Because of his busy schedule and the lack of sleep, thanks to the absence of stamina potions, the next three days passed in a blur for Alex.

Master Shen moved on to a new form of sweeping strikes that used the Flowing Water stance to slash as he moved. It was mesmerizing for Alex to watch the forms showed by the sword master. He had an entirely new appreciation for the detail that went into martial arts. The new form was called Dragonfly Touches the Water. Some cuts also included quick flicks of his wrist toward vital points, and Alex was unsure if the form would work at all if it weren’t for a stat-enhanced body.

Eura and Master Shen Rong had worked together on a portion of training meant to teach Alex how to infuse a sword with mana in case there was a magically oriented attack that needed to be blocked. However, when Alex showed how easily he could complete this with [Mana Infusion], they quickly let him move on.

Alex had been curious about something since his sparring match a few days prior and decided to present his theory to Eura.

“I think it should be possible for me to make my Mana Threads manifest in the physical world. It clearly happened when I used the binding ritual during the sparring match, and I saw the Mana Spinners do it regularly. Do you know how I could make this happen?”

Eura rubbed his smooth chin for a moment before smiling at Alex. “I think I might, but I think it would be best for you to figure it out on your own. Continue your drilling with Master Li and Master Shen, but during our lesson time, I want you to try to solve this question by yourself. If you need resources, ask me, and I’ll get them for you. Also,” Eura paused and reached behind his desk to lift a small package. “This is for you. Think of it as a gift for being a devoted student.”

Alex opened the box and was surprised to find a Basic Rituals Manual and two Advanced Rituals Manuals. His mouth dropped open, and he looked at Eura, speechless.

“Eh,” Eura waved his hand. “It’s nothing. I sent for the books more than a week ago. It just had to come down from one of our branch sects in the mountains.”

“Eura, thank you. This is huge,” Alex said. He thought of how much progress in his magic he’d been able to make with a single manual and dedicated study. The thought of having more advanced materials to study without spending a ton of Mana Stones excited him.

As he looked down at the manuals, Alex noted the rest of the statement. He asked Eura about how large the area of the light side of the Rift was. Eura contemplated for a few moments before stating it was the size of a small continent, and the same went for the dark side of the Rift. Alex was stunned, unable to believe that the Rift was so large. Up until that point, he’d really only thought of Tianluo as the main hub of the light side of the Rift, not bothering to go any deeper into the landmass.

Well, my goal this entire time has been to get out of the damn place. I’m not sure why I’d want to go any deeper in…

“Alright, enough stalling from you. I’ve got work to do here. Go and begin your tests.”

Alex groaned but felt excited about diving deeper into [Mana Threads], which had quickly become his favorite skill. He spent the next two days devoting all of his attention to the threads and attempting to figure out a way to manifest them into the physical plane. He put aside the training that he’d been doing with [Mirage] and even the idea of studying the advanced ritual materials that Eura presented him with.

While he loved the work and ideas Eura had given him the previous week for [Mirage], Alex felt that he was missing something there. He believed it was just that the options with illusion magic were so broad; he could do many things with it, and he just didn’t have the time in his limited days to experiment as much as he might like. Illusion magic required a subtlety that came from hours of dedicated practice and experimentation.

There was even more practical application for it if he took Val into consideration. The mana wyrm’s [Create Lesser Illusion] could be used at the same time as [Mirage] to compound the illusion or to further divert someone’s attention. Alex had toyed with the idea of using Val for an anchor that he could attach a [Mirage] of himself to, then allow the companion to move around and direct the illusory Alex.

The illusions always seem to work better if I have something to anchor them to.

Just as he had the thought, Alex sat bolt upright. Sam, who was nearby, looked over at him and tilted his head.

“Something to anchor it to! That’s it!”

Alex got up and walked over to a small sandy area of the garden. He scooped some of the sand into his hand and pushed a mana thread through it. At first, nothing happened, but as Alex sent more mana through the thread, he could see it lighting up, and after a few seconds, he could feel the thread brushing against his fingertips.

He exclaimed and jumped while pumping his fist in the air.

Sam laughed at him from somewhere else in the garden.

Alex sent a thread weaving through the garden plants until he found Sam and lightly touched his [Mana Thread] to the leaking mana that Sam had coming from his body. This let him establish a sort of pseudo-link where Alex could project thoughts but not hear them, at least not until Sam allowed him to.

Hey, I hear you over there.

Alex smirked as he heard Sam yelp in surprise.

Do you realize that I’m literally like one step away from being Spiderman?

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His smirk grew into a grin as he heard Sam begin to laugh loudly and without care. He broke off the connection and felt a sense of happiness just from making Sam laugh.

Alex walked over to Eura and gave a brief report, glad that he was able to solve the problem in a small window of time.

“Great job, you figured that out quickly. I’ll give you one hint for your next step. Test different materials.”

Alex’s brain immediately began to try to process the hint, thinking of all the different materials that might give his mana a good source to latch on to.

“Think about it another time,” Eura said. “You are exhausted. I can see the bags under your eyes. You need to go get some sleep.”

“But-”

“No. I need to go take care of something urgent anyway. You need sleep. You’ve been doing this for almost three weeks straight. It’s clearly catching up with you. Go rest.” Eura looked over to Sam, “Samuel, please make sure that Alex gets to rest. He sorely needs it.”

Sam flinched at the sound of his name but then nodded as he realized what Eura was asking.

A short time later, Alex crashed into his low bed on wooden slats and fell asleep within moments.

He wasn’t sure of when it happened, but at some point in the night, Alex awoke with a start. He looked around in the dark, his right eye completely useless. His left eye, however, saw an explosion of greens and yellows surrounding him in their small room.

Alex sucked in his breath in momentary fright, unsure if they were under attack by a spell. It took him a few moments to realize that there was a form seated on the floor next to him and that the mana was no moving, rather just radiating from the small form.

After Alex moved and jerked his body up, the beautiful green mana surrounding the figure and his bed shattered and retracted, and he saw the figure flinch through his mana sight.

“Sam? Is that you?”

Alex used his left eye to analyze the figure and saw that it was Sam. He saw the vague outline of the mana leaking from the boy's body, so it was a surprise to see the boy huff as if annoyed and then extend a tendril of mana to talk.

Reaching out with his own thread of mana, Alex connected to the mental communication, projecting caution and curiosity.

Sam, what are you doing? What time is it?

Sam sent back feelings of annoyance and frustration.

“Helping you recover.”

Completely caught off guard by Sam’s somewhat forward and confident response, Alex didn’t even think to stop the boy as he reached forward and flicked Alex on the forehead.

Half asleep and stunned, Alex sat there for several long moments before he began to laugh.

Guess you’re feeling a bit more confident around me, huh?

Sam sent back feelings of satisfaction and a happiness before nodding. His next question came through with a hint of tiredness and frustration.

“Sleep some more.”

Alright, I’ll go back to bed. Just tell me what you’re doing first?

Rather than send feelings or words, Sam shared another part of his Status Window that he hadn’t shown Alex before.

{Nature’s Refuge} - When at peace, the Awakened manifests an ethereal domain of nature around themselves. The Refuge will increase the Vitality and natural regeneration of those within its embrace.

Wow, that’s actually really awesome for your other ability, Sam. Is that why you’ve been practicing meditation so much while I’m training?

Alex saw Sam’s head nod through the mana outline. It made sense to Alex, and he thought it was a smart choice to work on reaching a “peaceful” state. He couldn’t help but think that Sam might have a hard time finding peace in most moments, though, after his rough experience here in the Rift, he seemed to be skittish with most things.

Sam let some guilt leak through, clearly noticing where Alex’s thoughts were going.

Alex sent back the feeling of comfort and ruffled the teenager’s hair.

It’s alright, buddy. We’ll get through this.

Alex could tell through their connection that Sam wanted to share something more, so he waited and didn’t push the boy.

Sam sent through the feelings of trust, while showing Alex his full Status Window.

“Can you look?”

Part of Alex wanted to reprimand the teenager again, telling him he shouldn’t share such things. Instead, he took a deep breath and could feel the unwavering trust Sam put into him and he decided not to say anything.

Fine, but this is the only way to make it fair. Make sure to keep this a secret, alright?

Alex pulled up his own Status Window and willed for it to be visible to the naked eye. He saw Sam stiffen, and then a feeling of awe came through the link as he looked at Alex’s window.

A feeling of pride and satisfaction coursed through Alex, and he smiled. He looked through Sam’s abilities and his class, noting the great synergy that Sam had. He was impressed with the choices that the boy had made, especially in the desperate situation he’d been placed in.

Alex sent through his own feelings of impressed admiration when he saw that Sam had is own world-first title for being the first human from their world to enter an Epic Rank Rift.

Sam closed up a bit at the mention of his entrance into the Rift, but at some gentle encouragement, he sent back an embarrassed smile and shrug.

After a bit more back and forth and getting a better understanding of Sam’s abilities, Alex started to understand how Sam had progressed while in the Rift. He’d gotten his Trait in a mad dash and accidental kill against a monster in the Rift. While he was injured he’d managed to gain a healing skill from his knowledge of herbs and an instinctual understanding of mana sensitivity. When he combined those two things, he was able to get a [Healing Touch], all within a few days of being in the Rift.

When he’d healed himself and begun to make his way back to the Rift exit, a patrol from Tianluo had scooped him up. After being unable to confirm where he’d come from, and unsure of if he was from the other sect, the kept him as a prisoner for a time before deciding to use his healing technique to their advantage.

Aside from the terrible sequence of events for Sam, Alex had been interested to learn that as a healer and non-combat class, Sam gained experience by healing people. With the merchant continually making Sam heal, day in and day out, over his time in the Rift, Sam quickly became high-leveled while remaining in relative safety.

Because he was forced to heal warriors who were fighting against the Shadow Serpent Sect, he’d had no shortage of people needing healing and had been able to earn another skill called [Cure], which helped him fight against poisons.

Even though it was difficult to get the boy to speak, he was able to piece the story together bit by bit. It often came down to him asking questions in the dark and waiting for certain responses from the teen through their link. Soon, the conversation died down, and Alex got ready to fall back asleep.

Do you want me to give you some of my mana?

Sam sent back a smug feeling and turned his upper body some more. Through his mana vision, Alex could see a blue coil of mana wrapped around Alex’s upper arm. He realized Val was taking a nap on his shoulder and infusing a slow trickle of mana into the boy.

Alex felt tears begin to sting his eyes and felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude toward the pair. They’d gone out of their way to help him recover even though he hadn’t asked for anything.

Fuck. You guys are gonna make me cry.

“Fuck?” Val lifted his head and entered the conversation.

Alex and Sam both began to laugh, doing their best to stifle the noise and stay quiet in the late hour.

A short time later, Alex was in a deep and restful sleep.