Donis was laying in his bed, wrapped up in his blanket on this chilly evening. It was early Warrus, which is what the people of Erazar called the winter season, and the land had began taking a slightly lighter hue with splotches of white painting the scenery. He had been deep in thought for a while at this point, wondering whether or not the [System] will give him any new quests after he chooses his upgrades.
It didn't give him anything for learning his first offensive spell from the Archmage, which turned out to be nothing more than a binding spell.
-[Ethereal Grip] –
[Intermediate] –
[Cost: 115MP] –
Etheric tendrils invade the body of the target, overcharging the nerves and neurons causing instability and a sense of doom in the target. Can then be re-used to forcefully tense the targets body, causing them to be unable to do any movement until the spell is released.
He'd been quietly practicing skills again for months, achieving the half way point in both his [Basic Mana Control] and [Basic Mana Emission]. He had reached that point already with the [Basic Mana Control], but didn't know what to choose so he left it until they both hit that point.
He would spend his days, from morning til night, practicing what little he knew about the intricacies of spells. He would try and lift heavier and heavier objects, eventually lifting a 1KG bag using his mana in key points of the bag to not overuse the amount of mana used. He would change the colour of his mana inside and outside, increasing the costs but also increasing the [EXP] gain.
He spent months of sweat and headaches changing the properties of his mana to be more solid, hotter, colder, thicker, softer, more viscous and so on and so forth. He practiced diligently in every conceivable way, trying to find the absolute perfect way of casting each and every little thing he did, just so he would get more ability [EXP].
Donis had no way of knowing, but his [Serene Mana] title was the only reason he was able to continuously cast spells without break like that. Normally mages would have to take hours to cast again after expending all of their mana, for the mental strain would break their will and concentration enough to make the spell fail.
Eventually, it all came to fruition.
Tonight the moment to inspect and choose his options came. He first opened up [Basic Mana Control] and the [System] spoke once more.
-[Basic Mana Control] has Reached the Halfway Point. The Options it can Upgrade to are as Follows.
[Advanced Mana Control],
[Mana Finesse],
[Elemental Mana Control],
[Etheric Mana Control],
[Void Mana Control].
Which Does the [User] Choose-
[Advanced Mana Control]: Allows the [User] to further refine the control over the mana in their bodies, and which surrounds them. Opens up the path for further non-system approved methods.
[Mana Finesse]: Allows the [User] to further refine the control over their mana to the point where using spells or abilities will cause them no mental strain, nor will it cause any fatigue. All spells will have their Accumulation Time reduced by (30%).
-Accumulation Time is the time required to gather the mana, convert it, will it, and use it before a spell is shot out or used.
[Elemental Mana Control]: Allows the [User] to upgrade their control over Elementally charged Mana. Also allows the [User] to infuse his abilities with Elemental power. This also allows the [User] to tap into Elemental world energy to supplement their mana pool, power, and longevity. Allows interaction with Elemental Spirits.
[Etheric Mana Control]: Allows the [User] to upgrade their control over Ethereally charged Mana. Also allows the [User] to infuse his abilities with Etheric power. This also allows the [User] to tap into Ethereal Conjuring, and Spirit Melding/Bending. Time is now able to be interacted with.
[Void Mana Control]: Allows the [User] to upgrade their control over Void-filled-Mana. Also allows the [User] to infuse his abilities with Void power. This also allows the user to tap into Void pockets and begin to interact with space.
'Holy shit. These are not the upgrades I would have imagined at the half way point. The last time the system gave me the ever so broken [Ocular Inspection], I wonder if these are on the same level. Although reading over all of these, I'm left with even more doubts. While [Mana Finesse] sounds insanely tempting, the ease of control over an entire school of magic is even more tempting because they seem to come with other benefits. Like, what are pocket dimensions, or what does interacting with time even really mean. They don't seem to be simple upgrades,' thought Donis.
'Nah, I'll make a decision after I see the other upgrades too, maybe some tie in together better to stack benefits or something,' decided Donis.
-[Basic Mana Emission] has Reached the Halfway Point. The Options it can Upgrade to are as Follows.
[Advanced Mana Emission],
[Emission Precision],
[Geyser Body],
[Unrestrained Flow].
Which Does the [User] Choose-
[Advanced Mana Emission]: Allows the [User] to upgrade their output powers by an order of magnitude. Opens up the path for further non-system approved methods.
[Emission Precision]: Allows the [User] to increase their accuracy of their spells, the control over the minute parts of the spells, and distance travelled with the same amount of mana by an order of magnitude.
[Geyser Body]: Allows the [User] to forcefully take in any outside source of Charged Mana, and envelop the body with it. This allows the [User] to replenish their manapool, tap into the Charged Mana to increase the potency of their spells, and can form a protective barrier temporarily.
[Unrestrained Flow]: Allows the [User] to have uninterruptible spells if the interruption is below the [User] Mana State. Cannot be Silenced by anyone under the [User] Mana State.
-Silence: To cancel all spell accumulation progress and to prevent the affected target from casting further spells.
'These are less impressive, but they're still pretty useful. I'm deathly curious as to what the "non-system" approved methods are, but I'm assuming since it's not approved by the system, it won't come cheap. I don't have the time to find out whether or not that assumption will be correct so I'll forget about it for now. The idea of the [Geyser Body] absorbing the surrounding mana to make a barrier is tempting, but my spells being uninterruptible is beyond useful,' thought Donis, still wrapped up in his blanket.
The night air still bit lightly at Donis's cheeks, yet he barely felt it. His mind whirring at the possibilities of the pros and cons of either of the upgrades. The idea of a barrier potentially saving his life, or maybe even leeching the surrounding accumulation of charged mana eventually won out over [Unrestrained Flow]. He figured with enough practice and experience, he would essentially get that anyway.
Donis also ended up going with the [Void Mana Control] as that seemed to be the most awe inspiring. He's not sure, but somewhere deep in his broken memory fragments, something was calling him to pick that one. Something deep within him felt a connection that he knew he'd be able to explain when he finally upgraded the cursed [System].
***
The next morning started like every other. Wake up, have breakfast, wash up, get the carriage and head into the city to finally reach the Academy.
Donis's routine had become so, routine, that he'd long stopped paying attention to the road so he could practice his casting. The beasts that wander the roadside never ventured on the road itself, nor did anything attack the carriage. Donis had pestered Corvig about this, but the only answer he got was, "I'm not an Enchanter, nor a Forgemaster, nor do I care what such low quality tools do, but I assume it wards off low level monster."
He'd been reading his newest additions to his repertoire, really living the new senses he was provided with. With [Basic Mana Emission/Geyser Body] he could feel the attunement of the mana around him, which is what he found out to be Charged Mana. He could feel that he wasn't able to pull in that much mana from the surroundings with his current Mana State, but at least it might be enough to offset some amount of damage, or interrupt the other person.
Not that he's fought anyone in this world, as most people don't start learning magic until much much later compared to him. Yet he figured that fights are going to arise if the world is truly ruled by the strong like his daddy told him. If nobles get their titles by being strong, then there will definitely be fights.
His [Basic/Void Mana Control] let him feel the space around him more clearly, and able to sense the things surrounding him in about a 5m radius with his eyes closed. Unsure of how the rest of this worked, he just focused on feeling it all and getting used to it.
After a few hours that Donis had yet to feel, immersed in learning about his new senses, the carriage stopped. Eventually the door had swung open, yet the one who opened it, was not the carriage driver. Donis had broken out of his stupor when he saw a burly looking man pick him up by the scruff of his neck and carry him outside.
Donis looked around and saw that they were in the middle of a forest with no discernable landmarks anywhere. There was but a single wooden building in front of him, with a campfire and some meat being roasted atop it. Panic had began gripping his heart. Who are these people and what do they want with him is all that ran through his head.
Donis had been thrown on to the floor in front a group of battle hardened men. With a loud thud Donis landed on the floor, face first. He brought his eyes up to the man in front of him and could only feel a chill climbing his spine as bright red eyes stared into back into his.
"Mornin' kid. Up for a chat?"