The mana under my control carefully eases through the mana channels at a rate much slower than it had originally. Upon reaching the damaged end of the thread, it extends outwards, glowing golden. The thread lengthens noticeably, the original fraction gained having multiplied.
I continue focusing and directing the mana until the last of it has been consumed, the end to the thread dimming once more. Looking around the area, I feel just a little sense of pride as I see all the connections which I have been working on.
Although at first I focused on only one thread, I realised quickly that that wouldn’t work: the threads are too interconnected for any one to be fully restored without the others. Since then, I’ve been offering equal effort to each of the myriad threads damaged by the Pure Energy. The result is that, despite none of the threads being anywhere near finished, the black space has shrunk.
Though that’s not quite accurate, I realise as I look critically at the area. It would be more precise to say that the golden threads have extended into the abyss. There’s still a clear difference between the space through which they are newly passing and the space that is around where they were never damaged. The damaged areas, since it seems that the areas are still damaged even if I’ve fixed those parts of the threads, are still a dark, inky blackness that almost sucks my mental gaze into it. The rest of the space through which the threads unspool is a much more luminous area. Not golden like the threads themselves, but more than a void.
I pull myself out of my Core space. I’ve been at it for a while; it’s time for a break. First of all, I check my status screen, nodding happily at the improvement to the reduction rate. I’m now only losing fifteen percent of my mana regeneration rate, bringing it up to seven hundred and twenty-two units per hour. Of course, that also helps because my mana lasts longer before it runs out. On the other hand, I’m taking more and more mana at a time from my Core: my Energy Manipulation Skill has been improving in leaps and bounds.
On that note, I recognise the feeling of a message waiting for me. Thinking that I probably know what it’s about, I immediately check it out.
Congratulations!
You have advanced a Skill past Novice. Energy Manipulation is now Initiate 1. You have improved your ability to manipulate Energy to affect your internal matrix. Your capacity to control mana while held within your internal matrix is improved. In addition to the previous 2% Energy efficiency accorded at Novice level, you have gained +2% of Energy control while mana is within your internal matrix per level in this Skill past Initiate.
Close messages? Y/N
Right on the money, I think to myself. I’m not surprised – if my Skill hadn’t ranked up soon, I’d be wondering why not. Like everything so far in this Skill, the new effects aren’t anything ground-breaking, but the amount they actually help by is obvious in my increased speed and ease in doing what I must. I’m pleased to see that the new effect of better control is in addition to the previous effect – twenty percent Energy efficiency was good; forty percent by the time I reach Journeyman is clearly better.
Still, it’s time to do something else. The sun is already high in the sky; I’ve been doing this ever since waking long before dawn. Getting up, I stretch my stiff muscles with a groan of relief. Pulling out some roast meat and a baked potato from my Inventory, I gnaw on them hungrily.
The food tastes good – there’s no better seasoning than hunger. I’m getting rather bored with the same three items over and over again, though. It’s been more than a month and even if I’m not exactly a foodie, I could really do with a change. The issue is that the whole process of testing whether a food is any good for me is so long. With everything that’s been going on recently, I just haven’t had the time.
Then again, do I need to do the whole process? It’s an interesting question. The whole point of testing a food step by step and leaving time in between each test is to avoid poisoning. I’ve been poisoned several times by this point and I’m still here. The main difference, of course, being my Lay-on-hands.
Something which would kill a normal human being is now just a temporary inconvenience for me. Why not just go on a tasting rampage of everything offered by the forest around, and if I’m poisoned, just heal it away? Well, maybe not a rampage, I say to myself. Maybe more of a gourmet tasting experience.
It’s a good thought, but one that I’m only going to have time for once I’ve sorted out my internal matrix. Of course, by that point, I might not be able to do it, I realise. If Flesh-Shaping doesn’t allow me to deal with poison in the same way as Lay-on-hands, I’ll be stuck testing things the way I had to do with the pondweed. Then again, if I lose the ability to deal with poison, I’m going to be in a lot more trouble than just not being able to expand my diet.
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I don’t think that will happen – the original description did say that the knowledge of Lay-on-hands currently accessed will be maintained. Hopefully that means all previous functionality of the Skill will also remain available…
Forcibly redirecting my mind onto other topics, I wander outside to find a surprisingly quiet area. Kalanthia’s there, of course, as are the three cubs and Lathani. That’s it, though. No River. No Bastet. No Fenrir. Even Sirocco’s vanished.
“Where have they gone?” I wonder aloud quietly. Kalanthia’s sharp hearing clearly picks up my words even from a good few metres away – or her telepathy picks up my thoughts – as she answers.
Your Bound have decided to hunt together. They left a while ago. Huh. I’m annoyed that they didn’t tell me, but perhaps they simply didn’t want to disturb me.
“And they asked you to watch over the cubs?” I check. Kalanthia confirms my words, though adds more information.
They promised me a Core for Lathani. If they don’t find one while hunting, I expect you to fulfil their promise. Although I want to object, I don’t. Not only would I have agreed if they’d actually asked me, but I’ve already accepted responsibility for my Bound. I’m going to have a little chat with them when they get back, though – I don’t like people promising things on my behalf without telling me.
For now, I nod towards Kalanthia and then find a space of fairly open ground. My mind is too wrung out right now to continue with repairing my internal matrix, so I might as well do something else productive.
I desperately need some armour. I’ve survived this long through luck and Lay-on-hands, but that’s not guaranteed to continue. Plus, I don’t exactly enjoy pain. The more injuries I can avoid, the happier I’ll be. But in order to get some armour, I need to do some tanning. It’s a long process, so the sooner I start, the better.
The first thing I need to do is make some racks. I’m going to need to stretch and dry the hides multiple times, and so a decent rack is a must. Opening my Inventory, I pull out the longest sticks I have and lay them on the ground. The longest is about a metre and a half; the shortest is a metre. Hmm… I collected these sticks more for firewood than with creating a tanning rack in mind.
Sighing, I decide that I need to actually go and collect some better wood. In fact, I might actually be better served with using my axe to harvest some green wood from the trees themselves: although green wood is more flexible, it’s less brittle. I’m worried that some of this dry wood will just snap as soon as it's put under pressure – not ideal. I return the sticks to my Inventory in disgust.
What a time for my Bound to all go off hunting! I focus on the Bonds, only to realise with even more annoyance that they’re a good way off into the forest. Sure, I could call them back, but I both don’t want to distract them in the middle of a fight, and also do actually want them to get stronger by hunting.
I look towards the treeline thoughtfully. Should I just go out alone? I mean, it’s possible. Safer, even, than when I used to go out without my Bound. Then again, considering I almost died multiple times, maybe that’s not such a great comparison.
In the end I shake my head. I’ve already learned the lesson that two pairs of eyes are far better than one; if I’m focused on harvesting wood, I won’t be paying attention to anything trying to attack my back. No, I’d better wait until they come back. If that means I have to delay going out until tomorrow, so be it. It’s not like a single day is going to make a huge difference. Fixing my internal matrix is my priority anyway.
Instead, I decide to do some other important tasks. First on the list is repairing my spear – it’s a quick fix and a flint-tipped spear is far better than my sharpened wooden stake. This time, I use a bit of pitch to help hold the sinew in place and protect it from damp.
That done, I also repair a few arrows which only needed minor fixes. The ones where the shaft of the arrow was broken I leave for now – that’s going to require more dedicated effort. If it is just a question of fixing a bit of sinew which had come adrift, or replacing one of the vanes, however, I quickly do it. After an hour or so of work, I’ve refurbished eight more arrows, taking my supply up to almost half of what I started with.
The ones that will take the longest are, of course, the arrows where the flint-head was broken or lost. I’m hesitating between replacing those or waiting for my iron ore to be processed in order to replace them with metal ones, though. For now, I just deal with the easy fixes and leave the other ones for later.
My next task is one that isn’t so essential for my survival, but is important for my sense of decency: a needle and thread. Pulling out some of the bones I’ve collected, I hunt through my collection of stones to find appropriate ones for the task.
The first step is to get a decent bone shard. Using a large, mostly-flat stone as the anvil, I hold another stone in my hand as the hammer. Cracking the bones with my new Strength isn’t exactly hard; getting the right sort of size and shape shard is more frustrating. Plus, I find when I crack open some of the bones that they’re actually semi-hollow, which won’t work all that well. I guess those were from the killer-chickens?
Adding to my irritation is the fact that my fine-motor control seems to have got worse, meaning that I frequently rub too hard and crack the bones at the wrong points. I find my temper mounting, rising with a rapidity which might alarm me if I wasn’t deep in the emotion.
After I’ve got a shard which is about ten centimetres long and reasonably thin, I use a rough stone to start rubbing away at it. It takes time, and hard-won patience, but little by little I manage to get the thickness of the shard down to something more resembling a needle. Now I need to get a vaguely round shape to it.
As I’m filing away at it with my rough rock, I put a little too much pressure on the emerging needle. A snapping sound meets my ears and I freeze. Holding the shard up to my eyes, I curse, throwing it down in annoyance.
Sighing heavily to try to breathe out the impatience and irritation filling me, I forcibly unclench my fists. It’s normal, I tell myself. I was never going to succeed the first time. As much as I would have liked to, this is a task which requires dexterity, focus, and practice. On the upside, if I don’t earn a point in Dexterity soon, I’ll definitely complain to the management.
Breathing in and out slowly, I feel my frustration ebb out of me. When I feel like it’s lowered to at least a manageable level again, I pick up my pounding rock and start again.