“Knowledge is what the realm runs on, that and mana coins. If you want to gain any real power, you need at least one of these. As you grow, you'll find the cost of these items rises. Wanting power isn't a bad thing, not in the least, but when your path starts costing blood and lives, then it can get hazardous. That is when greed can drive a man too far. There is always a cost for moving forward, but don't make a mountain of corpses to take a single step.” - Emperor Salren to his son and heir Talsen.

Aster

Ignoring the wind blowing over my mask, I focused on the mana in front of me. The arrow was no longer important; it was just the vessel of the skill. The mana pouring into the arrow was my sole focus. If I had any chance of fixing the skill, I had to find what was wrong with it. To do that, I had to follow the mana into my body, a task that seemed impossible. As most things were, I knew the hardest part was finding the starting point.

Staring at the visible strands, I traced them from the trip of the arrow down to my hand, where they faded into my skin. Repeating the process a few times, I grimaced.

I had no idea or insight on where to start or how to follow the path. I could sense it, the strand that flowed into my arm, but once it entered my body, it became a murky feeling, and with it flowing out of my body, the wrong direction that I wanted to go, it was hard to follow or, rather, impossible to follow.

Trying to grab the mana with a mental grip didn't work either. All it served to do was disrupt the flow and dissipate the mana. Trying to push the mana out of my hand proved possible, but it immediately turned inert and uncontrollable once it left my skin. The action created a small puff of barely visible light, and following that mana into my arm proved useless, but the action left a painful sting in my hand.

Letting out a small breath, I closed my eyes, centering myself as I thought through my options. I couldn't follow the strands of mana from my hand down through my body because it was like riding a river in the wrong direction, and there wasn't a way to fight the flow.

I wasn't about to try reversing my mana flow and didn't have the slightest idea how to do that anyway. That meant I couldn't follow the mana from the endpoint.

My frustration at the entire thing grew, and I opened my eyes, scowling. Surprisingly, I was met with a system screen before I could try anything else.

[Alteration’s Legacy is available and can be activated.]

[Notice: This skill can not be canceled once activated and will halt all meditation skill advancement while the skill is active.]

[Notice: Skill activated.]

I didn't have time to be surprised by the instant activation that occurred without my agreement. Before I could utter a word, black filled my vision.

Alteration

“How to feel mana?” Rorthorn repeated the question Alten had asked and frowned but then waved for the pair in front of him to come closer. Alten felt excitement rise.

Looking at Salren, his fellow apprentice, then back at Rorthorn in surprise, they both moved closer. Neither of them had expected a lesson out of the question, but Salren looked just as excited as he did. He and Salren found seats on the grass in front of Rorthorn. Alten used his knees as a rest for his arms and focused on Rotthorn with all the attention he could manage.

Rorthorn looked between the two, then huffed with amusement and started speaking, “Pay attention to what I say, as I won't repeat this. Anything living has mana. This includes trees, bugs, and the smallest to the biggest creatures. " He looked at Salren and asked, “Why do you think creatures are special in this regard?”

Alten turned to look at Salren, who looked to be deep in thought for a long moment before he perked up with an answer, “Because they can use it in ways we can't, like to grow?”

“Very good, but creatures use it for much more than just that. They can inherently use magic without the system, unlike others who have to learn how to.” Rorthorn turned his attention to me. “What then makes the system special in the case of mana, my apprentice?”

It was Alten’s turn to think, and his mind went back to the skills He could use that the system had provided. On the one hand, they took a lot of energy and made him quite tired, but they did take mana, which meant He had mana and could use it. His status screen proved it. “Does it let me use mana even if I haven't mastered how to bend it to my will?” He asked hesitantly.

“In extremely loose terms, you would be right; however, there is much more to it than that. When people and creatures are born, the system provides them a push, which allows anyone to gain access to the mana they have inside them with a bit of effort and use it through skills. Now, how does anyone actually pull on their mana and use it without the system?”

Salren tilted his head from one side to the other, then shrugged and seemed to wilt slightly. Alten smiled and shrugged. He had no idea either.

Rorthorn smiled, “It's about time for both of you to learn how.”

Rorthorn spent the evening and a big portion of the night explaining how to draw on the mana. It was easy for Salren to understand and do, but it took a lot longer for Alten to even find his core. Yet, he was determined to learn.

It involved first finding where mana entered his body. After a few days, a combination of meditation and focus helped him pinpoint the location.

After finding where his mana gathered, the next part was the slow process of grabbing the mana he had.

The small puddle that was his mana at first refused to budge. The process to do so wasn't easy. It was like trying to scoop up the mana in his hand and trying to keep it from dripping out while at the same time forcing it to stay together. Once he had a small grip on how to do it, Rorthorn explained to him and Salren that they needed to take the mana they were holding and move it throughout their body to circulate it.

“The movement should eventually be a steady flow that you can keep doing indefinitely. For now, focus on moving the mana in a circle as long as you can,” he explained

This took Al.ten even longer to learn how to do, stretching over the course of a week to even start the movement of mana in his core. The process of circulating mana was almost like sticking a hand in the water and moving it in a circle. However, the mana felt extraordinarily thick, and it took a considerable effort to get the mana to start to move even a little. He was left sweating and taking in deep breaths after a few minutes of attempting each time. When he did stop for the day, it felt like he had run from the back of the hills to the front multiple times.

“Why does the mana need to move?” Alten found himself asking after catching his breath on the first attempt.

“In order to use mana without the aid of the system, you must be able to move it and must keep it moving through your both and its paths so when you do use mana, you don’t break your paths. That is where it is easier for a creature. It is always moving in them as it's something they are born doing and only grow better at. You must learn and practice it.”

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It was only after weeks of practice that Alten managed a steady flow, one that barely moved but did nonetheless.

The small room they were staying in for the night rumbled with Rorthorn's laugh when Alten asked what would be possible with mana. “You can’t do much more than create a puff or imbue an item with your mana moving that slow. For now, you keep moving the mana and rest when you can’t anymore. Moving it is like a muscle. The more you use it, the easier it will be. When you can keep it moving at a steady pace, you will move on.”

Alten grumbled a bit but didn’t argue. He knew it wouldn't change anything with his master, so he started back to circling his mana. The process was easier now but still a strain.

Months passed at a steady pace, and the time we spent traveling from village to village was full of practice circling his mana with Salren and his Master, but as the time passed, it was true that Alten found it easier to direct the flow and bend of his mana.

Aster

I jerked awake with a jolt, my head swimming.

“Aster!” The mental voice of Umbra was like thunder in my head, and I let out a groan, holding a hand up and speaking aloud.

“I’m awake. Give me a moment.” There was relief through the bond, and a shadow that I didn't realize was over me backed up. Letting out another groan, I closed my half-open eyes as light filled my vision and gathered my thoughts.

Alterations Legacy had been activated without my consent. That was a worry, but the vision had been short, choppy, and relatively fast. It was easy to place the memories as not my own and as Alten’s. Still, I took a moment to let the feeling of being in my own body set in. The painful feeling of laying on my tail helped in that regard. Once I felt stable, I reached up and took off my helmet, storing it with a thought. System messages were waiting for my attention, but my bond came first. Sitting up, I rubbed my head and looked over to Umbra, whose snout was only feet away. “What happened?” I asked but held my hand up before she could speak with a half smile. “I mean, what happened when I passed out? Alteration’s Legacy activated without my agreement for some reason, but I can explain that in a second.”

I’d already explained the skill and how it worked, and the one time I'd used it before, I knew she had some idea about it.

Umbra let out a snort of frost, and I knew she was upset. I wasn't explaining at first, but she still told her side. “When you passed out, I could feel it in the bond. When you didn't wake up after my prodding, I grew worried and flew back to our valley, then laid you here. It’s been hours since then. I didn’t know what had happened, but you seemed fine besides not waking up, so I waited before doing something drastic.”

I felt a tinge of worry at what Umbra would classify as drastic, and looking down, I took note of the cut leather straps that had connected me to Umbra’s back. Those would have to be replaced. Nodding, I let out a breath, using the motion to decompress slightly. “Well, I think a hunt is out of the option for today. How about I start cooking up something while I explain?”

Umbra seemed slightly placated at that option and nodded, so I stood up and took a glance through my storage, trying to decide what would make a good meal. Settling on the grade three bird, I pulled out what remained of its corpse. A portion of it had already gone to Umbra the day it was killed. Starting the process of plucking its feather, I worked as I explained to Umbra what had happened.

Starting from my attempt to follow my mana path to my skill and moving to the vision of Alten’s master, explaining how to use mana without the system helping, and going into depth about how he found his core. I was just placing the bird over the fire on a makeshift spit when I wrapped up ending at the end of Alten’s memories.

“I don’t know why the skill activated; I didn’t even realize I was using the meditation skill,” I confessed. A twinge of worry ran through my mind. Could the skill just activate when it wanted?

“Maybe it’s because you were attempting to do something Alten did before, and the skill thought you were trying to see one of its memories?” Umbra suggested

I shook my head, then shrugged. “Maybe, but it did give me an idea on how to fix my skill and a few other things.”

Glancing at the system notices and the purple text, I read them with a glance and repeated them aloud for Umbra to hear.

[New skill gained - Mana control 1]

[Alteration’s Legacy is currently on a cooldown and can not be used.]

Tilting my head, I frowned at the skill, making a slight humming noise as I reread it. I'd tried to gain a skill similar to mana control before, but nothing had come of it at the time. Getting Mana Control through another skill was weird and a little disappointing. Curious, I pulled up the description of the skill.

[Mana Control - Allows for an insight into personal mana and an easier time controlling mana attuned to the user.]

[Notice: A meditation or similar skill and knowledge of how to activate your mana core is required to gain the skill Mana Control.]

Well, that explained it. The notice attached to the skill description wasn't the first I'd seen, but it was my first look at a skill locked behind other skills and requirements besides Primal Shift, and that was a racial skill.

“I think you'll want to get this skill to Umbra. Actually, I think we should both look into this whole thing. I've never heard of casting spells and using mana without the system besides Imbuing mana or transferring, but the system helps with that now, I believe.”

I turned my attention to the food for a second, spinning it slowly before looking at Umbra, wanting to know what she thought.

“Nothing about this is familiar to me, but being able to use mana without the system could prove to be useful in a lot of cases. Though it does sound time-consuming, at least for you, if what you said is right, then there should be no issue with me as my core is already spinning, as you put it. But all of this is only one side. The vision didn't explain how to use the mana without the system besides moving it.”

I laughed, realizing she was right. “That does seem slightly weird. I wonder why creatures can do that. Maybe we can find it in a book, or Mother will know, and we can add that question to the questions to ask her. At least I have a starting point for fixing this skill now.”

If I couldn't start at the end as I planned, then maybe I could follow the path the mana took from the starting point, but that would require finding my core, but, before any of that, food. The bird wasn't seasoned, but as I pulled my share off the spit and Umbra took the rest, I was surprised by the tenderness and how juicy the meat was. Even Umbra made a pleased noise as she took her first bite, which got a giggle from me.

Turning to the dragon, I had a thought that sent my tail twitching. “You know, maybe we should change how we're doing this whole dungeon. We're not ready to fight the majority of these creatures.” Umbra gave me a flat look, and I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I know it's obvious, but if we want to clear the dungeon at any decent speed or at all, we need to find a way to kill the higher-grade beast easier until we can do it reliably, which brought an idea to mind. What we used traps? I already can create rune arrows, but learning about the core and it requires moving my mana led me to the thought of making a bomb or, more specifically, finding a large stone and carving some big runes on it, then, you know, dropping them on the monsters.”

“That's not a trap, Aster, that's, well, it's more like the catapult on the walls of the capital of Arilon. What was it they called that.” Umbra trailed off, and I realized the word she was thinking of.

“Artillery?” I asked, and Umbra nodded, tapping one of her talons on the ground. Then, she nodded again, continuing, “It sounds like a good idea, but do you even have rune combinations that could work? You said you only knew some basic ones.”

After wiping my fingers mostly clean, I pulled out my journal and opened it. I glanced at a few of the runes I had written down before responding, “Well, enough linked runes will work wonders, but the mana cost will increase substantially with each one added, so I'll have to look into it. It's an idea. First, we'll have to find a stone big enough to hold the mana necessary.” I leaned back in the grass, letting out a breath.

“At least we are not lacking in time, but you are putting a lot on your plate,” Umbra said, the sound of crunching bones adding a snap to the end of her words.

I waved a hand and flipped to a blank page, then pulled out a piece of charcoal that had been sharpened to a fine point before replying, “It's Just another thing to work on. Not all of it has to be done in the dungeon, but having a list of plans isn't bad.” I held my hands up, ticking off the ever-growing list. “Let's See, I want to learn about runes and practice them, start my mana core spinning, improve my skills, especially leather working, so I can make a new armor set, then there's work on the stone artillery thing. I have to practice Primal Shift. Then there are the monsters we need to clear and the realm event…” I trailed off and grimaced, giving a sideways look to my bond, and closed my book. “Maybe you have a point.” I admitted, “I'm going to put a pin in some of these for now.”

Umbra's rumble of amusement was enough for me to feel my ears burn with embarrassment.