It was like he was fighting off some kind of fever. It made sense; he found himself intruded upon by some external force, something that his body wasn't quite able to understand right now. A bit of a fever wasn't the most unrealistic thing to happen. Mana allergies, while rare, weren't unheard of in Lumia either, and they were likely to be much more common here on earth. Not that Ashton had one of those, he was just straining himself a bit too much.
For good reason, though. If he couldn't manage to learn how to cast a proper spell in this moment, then there was little to no hope left for him to learn it within the remaining time of the second main quest.
But he couldn't afford to just spend all day trying this, either, because then he will waste precious time trying to level up and increasing his skill and contract levels. The quests of the other two constellations weren't something that he could ignore, either.
Still, no matter what he was trying, nothing seemed to work. Ashton kept failing, again and again. By now, he was able to manipulate mana outside of his body well enough, but he still couldn't figure out that 'state change' thing. There had to be something that he was missing, just a small detail that he wasn't understanding.
Well, he basically knew that for a fact. After pushing the cracks in his soul shut for a time with the potion he took earlier, it was obvious that there was a 'hole'. Something about his memories that was missing completely. Quite a lot actually, but specifically in regard to casting spells, there was something at the centre of the concept that was missing in his mind; the pillar holding up the bridge.
But he could feel that he was getting closer to it. Step by step, he was filling the hole created by the pillar... just that it would keep collapsing in on itself when he got too far. It was like his mind was still actively fighting him to stop him from figuring it out.
'Stop it already, you coward!' he thought to himself, screaming at his own soul. 'The Summoner isn't around anymore! There's no reason to hold back anymore!'
Something shifted.
It wasn't by much, but Ashton could feel it. There was a shift in that pillar, the void in his mind and soul.
With a long, deep breath, he pushed through that shift. It felt like forcing himself through a gap that he was much too small for, but he had done more impossible things than that.
As if he were tearing it open to see what was hidden beyond it, Ashton could feel a rip. His mind and body felt weak, and that sudden, sinking feeling of falling came over him.
Ashton flinched and his eyes opened. The sun was about to come up. But finally, he felt it. That last bit of... something. It felt obvious, and frankly like a concept that he should have realised much earlier, but what was missing from Ashton's mana right now was his 'intent'.
His eyes focused on a small circle floating in the air. Just a single, round line, that was all. But it was actually visible, floating there in front of him. Ashton had done it! Finally!
Before now, when he manipulated the patterns of mana, he did so with almost clinical precision, leaving himself completely out of the process. Whether it was him or someone else with the same level of skill as him, the mana would look the same in the end no matter who shifted the mana's pattern.
However, if you placed your intent into the mana, that changed considerably, and your mana became inextricably linked with yourself, at least for a few moments. Of course, what he was missing most of all was how to actually do that, but the moment he came to this realisation, it was easier to do than he would have thought beforehand. He had done something similar with his combat techniques in Lumia, but instead of infusing his mana with intent, he infused his mana with something more subconscious than that. It was more like his instinct than anything else.
But using one's intent essentially meant fusing one's mana with their mind, thought, and conscious will. One's knowledge and ideas were placed directly into the mana, making it a perfect representation of oneself.
There usually would have been another step before this, though, which was to cleanse the mana within your body. The purer it was, the easier it was to infuse your intent. But since the mana in the air was already so pure, he could skip that step for now.
Ashton held his hand forward. Threads of mana left his fingertips, wrapping themselves around the circle that he had already constructed in the air. Like weaving a net, they folded over one another and pulled on the other strings. Ashton was taking his time with this one. It was still pretty awkward to manipulate this. Not because it was hard, no, because it was so easy to do.
Ashton had never felt so connected to his own mana before than in this very moment. The slightest thought made the mana move rapidly, far overshooting what he was used to when mana followed his intent so sluggishly. But now, this mana and his intent were essentially the same thing.
Before long, the magic circle was constructed. It was a simple spell. Non-elemental, too.
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The moment that Ashton activated it, the magic circle folded in on itself, like it was collapsing. It all came to a single point, and when it did, the mana exploded outward as the 'Force' spell was activated.
It was an instantaneous moment of particular force. Since Ashton didn't direct it toward anything, it just exploded outward equally.
The moment it did, a message appeared in front of his eyes.
[You have completed the [Bonus Quest - The Observer's Trial]!]
[You have earned the right to form a Lowest-Grade summoner's contract with the [Observer in the Veil]]
[[Observer in the Veil] congratulates you on your achievement]
[[Observer in the Veil] is gleeful that you have completed their quest first]
[[Daughter of the Scarlet Heart] taps their finger on their book and groans]
[[Executor of the End] tells you to hurry up and complete their own quest]
Ashton grinned broadly as he stared at the message. He actually did it! He cast a spell! Fucking, finally!
But there was something else that followed that Ashton didn't expect to happen yet. He didn't expect this skill to be the first to reach level 10, but he wasn't exactly complaining.
[Skill | Aether Sensitivity - Level 9 -> Aether Sensitivity - Level 10]
[The [Aether Sensitivity] Skill has reached Level 10 and can now be refined]
[Notice: Until a skill has been refined, it is not possible for it to collect further experience]
He didn't even have to hesitate. Immediately, he pressed on the message, and another window popped up in front of him.
[Skill Refinement | Aether Sensitivity]
[Internal Sensitivity]
[Long-Distance Sensitivity]
[Overall Sensitivity]
[Precision Sensitivity]
Ashton made sure to take his time thinking, selecting each option to see its precise description.
[Internal Sensitivity]
[Increased boost to mana within the body, but decreased boost to mana outside of the body]
-
[Long-Distance Sensitivity]
[Specifically boosts the distance at which you can effectively sense mana, while decreasing the overall boost to mana sensitivity]
-
[Overall Sensitivity]
[A weak, all-round boost to mana sensitivity]
-
[Precision Sensitivity]
[Increased boost when closely inspecting a small area of mana, but decreased boost when observing a larger area]
Now, he had a massive choice to make. Well, not directly with this. The one area where he was unlikely to specialise was in the summoning skill itself, but for his other skills, that was another matter. Being an all-rounder was fine, but in a few areas, it was also a great idea to specialise. So, the first real decision he had to make was whether or not he would try to spread the boosts so that he could grow equally in everything he was doing, or if he wanted to use this opportunity to become better at more specific matters.
Well, the moment he thought about it a little bit longer, the choice was pretty clear.
[You have selected to refine the precision of your Aether Perception]
[Skill | Aether Sensitivity - Level 10 -> Precision Aether Sensitivity - Level 10]
[Skill - Precision Aether Sensitivity] [Level - 10]
[Description - A Summoner's senses need to be as sharp as possible to catch all matters of magics, mystics, and aether. Gives a basic 10% bonus to Aether Perception, but a 30% bonus to precise Aether Perception]
"Perfect." Ashton could feel the intensity of the mana around him go down noticeably within just a moment. However, the moment that he focused more specifically on any one thing, it was like a lightbulb turned on in front of his eyes, and the object practically began glowing with mana.
A 30 percent boost definitely wasn't anything to scoff at, so he was more than happy. This would definitely help with the creation of potions and other items in the future.
Boosting his internal perception was only really useful if Ashton were trying to get back to his fighter roots. He was going to fight, but that definitely wasn't his focus.
A long-distance boost was great if Ashton were trying to command his summons over a distance, but right now they could only really stay within his channelling range anyway. Otherwise it was great for reconnaissance, but he felt it was more efficient to just summon a being that was specialised in recon in the future, and focus on the precision sensitivity right now.
With that, Ashton slowly got up. He felt pretty damn good right now, but there was something else he had to do. The wisp's summoning time had run out while Ashton was meditating. He only really needed the elemental for the start, so that was fine, but he needed it back right now. So, he resummoned it with some of the last leftovers that he was saving. He would have to cook again later.
The elemental appeared in front of Ashton, and he patted it softly. "Thanks for your help. I've finally got something that should make you pretty happy."
The wisp lit up for a moment, and Ashton held his hand forward again. He constructed the magic circle from just now again, just instead of doing so in the air, he did it within the wisp's body.
When he was done, it was clear that the lesser wisp was more than just happy, rushing through the air around Ashton while fully lit up.
"Come, now, let's give it a try." Ashton suggested. He tried to find a good spot, and soon headed toward an empty wall. He grabbed two similarly-sized rocks off the ground, and then channelled the wisp through his hand. Ashton threw one of the rocks into the air, and the wisp shot right into it.
The rock was thrown toward the wall, shattering into a few pieces when it impacted. This was what would normally happen.
And now, Ashton threw the second rock into the air, and had the wisp slam into it again, but this time, he activated the 'force' spell that was now inscribed into the elemental's body.
The rock was shot forward as if it was thrown by a pro baseball player, exploding into a cloud of dust when it hit the wall.
"Yes!" Ashton grinned broadly. It seemed like the rock was intact both times immediately after the wisp hit it. The actual force of the impact, despite the name of the spell, stayed roughly the same.
The only difference was how much momentum was placed into the rock afterward. Of course, that caused a ton more damage to this object specifically in the end, but that wasn't what Ashton was aiming for.
With this, he could destroy the balance of enemies, propel himself forward, or easily deflect even large projectiles.
Simply put? It vastly increased Ashton's options in a fight.