The cool air of the morning ran across Liam’s face as he jogged up to the Smithy. During his jog over he did the exercise routine he came up with his first week arriving the Tutorial Area.
It consisted of reps of sprints to help build his speed and Stamina Endurance, jukes to help build his Agility, and light jogging to help his Stamina Recovery.
The progression to leveling them at the beginning was fast, but as the levels grew the progression slowed. It took more effort to be put into his exercises to get his progression to grow.
He didn’t care though. Doing these exercises helped clear his mind and create lists of goals he wanted to accomplish each day.
While he was jogging up to the Smithy, he had reconfirmed what he wanted to do there.
Liam wanted to get more information on the Blacksmith craft as a whole. He felt that he was missing something about the craft itself. In his Beginner’s guide to Mana Control, he saw Blacksmithing on the list of things that could benefit from Mana Channeling.
This both puzzled him and excited him that this skill was useful for many different things. He really wanted to explore the possibilities of gaining more understanding with it and see if he it was possible to obtain more abilities from the growth.
As he entered through the door, he saw Fia, his Blacksmith Mentor, working hard on a weapon. As she swung her hammer, Liam noticed something he never saw before gaining his new ability.
An ethereal layer of Arcane mana wrapped around her and her hammer. As she brought her hammer up into the air, a condensed amount of Arcane mana looked like it was being sucked up into the blunt end of the tool.
When it looked like the hammer couldn’t take any more mana it, she swung down as hard as she could.
Liam watched as she brought it down upon the item she was working on. The hammer didn’t collide with the weapon, but instead hit an invisible wall of sorts an inch away from the weapon.
The condensed mana that had built up within the tip of the hammer exploded like a firework combusting. A third of the mana that sparked collided with the invisible barrier seeped through and washed into the object.
Liam stood there, shocked and amazed at what he was seeing. He couldn’t begin to understand what it was she was doing or how she was doing it. There was only one thing he did know and that was her control over mana was inspiring.
As he continued to watch her, he noticed something else. The hammer she was using was not a normal hammer. Along the Head and the handle of the tool, markings of some designs were etched.
Liam had never seen those kind of marking before, but if he had to compare them to something they looked similar to Norse rune symbols. From what he could remember each symbol held a powerful meaning. These ones may look similar to them, but they were not them.
Fia stopped hammering and raised the weapon she was working on in front of her to inspect it. After she finished looking it over, she placed it on the anvil, and let out a gust of air before turning around.
She let out a gasp as she saw Liam and placed a hand over her heart. With a scolding tone she cursed, “For Latamyr’s sake boy. Let a lady know when ya enter a room. Ya almost gave me a heart attack.”
“My bad,” Liam grimaced. “I was enthralled by what you were doing. I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
Fia pulled her goggles to her forehead and glared at him. “No excuses. It’s rude ta be staring at someone without them knowin.”
“I know. I know,” Liam started before letting his excitement and curiosity get the better of him. “So, what were you doing? I saw the Arcane Mana covering your body get sucked up to your hammer. Which, by the way, looks so cool with those symbols etched on it.”
“Hold on,” Fia said as she placed a hand up to stop Liam from asking anything else. “Did ya just say ya saw Arcane Mana? And that it was being sucked up to the hammer?”
“Yeah,” Liam replied as he looked at her with a puzzled look. “Is that not what you were doing? Sucking the mana to the tip of the hammer before you swung it down against the…barrier…whatever it is that was protecting the sword?”
“You’re kinda correct on it, but before that,” Fia said. “Do you have the Mana Sight ability?”
“Yeah. I just got it this morning. Right when I got the Mana Channeling ability,” Liam answered, still confused.
Fia’s eyes widened at Liam’s statement. “Ya got it the same time ya got Mana Channeling? What level is your Perception at?”
Liam felt a little uncomfortable. He now understood why Alicia and Olivia acted the way they did when he asked them the same thing. “It’s at level seventeen. Why?”
Shock grew on Fia’s face. “Seventeen? By Latamyr’s grace.”
“Is that bad?” Liam asked feeling a bit self-conscious now.
“Is that bad?” Fia repeated the question before letting out a laugh. “No, my boy. That’s impressive. Not many can get that sub-stat up so high this quick. In fact, any sub stat close ta the tutorial cap is considered damn good. Great job.”
Confused by what Fia said, Liam questioned, “There’s a tutorial level cap? What is it?”
Fia stared at him questioning. “Someone should have told you by now, but the tutorial level cap is level twenty. The first ten levels ya will fly by quickly, but after that its harder to level up due to the experience the monsters in the dungeons give. They aren’t that high of a level, so they don’t provide enough of a challenge for ya to keep the same leveling speed.”
Not that high of a level? They don’t provide enough of a challenge? What kind of bullshit was that? Liam thought with disbelief.
Hearing what she was saying was nonsense to him. However, it did help to reconfirm that the dungeon he and his team were taking on was indeed a different one. The monsters they were fighting provided big challenges to them. It also made sense why his sub-stats were leveling so much after each E.F.M. and Floor Bosses.
If that is the case, then we are ahead of the others in terms of strength. Liam thought as he felt a bit more relaxed.
As he thought about the monsters they had already faced, he shook his head to take him out of the mindset. I can’t be complacent. If those monsters were that tough on the lower floors, the monster here on out will be much tougher. I need to get stronger too.
Liam felt it was better to change the subject by asking, “So what were you doing? Were you trying to add magic to the sword?”
“No, nothing like that,” Fia replied as she slowly stopped laughing. “I was working on my magic weapon crafting skill.”
Liam gave her a perplexed look. He wasn’t sure why she said she wasn’t adding magic to the weapon when it looked like she was. If she wasn’t doing that then why call it magic weapon crafting?
“I can tell I confused ya by that,” Fia stated with a smirk. “Magic weapon crafting is specialized section in the weapon craft tab in Blacksmithing. The craft is all bout trying to successfully coat a weapon or armor piece in mana, so it is easier for the object to accept any magical enchantments or runes. At higher levels they’ll be able to accept both.”
Liam still felt confused. He was about to ask what she meant but was stopped as she clarified.
Fia shook her head. “I guess I should start at the beginning. All ores have a magical affinity in them depending on the environment they are found. During the smelting process any and all magical properties get purged, leaving behind a non-magical ingot,” Fia explained. “That weird liquid, that manifests during the smelting process, is the magical properties that was purged in a physical form. Hence why it smells so bad.”
Liam’s eyes widened at what Fia was telling him.
If that liquid, was in fact, magical properties in a physical form, then maybe there was a way to utilize it somehow. Liam thought as he tried to think of ways to best use the substance.
“By purging the ore from the magical properties makes it easier to shape the ingot,” Fia continued. “After shaping the ingot into a workable piece of art ya can reintroduce the magical properties to the object by injecting the right amount of mana into it. However, ya can’t just add any type of properties. It has to be Arcane.”
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“Is it because Arcane is the freest form of magic?” Liam asked.
“Yes and no,” Fia replied looking impressed. “No because Arcane isn’t as free as you think it is. Arcane has its restrictions. Just not like the others. The answer though is because Arcane has no affinities to it which makes it easier to place any type of Enchantments or Runes into them. Ya can learn more bout all that another day though.”
“I remember hearing about Enchantments and Runes from the book I read,” Liam stated as he tried to remember exactly what it said. “The book didn’t fully explain what they were though.”
“It doesn’t surprise me that it didn’t,” Fia responded as she shook her head. “Enchanting and Rune Crafting are an advanced type of magical crafting. Ones I’d suggest looking inta when ya leave the Tutorial Area.”
“What are they though?” Liam asked as he looked at her.
“Can’t tell ya,” Fia smiled teasingly. “Ya’ll have ta learn about them yerself after leaving here.”
Fia watched Liam’s expression turn to a frown. She debated something in her mind while staring at him. After she came to a conclusion, she stated, “I’ll tell ya what. If you can get yer Blacksmithing to seventeen or higher, I’ll give ya a gift that can help ya out.”
Liam’s eyes beamed as he said with excitement, “Really?!”
Fia let out a hearty laugh before responding, “Yes, but only if you can get there before you have to leave the Tutorial Area.”
“A challenge huh?” Liam smirked at the thought of it. “Well as a mentor what should I focus on that’ll help me level my blacksmithing?”
Fia thought about. She went over everything she could think of that would help his growth with the craft but couldn’t settle on a single one. She felt like he needed something that could help challenge him to keep his momentum going.
Before she could land on an answer, Liam asked as he remembered something he forgot. “Is there a way to forge bones into weapons or armor?”
Fia stared at him. The question was a simple one to anyone, but she felt it was the right question to ask. She felt it because there was a way to do it. And it was the best way to challenge a beginner blacksmith.
A grin grew on Fia’s face as she answered, “Ye’re a genius.”
Confused Liam questioned, “What do you mean?”
“Ah sorry, never mind bout that,” Fia coughed as she recomposed herself. “There is a way to make bone forged weapons and armor. It’s actually a specialized type of weapon and armor. It’ll also help challenge yaself to grow more.”
“I like a good challenge,” Liam smiled devilishly. “How do I do it?”
“This type of crafting is only possible when ya have gotten the Mana Channeling ability. It’s even better since you have the Mana Sight skill.” Fia started to explain.
Liam pulled out his notebook and started taking notes. After he finished writing that down he questioned, “Why is it only possible to do this when you have the Mana Channeling ability? And what does the Mana Sight skill have to do with making it better?”
“In order to Bone craft, ya have to make a certain ingot. One that is mixed with both ore and bone,” Fia continued. “In order to do that ya have to channel enough magic into the bone ya are going ta use ta fuse it. Ya have to channel enough magic inta the bone that it won’t get easily snuffed out when ya smelt the ore and bone, but not so much that tha bone explodes. Once when ya have the bone ready then ya’ll have ta fuse them together through a smelting technique called Bone Smelting.”
Liam continued to write down what was being said. A thought came to mind that made him ask, “I thought the smelting process takes away the magical impurities?”
“That is correct. That’s where the Mana Channeling and Mana Sight come inta play.,” Fia informed. “During the Bone Smelting process, as the smelting begins it’ll try to purge the magical properties from the bone. In order ta not allow it ta fully take out the magic ya’ll have ta channel mana into the bones. Ya’ll have to use Mana Sight ta keep an eye on the amount of mana in the bones.”
“What does mana have to do with this? Why do I have to add it to the bones and then keep channeling more into it as we smelt it?” Liam asked, still confused.
“The answer is simple. Ya need to place mana into a bone, so it doesn’t melt away during the smelting process,” Fia explained. “If ya can keep the bone from melting away during the smelting, by continually channeling the mana, then the bone will combine with the ore, and ya will have a crafting material that is called a bone ingot.”
“That kind of makes sense, but why go so far doing for a crafting material?” Liam inquired.
“Bones have properties that can help weapons and armor out. They are sturdy, can increase durability, and are better suited for coating poisons,” Fia listed. “The list goes on. I agree the process is challenging, but any true crafter wouldn’t let a challenge go by like this.”
“That’s true,” Liam agreed.
The whole process sounded ridiculous to Liam. Why go so far for a single crafting component. Not only that, but you’d need precise control over your mana to be able to pull it off.
Wait a minute. Liam began to think. This could be a great way to practice my Mana Channeling ability and learn more about how to better control my mana.
He looked at Fia as the realization shown on his face.
Fia noticed it and smiled. “Took ya long enough my dense apprentice.”
“So that’s why you said I was a genius. You were looking for a way for me to challenge myself and what better way to do than to multitask?” Liam stated.
“That’s correct now let’s get started. Do you have any bones on you?” Fia asked.
“I do. How many do I need?” Liam asked as he pulled up his inventory.
“How many do ya have?” Fia questioned.
“A lot,” Liam answered.
He collected a lot during these past couple floors and held on to them in case he had a use for them. Now was the time they were going to prove their worth. He pulled out a box and started filling it with bones.
Fia’s eyes widened as she watched him pull out bone after bone. She placed her hand up and stated since he looked like he wasn’t going to stop, “That’s enough for now. What dungeon did ya get them out of?”
“I’m assigned to the Black Dungeon,” Liam stated as he stopped.
Fia froze.
Liam noticed it and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Fia said softly. A hint of sadness lingered in her eyes as she thought about something. After a moment passed, she pushed the sad thought away and instructed with that familiar strict tone Liam’s known, “Now what ye’re going ta do is channel mana into a bone. This is going ta be good practice for yer Mana Channeling ability.”
Liam held his gaze on her for a moment longer before reaching for one of the bones. He looked at it for a moment. As he stared at the bone a sudden realization came to mind as he asked with a serious tone in his voice, “How do I channel mana?”
Not expecting Liam to ask that, Fia let out a weird noise before coughing. The noise sounded like a mix of surprise and worry. “How did ya obtain the skill if ya don’t know how ta channel it?”
Liam explained to her the way he did it. He went through each step and explained why he did it. After explaining it all he felt proud of himself. However, that prideful feeling went away as he looked at her.
Fia just stared at him without saying anything.
A look of shock and uncertainty was plain on her face as she processed what he had told her.
After two minutes of silence she said, “Are ya bloody mad boy! Using Light and Burn ta practice Mana Channeling?! What would ya have done if it went awry?”
Liam gave her a sheepish look as he stared down at the floor.
“I mean,” Fia started up again with a hint of astonishment. “That’s one hell of a way ta get it. Not the best way, but one hell of one.”
“If that’s the case then what’s the best way to do it? The book was very vague on how to feel for mana, so I just tried,” Liam asked.
“You have to feel the seed in yer heart,” Fia informed as she placed a hand over hers. “The Seed of Arcana is pulse with mana and that mana is coursing through yer veins. Ya had the right idea ta close yer eyes and focus on the feel, but ya focused on the wrong feel. Ya should focus on the mana coursing through yerself. Try it out.”
“Alright,” Liam said as he closed his eyes.
He took a deep breath and slowly released it.
As he did this, he tried focusing on his heart beat. He heard the thump it made as it beat against his chest.
He heard it thump again.
After the third thump he felt a small wave flow out.
After a few more waves flowed out from the thump of heartbeat he noticed the waves felt weird.
They weren’t hot or cold. They had a sense of power. A magical power emanating from them.
He redirected his focus on the waves as they escaped his heart and felt them rush throughout his body. The more he focused on it the more an image started to form in his mind. The image was an ethereal violet color mapping out the inside of his body.
The color was the arcane mana he saw during his first time trying to gain the ability as well as the mana that coated Fia when he arrived at the Smithy.
He watched as the arcane waves ran through his veins and throughout his arms, legs, stomach, neck, and head. They didn’t stop there though. After running their course, Liam noticed the mana slowly start to seep out and coat his skin.
His mind started to form theories about what he could try and do with the mana forming over him. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but he wanted to try anyways.
Without any prompt he slowly reached for a bone and brought it close to him.
Fia watched him do this. She wasn’t sure if he understood what he was about to do, but as a mentor she wanted him to learn on his own.
Liam lightly gripped the bone in his right hand. Keeping his eyes closed and still focusing on the feeling, he turned his head towards the bone. The bone had a silverish color outlining it.
Liam wasn’t sure what the color meant, but he felt like the color could be easily influenced by his arcane mana that was coating him. In fact, he felt like the color was hungry for it.
That’s weird. Liam thought. Is this silverish color hungry for mana?
It was an odd thing for Liam to think, but he felt that it was right. He’d have to ask Fia about that.
For now, he needed to focus on trying to channel the mana he summoned around him into this object. He wanted to test a theory he came up with from what he did earlier.
Liam remembered what he did to make that thin line expand to make his Light and Burn spell grow. He felt like forcing his will on his mana was a good way to channel his mana into the object. However, he also knew if he forced too much it flooded too much mana into it like a dam opening up. He needed to learn how to properly control the channel.
How the hell am I supposed to do this? Liam thought as he ran his mind through any possibilities.
Nothing felt like they would work. The more he tried thinking about different approaches the more he felt like they were dead ends. This was starting to annoy him.
As he started feeling irritated over it, he noticed the ethereal coating of mana start to ripple around his body.
It was like a stone thrown into a calm body of water causing the stillness to be replaced with chaotic waves. He needed to calm himself before…
Wait a minute. Liam suddenly thought. Maybe if I get into a state of Zen...it could help me figure this out.
Slowly, Liam reached around for the table that he knew was close by. He kept his eyes shut, not wanting to lose his train of thought nor the sight of the mana.
When he found the table, he placed the bone on it and moved both of his hands above both ends of it, making sure not to touch it.
When he felt he was in a good position he took a deep breath and muttered in his mind. Calm the storm.