True to her words, Healer Priscilla returned to my room with the [Rank Stone] very quickly.
I had finished drinking the cup of water in the meantime, and the grogginess of sleep had mostly left. I still felt weak - sore muscles and joints and a splitting headache. Even though I was not looking forward to the result to be displayed by the [Rank Stone], I was hopeful that the information would provide a solution for whatever happened when I hit my head.
Mana exhaustion didn't make sense - I had never cast a spell in my life, and my equipment was all mundane and unenchanted. Using my own mana was a path that had never been open to me.
"Welcome back," I offered, trying not to show my trepidation.
"Thank you, Tor." Her no-nonsense attitude had returned. I couldn't help but think I liked the flustered her from before much more than the serious side she had.
"Here is the [Stone]. You know how it works, yes?" Ah, sarcasm. It's not like I was a career adventurer or anything.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's see if it spits out any useful information," I grumbled, accepting the artifact.
The [Rank Stone] was a smooth sphere about the size of person's head - it fit comfortably cradled in both of my hands. The surface was glossy and polished with a soft shine, the color a mottled grey and brown like any common rock if it were not for its shape and polished appearance. As it sat in my hands, the [Stone] warmed, and a pale glow shone from within, the defined solid becoming translucent. The color of the glow varied on the person, depending on age, class, and temperament.
For me, the last time I had used the [Stone] it had glowed a medium blue color.
This time was the same, mostly. Instead of a singular hue, there were parts of the light that shone green, and parts that shone violet. Multiple colors was not unheard of, but it was not something I had expected from my own reading.
"The, uh... color's changed?" I voiced my concern to Priscilla, who brought out her wand and started waving it over me again, weaving a pattern in the air between me and where I held the stone.
"The [Stone] is working normally - this might be a symptom of you mana exhaustion," she mused. After a few minutes of repeating the diagnostic, she tucked the wand away and made a few notes on my medical chart. "Please proceed."
Taking a calming deep breath, I invoked the one spell I ever performed.
"[Display Status]!"
The glow from the [Rank Stone] condensed, then fanned outwards, and projected the basic status and level information of the holder into the air above it, as well as any recent changes.
----
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Name: Tor
Race: Human
Class: Fighter
Level: 30 / ?? → 30 / ??
Health: 2250 / 2500
Mana: - 300 / 20 → [Mana Deficiency; Medium]
---
Race: ???????
Class: ???????
Level: 1 / ?? → 5 / ??
Mana: 320 / ?????
????: ????? / ?????
[????? ???? ??????????]
----
----
Both Priscilla and I stared at the information, stunned.
"But that doesn't make any sense?!" I'm not sure if it was myself or Priscilla that made the exclamation. It was certainly true - the reading was bizarre.
The first part made sense, though for some reason my mana had gone into the negatives - I didn't know that was something that could happen. It was odd that I was still at [Level 30] after a year since I had last checked, but considering I mostly undertook fetch and gathering quests it wasn't an impossibility. It was the second half of the display that was an anomaly.
Somehow, I had begun a new class tree... which had a new race attached to it?
...I had to resist the urge to pat myself down and make sure I hadn't suddenly grown a tail or something. Nothing against the other races, but I was content as myself - I had no desire to be transformed into something else.
The only value I could read in the second part was the mana value. And it corresponded neatly to the missing mana that was giving me mana exhaustion.
"I'm not sure what's going on here... but you should be fine if I give you a mana restorative to bring back your primary values... Here." She carefully lifted the [Rank Stone] from my hands and set it aside, replacing it with a potion vial from the medical cart. Immediately, the light of the displayed status began to dim. It would typically linger for a few minutes unless deliberately cancelled. "Small sips at first - we'll see if it helps before committing to a larger dose."
"Right," I nodded, before following her instructions.
I wasn't a mage, and this was my first time with mana exhaustion - I had never drunk a mana potion before. Health potions were red or green depending on the grade and if they were to be ingested or poured over wounds - as a Fighter I had bought and used my fair share of them. They tended to taste extremely herbal, and had a pronounced warming effect.
The mana potion was the opposite - a cool blue in color, it tasted slightly metallic and felt cold, like ice-water melted in a steel pan. I shivered.
"Hmmm..."
Priscilla's thoughtful noise made me look up from the vial to where she was examining the fading display.
----
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Mana: -250 / 20
----
Mana: 345 / ?????
----
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"The potion is replenishing both values - that rules out the second Class as a glitch..."
"Is that a bad thing," I couldn't help but ask.
"No, I don't think so. I'll need to consult someone more specialized in mana about it - but your mana deficiency seems to be fixable for the most part by simply topping your supply back up. Based on these values... Drink the whole vial, and see how you feel - slowly, mind. Oversaturating your mana after being deficient can have its own problems."
"I can do that," I affirmed.
"We'll check with the [Stone] again afterwards to make sure the 'Exhaustion' status is removed. If so, we may be able to check you out this evening."
"Awesome. As much as I like your company, Priscilla, I'd much prefer to spend the night at home than in the infirmary."
She flushed slightly.
----
In the end, my mana deficiency was fixed. It took three mana potions, and I was due back for a check-up in three days to make sure I didn't regress.