work. Mark observed the spark of light brightening faster than simply staying idle. This had to have a good effect, so Mark tried his best to imprint the motions into his mind.

After witnessing the spark regain some of its former luster, Mark exited his meditative state, smiling at his progress. The system agreed as well.

Skill Gained: Basic Magic Manipulation (Common) -> Enhanced Magic Manipulation (Uncommon) - A passive skill available for more practiced mages. Grants additional mana regeneration and ease of spellcasting.

He checked the system's timer. Thirty minutes had passed - it was time to get going. Mark had left his bag inside the portal, but he decided to carry it normally in case he encountered another person. Still, he could use this as an attempt to open his pocket plane without entering a meditative state.

He failed. It was a lot more difficult than he expected. Mark had to give up after more than two minutes of concentration. He simply opened up the portal like usual instead.

His stomach gurgled. Now that the excitement was over, Mark found himself hungry. He unwrapped a loaf of bread and swallowed a few bites, then washed it down with water. Surprisingly, that wasn't enough. He needed to eat the entire loaf along with a bottle of water in order to regain enough energy.

For a while, he sat in his pocket plane, thinking, and waiting for his meal to digest. His headache diminished as well. Mark no longer had much of a reason to delay moving out from this cave.

"Okay. Everything's ready. You're ready," he convinced himself. After closing the pocket plane, Mark stared at the barricade and tore one of the boards down. It fell with ease.

He moved to rip off the rest, and watched the tunnel for signs of movement. Then he checked his torch. It didn't seem to draw too much magic from him. Perhaps it delayed regeneration, but the difference was so small he didn't notice it. He tiptoed deeper into the tunnel as his little bastion of safety disappeared from sight.

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Mark was about to round a corner when he heard something scuffle in the distance. He flinched. Taking care to dim the light on the torch until he could barely see a foot in front of him, Mark set it down and peeked around the corner.

His eyes went wide. A bone-white human figure was standing ramrod straight, wielding a dull, rusty sword. Its empty eye sockets stared into his own, but even when Mark's head moved backwards, it did not attack. The skeleton seemed to ignore him.

So, I'm dealing with the undead. Mark began to tremble. Yet his mind continued working on a plan to attack as he observed its movements. The skeleton eventually turned around to stare in another direction, but returned to look his way every thirty seconds.

The most common enemy. This will be easy, he reassured himself. This skeleton appeared to possess no sight or hearing. It ignored his hand movements and his increasingly louder hits on the wall.

Since he couldn't attract it to his location, Mark looked at his torch instead. He increased the intensity of the torch's magical flame and threw it at the skeleton. The monster finally reacted and swung its sword.

Magical senses. Looks like it's based on proximity, too. Mark retreated to gain more distance on the monster. Then, he began to cast Magic Missile.

The skeleton only began to notice him once his spell had already finished forming. By then it was already too late. His first Magic Missile pulverized the monster's knee into dust, staggering it. Another soared into the skeleton's hip and flung it to the side.

The monster struggled to remain standing. Mark, sensing its vulnerability, charged forwards and aimed a kick at its ribcage. The skeleton's body went flying, but it continued to grip its weapon tightly.

Mark picked up his torch again. He prepared another Magic Missile, holding it at bay until the monster recovered and staggered closer to him. He sent his next spell soaring towards the skeleton's wrist, breaking it.

Fragile scraps of bone continued to hold onto the sword, but its grip had clearly loosened. Mark lobbed his torch again, throwing it high above the monster's head before charging forward. The torch distracted the skeleton's attention and caused it to swing its weapon aimlessly above its head.

A close-range Magic Missile tore open the rest of the skeleton's wrist, finally causing it to drop its sword. Mark rushed in, kicked its sword away, and slammed its skull against a harder section of the wall. He continued smashing until his arms grew sore and tired.

After a few dozen blows, Mark retreated. The skeleton twitched its limbs briefly before remaining still afterwards. It did not move again.

Mark watched the body for a long time, letting himself recover some stamina before he decided to attack it again. He sent a final Magic Missile into the skeleton's shoulder. Although the spell crushed more of its bones, it did not react. Mark watched it for another few minutes before he finally crept closer to check it was truly dead.

Then he retreated from the scene. As the adrenaline began to fade, his breaths became more ragged and his body ached more than ever before. He had used a lot more force than he expected.

Mark needed to rest his body. He returned to his little cave, back into his pocket plane. But instead of sitting around, he decided to practice another aspect of his magical abilities.

Perhaps Magic Missile was not the only shape he could form. Mark tried to manipulate his magical energies to flow in a more free-form state, like a gust of shimmering wind. He directed this flow to swirl around his body repeatedly.

When the magic touched his skin, it caused a slight tingling. Curious, Mark let it hover around different objects. He sent it flying towards his torch first, especially interested in what would happen if he simply refused to feed his magic into the flame.

A screen popped up in front of him. Mark's eyes went wide.

[Magic Torch] - A torch which automatically lights up when exposed to magic. Aids the user in projecting their magic and can hold a certain amount after leaving the user's hands.

He immediately poured his mana into the rest of the items he had on hand.

[Leather Backpack] - Durable and resilient. A bag made of mundane materials, enchanted against wear and tear.

[Bottle of Water] - A bottle made of plastic. The mineral water contained inside can keep a human hydrated for an entire day.

[Bread] - Lightweight and nutritious bread. One loaf is enough to fill a stomach for a day.

[Cured Magical Meat] - Meat from an unknown magical animal, packaged and infused with additional energies that aid in regenerating wounds, stamina, and magical energies.

Apparently, his magic had the ability to generate information about the items he had. Mark hurried outside the pocket plane to do the same to the floor and the walls. It was...different than he expected. The soil on the ground was exactly what he thought, but there were actually two types of stone inside these mines. According to the system, the floor was a lot more durable than the walls.

Then he walked back inside his pocket plane to see the difference between the two types of soil. His magic took noticeably longer to finish this inspection compared to the magical meat.

[Rich Magical Soil] - Soil filled with nutrients and magical energy. Excellent for raising and sustaining plant life, increasing their speed of growth and general wellbeing. Applies to a large quantity of crops.

It would be a waste for him to not try his hand at farming with such good soil at hand. But Mark didn't know where to find any crops. He decided to ignore that plan for now, focusing on the dead skeleton first.

[Skeleton] - A humanoid corpse. Animated with necromancy, it slowly decayed over time and eventually fell to blunt damage.

Necromancy! Mark's eyes blazed with light. His mind was running with hundreds of possibilities. Raising corpses as servants would be a massive help in accomplishing the tasks he needed to do in the future. Farming? Easy for skeletons unable to tire. Fighting? Simple for minions tailor-made for such tasks.

They could even take care of his mother while she was safely tucked away inside his pocket plane. Twenty-four hour services, seven days a week, available until the end of time. Or his death.

It was much too early to think about this topic yet. What he did know was that he needed a way to quickly reach his mother's hospital. Even a car might not be fast enough, if they were still available after the Earth changed. He needed something a lot more flexible - and if he couldn't find it, he had to try and make it.

"All the more reason to pursue necromancy," Mark whispered. His eyes shone as he walked into the tunnel again.