Six months passed in the blink of an eye, and Leon finally had enough power to permanently use a steel platform that could move him without relying on blue angel leaves. Leon built the platform and made it have the shape of an armchair; he was currently flying around the island trying to improve its speed while thinking.
" I have to make things more efficient…"
Using his mana to fill the objects he created using the four elements, Leon could obtain control over those things for precisely one minute. He wanted to find a way to use the things he wanted to use for the exact amount of time he wanted to use. That way, he would be able to save mana.
However, no matter what Leon did, to obtain complete control over the things he wanted to control, he needed to fill them with mana. If he tries to use less mana, he won't obtain control. Then Leon discovered something, he indeed could spend less mana to control certain things, but those things had to have a low-density. Sacrificing the durability of his spears, he created new ones that had empty space inside them, making it lighter, and thus less mana was used.
"No, this is not what I wanted…"
In the beginning, Leon thought that he eventually would obtain better control over his mana. Although he did obtain better control, it was thanks to the intelligence and the level of Earth Manipulation. It wasn't something he was doing consciously. Intelligence increased the power of his mana, and the more the skills leveled up, the skills themselves became more efficient. Still, Leon was wondering if there wasn't a way for him to obtain full control over his mana to do what he wanted as long as he wants.
It took a few more months for Leon to understand what he had to do, but he eventually noticed it. Instead of just putting his mana and waiting until the object gets filled, Leon just had to do that himself. Once he manages to envelop his mana in the outer layer of the objects he created, he obtained control over them, and just as he wanted, the time he could control it decreased, but the mana used also was reduced.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Mana Reinforcement.
You obtained 01 status points.
"I see now… when I put my mana, the objects I create become engines that obey my will. They will work and consume energy at their full capacity, but if I control them in every aspect, the consumption of energy becomes more efficient."
Surprisingly, that skill could even be used to strengthen his own body. However, its effectiveness was rather low. For example, before Leon could control five spears for 122 seconds, now he could do it for 123.
"Well… it will get more efficient the more I level up the skill."
Leon was right, even his physical stats only increased by one point, but at least the skill had potential. By using it, it would become more efficient, and he would be able to learn how much mana he would have to apply to control the spears for the exact amount of time he wanted.
Regardless, several weeks later, while Leon was training to master his new skill, he had a new idea. What about if he could create an iceberg? If he could create one big enough, it could endure the attacks of Megalodons. However, he also gave up on that idea. The ice melted quite fast in that part of the world. Even though he used blue angel leaves and his recovery also helped, half of the ice he could create melted after ten minutes.
Leon tried to make the ice using saltwater, but it only resisted a little more. It was another failure. Despite the failure, Leon didn't felt depressed. He just returned to his usual routine of never-ending training.
After almost one year, Leon finally finished his third line of defense. The fences made of wood and reinforced with steel plates now covered the entire forest of the island. It was kind of rough, but seeing so many steel plates around himself, Leon started to feel as if he was back to civilization. The bed and the ceiling were still made of leaves, and his clothes were in tatters, but despite that, he didn't feel all that much that he was in a Godforsaken island. He had clean water, food, and things to keep his mind busy. In fact, he didn't even need to wait for rain anymore. Leon could create his own water to drink or take a shower.
"Mmm… maybe I should try that."
It wouldn't help Leon all that much, but Leon decided to make a raincloud just for the fun of it. Strengthening the air, he mixed hot air and cold air. That was the usual process for him to create electricity, but he separated them to create a rain cloud. However, soon Leon stopped because he had spent too much mana. Despite that, the dark rain cloud slowly moved upward without going in any direction; it just floats above the island. Leon repeated the same process. Another rain cloud formed and joined the other. Then Leon regretted his actions, the cloud was rather small, but he could see electricity passing by the clouds.
"I don't like this…"
Then, it happened. A lightning bolt fell from the skill and hit a tree nearby, the impact and the sound make Leon feel dizzy. Fortunately, it only had hit a tree destroying it because the cloud was small, but if it were a little more powerful. Leon would have died since he was surrounded by metal.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Lightning.
You obtained 01 status points.
Mana: 500
Leon's mouth stayed wide open for a while after he received that notification. It looked like certain spells had certain rules to be recognized as offensive spells… Regardless, Leon felt like he had become a monster indeed.