I took a deep breath in preparation for using my ditate skill, my gaze already turning toward the only source of mana available.
The ingots.
I knew that what I was about to do was wasteful. It was like destroying a brand new phone for its materials, so far below its value it was borderline disrespectful. I still didn't have a good idea of how much mana each ingot contained in terms of mana points, but if I were betting, I would be betting on single digits.
Low single digits.
"Doesn't really matter," I muttered as I reached the first ingot, heated it up, and started to destroy it thodically. It wasn't the first ti I was trying to extract mana from the ingots, so I was familiar with the process. At first, I destroyed a tiny portion, hoping that it would be enough to trigger the skill.
It was not. The little mana I managed to generate dispersed no matter how much I tried to interact with it. I repeated the process again, doubling the size of the pieces, but I failed every ti. There was not even a response from my ditation skill. It didn't even engage with the mana.
I focused on the remaining half. First, I heated it up more, not just turning it red, but even lting the edge. Then, I raised my hamr, took a deep breath, and demolished it as quickly as I could, turning it into a liquid putty.
Then, I closed my eyes, and engaged my new skill once more. This ti, I felt montary feedback, similar to the instructions I got when I tried to repair sothing. I crossed my legs and took a position, but unfortunately, those instructions disappeared before I could pull so mana.
"Close enough to show viability, but not enough to actually work," I muttered even as I heated up another ingot. The skill required a really strict pose and flow, very different from the ease Maria had displayed while she was gathering mana, but I couldn't compare myself to her when it ca to mana manipulation.
Not when my skill was just at one point.
"Let's try again," I said as I positioned myself perfectly before I destroyed the ingot. The mana radiated freely, and I let the skill run, not bothering to ponder on its impact or process. I just let the skill do its job. Most of the mana still dispersed, but I didn't care about it, not when a small part of it stuck around , grabbed by the skill.
The mana slowly circled around before it started to approach closer. It took more than a minute, but I was fascinated with the process. The tendrils of mana circulated around , getting closer and closer as if they were planets orbiting the sun.
Then, they touched my skin. From there, they disappeared with a soft tingle, replaced by a notification.
[ 1 Mana]
I tried to understand the process. I tried to touch the reservoir of mana in , but it failed utterly. Not a surprise. I had Health for three years, and I could barely channel it, and I needed to injure myself beforehand to trigger the flow.
"Now, let's see if I can use it," I said as I raised my work hamr, and used my Mana Manipulation perk. A glow appeared on my hamr as I felt a tingling sensation travel through my hand.
[-1 Mana]
I tried to absorb it back … but it just dispersed. All my effort had just evaporated in one blow, but I didn't let that bother . Ultimately, it was just another experint. One that was more expensive than I would have liked, but an experint nonetheless.
I destroyed another ingot, once again letting the skill catch so of the mana while the rest dispersed. This ti, I paid more attention to the movent of the skill, feeling a sense of rotation inside , similar to how I felt whenever I used to inspect.
The mana pulled toward . It was a slow, painstaking process, too complicated to understand with just one attempt. I let the mana seep into my skin once more.
On the next attempt, I tried to interrupt halfway. It worked to give a better understanding of the process, but the mana that was under my control had dissipated before I could absorb it. A waste, but considering I wouldn't have been able to do anything with a few points, not exactly a big one.
I thought about using the last five ingots, but I decided against it. Every ingot represented a chance to improve my Mana Forge skill, which was more important than another ineffectual experint. I had already understood the basics, and while I wanted to experint more, I needed hundreds, maybe thousands more repeats. One more repeat wouldn't help.
I just needed to decide what to do with the sole point of Mana I had. "I wonder if I can release it by reversing the ditation technique," I said to myself. It seed like a reasonable risk. I closed my eyes, trying to visualize the sa effect, wanting to see if I could control it like my other skills.
Unfortunately, I failed to engage the skill. Helpless, I destroyed another ingot, the presence of mana allowing to trigger the skill. I tried to replicate the sa effect, but pushing the mana instead of pulling. An operation that was much harder than the summarized description would have suggested.
But, I did it —
[-1 Mana]
[ditation (Common) - 1 - 8]
Any other ti, I would be very happy to see seven points of jump in my new skill. But, right now, I had other priorities. Like, the worst pain I ever felt hitting hard, like soone had been ripping my insides. I pushed my Health into overdrive in panic, trying to fix whatever I had ruined even as I vomited blood, dazed and shivering.
The discomfort lasted for minutes while I laid on the ground, sohow managing not to shout, but it was a close call. I kept my voice suppressed, and only because I could feel that whatever damage that was done had recovered.
[-582 Health]
"Well, that was a way to improve," I muttered as I stood up, realizing just how close I had pushed myself to death. It seed that I had beco arrogant in my recent chain of successes. It was a close call. I had lost almost two-thirds of my Health in one mistake, and that was with all my leveling up.
I didn't even want to imagine what such a botched attempt would do to a mage. Most of them didn't have Double Vitality to absorb the damage of accidental self-harm. And, that was only one point of mana.
Even though I had improved my skills far more than I had been expecting, I wasn't entirely happy. The pain had been horrible, and the damage had been devastating. I stood up to go to the small attached pantry, cooking a large piece of monster steak. It would slowly recover my lost Health, but it would take a while.
So, before eating it, I took one of the ergency concentrated potions designed to replenish Health, filling it completely. Luckily, a workshop was a dangerous place with a lot of fire and sharp objects, so keeping a stock of health potions was always a smart idea.
A chain of notifications appeared, showing the slow recovery. Even with the potion, it wasn't exactly an instantaneous process.
[ 1 Health] … [ 1 Health]
At the sa ti, I grabbed a second one, preparing myself for another attempt. Painful and risky as it might be, the ability to rapidly increase my ditation skill was too valuable. Not only did I need to support my two skills, but I also needed to discover its secrets as fast as possible.
I wanted to see if I could improve it to a higher grade before reaching level fifty, and see if I could get a new class. The risk was acceptable, especially since this ti I had brought a second potion, ready to assist.
First, I destroyed another ingot, using ditation to absorb it. The initial pattern stayed the sa. So kind of illusory orb inside , spinning while it captured a point of mana into its orbit, slowly dragging it close. However, the higher skill level allowed to absorb mana faster.
[ 1 Mana]
I crossed my legs, taking a deep breath to prepare myself for the torture … and reversed the flow.
[-1 Mana]
[ditation (Common) - 8 - 11]
[Perk Options — Efficient Absorption / Controlled Flow]
As much as I would have loved to ponder on the new stats, I was too busy vomiting blood as I trembled. For ten more minutes, I lay down, trying to catch my breath as Health did its job.
[-519 Health]
"The damage wasn't as bad," I muttered as I forced myself to accept the pain. It was a good sign. Maybe, soday, I could repeat it without almost killing myself.
I drank the potion as I stood up. I pondered on which perk to choose, but after a while, I settled on Controlled Flow. Once again, if it turned useless, I could just use a Perk Reset stone. Then, I destroyed one last ingot, absorbing the mana. There was a slight increase in absorption speed, but not enough to be about a new perk.
Then, I used my mana attack trick, and noticed the gathered mana was easier to control. "Excellent," I muttered. Control was a much better perk than faster absorption for ; both as a blacksmith and as a scientist.
And, if it made my reversal trick less suicidal, even better.
I wanted to go and sleep. Depleting my Health twice left even more exhausted than I had ever been, and the ntal load of a close call with death wasn't any easier to swallow. Yet, before going to bed, I cleaned the forge twice, making sure I got rid of all of the evidence.
No need to ruin everything due to a bout of carelessness.
My bed looked even more inviting than I had rembered. I threw myself to its depths. The darkness claid before I could hit the bed.
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