704 Rebirth II
“This feels different,” Birch remarked, her voice coming from her new body as she erged from the now-open dipod.
She experienced drowsiness and a headache, feeling unusually heavy, as if she needed more rest. Despite the discomfort, she was captivated by the sensations her new body provided.
While she could simulate these experiences in VR, they were never fully accurate due to differences in brain data and insufficient understanding of it.
Now, however, the experience was genuine, and she was engrossed in it, not caring about the drowsiness at all.
She realized she couldn't ignore or dismiss these feelings; her consciousness was fully integrated with this body’s brain, making her as vulnerable and perceptive as any human or Proximian, or so she thought.
anwhile, Cypress, though also adapting to her new body’s sensations, was focused on sothing else. She attempted to unfold her transparent wings, which were currently tucked against her back.
As she extended them, they revealed intricate, glowing golden veins running through them, adding to their ethereal beauty and making them distinct from typical faerie wings.
While Birch and Cypress were engrossed in their new sensations or exploring their wings, Crabapple's focus was more practical. “I can sense the mana inside ,” he said. “With this body, I believe I should be able to use magic even in environnts that aren’t rich in mana.”
Aron, hearing Crabapple's observation, responded with a smile. “Let’s test that then.”
Before anyone could react, the ambient mana in the room began to vanish. Within monts, the room was devoid of mana, as if it had never contained any at all.
Despite the complete absence of ambient mana, the tree folks didn’t experience the suffocating sensation they had anticipated. They felt comfortable and capable of using their magic without any difficulty.
Crabapple and the others began activating their magic cycles. As they drew mana from their bodies, they perford the activation process repeatedly. With each iteration, they grew more accustod to the sensation, and their casting speed increased beyond their initial capabilities. They soon reached a point where their activation speed surpassed their physical capacity to keep up, demonstrating a marked improvent in their ability to use magic even in mana-depleted environnts.
Aron observed their progress with satisfaction, knowing that the data collected from their tests would be invaluable. He allowed them to continue at their own pace, confident that their experintation would provide further insights into the effectiveness of their new bodies.
“How are you feeling?” Aron inquired as they took a break from their magic cycle experints.
“Personally, I feel tired, and I think I need to sleep,” Birch responded.
“I feel tired too, but more than the tiredness I felt when I woke up,” Cypress added.
“Tired as well, but I think it’s because of the lack of external mana,” Crabapple said, noting a sense of weakness as he opened and closed his hand.
“That’s because you’re depleting the mana within your bodies without any external source to replenish it,” Aron explained calmly. “Also, since this is your first ti using these new bodies, the fatigue is more pronounced. With ti and training, you’ll adapt and get used to it.”
He offered reassurance, understanding that transitioning from their ancient, mana-rich forms to these new bodies was a significant adjustnt.
“Does that an this weakness will persist as long as we’re in a mana-less environnt?” Crabapple asked. “It seems like this ability would be quite limited if we’re left weakened after a short use, which would be counterproductive if we need to keep these bodies functional.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Aron said with a reassuring tone. “You don’t need a mana-rich environnt to replenish your mana. Try this,” he added, presenting three bottles filled with a mysterious liquid.
The tree folks drank the liquid, and within seconds, they felt the weakness they had been experiencing start to dissipate.
“Why didn’t I sense any mana in this liquid, and how did it replenish our mana?” Birch asked, surprised at the rapid recovery.
“That’s a nutrient-dense liquid,” Aron explained with a chuckle. “Your bodies are designed to convert any unused nutrients into mana, which helps replenish what’s been lost. It’s a reliable way to restore mana in environnts where ambient mana is scarce. If you’re ever in a pinch, you can also rely on consuming food found in the area to help with replenishnt.”
All the tree folks stared at Aron in surprise, having never encountered or heard of such a system during their extensive information gathering. Their astonishnt grew as they realized the level of sophistication required to achieve that.
Over the next few hours, Aron ticulously continued basic testing of the various aspects of the newly created bodies. He focused on validating every detail on his checklist to ensure the bodies' functionality and effectiveness before moving forward.
By the end of this rigorous basic testing period, Aron had addressed all necessary basic aspects, preparing for the subsequent steps in their developnt process.
“Okay, let’s conclude our basic tests for today,” Aron said. “I need to assimilate the necessary knowledge for your bodies so they can beco fully functional rather than just at bags. Since your bodies aren't fully reinvigorated yet, they’ll use this ti to replenish and complete their calibration. You should be ready by the handover ceremony.”
The tree folks didn’t resist and laid back down as Nova initiated their bodies into deep sleep. They began assimilating the prepared knowledge while their main consciousness returned to focus on the happenings of their new bodies. However, they were initially t with darkness due to the lack of mana.
This darkness lasted only a mont before mana was replenished in the lab, allowing them to see clearly. With the imdiate needs addressed, Aron left the lab to review the data and check on his wife, who had imrsed herself in VR for research following her inspiring conversation with Crabapple.
They could also be said to be waiting with anticipation and eagerness for the handover ceremony because they were eager to reunite with their new bodies, as they had beco sowhat attached to the sensations and capabilities of their newly created forms.
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