"UAAAAAAH!" Gerald roared at the top of his lungs and held his head. He was currently experiencing a surge of emotions such as rage, anger, fear, confusion, bloodlust, desperation…
They all mixed together, forming an unstable state of mind.
But that was not all. Above all, he was feeling full, he was feeling like his body was too small, as if his skin was too tight for him.
It was like an adult wearing clothes for children.
"What the hell is going on?!" he roared.
He was sweating profusely and with each breath taken, he felt this feeling increasing. When it first started he lost control and fell from the sky. Luckily his defensive spells were active until he decided to turn them off or the Mana was completely exhausted. That's why, apart from a few scratches, he was still mostly unharmed.
But now the surging emotions were too much even for him, and his eyes rolled back and he fell in a coma.
Many hours, maybe even days, passed, when he finally woke up. He was feeling a splitting headache, but other than that, he was mostly fine.
"So thirsty...and hungry..." Waking up he felt weakness spread through his body. So he opened his pouch and took out a pot with Warg broth and drank it with big gulps.
It was incredibly saturating and satisfying, bringing back the strength to his body.
"Gah!" He exhaled in satisfaction, "So good!"
Guessing that he would find himself in a situation like this, he prepared plentiful food and drinks in his Space Pouch in advance, as time didn't pass there and nothing would spoil. It was a great tool for traveling.
Resting for a few more hours cured his headache and he could focus once again.
After examining his body, he found out that the bump on his chest grew bigger and the thing inside broke through his skin.
It appeared similar to smooth black glass or some polished metal. Anyway, it was extremely hard and Gerald was incapable of damaging it.
"Wait… This looks like…like..." His mind unknowingly brought back the memory of when he first came into contact with magic. The dark stone. The Etherium Crystal. The Black Onyx!
"Did I start growing my own Ether Crystal?! But I thought humans couldn't do it!"
The possibility of his guess being the truth shocked him, to say the least. Every book he read and every conversation he had on this topic with experienced magic researchers confirmed it.
Humans were incapable of forming an Ether Crystal!
But what if it was all a misunderstanding? What if humans were just so weak in comparison to other beings that they thought they were an exception? It might sound ridiculous, but it could possibly be true.
As far as Gerald knew, he was the only human that safely rose his Mana above 100MP!
Their blood contained most of the Ether, so there was no need to form crystallized storage. The explanation didn't cover everything, but it was a start.
"Hmm, I wonder if..." Gerald closed his eyes and started to meditate. Quickly his lips turned into a smile and soon after, he formed a big grin.
"I need to test this..." He activated multiple spells at once: Stone Body, Iron Heart, Wind Body, and Screw Gravity – as he called his weightless spell.
The Mana gushed out of his body trying to sustain the spells until it completely dried up and he had to stop.
Taking out his pocket watch, he placed it on the ground and extended his hand, waiting.
"It should be enough soon," he murmured while watching the seconds tick by.
Woosh!
Sometime later, a simple Fireball flew out of his hand and exploded a good distance away. Gerald grinned, "Good, it was just as I thought. But just to make sure..." He observed the watch and waited a bit longer until…
Fwoosh!
Another simple Fireball shot out. Only two minutes have passed between the first and second Fireball. That was the rate of his Mana regeneration now.
0.5 MP/min!
"Hah! So just being close to dying lifeforms is enough to make me stronger?" Gerald grinned from ear to ear.
"30 MP/h! This little expedition increased my regeneration five times!" But then thinking about it for a while, he remembered the discomfort he felt after such an increase…
"It was probably too much Mind Energy to absorb and digest at once. I'll have to be careful in the future. Losing consciousness randomly is way too dangerous!"
After establishing some guidelines for himself, Gerald drank a Greater Mana Potion to recover faster.
"Wait… This doesn't seem right..." He tested his Mana regeneration with the potion active and soon came to a conclusion…
The potion could increase his recovery only up to a certain point. 1000 MP/h with the potion active seemed to be the max.
"Hmm, I guess that's okay… It's probably not realistic to expect such a simple potion to multiply my Mana regeneration infinitely."
He did have a plan to go hunting, but after all that happened, he decided to take it easy for a few days.
Besides, there was still much that he had to learn, and visiting the capital's great library, with tens of thousands of books, seemed like a good idea.
***
He returned to Auralba in a few short hours, with the increased Mana recovery speed greatly helping in extending his flight time.
It was still early afternoon when he came to the doorsteps of the library. The people in the city seemed to be weirdly excited, especially the warriors, but he didn't stick around to find out.
He simply paid the ten silver entry fee and entered the great hall.
Since he chose to read about the monsters and beasts the last time, he decided to take a look if he could find any good spells to learn today.
Unfortunately, after skimming trough many dozens of books on the topic, he found out that the library didn't contain any spellbooks higher than medium-grade.
This basically meant that you couldn't become a true Mage without getting some outside help.
After asking around the people in the library, he came to know that only powerful families and nobles had high-grade information.
Of course, there was the exception of the Magic Academy in Auralba, but only excellent students could have a look at it.
And to get to that position, it usually took five to ten years of hard work and study.
"Well… That's never going to happen. Not to mention I'm too old to join the academy now, wasting another five to ten years in school? No thanks! I'll find a way by myself." Needless to say, Gerald was quite unhappy after learning this information.
He spent quite a substantial chunk of his life in school and he was not exactly excited to continue on that path. Even if the curriculum was different here and maybe more interesting, he wasn't eager to find out.
Besides, absolute freedom was easier to achieve alone. That's what he strived for. Fun times and freedom.
He didn't always have this idea in his mind, but after changing planets and gaining the ability to control magic, such ambitions were slowly born.