Hawk followed Elaina, but there was something that pricked at his mind. He was feeling something around him, and now that he paid more attention, he realized that he’s felt it since he started playing. He opened his stat window.
Status Window
Name
Hawk
Primary Class
N/A
Health
100
Mana
100
Level
1
Health Regen/Sec
0.1
Mana Regen/Sec
0.4
Strength
5
Agility
15
Wisdom
10
Intelligence
10
Stamina
10
Vitality
10
Dexterity
10
Magic Resistance: 5%
Mana Flow: Due to your unique race, you can feel the mana in all things.
Ah, It’s the unique skill I got from my unique race, a unique skill called Mana Flow. That must be the feeling that I get from everything around me.
Satisfied, he closed his windows. As they walked, the road became rocky, reminding Hawk to pay more attention of where he walked.
Two hours later, Elaina looked at him, “It’s the manor over there.”
Hawk was relieved that they finally arrived at their destination, staying still for a second to catch his breath.
-> Stamina +1
-> Agility +1
There is a God even in virtual reality. I was able to gain some points for my suffering.
Entering the manor, Elaina led him into a library. What he saw, he didn’t want to believe. Books... too many books. Something felt wrong. The room was too small to hold a library this big. He got a hunch, using his Mana Flow skill, the library felt like it reeked of mana.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Seeing the wonder in his eyes, Elaina laughed, explaining, “There’s a spell cast on the room that expands it into another dimension. That’s why there’s so much space in here.”
Hawk stared at her, trying to see beyond her appearance. This person wasn’t just the frail woman that she appeared like. There wasn’t much he could say, “Thanks for the knowledge, Lady Elaina. I sensed the magic, but I didn’t know what it was. Magic is really wonderful, isn’t it?”
“Ha-ha, you are right, Elf. Take a seat. I’ll be back with the book I want you to translate. It may take a while, so read if you want. It would be foolish not to while in a library.” Leaving a remark as she left the room.
I can recognize good advice when I hear it.
He wandered the library, finding sections for all kinds of topics such as Magic, Anatomy/Acupuncture, Herblore, and even things he didn’t know could exist, like How to Breed Humans and Orcs for Dummies...
He was curious about the woman, but firmly believed that curiosity killed the cat, so he left it alone. He looked at the Language section. There were books in Elvish, Dwarvish, and other languages that he didn’t understand.
Surprised, his hunch was right that Elaina didn’t need him to translate a book. Something fishy was going on here, but he decided to play along. As long as I don’t die, I will certainly gain something.
He went back to the Magic section, browsing the books. Eventually, he took out a book, Ancient Magic for Beginners I – The Fundamentals of Magic. Opening the book, he began reading.
‘Ancient Magic is the art of understanding the world’s energy and how to shape it to achieve an effect. The more you understand the energy, the more control you will have over it.’
Hawk understood the meaning behind the words. Sensing magic must come first before casting any spell. If you can’t feel magic, you can’t use it. Novice mages have to calm their inner selves and find peace in their souls to see the mana. If you can sense your own mana and the mana of the world, then you can walk the way of the mage. Even if you couldn’t sense mana, there were still other paths that you could follow. Magic did not govern everything.
Hawk almost cried with joy. Here he was, a mix between a light elf and a dark elf, with the innate skill Mana Flow. He didn’t even need to concentrate or do all that crap with meditation; he could already sense mana.
He laughed like a maniac, replacing the book and continuing to browse. The first book was about detecting mana, but he could already do that. He quickly found another three books and read them, increasing his knowledge. It was a fastidious task, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to know more.
-> Wisdom +4
-> Intelligence +4
After finishing the fourth book, eighteen hours later, his stats increased again and became even more aware of the mana around him. He could sense it as if it was a strong wind, but that’s all he could feel at this point.
He lacked the knowledge to manipulate the raw mana into different forms and skilled and the library didn’t have any books about it. He sighed, frustrated. I can feel all this mana, but can’t do a thing with it.
Lost in thought, he didn’t see Elaina sitting in front of him. Startled, he quickly stood up, “Sorry Lady Elaina, your books are a wonder, and someone like myself can only get lost reading them.”
“It’s fine, Elf.” She never used his name, always referring to his race. “I see you have found the books about ancient magic. It’s different from the magic that people learn now. You can only use it if you can sense mana. It’s been centuries since I’ve seen someone able to sense mana flow.
“Excuse my rudeness, Lady Elaina, but you don’t seem that old. At most, I would say that you are in your late thirties.”
She started laughing, almost falling out of her chair, “Oh Vinyamo, it’s been a while since I last laughed like that. I’m almost 700 years old. It’s thanks to manipulating mana that I’ve lived this long life. I doubt I can die of natural causes. Only if someone kills me, can I die.”
Hawk’s jaw dropped; he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Seven centuries! Of course, I’m an infant compared to her.
“By now, you must have realized that I don’t need you to translate for me. I just want you to make a copy of two books. I’m too old and lazy to do it.” She stood up and walked towards the door.
Before she left the room, I called after her.
“Lady Elaina, I would like to have your permission to read everything I can here.”
With a sad smile, she was lost in her thoughts for a moment and then replied, “Hawk, you remind me of someone I knew long ago. You can read all you want, but first, let me give you a gift. Thanks to you, I had fun for the first time in decades. Come over here.”
Hawk went over to her and waited. Elaina sang in an unknown language that sounded like Elvish, but older than what he knew. She put her hand on Hawk’s head and passed mana from her to him. Hawk was in ecstasy while almost losing consciousness. It stopped just as quickly as it began, leaving him disoriented. Elaina didn’t wait for him to regain his senses, immediately leaving the room.
New Skill: Bookworm
Enables you to read 3x faster
With Bookworm, it would only take a few seconds to read a book. If only I had this skill earlier.
He tried his new skill on the two books she wanted her to read.
-> You have read Herbs for Healing
-> You have read Anatomy – The Essentials of the Body
Within two hours, he had already fully read and comprehended the two books.
He grinned, “Not bad. Not bad at all.”
He wanted to start his work but thought better. He needed to log out. More than eighteen hours of reading books had taken a toll on him. Bread and water can only take you so far.
“Log Out.”
Paul was back in his room. He checked his watch; roughly six hours passed since he started playing. He marveled again at the wonders of virtual reality.
Just in time for Dinner, he went by Peter’s room, knowing he would still be playing the game. Peter seemed happy with how things went for him. Paul wanted to ask about it, but seeing his brother’s face, he didn’t bother.
Together, they went downstairs, their mother yelling at them to come down. Dinner was uneventful except for when their father asked about how the game was like and if it was that close to reality. He then joked, “It would be nice if you could get paid doing acupuncture in the game.”
Their father was the old school kind. He liked to watch old Chinese movies and read Chinese novels, where people were able to cause a blockage in their opponent's pressure points, using moves like ‘The Eighteen Poisonous Thunderous Buddha Palms’ or ‘Quivering Palm of Death Touch’. Talks like that with kids around seventeen who are playing in virtual reality can be an eye-opener for the least.