Day 249
Isaac's eyes locked onto the wounded Whip tail. All he could see now were its weaknesses. Unlike the others, this one had been difficult—it was both stronger and faster, and it had actually managed to injure him. The stinging new sore on his face was proof that these tails hit hard.
As he braced himself for the next move, the air was suddenly split by a sharp, whip-like crack, echoing with the beast's fierce attack. 'Tails do be whipping,' he hummed.
Isaac realized he needed to finish the fight quickly. Deciding on his strongest option, he chose the nuclear. He inhaled his breath and let it rip; blue flames covered the grass field they were fighting on. And for the second time, Isaac saw fear in the eyes of a monster.
As the blue fire flickered out, the monster fell over. The message of a kill came.
You have defeated a level 21 Whip tail
Twenty-one was a new high, ‘but this also confirmed it.’ Isaac's eyes followed what he had been looking for the last couple of days, what he hadn't given a name yet, but what he knew was an intricate part of ‘Leveling’ and a hidden part of mana. His eye glued on the approaching energy, this time, he would find it.
Congratulations, you are now a Level 6 Arcane Dragon youngling
The message came as Isaac’s Arcane sight, now level 7, following the energy from the kill—
You have leveled Arcane Sight to level 8
—The gain of a new skill level almost made him lose sight of the energy he was seeing. But the level-up did help as well. And in addition, the skill level-up also had the same property as the energy he was gaining from the race level. ‘But the energy from the skill comes from the world? ’
The energy he was discerning was, in fact, the life force of the fallen monster. It was a white energy, flowing straight from the monster into him, and in his Arcane sight, it was barely visible. And from there it went into his soul, he gathered.
The skill was another matter entirely, as more skill level-ups came from the fight—
You have leveled Mana Bite to level 15
You have leveled Arcane Claws to level 18
You have leveled Mana control to level 7
You have leveled Evasion to level 6
You have leveled Arcane Focus to level 6
You have leveled Arcane Dragonfire to level 4
As the skill level came, Isaac noticed that his sight had turned more inwards, into himself, and he was now, in fact, not seeing with his eyes. It was more a sense with his mana, a combination of Mana control and Arcane sight.
And what met his metaphysical eye was surprising. In the center of his physical being and magickal was a mana stone. It wasn't like any of the others; it had a hundred, if not a thousand, different colors inside; it was a mesmerizing sight to behold. And from here, he could see his skills placed and concentrated in different pockets of mana motes, and what he realized was a type of soul energy from the world.
The mana here had meaning, a Name, a Skill Name. All of his skills were here; he now saw. The skills had names, and the names gave them their meaning in some way. Bending the mana motes they were made out of. ‘It was all mana, always had been,’ he snickered to him self a bit, but quickly refocused.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
‘Does that mean I can make skills?’ The revelation shook him, and the world, as a notification flooded this new perception of the world.
He could even see it affect his Mana core.
Congratulations, you have perceived the world of the Arcane and mana alike; no other in the world has. For your achievement in Arcane understanding, you have been given the skill “Mana perception.”
5 levels have been given to you and your skill for this achievement.
The flood of World soul energy and life soul energy was more than anything Isaac had been given before... and he was unsure what sensation it was giving him... but it wasn’t bad, ‘feels like water, but water that goes through me.’ The fact that he could feel it at all also made him note that each level did need way more than the last. How many kills would the last five levels have been?
At that moment, despite the power and the strange satisfaction it brought, a flicker of doubt crossed his mind. It was both a sad reality and a reason for him to hunt more. Isaac wasn't quite sure what he should feel about this.
But he had gathered answers. That was the important note. He opened his real eyes to the world.
He needed to go over his gains and get back home... he hadn’t been home in his cave for... over a month.
Isaac
Arcane Dragon: youngling
Level: 11
Dragon nourishment: 135
Mana nourishment 2nd stage: medium~
Mana pool: 108/ 259
Skills:
Mana Bite level 15
Arcane Claws level 18
Mana control 7
?Arcane sight level 8
?Arcane focus level 6
Evasion level 6
Mana perception level 5
Arcane Dragon Fire level 4
He was gaining levels and unraveling the world day by day... and it hasn’t even been a year. What would he be doing in a hundred... only time would tell.
—-
Day 260
‘Now this is new.’ Isaac thought, he gawked at the new skill in front of him, for the last couple of days, he hadn't been doing much... ‘that would be lying’
He had been testing life soul energy and literally sacrificing monsters; he’d flown out to see if he could ‘make a skill’, but progress was nowhere. The new skill, Mana perception, had shown him that he didn't have any way of interacting with soul energy; he now knew. He, however, was now stocked up on Dragon nourishment to over a hundred.
What he had been testing was a new way to move stone... he would like to be able to move a literal cave wall in front of his lair.
And later be able to form rock as he willed, as he was getting way too big for his small ass cave.
And as he was getting into things, and time dragged on, he was getting tired of all the monsters thinking he was easy prey. As more than once throughout the testing, he would get jumped by something that couldn't get through his scales. The free meals, now turned super annoying, it had pissed him off so much... he had somehow taken over the mana motes over the area... And the following pressure was something even he could perceive.
The pressure had some... tastes that were marked by him, and it tasted of hunt, food, and the urgency of a mana bomb that was about to blow up... the last one he didn't quite understand either. But it was coated with certain death, that was for sure.
But the monsters fled either way, or froze like a statue and peed themselves.
The skill in question had then appeared quite like his evasion skill.
'sassy system,' he thought as he read the notification.
Congratulations, for scaring the living shit out of most creatures in your area, through Dragon aura and kidnapping, then by sacrificing and eating them; You have gained the skill “Dragon Fear”.
Isaac had somehow hit and missed at the same time. But it was a skill. He wouldn't say no to it...
And as Isaac had found out, it was quite easy for him to get food now. As he flexed the new skill, freezing most of a herd of Deer Horns— A new and very populous animal in the valley.
You have defeated a level 2 Deer horn.
You have defeated a level 4 Deer horn.
You have defeated a level 2 Deer horn.
You have defeated a level 3 Deer horn....
You have leveled Dragon Fear to level 2
One of them outright died from the fear-inducing pressure. And the best part, it didn’t use his Mana pool.
It looked like he could control or had a presence in the ambient mana motes, and that was what did it. So far, he had seen no other living being that had this. I guess that’s why it's called Dragon Fear, it’s unique to dragons.
As far as he gathered from the testing of the skill and the result, the skill he wanted to make needed more conviction from his side. That and he might have started on the wrong end, from the skill he actually wanted to make. He probably should just use Mana for, well, what he had been using Mana for. Yet, a question lingered in his mind. What lies beyond mere control? The possibilities seemed endless, and with a newfound determination, Isaac vowed to delve deeper into the mysteries of Mana.
‘I guess it’s time to master the art of Mana control then’.
Isaac shook his head and sighed.
He might have been a bit too hasty in his new discovery. But he had the time...
