Flecks of color start to gather all around, and then they start to get pulled in. Each one a tiny fragment of atmospheric mana that becomes the building block for a skill. Once all the colors gathered inside the body they get filtered by the will pathways of the soul to create the optimal balance of aspects to successfully form the skill. Usually, this process would go unnoticed and happen in a single moment, but for those that have developed their mana sense and know where to focus, they can see the beautiful process of how a skill comes into existence.

  Synexus was going toe to toe with a truly massive, locked memory that took the form of some type of fierce-looking reptile. Silver liquid had become nearly reflective scales, sharp fangs and claws, and a long tail that could cause mass destruction. He knew this would unlock an incredibly important memory.

  All the flecks of color absorbed into him and he could feel the filtering begin before finishing a second later which meant his skill was ready. Mana Sense had allowed him to see and understand this process which had gained him an understanding of the memories of Zunzutoxsian. Levelling up the passive skill seemed to gain him an even deeper perspective and Gene said he was almost ready to make his first enchantment.

  For now, he had to focus on the fight, and the skill he had just prepared to land. It turned out the new Enemy Transmutation skill scaled in terms of the enemy’s size. He had played around with it to find out what strengths and weaknesses it had, and this was a strength. A locked memory this size would completely negate his skill if it truly only let him do a specific size of an enemy’s body. Instead, it increased the portion relative to the enemy’s size which is why he was able to change one whole foot into non-magical grass by altering the genome of the beast.

  Barely catching itself, the locked memory was thrown off guard and Synexus was able to follow up by cutting the foot off. His katana slicing through the grass like there was nothing there. One weakness his new skill had was the sizable mana investment it was to completely change living tissue into something completely different. It was like his mana was fighting reality itself and he could barely win. One use, however, was enough to change the course of the battle.

  A piercing screech filled the empty city as pain overcame the locked memory. Synexus wouldn’t let this opportunity go by wasted and already had grown the biggest blanket of leech moss onto the back of the monster. He already knew that victory was his, it was just a matter of time now. To quicken the fight, however, he placed his second trap which was a field of explosive liing plants all around the beast. Now whenever it tried to move, nasty explosions would weaken it further.

  Beady eyes filled with rage fixed onto Synexus and it tried to jump at him. This maneuver ended with the locked memory falling onto most of the liing plants and getting blasted by a powerful explosion. Combined with the moss constantly taking its health and mana meant it was enough to finish it.

  An ocean of silver liquid spread from the now dead monster and ethereal light erupted everywhere. Synexus was thrown into a memory.

  Zunzutoxsian stood in a field of sky-blue grass under the light of their two suns. Synexus could see a massive amount of mana gathering in the air and flooding into his ancestor’s body. Once inside, he couldn’t really see where it was going. Zunzutoxsian’s whole body was bright with power to his Mana Sense even when he tried to focus.

  “He is Mana Weaving a skill. That bright light is caused by an outrageous amount of mana being dragged in and then condensed for the soul. His will is starting to filter it with the idea of what the skill needs to do. After, the mana gets condensed and then filtered into the correct balance from his will, it will start to burn pathways into his soul as an imprint of the skill. Once he does that, then he can use the skill at will like any of your skills now.”

  “Doesn’t that hurt, Gene?”

  “I’m not sure. I would imagine it does, but my creator never showed any sign of pain. Perhaps he was always so deep in concentration that the pain never got to his conscious mind.”

  “Fascinating, so what skill is he forming here?”

  “You tell me.”

  Synexus signed. “I’m not great at this yet, but so far I see creation, growth, plant, nature, water, sun/light, and life mana being absorbed.”

  “Not great at this so far? Synexus you just perfectly identified most of the mana he is using. Most people need decades of practice to get to this level alone.”

  “What mana affinities am I missing?”

  “Over there is a small amount of knowledge or intelligence mana and then way over there is the tiniest amount of evolution mana.”

  “Ah okay, I can see those if I focus incredibly hard. Now let’s see, I don’t know what skills he actually possessed except for a couple. With the mixture of mana affinities we see here and how young he still looks I would say it’s one of his plant-based skills. You aren’t here yet, so my best guess would be that this is your creation.”

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  “Very good. I believe you’re right, but we can’t be sure until he’s finished.”

  They watched in silence as Zunzutoxsian got brighter and brighter. Mana poured into him and very little was being ejected. An entire day passed before the mana subsided and the skill was complete. The great Zaxillian opened his eyes and a smile spread across his face. Coming out of the side of his arm was a small sapling.

  “Well, hello there little one. You are my plant companion and will assist me with my research going forward. Right now, you will be stuck living inside my body, but I’m sure we can fix that someday with enough research.”

  The little leaves wiggled as a sign of understanding. Synexus turned to Gene.

  “Do you remember any of this?”

  “No, this was obviously my creation, but sentience takes time to grow even with magic, Synexus.”

  A flash temporarily blinded them as the memory took them forward in time and they now found themselves back in the botanical gardens. Zunzutoxsian stood with the sapling now looking quite a bit bigger with different characteristics.

  “These are all rare plants that our people have cultivated from our planet over the years. My plan is to create skills to improve what is already here to be more beneficial. Magic should be able to change their foundation if my theory on mana is correct. This is why I have been changing your foundation so much lately. I’m trying to understand how changing such a thing could be used to forward our advancement. Imagine a tree that could produce metal or wire we could grow instead of having to make. We could revolutionize the balance between nature and technology little one. Truly, you could be the beginning of a living system of progress.”

  Leaves rustled and then the sapling retreated into the arm it was attached to. Zunzutoxsian continued to walk through the gardens while periodically stopping to touch and research certain plants. Synexus could see his sensors absorbing information which in turn was drawing in mana before mixing and then disappearing into the body which is presumably how his collection skills look.

  “If I’m understanding this memory correctly, he made you as a template for all the DNA altering skills of my class. Right now, he is taking all the genetic information of these plants in to forge a skill allowing him to alter their foundation further.”

  “You are correct, Synexus. My creator understood some genetics, but not enough to mix in magic. These years with me were for understanding the concept further to allow his will to create a pathway for a skill.”

  “Fascinating. Truly fascinating. The sheer amount of research and learning it would take to wrap your head around a concept like this without magic is daunting. He was a true genius.”

  “Indeed. People of his time laughed at him for attempting to create these will pathways to make complex tasks much easier without technology. That laughter was only used as fuel for my creator’s ambitions. This was only the start of it all Synexus.”

  He was about to say something else when a vibration shook the air around him and Zunzutoxsian’s voice came through it.

  “Hello, our counterparts of nature. Tell me what you want to become. What possibilities do you hold? Your secrets interest me deeply.”

  Synexus recognized it as the language of nature. None of the plants seemed to be sentient enough to answer him and the Zaxillian kept researching.

  “How does he know the language of nature?”

  “My creator spent several years travelling the wilds of our home world. He also went off world on quite a few occasions to learn everything he could. Through one of these experiences he had awoken his love for nature and learned the language.”

  After touching nearly every plant in the gardens, Zunzutoxsian resummoned the sapling and started to draw in mana.

  “I’ve decided, little one, that if you’re going to help me with my research then you’ll need to have some skills of your own. Now, you don’t technically have a soul, but a thought occurred to me. If I add will pathways to your foundation, could we create something similar? It would act as an enchantment but also become a part of you like a skill does. Would you like to try?”

  Leaves rustled like a breeze had blown through and then light started to building within the Zaxillian and gradually flowed into the sapling.

  Days passed by with Gene and Synexus watching this unfold. Both were afraid to blink and miss a second of it. Synexus wanted to learn, and Gene was obviously interested in how they truly came to be. People in the memory walked around Zunzutoxsian to tend to the plants in the gardens and most just left him alone although some kids did try and get his attention only to fail. Finally, the light faded, and the sapling had become something new entirely.

  Instead of the light brown with the nature green leaves, the sapling had turned the deepest black with blue circuits running up its stem. The leaves were a bioluminescent green and to Synexus’ Mana Sense he could see mana constantly flowing in and through the pathways. Looking over to Gene, he realized the same thing was constantly happening.

  “There you are little one. I added a few skill enchantments to your foundation. One allows you to collect information simply through drawing in the mana around you. Another is the cause of mana being able to flow into you constantly. I added one to filter the mana like will pathways in the soul. Another allows you to collect the foundations of any living being in your vicinity like I can, so that you can have a look as well before we make any alterations. Finally, the last one allows you to propagate yourself with seeds, so you can collect data in many different locations at once, but you’ll have access to that information under the same one skill which means you will be able to accumulate vast amounts of information quickly. This process has changed your appearance in a way that is quite astonishing.”

  He turned to walk out of the gardens, but right before he got to the door, vibrations in the air stopped him and a small voice spoke.

  “Tha...nk...you...cre…at...or.”

  That was the first thing Gene remembered, and he let Synexus know. Adding the will pathways to their foundation had somehow sparked a sentience in the tree. Watching themselves be created was quite an experience and they knew there was far more to learn.

  Blinding ethereal light overcame their senses once more before the memory threw them forward in time once again.