“What am I missing?” he wondered out loud as he began pacing back and forth, arms crossed, hand under his chin. It’d already been a couple of hours, and he had made a grand total of zero progress.
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The problem was that he had no idea what he was looking for, or how he was supposed to look for it. It could be right in front of him and he wouldn’t know, he just assumed he’d know it when he saw it, but he was very slowly losing confidence in that sentiment the longer time dragged on.
He tried remembering his conversation with Sal when he had asked him about mana. Sal’s answer was that it’s like the blood in his veins. It was such a minor response with barely anything to it that it had gone right over his head. But what if there was more to it?
He knew he had mana, he could see his health and mana bars along with a third yellow bar, which he assumed was stamina, in the top left of his vision. All three were at 100%, which meant it was right there, he just didn’t have access to it. He sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes and tried to sense these 'veins'. No normal person could do that, but he needed to stop thinking like a normal person.
First thing he did was shut off all his senses, which was a stupid thing to do in a dungeon, but he was dead anyway if he couldn’t use mana. Besides, he hadn’t really seen anything since he entered.
People always tried to connect with a deeper part of themselves through meditation, so he attempted the same process. He dove deep within himself, entering a trance. He focused on his heartbeat, visualizing how it pumped blood to the rest of his body. How the blood flowed through his veins, passing through his injured arm, to his fingertips. He imagined it going to his legs, his toes, how it traveled from organ to organ, limb to limb.
He followed the blood through its journey, slowly mapping out his entire body, sensing things he never knew existed, like his forearm pulling more blood as his injury slowly healed, or like the slightly constricted blood flow to his legs from the awkward sitting position. He could sense all of it, visualization slowly becoming realization, and then… he sensed it. A Connection.
Something was connected to his physical body. It was minor, but he could feel it around his heart, hidden by all the noise and rapid movement, a small thread, going deeper, connecting his body to something else.
He followed the thread, crossing it as he would a bridge. It took him deeper into himself, a part he never knew existed, and finally, his eyes fell on it.
His soul.
People have long theorized the existence of the soul, but it was one of those things that was impossible to prove with the kind of technology they had access to. The immaterial was always a point of contention, and for good reason. Seeing it for himself though, Matt couldn’t help but stare in wonder and amazement.
It looked like a silhouette in a sea of dark, only its outline visible, the rest just melded together, becoming one with itself and its surroundings. It was an incredible thing to see, yet it also felt… lifeless… hollow… incomplete. Like a body with no blood running through its veins. Just as unnatural, and just as saddening to see.
He tried going deeper, which was all it took for him to be transported inside.
It was a vast emptiness, like the unending emptiness of space, with nothing to see, nothing to hear, nothing to feel. The only visible object in the sea of darkness was a giant orb far above in the distance, its dim blue light unable to penetrate the blanket of nothingness, or fill the emptiness.
He raised a hand to it, trying to get a better sense of what it was. It was part of his soul after all, so he should be able to, right?
He could indeed feel it. Sense it. Sense the mana. His mana, but it was blocked, surrounded by an ethereal wall from all sides, boxing the orb in place.
It was obvious what his objective was, take down the walls surrounding the orb and that should free his mana, the question was, how?
First, he tried the obvious things, willing it to open, to disappear, prying it open, he even envisioned a hammer and went ham on it for a while, trying to chip or crack it, but nothing seemed to work. He couldn’t connect to it, he couldn’t sense it, and he couldn’t chip at it. It clearly wasn’t a part of him, yet there it was, in his soul, blocking his mana.
He kept trying for what felt like hours, but it never budged. It was disheartening, but he didn’t let it get to him. He was merely a step away. All the mana he would need, so close, yet so far.
“Fuck, this thing is impossible.” He wasn’t losing heart, but he was definitely getting frustrated. He had tried everything he could think of.
A squadron of F-16s? Done.
A battalion of Abrams tanks? Also done.
He even summoned a battalion of Gustavs to bombard it to kingdom come, yet still nothing. Short of nuking the damn thing, he didn’t know what else to do.
He sighed, taking a step back while revisiting his approach. Maybe he didn’t need to destroy it, just create a gap, a weakness in the structure, and let the flood of mana do the destruction for him?
With that in mind, he summoned 6 chains that attached to each of the cube’s 6 sides. The chains looked ethereal and slightly faded, unlike everything else he had summoned so far, but he didn’t question it, he barely even noticed it. “If this doesn’t work, then it’s nuke-o-clock,” he threatened, yet he wasn’t all that confident. He doubted brute force was the answer, but for someone who knew nothing about the system and its mechanics, brute force was the only thing that came to mind.
With a mental command, the chains started pulling, not at full power, just testing the waters. The walls wouldn’t budge, as if nothing was even happening. Matt made the chains pull harder, and then harder, yet still nothing. He was getting frustrated, worried that he was doing this all wrong, that he was just wasting time. However, when he looked at the chains, they didn’t look strained whatsoever, as if he was the one holding them back, not letting them exert more force, more power.
Is it because they are ethereal? He wondered. It would make sense, there shouldn’t be any physical strain if they weren’t physical to begin with.
He gritted his teeth and channeled his will, yelling at the top of his lungs, letting his will be known, to pull this damn cube apart, “MOOOOOVVVEE!”
The chains pulled harder, but there was still no movement. The strain was now falling on him, his mind, his body, even his will. It wasn’t resistance as much as him reaching the limit of what he could do, yet he refused to fail, refused to give up, he could do it, “Just…need…to pull…harder”, he muttered through gritted teeth, through clenched fists, his nails digging into his palms, every muscle in his body struggling with the grueling task.
And just then… a small gap.
Blue light started to escape as Matt’s eyes widened. It’s working! He thought as he tried to widen the gap, pry it open, as he sent in another chain to wrap around that side, and pull. He could finally sense it, he was there, and he just needed one final push.
With a mental command, the chains pulled with renewed vigor, only for the wall, all of a sudden, to break apart, crumbling to dust, as blue light exploded like water from the now freed orb.
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It was gushing like a broken faucet, filling Matt’s soul to the brim. Every inch of the dark dull silhouette was now bright blue. He fell to his knees as he felt his soul struggling to contain the influx of mana. It was as if it was being pressured and crushed at the same time, about to implode and explode, in a feeling that left him gasping for air.
Matt couldn’t scream, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. His soul was about to burst like an over-inflated balloon, and he couldn’t do anything about it. He kept trying to push mana out of his body, and it was working, but not fast enough. The mana pouring out of the orb was endless. It was like trying to empty a pool with a bucket.
Why did he have all this mana? He was only level 4, did he break something he shouldn’t have? Questions came and went as thoughts raced through his mind. Blood was coming out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth, and soon enough, a brilliant blue joined it, as Matt was struggling more and more to form coherent thoughts.
He grabbed the Scepter of Life with both hands, tightening his grip around it, and channeled as much mana as he could through it. It was like a waterfall coming out of his palms and into the scepter. It helped a little, the crushing pressure alleviating, so he kept channeling mana through it, charging its orb attack. He could feel the pressure lessening, his mental faculties slowly returning to working order, and his vision coming back to him. He finally looked at the scepter in his hand, and the mana he was channeling into it.
“Oh shi-”
*BOOOOOOM*
“-slowly filling your soul-”
Danielle was in her office with the private instructor assigned to her by the city leadership as he was in the midst of explaining the evolution requirements to Tier 8.
Upon arriving on planet Kegnoria, her family was provided with their own permanent residence, for the tutorial and thereafter. She wasn’t privy to all the behind-closed-doors discussions, but she realized immediately that her family was held in high regard. Whether it was her father’s doing or someone else’s, she wasn’t aware, but it was safe to say that the resources at their disposal knew no bounds with only the system keeping them in check.
In their new mansion, she was the first to pick an office. Her father preferred the proximity of having an office next to his bedroom, which was easily accommodated, leaving her with the pick of the litter. She settled on the main office room on the ground floor. It was a spacious room, with a large polished mahogany desk and comfortable leather office chair. They have clearly done their research, filling the mansion with quality Earth-made objects to make them feel more at home. Appreciated if unnecessary. She would’ve preferred to experience what this planet had to offer, but it’s the thought that counts.
Along with her desk, there was a seating area made of two large sofas and four large armchairs capable of hosting up to ten people at a time, as well as local and Earth-made art on the office walls. One of the local pieces depicted a large-scale battle between dragon-like creatures and humans. The usage of dark colors to display emotions, and the smooth brush strokes were impeccable. It was a mesmerizing piece, one she had found herself lost in its beauty more than a few times, even now.
She tore her eyes away from the painting, although she did make a note to ask about the artist. Maybe she could buy a few more of his pieces to take back to Earth.
Looking back at the office, the entire room gave off 18th century impressions, which was fitting considering that was the era the planet seemed to be at. Apparently, innovation was no longer required when magic solved most problems. Who wanted phones or computers that were limited by the infrastructure when you could use communication crystals? Who needed cars when you could simply outrun them? From their perspective, it made sense to rely on magic instead of technology. She, on the other hand, preferred the comfort and luxury of traveling in a car. It was one of the comforts of life, so why not make use of it?
She shifted her gaze to the window. The main reason she had chosen this office was the floor to ceiling dome-like window with its gorgeous view of the outside gardens. It was breathtaking, filled with countless plants and flowers she’d never seen before.
“-mana from the core while maintaining-”
She was still apprehensive about taking a walk through the garden and touching the unknown plants, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate their beauty from a distance. They danced with the wind like a sea of colors, captivating with their uniqueness, soothing with their beauty.
The instructor was still explaining, but she had already read all the available knowledge about tiering up and evolutions, up to Tier 6. Being an Ashfield afforded her a lot of perks after all. Rava, her instructor, however, wasn’t convinced that she had the necessary knowledge, which was why she was stuck doing this instead of… any other thing.
“-can handle, you stop immediately-”
A person with 50 stats at level 0 was considered a talent. With 36 being the average, it was estimated that around 8 - 10% of people from Earth had 50 stats on being initiated, which meant 8 - 10% were considered talented. If you also happened to have 10 starting points in a stat, and in the process that stat’s unique title, you were considered a genius.
Having 10 starting points in a stat was incredibly rare, with their estimates putting the number among the entire population of Earth in the double digits. The reason was that to have 10 points, you would’ve had to have trained that stat or something connected to it for most of your life, and not many had the commitment, dedication and resources to accomplish such a feat. That, however, didn’t apply to her. She had all three, along with the talent to back it up, which was how she had found herself with 50 stat points at level 0, of which 10 were in intelligence, earning her the title [Supreme Intellect].
Supreme Intellect
Have the highest possible starting amount in intelligence as a human (10).
+4 intelligence
+10% intelligence
It wasn’t all that surprising, but it was always nice to have an all-knowing system confirm that you were indeed a genius. It also caused the Kanaz empire to pay more attention to her, investing more resources, and babying her every step of the way to make sure her foundations were as close to perfect as could be.
Her high Intelligence wasn’t unexpected, she had always been… intelligent, for lack of a better word, and had always been provided with the best resources money could buy thanks to her family’s wealth and connections. All that was asked of her was to put the work in, which was to be expected. But if she was completely honest, she would’ve probably been afforded the same treatment and resources even if she didn’t have 10 in Intelligence, she was an Ashfield after all.
Still, it felt nice to be recognized as a genius.
“Did I lose you again, Miss Danielle?” Rava asked in a stern voice.
“You had my attention, Adept Rava,” Danielle responded, trying not to lie to the older man. He meant well, and he did have some of her attention.
“Had, huh? So I did lose you,” Rava commented, not falling for her wordplay.
“Yes,” she answered honestly. Rava was both knowledgeable and smart, tricking him was no simple task, something she had learned very early on.
“Alright then, hopefully you were paying enough attention to remind me of what I was explaining,” Rava responded admonishingly, crossing his arms.
“Of course,” she answered confidently. “Last night we established how to link one’s mana core to their mana pathways and how it was a prerequisite in order to advance to Tier 9.”
“Today we built on that by discussing how to open paths through the mana barrier to increase mana flow and expand the mana pathways while also being careful not to let too much mana through as that could be detrimental to one’s soul. Also that a person needed to expand their mana pathways to at least 5 times their normal size to be able to advance to Tier 8,” Danielle finished.
Rava nodded in acknowledgement, seemingly already expecting her perfect answer, it wasn’t the first time this had happened, and Rava was a fair man, he wouldn’t reprimand her as long as she knew what he wanted her to know.
“Very well, any questions so far?” He asked.
“Yes, one,” Danielle responded, surprising Rava, who raised an eyebrow at her. “What happens if someone breaks the mana barrier?” She asked.
Rava stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a chuckle. “You can’t break the mana barrier, you can go at it for decades and not even leave a dent,” he answered, the answer slightly disappointing Danielle.
“But let’s imagine a scenario where it does happen,” Rava added, prompting Danielle to perk up once more. “The simple answer is that your soul will be filled with more mana than it knows what to do with, inflating while also simultaneously being pressured by the mana, turning it into a mana bomb.”
He gave her a second to process the information before continuing, “Of course you could expend that mana to alleviate the pressure on your soul, the human soul is extremely resilient and it would be able to regulate the mana flooding from the core on its own, given enough time, but even if you could channel that much mana for that long, there would still be significant soul damage. An unattuned soul and newly unlocked mana pathways are simply far too weak to handle that much mana that early on. Best outcome would be for you to come out with a cracked soul and permanently damaged mana pathways,” he gave Danielle a very serious look before saying the next part, “worst case, complete mana rejection, even the ambient mana in the air would be like toxic fumes. A fate truly worse than death”
Danielle shuddered at the thought. She was hoping that with her Intelligence and the resources at her disposal, she could find a way to eke out more early advantages, especially with the system limiting the help and resources she could get. Better mana control and a larger mana pool was one avenue she was exploring, but after hearing her instructor’s explanation and very serious warning… only an idiot would attempt something like that, she thought to herself.
