Caught off guard, Liam fell backwards as he retracted his finger away from the blob of shadow on the tent wall. As he fell backwards, the tendril disappeared, and two notifications appeared.

One was a text notification from Eri laughing and the other was a level up notification.

[Congratulations! Shadow Manipulation has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 21%!]

Confused, Liam stared at the notification. Not too soon staring at it, a new message appeared from Eri.

[You have nothing to fear. That tendril that was forming was due to your Shadow Manipulation being active. – Eri.]

What do you mean by that? Liam mentally asked.

[Shadow Manipulation is an ability that helps you manipulate shadows. However, at the lower levels you can’t do much with it. Bringing your finger close to it made it want to reach out to you like you were trying to reach out to it. It felt your desire to touch it and in turn was manipulated to help you in doing so. – Eri.]

Liam thought about that. He didn’t know how to feel seeing her say it felt his desire, but if what she was saying was true, then he could understand how the tendril came to be.

Is that how Shadow Manipulation works? It works on the desire the user has to do what it wants? Liam asked.

[Yes and No. Actions and orders given to the Shadow being manipulated will carry out your desire. Shaping the shadow takes a more…creative hand. – Eri.]

Shaping the shadow? As in forming the shadow into a shape like a square or circle? Or… Liam said, waiting to see if he would get more context.

[Basic forms like shapes could work, but I meant like shaping the shadow into a creature or person. However, that takes practice and higher levels into the ability. You will need to shape the shadows into things like circles, squares, triangles, etcetera and manipulate them to do things in order to get a good feel for them. – Eri.]

Makes sense. Liam nodded, understanding what she was saying.

For now, practice with the one to get a better feel for it and then after a while try manipulating two shadows. It will take some time, but I feel you will get the hang of it soon. – Eri.]

Liam nodded once more before looking back at the blob. He focused on it as he placed an open palm, upwards, and tried to manipulate it to come back. It took some time as it felt like it wanted to stay where it was. The feeling reminded him of sticky gum stubbornly not wanting to be removed from the place it was stuck to.

After it finally came back to his hand, he brought his free hand up and slowly went to poke it. Once more, a small tendril emerged from it. Not feeling surprised by it this time, Liam brought his finger up close enough for the tips to touch. What did surprise him was the feeling the shadowy tendril had. It was cold, like a lifeless corpse. It sent a shiver down his spine as it reminded him of the time he was surrounded by shadows.

After taking his finger away from it and watching the tendril go back into the blob, he tried shaking his hand about. The way it shook reminded him of Jello. He chuckled at the thought. He then had another thought. One that brought a curious and wicked grin to his face. Without any time wasted, Eri sent a message that made Liam happy.

[That is an evil thing to think about…but it can be done with enough training and practice with the ability. Are you sure you are my Champion and not Death’s? – Eri.]

Last time I checked yes. Liam said while staring at the message. Besides, wouldn’t it be a chaotic thing if I was able to do it? The person wouldn’t know what was going on. Which, in turn, would make their mind go into a chaotic mess?

[I mean…yes, but…there is a limit to what kind of Chaos I can receive from your actions. And that kind of chaos…I could or could not go for it. It will depend on the person and the situation. If they are weaker than you then no, but if they were stronger then by all means…do it. – Eri.]

Liam nodded. He shelved the idea for now. He was nowhere near where he needed to be to pull it off. For now he would practice and get an understanding on what he was capable of. For the rest of the night, he practiced. Before finally going to bed he reached level five in the ability.

The next day Liam and the others met up back in the camp site they had made their own. Uncle Naro made breakfast with Artem’s and Liam’s assistance. Thanks to his participation, Liam was able to get his Food Prep to level ten, Culinary to level ten, and Large Feast to level six.

After they were done eating, Uncle Naro had asked everyone what their agendas were. Roman and Avery said they were going to get some parring in to help level their Weapon Skills. Mercer said he was going to practice a bit with a new instrument he had gotten in town before going back to his Icicle Archery training. Blair claimed she wanted to get in as much Gravity Magic training as she could while Artem said he was going to practice his Water Magic. Gimmel wanted to practice with his puppets again. Ariyana claimed that she wanted to get some more charm practice in as well as practice her new spell out in Plant Magic. Liam didn’t say anything because he knew Uncle Naro already had his plans in mind.

Uncle Naro nodded at each of their plans, but instead of saying they were good he had his own ideas. “While it is best that you all get something to level twenty as soon as possible, it is not wise to only focus on those specific things. If you do then there is a chance that your class evolutions will go down a different path than what you want,” Uncle Naro said.

Everyone stared at him. They didn’t know what to say to that, so they just listened to what he had in mind instead.

“While it is my plan to get you to evolve your classes, we shouldn’t rush it in a way that it will harm you instead of help you,” Uncle Naro said.

“What do you mean by that?” Mercer asked.

“What I mean is, if you focus on a specific thing then you could miss out on other possible class evolutions that you could get,” Uncle Naro explained.

This confused everyone.

Naro could see it in their eyes and continued, “Let’s say you,” He pointed at Roman, “Only focused on the Weapon Skill Unarmed Combat and didn’t progress in your Focus Points in the Field of the Elements. There is a chance that your class evolution will only show a class like Street Fighter or Pugilist. If you went ahead and took any of those two classes then your Elementalist Mage class would be taken out. While you would still have your magical abilities from the Focus Points in Field of the Elements, the damage would be lessened than if you had gotten a class that incorporates both your elemental magical abilities and your Unarmed Combat. Does that make sense?”

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“So what you are saying is don’t limit your training to focus on a specific thing when there is a chance you could get something better and more suitable to you if you train other things along with your main focus?” Mercer asked, making sure he understood what the man was saying.

Liam listened to this and thought about his current Class, Spirit Weaver. While it was true he didn’t know or understand what had triggered the class evolution, he was starting to worry that he might have missed something. He had only received one choice for his class evolution and from the sounds of it, with how Uncle Naro was explaining it, you could get multiple choice when the time was right.

“That is correct,” Uncle Naro stated. “While you all have the perfect idea of where you want to take your path, sometimes you won’t get classes that suit it. Sometimes you could get a class that hinders what you have been working hard for or gives you something you never even thought of.”

“Hinders your hard work?” Artem repeated with a worried expression.

Uncle Naro waved a hand. “You always have the right to decline it and try to work on what you’re lacking so you can get a class that better suits you, but that is something no one would ever tell a New Arrival.”

Mercer scrunched his brows. “Why? I think that is information we should have so we don’t screw our path.”

“It is but depending on where you go when you come here or the race you are, many people view you as potential rivals or even hinderances. So they believe it is best not to tell you these things to hinder your growth, so they do not need to compete with you,” Uncle Naro explained.

“That’s stupid. Why would they think of Newly Arrivals as competition or potential rivals?” Mercer asked.

“Because there are always those who are better than you,” Uncle Naro stated. “Think of it this way. Say you’re a native and have been working hard to get to where you are. Then out of nowhere, someone not from this planet arrives and they are better than you at it. How do you think they would feel?”

“Not good,” Ariyana answered as she looked down at the ground.

Liam noticed some recognition in Uncle Naro’s words and was curious about it.

“Exactly,” Uncle Naro stated. “And that is why they do that. So they don’t have to feel that way.”

“I still think it’s stupid,” Mercer muttered under his breath.

Uncle Naro shook his head. “Anyways, back to the main point I was making. Go ahead and get a level in the main focus you have. After you are done with that we are going to do some Mana Type Training. We’re going to try and get your Mana Manipulation and Mana Control in the respected Mana types you wish to focus on before you start training something different. Alright?”

Everyone nodded their understanding before getting up and moving to the places they used to train yesterday. As Liam stood up, Uncle Naro stated, “Not you. Instead of working on the Weapon Skills, I am going to have you work on crafting. The specific ones for today are going to be Blacksmithing and Tailoring.”

Liam looked a bit confused at that.

“Blacksmithing because I want to see the weapon you have envisioned for the Cleaver. Tailoring because it’s one of your lowest leveled ones besides Rune Crafting and Enchanting,” Uncle Naro explained.

Liam nodded his head. “Alright, which should I do first?”

“Tailoring,” Uncle Naro instantly stated. “Blacksmithing will require a lot of focus and when the others are ready for Mana Type Training I don’t want you to stop what you’re in the middle of and possible ruin the materials you are using. Materials used in Tailoring won’t do that. You can stop at any moment and the materials wont cool down or need to be reheated.”

“Makes sense,” Liam stated as he nodded. “Alright. I’ll go do that then.”

Liam spent the next couple of hours working on making a few cloth caps and gloves. They weren’t the best thing to look at and he definitely wouldn’t try selling them. It didn’t matter who paid him. Even if they tried overpaying he wouldn’t give it to them. Instead he decided they would be best for fire kindle.

Uncle Naro laughed at his reaction over the items. He tried telling him that it was alright, and it happens, and he should still try to sell them. With an embarrassed look Liam vehemently refused and stated his pride as a Crafter was on the line and he wouldn’t allow such disgraces to be seen on the market.

As Uncle Naro tried to argue that it was fine, Roman came along and asked if a wild animal had snuck in and used the caps and gloves as a chew toy. Liam glared at Uncle Naro and waved a hand out to prove his point. Uncle Naro stared at Roman and decided right there and then he was going to add a little bit of laxatives in his next meal for doing that.

It wasn’t all bad though. He was able to unlock the Weaving Sub-section in the Craft and gained a couple of skills tied to the craft. Those abilities were Needlework and Mend. Needlework helped Liam focus a lot more when a needle was in his hand and allowed him to weave the needle easily through materials. Mend was a skill that allowed him to see the spots where the seams were beginning to tear and rip and be able to fix it. At the current level, the fixes weren’t great, but after time you wouldn’t be able to tell the rip was there unless it was beyond saving.

After the others finished the tasks they were given they were instructed to pick a Mana Type and try to work on manipulating it and controlling it. Liam decided to work on Gravity. With Vesely’s advice on trying to make a Gravity Hand, Liam focused on the task. Unlike Shadow Hand and Lunar Hand, trying to make a Gravity Hand was a lot harder.

He wasn’t sure why it was harder than the other two, but he didn’t allow it to dissuade him in trying to make it. After a while he went over to Blair, who he knew was working on her Gravity Mana, to see how far along she was. He was impressed that she was almost to level ten. They spoke for a bit trying to discuss what they felt and the plans they had for using the Gravity Mana.

Blair had mentioned that she wanted to learn how to use the Gravity Mana and create an aura with it. Liam was impressed with the idea. He hadn’t thought about making an aura with the mana. When Uncle Naro walked by and asked what they were talking about, he heard what Blair had planned.

“That is a good goal to have with it, but…,” Uncle Naro started to say. He saw Blair tense at the word and placed his hands up to placate her. “I’m not saying it’s impossible to do. It’s just that…it’s a lot harder to do than other things.”

“Why is it harder to do than other things?” Blair asked.

“Because you need a lot of understanding and practice with the Mana Type. A Gravity Aura is a lot harder to create than say a Lightning or Fire Aura. Like the magic itself, Gravity Mana takes a lot of time to understand and work with,” Uncle Naro explained. “Like all Mana Types when trying to create something out of it to help you better control and manipulate it, you need to have understanding. What does Gravity mean to you? How do you think it works? How would you control it? Manipulate it? How would you utilize it? For you Blair, I would try doing something small.”

“Small?” Blair questioned.

“Yes,” Uncle Naro replied. “If your goal is a Gravity Aura then I suggest making a shape that exudes gravity from it. Something that can move freely and around so you can practice your control and manipulation.”

“Like a hand?” Liam asked.

Uncle Naro and Blair looked at him.

“What?” Liam questioned. “I’m thinking of creating a Gravity Hand. I heard that Hand type magics are great for Crafters.”

“They are…,” Uncle Naro said as he eyed Liam. “However, unless you can shape the hand with the Mana Type they are usually hard to make. Some Crafters take years to make them. Once after they make one they use their first Hand type as an example for others.”

Liam took that into consideration. When he was trying to make a Gravity Hand he wasn’t thinking about how his Shadow and Lunar Hands were similar in shape. No, he thought he had to make a whole new hand shape entirely. If it was that simple then maybe…

Uncle Naro turned to look at Blair and was talking more to her about making a condense circle made entirely out of Gravity Mana when they felt something being formed right by them. They turned to see what it was and were surprised to see Liam with a pulsing purple and black hand taking shape right in front of Liam.

Blair shook her head as Uncle Naro just stared at it, slightly disbelieved and slightly in awe. Liam smiled as he stared at it. His smile grew even more when he received three notifications.

[Congratulations! You have created Gravity Hand!]

[Congratulations! Gravity Hand has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 0%!]

[Congratulations! Gravity Mana Type has reached level 13! Progression to level 14: 0%!]