After we wrapped up all the workshops, I got Mahya set up with a laptop, a reloadable credit card, and links to Udemy and Skillshare so she could rack up more ability points. I quit farming ability points. I already had over 150 and wanted to focus on other things.

I found the book Mana Body—Supreme Control Lis had recommended and started working with it. The book’s introduction promised that practicing the techniques within could enhance one’s mana regeneration and master the control of both mana and body. The prospect was undeniably enticing.

The first technique was to create a tendril of mana and send it into your main channels to enlarge them. The second technique was to create a ball of mana and roll it down your main channels to enlarge them. I skipped the first and went straight to the second; my channels were too wide for a tendril.

That evening, while we were sitting on the couch, I turned to Lis and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about this book when I started training my mana channels in the English Gates?”

Lis looked up from his project. “Your method was twenty times faster and less painful.”

I nodded slowly, letting the information sink in. “Oh, okay,” I replied, leaning back into the cushions.

I quickly understood why Mahya screamed in pain when I tried to open her channel and what Lis meant. It was easy to build a ball of mana, but once I started rolling it down my channel and stretching the channel, I wanted to scream in pain, too. The stretching with increased mana only felt like itching, and I had control over the amount. With this technique, the ball had to be a little bigger than the channels, and the action of pushing it into the channel felt like a burning stab.

I tried to adapt the Anesthesia spell to numb my arm, but it was impossible. The minute I channeled it into myself, I fell asleep and woke up a short time after, since I stopped channeling when I fell asleep. I couldn’t work with it to adapt it. I asked Mahya to help me and channeled Anesthesia into her, trying to adapt the spell. Unfortunately, in less than a second, it was clear it wouldn’t work. I could change the shape of the mana dart because its base component was its shape—so I just changed it. Here, the base component was Sleep, so it was impossible to modify. There is no such thing as half-sleep or a different shape of sleep.

Bummer.

After three days of excruciating pain, I widened the channel in my right hand by maybe a tenth of a millimeter and decided that it wasn’t worth it. I looked ahead in the book, and the next technique was the same for the thin secondary channels all over the body. First, a thin tendril, and then a ball. Just the thought of the pain I’d feel in the hundreds of thin channels all over my body made me shudder. I shoved the book into the most remote corner of my Storage with every intention of forgetting it ever existed.

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Instead, I started learning about mana constructs for spell creation; it was much more fun. At the same time, I explored different areas of Paris, visited bakeries, restaurants, and patisseries, and filled my storage with all kinds of delicious treats. I also visited the Paris flea market and bought a lot of stuff. After I found the Paris fabric area in Montmartre, I more or less emptied their inventory on three separate occasions.

When I got home, I always found Lis and Mahya sitting with huge blueprints and sketches or tinkering with parts of a transistor or a mini radio. The blueprints were so big that the huge dining table that seats ten wasn’t enough, and the pages hung from both ends. I couldn’t figure out the relationship between those huge blueprints and the little transistor or radio, but every time I tried to ask, they waved me off and told me to be patient.

After about four months in Paris, one night, I woke up in a panic because someone jumped on my bed. I opened my eyes, squinting against the darkness, and saw Lis glowing with happiness and bouncing excitedly.

“I got it!” he exclaimed, his face lit up with joy.

“Whah?” I mumbled, still half-asleep and confused.

“I got the class!” he repeated, practically vibrating with excitement.

That woke me up fast. I sat up, eyes wide. “You got the Magicaneer class? Congratulations!” I said, a big smile spreading across my face.

“Even better! Much, much, much better! I have no more words for better! Look!” He showed me his screen, unable to contain his enthusiasm.

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I hugged him tightly and said, “Wow! Amazing! Congratulations!”

He was so excited that he continued bouncing even while I hugged him, his energy infectious.

After I let him go, I asked, “How did you do that?”

He stopped bouncing, looked at me in shock, and said, “Studied like crazy for two years!”

I shook my head, grinning. “Not that. How did you show me your screen?”

“Oh,” he said, realization dawning. “Intention and mana. Push with your intention to show me your screen and add some mana into the intention.”

Curious, I focused and did as he instructed. My screen popped into existence. “Cool!” I exclaimed, marveling at the display.

Lis just laughed, shook his head, and continued bouncing. He had too much energy for five in the morning.

I went back to sleep—at five in the morning, I was NOT bouncy.

When I got up in the morning and went to the living room, I saw a strange mini radio on the table. Runic script covered the mini radio entirely, and on top of it was the transistor Lis was working on, with the crystal I aspected to lightning on top of it. The crystal looked empty, so I poured some mana into it to help Lis.

The radio suddenly started playing the song “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. I looked at it in amazement. After the song ended, a French broadcaster thanked the listener for requesting it and began reporting on the traffic situation in Paris.

I stared at the radio in awe. He built a radio that received Earth stations and worked on mana!

I decided that his extraordinary achievement called for a celebration, so I sat at the computer and booked a vacation to the French Riviera. It was August, just the right time for a beach vacation.