As I sit down with my legs crossed and eyes closed, I try to push mana outside of my body the same way I have tried before, by just shoving it through my skin. Halon sits right in front of me, watching my attempt intently with his green eyes.
I open my eyes and looked at the scout, full of hope that he can solve this issue. “Well, can you see what I’m doing wrong? I can push it out just fine, but it never stays together, always dissipating into the air.” I ask, slightly frustrated.
The scout nods back, a look of understanding in his eyes. “You are giving it no direction, no purpose. You simply want it to exist outside your body, and that is not good enough with your weak mana. The ambient mana in the environment overpowers it easily. Try condensing it into an orb, a physical one if you can.”
My eyes close as I do as instructed, pushing mana out of my palm and trying to collect it into an orb. As I visualize what I want to happen, a small marble forms in the palm of my hand, starting small and slowly growing bigger as I feed more mana to it. I feel a light pull from the orb, like it wants to suck in more mana, and concentrate on giving it what it wants, feeling the added mass of mana inside swirling, keeping itself together just a little bit.
After I fill it with as much mana as I can control, my eyes open and look upon my creation. Floating just an inch above my palm is a transparent pale green ball, roughly as big as a golf ball. The surface of it constantly ripples out in waves and bubbles like water in zero gravity.
“Excellent, now solidify the surface. This will trap the mana vortex and give you a stable sphere.” The scout tells me, no emotion at all in his tone, making me think that he has done this before.
I have some experience turning mana solid, as that is what I do when I cultivate my [Beast mana-heart]. My focus moves to the very outside of the sphere, and I imagine it crystallizing in the same way my heart does, slowly solidifying while trapping the mana inside from the ambient mana trying to rip it apart. The crystallization feels different from when I do it to my heart, it takes far less mana, and feels like it could be undone, unlike my heart. It’s slow work, and I lose over half the mana in the orb before I finish it. The mana would seemingly seep out through the smallest holes that I missed, causing me to go back over my work again and again. As I finish the outside of the ball, I feel my skills level up.
[You have leveled up an active skill.]
[Mana Shaping] level 9
[You have leveled up a passive skill.]
[Mana Sense] level 8
After nearly thirty minutes of work, leaving me sweaty and out of breath, I present the orb to Halon.
“Acceptable.” He says, “If you continue to practice, you will have an invaluable tool at your hands. Most people do not bother with properly learning to wield mana externally, relying on enchanted items and skills alone. These people are fools. Don't be like them.”
He’s like some old sage, imparting his wisdom on me. I should make the most of this.“What are some of the uses for external mana? Other than making physical constructs.”
“Almost anything you can imagine, if you are skilled enough and have the mana. Enchanting is the most relevant, as you need to create channels, nodes, and patterns inside of an object for the mana to flow through. I’ve seen a woman who can create orbs that track an opponent and explode. A man who was able to take control of others' mana as long as his own came into contact with it, and so much more else. You will likely find your own uses for it as your skills develop and you gain more experience.”
“Thank you, Halon, I really appreciate it.” I tell him as he disappears from all of my senses, genuinely grateful for his teachings.
“You did all the work. I just gave you some direction.” Halon's disembodied voice says.
I reabsorb most of the mana ball before trying to create a new one, quickly losing all the mana when I get interrupted mid orb-formation.
Daniel stands over me, looking at where the orb just dissipated. “What was that? New skill?” He asks, sitting down next to me.
“No, just using [Mana Shaping] to control my mana outside my body. Halon says it could be useful, and it’s how magic items are created, so it seems useful. I want to learn everything I can with mana, so even if I get captured and disarmed again, I’ll always have something to rely on.” And it’s just so damn fun! I will never get tired of the feeling of mana flowing through my body. Even when my mana builds up too much and starts to hurt, I can feel the power it gives me. And every time it responds to my call, I am filled with happiness as my childhood dreams come true.
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Daniel smiles at me, and I know he feels the same way I do, at least about metal. He has the same look in his eyes when he holds that little black piece of metal that I do when I use mana. He also wants to see exactly what he is capable of. “You’ll probably need it, especially if Merrick pushes us as hard as his sister believes. I’ve been getting some tips from Rayke. He has a [Steel] affinity and said my [Metal Manipulation] skill is fantastic in and out of combat. And that an affinity to all [Metal] is nearly unheard of, most people just get one, and are usually only able to influence it and alloys made from it.”
“Yeah, Merrick mentioned something about that. Apparently the [System] gives initiates pretty good boons and advantages. He said that I have a high affinity for space, and that the skills Stella started with were outrageous.” I explain as I start gathering more mana for another orb. My heart produces enough now that I don't have to worry about running dry from practice. My body could still use some more reinforcing, though. “It seems like the [System] either chose us because of some latent potential, or it gave us these advantages because it ripped us from our home.”
“Hmmm, interesting theory. Either way, it doesn’t matter now. We are here regardless.” Daniel says, looking into the campfire, “But I’d rather it be the former. I like to think that maybe I was chosen.”
The two of us sit at the fire for a few more hours, talking and practicing our skills until the sun is replaced by this planet's huge moon, and we go to sleep in our tent.
***
I wake up to someone kicking my foot and shouting, “Get up, maggots! Today is your first day of training! I want you up and ready to march in five minutes!”
I sit up, wiping my eyes to get a better look around the tent. Daniel is right next to me, also clearly awakened by the yelling, as he is rubbing the crust from his eyes. Merrick is the one yelling, of course, from the flap of the tent he’s holding open. He turns and leaves as soon as both of us start getting up.
Just a few minutes later, we’re both standing outside the tent, bags packed and ready to leave. The sun has yet to rise, but by checking the [Quest] timer, I know it will be light out soon. Our grey-skinned instructor walks up to where we’re standing, his smile showing his pitch-black teeth. He’s wearing a set of simple black clothes with boots on and a backpack and no visible weapons. “You guys were fast. Let's eat breakfast, and then we’ll leave.” He says while leading us towards the cooking tent.
Morah, Elsine, and Halon are the only other people in the tent eating, and Merrick walks up to join them at their table. He takes a seat next to his sister and grabs a pastry that looks like a croissant, taking a bite before talking with a full mouth, “Good morning, sister, scouts.”
Daniel and I take seats facing each other, with me next to Halon and Daniel next to Morah.
“Morning, Merrick.” Morah says as the scouts nod to him. “What do you have planned for today? Anything I should know about?”
Merrick swallows, taking another bite before answering, spraying crumbs everywhere. “Of course not. It would ruin the surprise if I told anyone!”
My fellow trainee and I also grab some of the pastries after saying our morning greetings, and eat them while Merrick spoke to his sister.
How can he be this intentionally irritating first thing in the morning? I hope it isn’t like this for the entire time he trains us, but a small part of me knows it will likely be worse. I go back to my breakfast, as I am already too far deep to back out now.
Morah turns to her brother. Her face has the same serious expression, the only one I’ver seen her wear. “Don’t get them killed. Even you are not the strongest being in these woods, Merrick.” She says calmly.
Merrick gives a dismissive wave, finishing his pastry. “You make it sound like I am throwing newborns into an orc horde.” He pauses for a few seconds, grabbing another pastry before continuing. “They already have such powerful skills. I’m just going to teach them how best to use them. And wilderness survival, and what monsters you can eat and which to avoid…” Merrick goes on and on about what he will teach us as we finish our breakfast.
After breakfast all three of us head to the quartermaster's tent for some last-minute supplies, and I need to pick up my crystal. Rayke is sleeping on a bedroll on top of the table just inside the tent, and after spotting him, Merrick begins to prod him awake. He opens one eye and upon seeing who is bothering him, closes it.
“Well guys, since Rayke is asleep, I guess we can just grab whatever we want.” Merrick says loudly, walking past the table.
Rayke’s tail shoots in his way, and he sits up. “Fine, fine, I’m up. No rummaging through my supplies. What do you need?” The grumpy quartermaster responds.
“Potions, as many as you can give me, and three linked communication amulets.” Merrick promptly says, stepping back in front of the table.
Rayke hops off the table and goes searching through two shelves before coming back with two small wooden boxes. “Here, there are eight potions, middling quality with three weeks left. And three communication amulets, with a range of nearly a mile. They are also capable of tracking each other.” He tells Merrick as he takes the lids off, showing the contents of both boxes. “That’s the best you are going to get from me. Oh, and here's this, Ray.” He says as he puts a green jacket, and the crystal on the table.
This is that crystal with the magic item creation primer. And this is an extra coat I have, it should fit you.”
The coat is nice, way nicer than I thought was possible without modern manufacturing. Well, I guess that’s to be expected with magic. It’s a long dark green overcoat, and it looks nearly brand new. The material is thin and light while feeling sturdier and stiffer than one would think. It has five buttons along the edge to close it and four pockets, two inside and two outside. I throw it on and put my backpack back on. It fits well, and hides both my sword and dagger from view.
Merrick puts both boxes into his backpack before leading us out of the camp and into the woods.