Lis found a local who was willing to take us on his boat along the Li River in search of a suitable parking spot for our houses. Fortunately, he had studied Chinese for all his Tai Chi books, a skill we didn’t prioritize as most people spoke English. Most of the time, it was somewhat broken English, but we understood and saw no point in spending the mana.

When Rue saw the boat, he yelled in our minds, “No! No! Boat!”

Lis looked at him, and I could see they were talking, but they kept it between them. After a minute, Rue hung his head, tucked his tail between his legs, sighed deeply, and got on the boat.

I looked at Lis in amazement and asked, “How did you do that?”

“I reminded him that he’s not the only one here, and sometimes friends should be considerate of friends.”

Hmm, good idea. I hope it works for me, too.

The smaller boat we were on was charming—rustic, but firm. It was a traditional wooden raft with a bamboo roof that shaded us from the sun. The deck was low and open, giving me the sensation of gliding just above the water. Every gentle sway of the boat sent a slight ripple through the river, and I could feel the motion in my bones—steady, calming.

The wood looked weathered from all the trips up and down the river. Woven bamboo lined the sides, adding a certain rustic charm that made the whole setup feel like it had been around forever. I could hear the faint hum of the small engine, reminding me we weren’t totally at the mercy of the river’s current.

This wasn’t some fancy yacht or high-tech craft; it was simple, reliable, and somehow felt right against those towering, cone-shaped hills. We blended in with the scenery, not just passed it by.

The boat cut through the calm waters, the gentle lapping of the river against the hull a soothing rhythm. A cool breeze brushed against my skin, carrying with it the earthy scent of damp soil, fresh vegetation, and some indistinct stink that was less pleasant but somehow added to the ambiance. We sailed along the river for two hours until we saw a promising area. This was the first area where, even with the binoculars, I didn’t see any people.

The boat brought us as close to the bank as possible, and we got into the water that reached our knees. When we got up on shore, Rue approached Lis, shook himself to get rid of the water, and pelted him with dog water. I laughed quietly; he agreed to cooperate but still needed to express his opinion in some other way.

We walked about fifteen minutes from the bank and found a flat area between three hills with enough space for our houses.

I glanced at Lis, frowning. “I’m pretty sure people still travel here; how can we explain the presence of our houses?”

Lis smiled. “Don’t worry,” he said calmly, “we have a solution.”

We removed both houses, and Alfonsen’s jaw almost hit the floor. He stared at the two houses like he’d just seen a ghost, his eyes wide as saucers, his breath caught between a gasp and a laugh. Then, as if his legs could no longer support him, he just plopped down on his butt, shaking his head in disbelief, but said nothing.

Mahya and Lis removed a stack of poles with runes engraved on them. Mahya approached me, holding one pole out, and said, “I need one drop of your blood on this.”

“What is this thing?”

“A formation to conceal our houses and compel anyone approaching to move elsewhere.”

“That’s amazing! Where did you get that?” I asked, genuinely impressed.

“I made them. That’s what I do as part of my class, not just weapons. I used the trees from the dungeon we collapsed,” Mahya said, sounding proud.

“Not from the Tuonela trees?”

She looked at me funny and said, “No, the wood from Tuonela was used for your house.”

“I know that. I just thought you had some left,” I said defensively—I wasn’t that much of a clueless idiot.

“No, we used all of it, along with some young wood from the dungeon, for the interior and smaller components such as the railings and steps,” she explained. “That reminds me: Give me some of the dungeon wood. I’m almost out and want to create a set of formation poles for us; I’m giving this one to Lis.”

I took out all the wood I had from the dungeon. An enormous pile of wood dropped on the ground in front of me. Mahya had to jump back to avoid being buried under it and gave me a death glare.

“Oops! Sorry! I forgot there was so much of it.” I said sheepishly.

She shook her head, looking exasperated. “I don’t need all of it, just some.”

“Yeah, but I don’t need it at all. With your profession, you can use it more than me.”

“Fine.” She still didn’t sound happy.

Note to self: Don’t bury Mahya under a pile of wood—that pisses her off.

After Mahya and Lis placed all the poles, Lis turned to me and gave me a pointed look. “I need you to practice your mana manipulation,” he said firmly.

“Why?” I asked, tilting my head.

“I know how you could teach me spells and maybe even learn some from me, but you need good mana control.

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“I thought you didn’t know how and needed me to find a solution,” I replied, confused.

“Yes, at first, but Lyura told me that her mother taught her all the spells she knew; I asked her how, and she explained.”

“How?”

“Her mother is a witch, so she can manipulate mana like you. She flowed her mana into Lyura, took control of her mana, and directed it to cast the spell repeatedly until Lyura could cast it herself. I also believe that if you stream your mana into me while I cast a spell, you will feel and copy it, but we need to see if it will work,” Lis explained.

“That sounds complicated,” I admitted, concerned.

“Yes, that’s why I need you to practice,” Lis said, nodding and giving me another pointed look.

“Fine, I will,” I sighed.

I gave Alfonsen the room that Lis used to sleep in, and as an excellent host, I even cast Clean and Purify in the entire room. I showed him how to use the shower and toilet and left him with a book in the mezzanine above the kitchen.

Lis and Mahya settled into my spell room with a lot of small metal parts and a highly complex blueprint, and I looked for a nearby water source. I wanted to start my training with the easiest element for me. I found a stream two hundred meters from our houses and sat down to practice my mana control.

How is it that I can lift a damn thirty-kilo snake with a flick of my mind, but a single drop of water fights me like I’m trying to move a mountain?

It was like wrestling with the wind—nothing to hold on to or control. But there was no way I was letting a bit of water to get the best of me. I dug deeper, gritting my teeth, determined to make it bend to my will, even if it took all night.

As a first step, I repeated the exercise of feeling the mana all around me and locating all the pockets and then switched to controlling the mana in the water. When studying to perform the familiar ritual, I already practiced controlling the mana, but now I added the element containing the mana, which was more challenging. I sensed the mana encompassed whatever I was moving or lifting with telekinesis, but when I tried to feel the spell construction, I still had trouble separating its various aspects. It felt like a tiny story with multiple feelings and intentions, and it was too complicated for my current level of understanding.

I returned to using mana to move the water, and the more I focused my attention on it, the more control I could exert. It felt like if I became part of the water, it would obey me, but as long as I was separate, it didn’t want to cooperate. Immersing my mind and attention in the water, I felt as fluid and connected as the water itself. I sensed my flow, felt the stones I passed over, noticed the flick of a fish’s tail, felt the wind causing gentle eddies on me, and how a part of me sank into the earth. I lost myself entirely to the sensation and didn’t feel the passage of time.

As I opened my eyes, I realized it was dark. Alfonsen was standing next to me, shaking me by my shoulder.

“Lis and Mahya told me to find you and tell you to cook dinner; Mahya wants snake steaks,” he said.

“Thanks,” I replied, sitting up and stretching.

Despite sitting there for a long time, my body remained relaxed and filled with energy. I felt like I had expanded and become one with the world while I was the water. I checked my mana: 8900/8900. My mana had increased by a hundred points. I sensed my mana system and could determine the progress was in my spirit power center, and was glad about it. I believed Lis when he said that my mana would rise with advancement, but there was still a niggling worry at the back of my mind that I had achieved all the advancement I could physically and emotionally and had only the mind option left.

I set out the barbeque, grilling the steaks alongside a cold pasta salad. The aroma filled the air as we all gathered for dinner.

Alfonsen took a bite, his brow furrowing in confusion. “What is this? I have never eaten anything like it,” he asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Level fifty mana snake,” Mahya replied casually, a small smile on her lips.

Alfonsen’s eyes widened in shock, and I asked, “Those snakes were level fifty?”

Lis and Mahya laughed, exchanging amused glances. “Of course, you forgot to use Identify,” Mahya teased, her tone light.

“Hey, I only saw one snake and was occupied with its underground tracking and subsequent killing,” I said indignantly, crossing my arms. They were not being fair.

“John dear,” Mahya said in a condescending tone, patting my shoulder, “you have an additional assignment on top of the mana training: Identify anything you see—and I mean anything—until it becomes second nature. See a person and identify them. See a beast, Identify it. You need to train yourself to use it.”

There was no arguing with Mahya when she got that tone, so I nodded and sighed, leaning back slightly. “Nothing is interesting here. All the people are shown as unintegrated men or women, and the stuff displays their names. I will do this exercise in our next world; please remind me, or I’ll forget about it again.”

She and Lis laughed again, nodding in agreement.

“Where did you find a level 50 snake?” Alfonsen asked, still incredulous.

We told him about our Tuonela adventure, and he looked at us with admiration but was also a bit green, especially when he heard about the mommy snake.

After dinner, I returned to my mana practice; I wasn’t tired and didn’t want to delay Lis. I couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing Lis. He was counting on me, and I couldn’t stand the idea of being the reason we hit a dead end. I wasn’t just practicing for myself anymore; this was for him too. That thought alone kept me going, pushing through the fatigue and the growing frustration. I needed to prove—to myself, as much as to Lis—that I could do this. I would have liked him to stay with us indefinitely, but I knew how excited he was about the Dragon Plane and wanted to be a good friend.

This time, I challenged myself and sensed the mana in the ground and stones. The ground was easier, but the rocks were harder. Little by little, the more I became part of it, the easier it became to connect with the rocks. At a certain point, I became the stone itself. I noticed my density compared to the water while feeling porous and my enduring nature. I felt I wasn’t all stone, but had small metal traces. That surprised me so much that my attention was “thrown out” of the rock.

Again, I connected to the rock and, this time, explored the metal as well. I spent the entire night immersed in the ground, the stones, and the metal flakes. Eventually, I gained a deep understanding of the rock—its composition and structure—and began influencing it. I gradually brought the mana inside the stone under my control and started molding it. I couldn’t force the mana to do as I wanted, I had to coax it to do my bidding and nudge it in the right direction. It felt less like control over it and more like a partnership, and it was terrific.

After coaxing the mana to do as I wanted, I opened my eyes and had a stone ball sitting on my palm, the size of my fist. Instead of an asymmetrical piece of rock, I held a perfect ball, free from any cracks or signs of change.

My red light was blinking, and I checked it.

Mana Manipulation [Adept] >> Mana Control [Novice]

The red light was still blinking.

Mana Meditation - 8 >> Mana Oneness [Novice]

And it was still blinking.

Wizard Battle Master Level 3

Level up

+3 to all stats.

Wizard Battle Master Level 4

Finally!