The next few days were all pretty much the same. They start with me testing how combined my mana is with Melly, followed by me helping with her training. Afterwards, we separate for independent practice until dinner. As such, I’ve finally learned the third mana vein spell! However, it will still take a while before I’ve properly mastered it.

The only strange thing, other than my companions missing meals more often as they’ve been busy outside of the church, is that my dreams have been getting weird.

Really weird. Like, I would see the sky falling as something relatively normal in comparison.

And they’ve just been getting weirder. At this point, there are more things that I can’t comprehend than things that I can. They are like those weird paintings that should only exist in that medium, but somehow, my dreams made them work in ‘reality.’

They’re just weird. I don’t know what else I could say.

Well, at least they aren’t unpleasant or anything.

Anyway, I can think about that later. Right now I’m about to meet with Samuel, who I actually haven’t seen in a while.

“Hello, Saintess, How have you been?” He asked.

“I’ve been pretty good, now that I’m not in a panicked rush.”

“Yes, that’s always good. So, has anything interesting happened?”

“Yeah. I got a lovely mud bath from Hansen’s mud slugs. and I’ve finally learned the third mana vein spell.” I smiled. “ Other than that, I’ve just been helping Melly train with Pallet.”

“That’s good. I’m glad that you seem to be doing much better now.”

“Yeah, I am. Now, I just need to wait for my mana to finish combining, and I should be able to fetch the robes.” I declared. “Oh, there is one thing that’s changed, my dreams have become quite weird.”

“What!?” Samuel cried out in alarm.

“Uh, yeah. My dreams have become really strange.” I said. When I saw the look in his eyes, I continued. “They’re not bad or anything! They’re just, weird. I don’t understand them.”

“Haa, I should have known. Of course, fusing with the core would do that!” Samuel shouted, clearly annoyed at himself.

“Um, is this bad!?” I panicked.

“Ah, no, not really.” He said as he calmed himself down.

“Then why did you freak out? What’s going on with me?” Why are there still more things! Where’s my break!

“I was just annoyed that I didn’t think of that, it wasn’t anything serious.” He stated. I just stared at him, waiting for him to continue. “Haa, okay. So, those dreams are normal.”

“... In what way could they be normal!? They very much aren’t!”

“No, they are normal for saintesses. What isn’t normal, though, is how soon you are experiencing them. Usually, they only happen towards the last decade or so of their lives.” He explained.

I just paled. It, WHAT! But, How!? I’ve only just become the saintess! And I definitely didn’t draw out nearly enough power to do that, even with the most extreme of estimates. I feel like crying. Just, how…

“Huh? OH! No, that’s not it! It’s caused by the power of your mana, which usually only gets to that point later on in life, after drawing out a large amount of power.” He hurriedly explained. “You are fine. Your core has just acce- just affected your mana in a way I should have expected. There is nothing wrong.”

“Are, are you sure?” I asked hopefully.

“Absolutely. Everything is fine.”

“Haa, okay. Please don’t scare me like that again.” I all but begged.

“I promise.”

“So, what are these dreams then?” I asked.

“Honestly, no one knows. Most people believe that you are dreaming of the realm where the Gods live, but…”

“That feels, off, right? Though, they are Gods, who knows what their realm is like?” I shrugged.

“Right. Other theories are that that’s mana’s true form, or that the will of your trait is leaking into your dreams.”

“Oh, so like your trait has manifested and is now sharing your dreams?”

“Possibly. Sadly, we don’t know the truth. Though it is interesting that you’ve brought up the manifestation of your trait.”

“Yeah, I learned some things from the mud slugs, like how Saintesses can’t actually become summoners,” I explained. “Also, I’m fairly certain that the robes are what will allow me to use the saintess aura thing to manifest my trait.”

“Oh, so you figured that out.” Yes, I was right!

“Oh, but, I don’t think that will be very useful.” I sighed.

“Hmm? Why not? Manifesting your trait is one of the main things that sets saintesses apart from everyone else.” He asked, confused.

“Well, my trait isn’t exactly something I can use casually, you know?”

“Ah! Yeah, indiscriminately spreading out your mana would cause problems. That’s too bad, it’s quite useful.” He sighed. “Oh, aren’t you able to control your mana? Maybe you can use that to not cause mass harm?” He suggested.

“Oh, maybe? That would be nice if so. Regardless, even if I can’t control it, I could always use it like a weapon.” I smiled.

“Haa, I worry about you. And anyone that happens to anger you.”

“Hey, I’m not some sort of thug!” I declared. The pitying look he gave me just made me pout.

“I know, otherwise I’d be worried that you would actually end up taking over the church.”

“There’s no way I could do that.” I casually doubted.

“Well, if you add the prestige from defeating the demon lord and your new technique, you’d actually have a decent chance of winning.”

“Oh, well, let’s hope I don’t go mad then.” I hoped. I’m apparently quite dangerous, aren’t I?

“I’m more worried about the church instigating you like they did Archimedes. Despite having fairly similar circumstances, you would be far more likely to win.”

“Huh, I’ve never thought of that. Well, that’s something to think about.” I casually stated. When I looked at Samuel’s face though, he seemed a bit afraid. “Ah, well, while I won’t say that I won’t use drastic means if I deem it necessary, they will, at least, be a last resort,” I promised.

“Well, that’s all I can really ask for, isn’t it.” He sighed.

“Well, on that happy note, I was curious if there was anything that you would recommend that I should prioritize learning?”

“Hmm, let me think… Your heals have improved greatly, and I don’t even need to mention your buffs. Honestly, you are doing quite well. Right now, you just have to slowly improve your ability. Though, once you get your robes, things will definitely change. Until then just take it easy, who knows when something else is going to require your attention.”

“Okay, I will.” I nodded. “Though, It shouldn’t be too long until I can actually use the robes. So, you’ll help me learn how to use them properly once I get them, right?”

“Of course. Now then, shall I check how you’re going with your spells?”

“I thought you said I was doing good with them?” I teased.

“Yes, but that’s as an outsider. If I truly want to teach you, I need to understand how your actual casting is. Maybe I’ll even notice points that need improvement.”

“Aye. Thanks.” Though, I kinda don’t want him to find anything. Yeah, that would probably be worse, but my pride!

…Well, it’s not like pride is as useful as actual ability.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

And, well, it’s a good thing I accepted that because he found tons of mistakes. Man, I thought I was doing really well. Haa, at least I have more things to train.

______

“OW!” Melly shouted as I hurriedly dispelled my super buff.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I started healing her. It’s been a few days since I started being taught by Samuel again. Right now, we are checking on my mana, and well…

“Now I am.” She sighed. “While your mana has been becoming more and more extreme over the past few days, I thought I would be fine. Like, how could it possibly get worse than complete control of my body? But no, I was wrong. I really should have expected this, though.” She sighed.

“So, what happened?”

“It was too intense, my body physically couldn’t handle its power.”

“Oh, yeah, preMilo spells can do that. Though, shouldn’t that have happened far earlier?” I wondered.

“Probably not. Weren’t your spells some of the best in the world?”

“That’s true. Shall we test some other spells then?”

“Haa, sure.”

So, we tested basically every spell I had adapted for Melly’s use. And…

“They’re all breaking,” I said in shock.

“Is that really strange? Also, why’d you even need to test so many spells?” She complained.

“It is strange. Well, how the spells are breaking, that is. Like, the second to last spell was specifically designed to never do that. And, with how weak it is, it shouldn’t have physically been able to hurt you. And the last spell: that one has an obvious weak point where any issues should have been focused, tearing itself apart.”

“It would tear me apart!?” Melly looked at me in shock.

“No! The spell! The spell was designed to destroy itself should it pose any danger to the user. It was specifically made to be safe! Instead, my mana somehow reinforced the spell, causing it to hurt you instead of sacrificing itself as intended.”

“Oh, that is strange.”

“Haa, this is annoying!” I exclaimed.

“Did you at least figure out what was causing the issue?”

“Yes…”

“Why do you seem so disappointed then?”

“Because it’s my raw mana that’s causing the problem! After trying out such a wide variety of spells, it’s obvious. Man, one of those wasn’t even supposed to do anything! It was a training spell! How did it still damage you!” I yelled in annoyance.

“So, we can’t use the buff anymore?” Melly paled.

“I, I don’t know. Maybe, if we can somehow weaken my mana. But, I already tried doing that, and it didn’t change anything.”

“You weren’t using your density technique the entire time?”

“No, I wasn’t. First, I felt that we wouldn’t properly understand how far along the merging was if I used it. Second, I do need to use my mana vein spell which requires me to strain my veins,” I explained. “Anyway, it doesn’t seem like it’s my mana’s density causing the problem. Instead, it seems to be because of the empowerment my trait gained from the core. Which, well, that’s a lot harder to deal with.” I sighed.

“Oh… Is there anything we can do?” Melly all but begged. Haa, I’m sorry, Melly, but I don’t think so. Haa. And you were the one who really put in the work to use this buff!

“I’ll see what I can do,” I said with little hope. Still, I can’t just leave Melly like this.

But how can I even weaken my mana? I mean, even reducing its power didn’t work, what else could I possibly do? Use less mana? Haa, whatever, we might as well try, at least. ‘Hopefully, I can think of something soon,’ I wished as I once again infused Melly with my mana.

Who knows, maybe I’ll at least learn something from this.

So, I tested the spell, and… WHAT! HOW!

“You did it, Eli!” Melly cheered.

It, it was that easy? How? How did this do, well, anything? I mean, it didn’t work initially, as I had initially infused too little mana, but… how? How does this even work?

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yeah. I’m just, really confused. How does using less mana fix anything?”

“Maybe it became too distracted to act up?” Melly suggested. “Or it could be overworked now?”

“Hmm, let’s try to check.” It’s not like I have any other ideas.

And would you look at that, she’s right. The spell is using so much energy just holding itself together that it can’t actually push Melly’s body as much as usual.

“It actually is overworked…” I say in disbelief.

“Why don’t you sound happy then?” Melly asked.

“Well, having a limit on the amount of mana I can infuse not only makes this ‘spell’ more difficult to use, especially in some sort of emergency, but also limits how long we can use the buff for drastically. I mean, all the excess mana I normally infuse you with was what fueled the spell. Without that…”

“We would probably only get a single attack, at most.” Melly sighed. “Well, that was the initial plan for this buff anyway.” Melly comforted, though I don’t think it was just for me.

“Haa, yeah. Well, maybe I can figure something out. I mean, I know a spell that does something like that, even if it does just continuously siphon my mana.” I said as I started to think about it. “Man, I’d actually have to change a lot for that to work. I, I don’t think I am proficient enough to actually do that. Not quick enough, at least. Luckily, Samuel should be able to help me. And, who knows, maybe he actually knows of a spell that does what I want.” I smiled. Yeah, it’s not hopeless yet, we just need to put in a bit more work.

“That’s right. You can do it, Eli!” Melly cheered, feeling much better now. Don’t worry, Melly, I won’t let your hard work go to waste!

______

So, despite my problem, we still trained with Pallet, after which we decided to ask Samuel for help.

“Hello, Melly. I haven’t seen you in a while. What brings you here?” He asked.

“So, here’s the thing…” I then explained what had happened, and what our solution was.

After I finished, he nodded. “I see, that is quite the predicament you’ve acquired.”

“So, do you have any solutions?” I asked.

“Sadly, I do not.” He admitted, causing me to frown. “But, I can help you create the spell you need.”

“Thank you!” I smiled. Haa, not all hope is lost!

“But,” He interrupted. “You need to understand, creating new spells is a long and difficult process, even for the talented and experienced.” He reminded me.

“I know. I honestly don’t even know if I could create this spell on my own. But, I have to at least try, right? And, you know, theoretically, we should only need to make part of a spell work when stuck onto another.” Not that it will be anything close to easy.

“Hmm, right, that should be much simpler to do. Remember though, a poorly put-together spell can be quite dangerous.” He advised.

“Of course. That’s part of the reason I’m requesting your assistance, after all. So, once again, thank you.” I bowed. “We really didn’t want to lose these spells.”

“You are welcome. Also, the proper name for your ‘spells’ is metamagic.”

“Metamagic, metamagic. Hmm, Oh! Yeah, that’s right. Thank you, I’d forgotten about that.”

“Metamagic?” Melly asked.

“Spells and techniques that specifically change how other spells and techniques work,” I explained. “Like how unity makes other buffs less stringent.”

“Correct, unity is a meta spell. Such spells are quite rare though, as it is usually preferable to just improve the spell you planned on affecting.” He added.

“So, are there metatechniques?” Melly asked.

“Yes, for example, greater roar, the technique that temporarily enhances all roar techniques, is one.”

Ah, roar techniques. They are basically warrior spells and buffs. Sadly, they are both far less effective than, and incompatible with, buffs from even a low-level support. They are still quite useful and popular, though, as it is quite rare to actually have a supporter join you in battle.

Supports are quite rare, after all. Mainly, that’s because being a standard healer is both safer and usually more profitable than being a frontline support, not to mention that a majority of healers are members of the church, who rarely partner with ‘outsiders.’

Also, most supports are pure healers that may have a minor ability to buff at best, being able to do things like enhance your regeneration or immune system. Everything else is usually learned out of personal interest. It takes a long time to learn a whole new school of magic, after all, even for closely related branches.

As a saint candidate, though, I had to learn how to buff. Not that I hadn’t already learned all the standard ones. Same with most of the other candidates, for that matter.

“So, Eli’s super buff is metamagic?” Oops, I got lost in thought again.

“Well, I would actually consider it more of a technique than a spell. And an innate one, at that. But you could count it as metamagic, as she is modifying existing spells.”

“Huh, so it is a technique. Techniques that modify spells, and vice versa, are extremely rare, so I didn't expect it to be one.”

“Says the person who also changed her regular buffs into metamagic,” Samuel added sarcastically.

“What?”

“Oh, you did not realize that? While only slightly, your buffs directly enhance your target’s mana-strengthening techniques. While we’re discussing it, many aspects of drawing out power from your trait are meta, like learning an enhanced spell. And, for completion’s sake, a decent amount of vitality techniques are also meta.”

“Vitality… techniques? I thought they were spells?”

“Ah, any of the ones you would have been taught probably were spells, as they’ve been limited to be mostly safe to use, but most things that directly affect vitality are actually a technique.”

Ah, that makes sense. It did feel somewhat off that we were manipulating our life force with math and stuff, instead of with our body like you do with techniques.

“Ah, but, I am surprised at how many of the things I can do are meta in some way,” I said in surprised realization.

“Well, you are a support, after all, most of what you do enhances other’s abilities. I have always found it odd that most buffs aren’t all considered meta, though.” I just shrugged. That argument has been going on for centuries and just became even more intense after Milo.

“Well, we should probably start working on this new spell now, or we will never finish,” I suggested. I didn’t really want to get into this argument, especially since my opinion of the matter differs from Samuel's.

Though, I could add my enhanced buffs to the argument…

No! No arguing! I need to work on this spell.

Okay, let’s see, how exactly does the siphoning spell work…