Day: 0
Time: 13:13:29 PST
Location: Library of Alexandria
The only scene I've seen in hours was of the stone-shaped books that were lined up like bookshelves they even had a line running between each row. Each stone book was about a foot tall, and the stones were fifteen rows tall which was about five meters high. I could see the ceiling with ease because of the magical light coming from the crystal at my waist. It illuminated the entire area for around fifteen meters, the light was evenly distributed across that area but stopped suddenly at fifteen meters. It was completed darkness afterward. The ceiling was made of the same brownish stone as the wall however, it was shaped like normal bricks. The hall was about ten feet wide which was three meters. I estimated the width of the hall by using my wingspan which was about six feet leaving about two feet worth of space between me.
That was my first order of business because the first rule of survival was to know your surroundings. It was limited space; I couldn't move around like it was an open field with tons of space to spare. The second was understanding my limits. The only offensive skill I knew was [Mana Bolt] really the only skill I knew besides [Inspect]. And from the experiments, I started to do while walking it took a little less than a second to cast however, it took another two seconds before I could even start casting another Mana Bolt. I wasn't sure what stopped me from casting another Mana Bolt right after the first one, but I was sure it had something to do with the way I was forming the first Bolt after an hour of testing. I couldn't continue thinking about that problem when another one of those abominations appeared in front of me. I activated the skill [Inspect] as soon as I saw it. I felt what seemed like resistance, but the skill just seems not to care.
[Inferior Abomination - LVL 8]
A soulless monster birthed from the greed of others maybe once it was alive, but now it was just an Abomination.
Strengths - Unknown
Weaknesses - Unknown
A screen suddenly appeared right after the description of the monster was given.
[Inspcet] has reached level 2.
+1 to INT, WIS
That wasn't the first time a skill leveled in fact [Mana Bolt] has reached level 3 and with that, a bonus of +3 Intelligence and Wisdom during my experiments till that point and with this made +5 to Intelligence and Wisdom which didn't even count my modifiers. Altogether my Intelligence and Wisdom at the time were 26 and 23 respectively. My mana pool was 283 now and after an hour of testing, it had only gone down by 20 points mostly because I was trying to conserve my mana. So, I only used 10 Mana bolts during that time and most of my mana been had regained by that point.
I didn’t fear the monster for the first time since it had at most 150 Vitally which was around my own. The only thing I had to fear was it hitting me which I wasn't planning to it a chance. It looked almost the exact same as the Abomination seen before. I started casting [Mana Bolt] it's its whole body was inside the sphere. I was now sure Wisdom affected how fast my spell formed and that only left Intelligence to affect damage. I purposely choose not to hit the monster with a Mana bolt in a vital area because it seemed where the spell hit also affected damage. I wanted to control the amount of outside influence possible to see the amount of damage one of my spells does without any. I wasn't sure if distance mattered as well so I decided to fire the spell when it was around 10 meters away. The mindless monster only was to avoid deadly strikes and to kill me. It didn't try to avoid the bolt of pure mana striking it right in the stomach. It exploded with blue light leaving a large hole in its side as it roared in pain.
You have dealt 38 damage to Inferior Abomination using [Mana Bolt]
The monster seems to finally take me as a serious threat to its life as it finally started to charge me at full speed. I wasn't sure how its speed compared to my own, so I decided to test it out. I waited till it was armed reached away from me and dodged to the side. I wasn't some fighting master so my form of dodged was throwing my whole body in a direction. I landed face first into the ground. My face was covered in dirt which hindered my vision. I didn't even think about the fact that it wasn't just going to stay still while I tried to clear my eyes. It was on top of me in an instant. Before it could try and pummel me to the ground, I did something I know I couldn't do before. And pushing at least 600 pounds of pure ick off on myself. I didn't even have time to question the performance and kicked the Abomination back to give myself enough space to cast another [Mana bolt]. I could only push it back around a meter.
The Mana bolt was ready just in time to stop the creature's hairs away from crushing me with its bone-shattering claw. The Mana bolt smashed right into the creature's head. Its entire body exploded from the force of the bolt. The ooze was splattered all over me. The robes that I was wearing were completely covered in ooze.
You have slain Inferior Abomination - lvl 8 using [Mana Bolt] dealing 118 critical damage. Bonus experience for killing higher level opposite.
You have reached level 4!!! - Plus 10 available points
"That was stupid."
I got careless with the monster because I just killed one. I thought I was invincible. I almost died from my own carelessness. I can't make stupid mistakes like that. They all won't react the same and I need to get better before I died but the only way to get better was to practice on these monsters. At least one thing was for sure where you hit something mattered, and the distance mattered as well.
If this was a tutorial dungeon, what is it preparing us for? I need to get stronger and the only way to get stronger in my eyes was to understand. There was just a pebble where the monster was just before it exploded in bits. Some of the oozes were still on my robes and it smelt bad. But I had to deal with it. And so, I went on. I found two more Inferior Abominations a few hours apart and they were a lot easier to kill mostly because I stop testing spells on them.
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[Mana bolt] reached level five after the fights and a little more experimenting and reached level 6 in my actual level. I got an idea while trying to figure out a way to kill the monsters faster. From my understanding of [Mana bolt], there were no limits to how many you could cast at once, so I decided to cast a [Mana bolt] with both hands.
At first, the mana just rushed toward whichever hand the mana chooses first. It was like a flood of mana uncontrollable. There was no order, but the mana didn't start casting the second mana bolt till after the spell was fully cast and ready. I realize the problem fast. It wanted to follow just one order at a time and not two or three. It wasn't that it couldn't it just didn't. So, I needed to change that. The only answer I could think of was it had something to do with Wisdom. The talent described wisdom my control over mana.
[Prime Wisdom Talent]
Your natural talent for Wisdom so extraordinary. Multiple Universe Emperors will start wars for your talent. Your control over mana is almost as strong as most powerhouses. You can defect mana with ease. You regain mana and stamina abnormally fast. You can recall memory in an instance. You can learn things with quicker and easier than most.
Molding over the wisdom and it's connected to mana in general. An idea starting to form. Wisdom effects how fast a spell forms that much was true. So why? Wisdom effects control and what I need is for the mana to cast two spells not just one. Then like a gong had rung throughout my entire mind, it hit me. Mana was like code or at least a computer. It needed direction but it couldn't do more than two things at once. That didn't mean it wasn't possible to cast more than one spell. I just needed to separate the mana. Effectively making two computers with less computing power. I stopped moving and seat crisis cross like some monk to concentrate on my mana flow. I didn't need to worry about forming my spell slower because I was pretty sure that I was already forming my spells' ineffectually however, I wasn't sure what was the right way to form them.
Looking deep inside myself, I found something that looked like where the mana originated from within me. The mana that enters my body every single moment was simply flowing into a solid black sphere in the middle of the area. The amount of mana flowing into the sphere didn't even closely match the amount leaving it. However, the mana leaving and enters were not comparable in quality. The mana entering was like an almost transparent blue gas and the mana leaving were bright blue and contained a lot of power and just almost non-exist. The area surrounding the black sphere was filled with the bright blue sparks of power. It was mana it had to be mana.
With just a thought, the bright blue sparks started to gather into thread. I wanted to guide the mana with the thread like water going towards the water. I started to extend the thread and guide it towards my left hand. It was exhausting in a way I didn't quite understand. The process took minutes because there were blockages everywhere inside my body. If possible, I needed to get ruin of them, but I couldn't spare the time to think of a solution. I found a way through the blockages by simply going between them. The mana that reached my hand wasn't comparable to that at the mana source But, it wasn't like the mana entering my body. It was a dark blue inside of the bright blue at the mana source like it was dirty from going though dirt.
It was weaker and seemed a lot more unstable, but I couldn't do much about that. Now, the hard part. My attention went back to the source. The beginning of the thread that ended at my left hand was still inside the source area. I needed to create a second thread of mana however, that was simpler said than done. My first try ended in failure and my first thread dissolving back into the area. I decided to change my plan to making the proto pathways not actually pathways but a guide for the mana to follow. I decide to make both threads at the same time. I needed to spilt my attention, my will into a two. It was easy; it was like using one hand instead of two. Kinda ironic, sense I wanted to cast using both hands. Guiding one thread to my left as I guided the second towards my right was just as time-consuming as the first time.
Once done, the second part of my plan went into action. I used both wills to cast the spell. The two threads of mana became the pathways for the new surge of mana to be directed. It was simple, but it worked. A spiraling orb of mana floating in both hands crackling to my success and as if on queue a notification blared in the top-right of my vision.
Congratulations, you have discovered the skill [Dual-casting] (Rarity - Low)
Through your experiments, you have learned what many failed to understand in a life time. You have the potential for great things. As the first in your Universe to discover a skill related to mana, you have acquired the title [The First Magus](Rarity - Unique). For your achievement as one of the first 10,000 people to discover a skill, you have acquired the title [Discoverer](Rarity - Top). See where your desire for knowledge takes you.
+2 to WIS, +1 INT
Mana around me shivered as it started to funnel into me as if I was some empty vessel ready to be filled. The place inside my lower adobman where the mana source was located grew larger and the mana sparks only grew brighter. I felt power in a way that didn't compare to a level up. I just felt good and reveled in the power. The two orbs of mana in my hands grow smaller. I remember the first mana bolt I fired were he size of my palm but now it was at least half that. I felt like it was a great time to spend the 30 points I've been saving. I decided pulling six into each stat was fine. I didn't want my physical strengths to fell behind even though at this point they were already doing so. I didn't want to be a mage that focuses strictly on my mental stats and neglected my others. Some weak fighter could kill me with a single slash if I did that. After what felt like far from enough in that state. I clashed to earth with a sign.
A new notification appeared in front of me.
Congratulations, you have gained over five titles within 24 hours. You have acquitted the title [Fated](Rarity - Middle). You are the first to acquire [Fated] in your Universe. [Fated] has been upgraded to [Harbinger of Fate](Rarity - Unique).
The second round was a lot less intense but still pleasurable. My muscle was stronger than ever. I felt like I could run 8 marthons and not even without breaking a sweat. A clearness that was even comparable to any of this. I just needed to check my status menu.
[Status Menu]
Name: Ray Adams
Race: [Inferior Human(G) - lvl 6]
Class: N/A - available at lvl 25
Affiliations: Earth
Titles: [Initiate of the 103rd Universe], [Defiant], [Talented], [Overachiever], [The First Magus], [Discoverer], [Harbinger of Fate]
Talents: [Perfect Intelligence Talent], [Prime Wisdom Talent]
Vitality: 294/294
Stamina: 344/344
Mana: 732/732
Strength: 24
Dexterity: 30
Constitution: 27
Intelligence: 65
Wisdom: 74
Available points: 0
Skills: [Inferior Mana Bolt] - lvl 5, [Inspect] - lvl 2, [Dual Casting] - lvl 1
I just smiled.