Wiping a bit of sweat off of my forehead, I opened my interface to look at my new boons.

Physical Enhancement: Variable

Select from a list of physical enhancements. May be selected multiple times.

Codex: Supplemental Mana Control

Grants the system assisted ability to craft mana forms partially utilizing ambient mana.

Mana Form Simulation: Mana Form Analysis

Enhances simulations with the ability to identify and replicate observed mana forms.

Mana Form Simulation: Adaptive Suggestions

Enhances simulations with the ability to recommend corrections and improvements to mana forms.

The new boons both sounded interesting, even though I didn’t know exactly how my new simulation boon would work yet. The first one sounded like it would be useful for trying to learn new magic from observing other magicians or magical creatures. The second was likely going to be more useful when trying to develop entirely new magic.

Rather than decide on my new boon immediately, I decided that it would probably be wise to test what I already had first. Depending on how the simulation worked, improving it with one of the two new boons could be the right choice.

Still rather achy from my earlier spear training session, I sat down outside the shack that housed the water purifying pools before focusing on my simulation boon. After a few moments, the world faded to black around me. A mesh of white lines soon stretched across the void in a strange approximation of a floor.

Looking around, I found that the white net extended endlessly all around me. I could neither see nor feel my body while in this otherworldly space. It was much more unnerving than I would have expected.

Doing my best not to panic, I tried to make use of what the boon was meant for. I called upon the mana form for making light as a test. Without any real effort on my part, mana shaped itself in front of me and light started to shine. As I imagined small changes to the mana form, the spell instantly reshaped itself.

This was certainly intriguing. I tried one of my more tedious spells to see how the boon would handle something more complex. Once again, I needed to expend no effort as the water gathering spell manifested. To my disappointment, it didn’t seem to do anything. Was there no water in this weird place for the magic to gather?

Stolen novel; please report.

The moment I thought that, the mesh beneath me began to wave and bend like ripples on the surface of a lake. A pale blue color began to fill the spaces between the white lines. Distracted from my spell forms, I didn’t immediately notice when little blue shapes akin to rain drops started to fall from one of my spells.

Apparently, if I needed the world to have water in order to test my mana forms, it would provide water. I was very curious what else I could bring into this strange place. If I needed stone or plants, would they be provided by this simulation?

As I watched, a portion of the lines stopped waving about. The spaces between them filled with a solid gray as other lines rose up into the air. These other lines formed crude approximations of jungle life as green spread between the gaps. Undetailed though these new elements were, they did show that the simulation would attempt to provide me with whatever I needed.

Focusing on one of the fake leaves, I cast a small force spell. The plants, despite still looking strangely flat and monotone, moved around in a surprisingly realistic fashion. The lines on the edges stretched and shrunk as needed to give the illusion of the leaves bending and waving under the effects of my spell.

I tested a few of my other spells on the imitation foliage around me. Heat spells caused the plants to change color before breaking off in ways that resembled charring. Lightning spells caused bright blue lines to dance between the leaves. The biochemical spell I once accidentally melted a real plant with caused a similar, if poorly detailed, reaction in this fake equivalent.

The last experiment showed some of the limitations of this strange space. Without clearer details, it was a little hard to tell when exactly the plant started to break apart. What if I needed to know something like that? Could I push my boon to give me more detailed replicas?

Focusing on one fake leaf in particular, I found the answer was yes, I could request much higher quality elements. As I watched, hundreds of new lines formed across the formerly undetailed approximation. Between these lines, detailed textures replaced the plain green facets. The end result was a leaf that looked very close to the real thing.

Poking it with a small force spell, I marveled at how the detailed leaf bent and waved. Oddly, it seemed to move a bit slower than it would have in reality. Was this to help show more detail, or was something else going on?

I didn’t have the chance to find an answer before I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. Almost reflexively, I dismissed my boon. The entire simulated world fell away and I found myself once more in the expedition camp. The rune carver who had been working on the water purifier was giving me a concerned look.

“Are you alright?” She asked worriedly.

“Yes. New boon. Very… odd looking.” I replied, trying to explain why I had been sitting there blindly staring into space.

“Okay… You still might want to go lie down. You aren't looking very good.”

I nodded in response. I did still feel rather worn and achy from the training earlier that day, but I figured I would probably be fine. I was just taking a bit longer to recover than normal.

The rune carver gave me one more worried look before resuming her work. Rather than continuing to distract her, I stood up to head elsewhere.

The moment I did, the world began to spin. I had to catch myself on the wall of the water shack as I waited for my balance to return. Maybe lying down wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Staggering back to the woman’s bunks, I selected my next boon. I wasn’t sure if using the simulation was the reason I was starting to feel so dizzy, but it did make me hesitant to pick one of the boons related to it. Idly scratching at an itch on my arm, I selected the supplemental mana control boon and dismissed my interface.

Hopefully a bit of rest was all I needed.