When Albert appeared in the alcove entrance completely encased in a mud ball, my classmates simultaneously placed a hand over their face. It was like they rehearsed together while I wasn't around. I really wanted to say something but I couldn't with Albert around.
"Albert, these are the kids I was talking about." I slowly removed my mud from him. I was hiding his gear somewhere else but I put a substitute armor made of my mud with [Sculpting] and [Shapeshift] on him. If he tried anything funny, I could easily detonate them and kill him.
"These children? They look much younger than I thought." He said while stretching now that he was free. I was slightly offended when he called them children because I was also one of them. He then started to look around for something.
"Where's my sword? I can't demonstrate how to use mana without it."
I put my hand on ground right on some of the mud which I just removed from Albert. I used [Shapeshift] and [Sculpting] again to recreate a sword similar to the one I took from him.
"Use this for now." I said while handing it to him. I wasn't worried about him trying anything funny and I showed this to him. I wanted him to think that even if he had a weapon, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest and that I can easily take care of him.
He looked surprised seeing me pull a sword out of the ground. He wielded it with both hands and got into a stance like he was ready to fight.
"To use mana, you must first feel it. Mana is all around us, especially in dungeons. It is the energy of the world and is present in all things." He started talking about mana. While he was talking, I saw that the mana around him moved towards his gut which then flowed towards the sword.
"Once you are able to feel mana, you can then control it. Gather it into your body and imagine what you want it to do. You must have a clear image of it in your mind as well as the corresponding chant and keyword in order to use mana effectively. Talent and affinity also plays a key role in being able to utilize mana properly."
Just as he finished explaining, the sword I made started to glow with a blue light.
"[Sharpen]! This skill increases my sword damage when I use mana to coat my sword. Watch." He casually slashed at the cave wall with this sword. I suddenly had a bad feeling so I moved to the left.
*Clang*
The sword broke upon coming into contact with the wall and the blade flew over and stabbed at the spot I was at before I moved. A vein bulged on my head when I saw this.
"… I thought I warned you not to try anything funny…" I menacingly walked over to Albert.
"No wait! It was a mistake! I didn't think the sword would break or that the blade would coincidentally fly towards you! The sword must have been poorly made!" He said defending himself.
"Hoh… Not only did you try to attack me, you also call my workmanship poor…"
His eyes widened. Before Albert could say anything, I encased him in mud again and dragged him outside. I made the mud climb to the ceiling and then hung him upside down. I then made the mud act like a bungee rope, repeatedly dropping him and bouncing him back up when his face nearly hits the floor.
"Waaaa! I'm sorry! It was an accident! I didn't know that you made the sword! I thought you pulled it out of Storage! Please put me down! I'm not good with high places! Hurrk. I'm feeling sick."
Albert cried which I ignored and returned to my classmates. To be honest, when he started to use his skill I felt that his mana was contradicting the mana that I had inside the mud sword which I spawned. This made me lose control of it a bit which resulted in it being so fragile.
"Alright let me explain what he said." My classmates were able to understand what I was saying but they could only hear gibberish coming from Albert's mouth. I retold them what he just said.
"How do we even start feeling mana?" David questioned.
I also had this question in mind. My ruby was the one that sort of introduced me into mana. I had no trouble with feeling it ever since it became a part of me along with the mud. I figured [Mana Manipulation] caused this. If so, then they just needed to get this skill or a skill like it.
I explained to them about my experience in creating skills and manipulating the mud with my 'Earth Magic' and 'Mana Vision' skills.
"Right now, you all have zero MP. Try absorbing some from the surrounding air or something." I suggested. Everyone started doing their own thing at my words. I was also re-examining my skills while they were doing so. I decided to give my skills my own descriptions based on what I have seen and felt them do.
[Assimilate]: Allows me to get a single skill from a target that is absorbed while alive.
[Mana Manipulation]: Allows me to easily use and control mana.
[Physical Resistance]: Passive skill that increases the physical defensive capability of my mud body, DEF +20.
[Weaponized Limbs]: Damage is increased when using limbs as a weapon to attack.
[Foresight]: Enhances my instincts to make random predictions.
[Shapeshift]: Allows me to easily manipulate my mud into various shapes, sizes, density, texture, and color. Easier to mimic targets I've used Assimilate on. Also increases my STR and DEF by +5.
[Dissolve]: Allows me to use mana to convert things into mana.
[Body Enhancement]: Raises my STR and DEF by +10, and my SPD by +5 when active.
[Mind Enhancement]: Raises my INT and WILL by +10, and my MP by +5 when active.
[Mana Release]: Allows me to release and control mana outside my body. Perfect control of the released mana is determined by my capability which is currently 5 cm.
[Sensing]: Enhances my basic senses and allows me to sense mana in anything.
[Camouflage]: Allows me to use mana to seamlessly blend into the environment.
[Sculpting]: Allows me to reshape physical items without compromising its mana structure.
[Detonate]: Destabilizes internal mana causing it to run wild and rapidly expand causing a miniature explosion.
[Spawn]: Allows me to separate a part of my mud body and control it remotely.
[Appraisal Analysis]: Lets me to analyze and assign values and names to anything with a connection with mana.
[Lesser Heal]: Uses an absurd amount of mana to slightly heal a wound or injury.
[Tongue Enhancement]: …?
I still have absolutely no clue as to what this stupidly named skill does. It doesn't enhance my sense of taste or anything. Side quest added. Find out what the hell Tongue Enhancement is for.
I sat for a few hours healing my injuries with [Lesser Heal], dissolving dungeon walls to recover mana, and repeat. My classmates were all trying to learn how to use mana. Just then, David stood up and lifted his sword. He mimicked Alberts pose earlier. I noticed that mana was slowly moving towards his body.
"I- I think I did it! I got the [Mana Control] skill!" He shouted which caused everyone else to look at him. I wasn't surprised that he would be the first out of the four to figure out how to use mana. However, I was surprised by the name of the skill he got. It was different from my [Mana Manipulation] skill. I used [Appraisal Analysis] to see his status.
Name: David
Job: Commoner Lv. 4
MP: 2/10
I made sure to simplify the display so that I'm not blinded by information. During battles, I will need to keep track of enemy statuses so keeping it simple is for the best.
Everyone was pestering David to tell them how he was able to sense mana. They asked me before but when I replied 'I can see the mana so I just push it around' they stopped and gave up.
"You have to imagine mana as little particles. Like atoms that we learned about during science class before. Gather them up like a liquid and then picture yourself showering with them. You'll start feeling them eventually."
... Well that's one way to go about it. Way to think out of the box. But then again, this is another world where swords and magic exist.
I tried out David's method and to my surprise, I actually created a skill.
[Skill Mana Absorption created.]
[Mana Absorption] allows me to regenerate mana by absorbing it from the environment. The higher the density of mana, the faster the regeneration. I saw my mana go back to full within seconds. It wasn't [Mana Control] like I thought it would be. But it's still a great skill to have.
By using David's method everyone was able to get the [Mana Control] skill within an hour. Through my instruction, they were able to speak and listen with the use of mana as well. This solves our basic communication problem with the locals.
CHAPTER END.
Name: Ruby Sen Lv. 13
Age: 17
Race: Half-Human?
Class: Half-Magical Creature
Job: - Lv. 13
HP: 10 [30%]
MP: 15 [100%]
STR: 10 (+5)
DEF: 10 (+25)
INT: 17
WILL: 15
SPD: 10
<
Assimilate
Mana Manipulation
Physical Resistance
Weaponized Limbs
Foresight
Shapeshift
Mana Absorption
<
Dissolve
Body Enhancement
Mind Enhancement
Mana Release
Sensing
Camouflage
Sculpting
Detonate
Spawn
Appraisal Analysis
Lesser Heal
<
Tongue Enhancement