It hurts.
I've grown somewhat used to the pain of mana consumption by now but this has to be the most painful by far.
I gathered the remaining strength in my body and floated unsteadily over to the two halves of the wraith's orb which laid on the ground unmoving. The light from my body continued to flicker and I can feel that the mana from my body is almost non-existent at this point. As I reached the sliced orb, my「Mana Sense」began to tingle and picked up signs of mana fluctuations from the object.
Eh?
Is this orb actually the monster's core?
As I looked at the two halves of the orb, my body continued to sear in pain from lack of mana. The urge to absorb the core begins to resurface, now louder than ever before.
Urgh, crap.
I dying here so I'll think about it later.
I need mana right now...
Succumbing to the urge screaming out from my body, I activate「Magic Extraction」and began to absorb the mana from the core. Slowly, feeling started to return to my body and the searing pain that clouded my mind slowly began to partially dissipate. The core of the crystal wraith took longer to absorb than any other core I've gotten my hands on by far. After a few minutes, the two halves of the orb were finally depleted of mana and shattered into the air as blue particles. A feeling of ease washed over me as I sighed in relief.
Gosh...I haven't felt this relieved in so long.
Last time I felt like this was when I almost shat my pants in my first year in high school but made it to the toilet just in time...
I think I'm out of the danger zone now, but the fact that there's still pain all over my body means I haven't fully recovered my mana yet.
I gotta find somewhere safe and rest.
Searching around quickly, I found two large boulders with crystals sticking out of them located next to each other against the wall of the large cave section. I hid between the two boulders and waited for my mana to recover.
That crystal wraith was without a doubt the strongest enemy I've ever fought.
The reason that I came out on top was due to the fact that I happen to have a resistance to freezing and heat attacks.
In other words, I won because I was lucky.
...
GAHH!!
WHY AM I SUCH AN IDIOT!?!?!?
That was wayyy too close for comfort!
I almost died there! I should've just escaped!
IDIOT!! IDIOTTT!!!!
After heaving out a sigh, I shook my head to clear my mind and began to think of my next subject.
But, man. Those crystal flames were really something weren't they?
That wraith was able to close the gap in equipment easily with those flames.
Even though I had Arondite and two other magic weapons at my disposal, the wraith was still able to almost beat me with「Crystal Flame」and「Air Claw」.
It's「Regeneration」and「Enhance Defence」was no joke either.
So, I think it's about time I started to explore it properly.
Magic.
This whole time I've been solely relying upon the magic skills that I had practically been born with.
I was always holding off in learning new magic before because my mana capacity was way too small. The risk of dying from mana exhaustion was a looming threat.
But after absorbing so many cores, lack of mana shouldn't be a problem anymore as long as I'm careful.
Excited, I opened up a beginner's book on magic in my storage and began to read. I floated there between the two boulders and continued to read for two hours, gaining a general idea about magic.
According to this book, magic is an art that produces supernatural phenomenon and influences events with the use of mana. It comes in many different shapes and forms but the most iconic and significant impression of magic is the concept of spells.
There are three important things that need to be considered when it comes to casting or activating magic. First is the amount of mana actually needed, it varies depending on the nature and scale of the magic. The mana can either be drawn from the surrounding mana in the air or from the individual casting the magic. Second, the mana structure of the arts, spells, or formulas that directs and alters the mana. The third is the individual's visualization and imagination of the spell that controls the output of the magic. In other words, belief.
Closing the book, I opened up my inventory and placed the book inside before pulling out another which had records of light attribute spells.
One of the most common and easiest forms of spells to utilise are element magic. Element magic is one of the more commonly used forms of magic since its easy to learn and most individuals have an affinity to at least one element. In my case, it would be the light and dark attributes, both of them happen to be very rare attributes to have.
I ended up choosing light magic because not only does it have a wide range of uses such as buffs, attacks, and heals, it is also one of the main weaknesses of the undead.
It's something that'll help me with crimson eyes...
Before the image of the two glowing lights can appear in my mind, I shook my head and place my concentration solely on the book. I began with the most basic spell in the light attribute spellbook.
Right then, just as the book says...
Visualize it...
「Illuminate」
A prick of pain appeared on my body but I ignored it and watched as a magical point of light faded into existence in front of me. The white light radiated outwards from a point like hundreds of wide strands of hair waving in an ethereal fashion. Each waving strand of light illuminated the surroundings and faded the further it extended from the point where they all joined together. The light was nice to look at and was bright but no blindingly bright.
Uwahhh!
Pretty!!
My first spell!
I did it first try as well haha!
「Illuminate」
「Illuminate」
Two more points of light appeared in front of me as excitement began to rise in my chest.
This is actually pretty fun!
Well, this spell is actually quite useless considering the fact that I AM a light source...
After the two hours of reading, the mana in my body had long recovered to its original state so I decided to come out from between the crystals to test my magic. After finding a wide area clear of monsters, I looked at the list of light attribute spells in the book. Picking another spell, I focused and visualized the description of the spell before casting it.
「Flash of Light」
Suddenly, a point of light appeared and emitted a blinding light that lit up the area for half a second before vanishing as if nothing had happened. During the whole process, I stared right into the flash of light. It startled me, but that's basically it. Even though I stared at it, my eyes didn't hurt and I was still able to keep my eyes opened.
Hmmm, that was interesting.
I guess it makes sense I can't be blinded since I technically don't have organic eyes anymore.
It should have some effect on monsters though so I'll keep that spell in mind.
I brought my attention back to the book floating in front of me and looked at the next spell, a healing spell. This spell was probably what interested me the most in this list. The description of the spell states that it heals small wounds so it isn't too significant. Nevertheless, the fact that it was a healing spell was enough for it to hog my attention over all the other simple spells in the section.
I imagine that the spell would close wounds when used on an injured person just like in movies.
But since I don't actually have a physical body...what would happen if it was used on me?
Curious, I began to focus and imagined the scene of a glowing point of light shining over and healing me. As usual, the presence of pain began to appear on my body as I used my mana from my body to activate my spell. Soon, a white light began to engulf my body. The feeling of warmth covered my body and eased the pain that was present on my body. After the spell finished, I looked around and focused on how my body felt.
Ohhhh!
It worked!
Well, kinda.
Since mana is technically my hp, the healing spell ended up restoring my mana.
Though, the amount of mana needed to cast the spell was much more than how much it recovered.
In the end, it's another useless spell.
Welp, can't expect much from the simplest of the simple, can I?
Which means...hehehe.
Pulling up the book, I flipped the pages chunk by chunk until the book reached the very end where all the most advanced spells were.
Hoho!
What do we have here!?
---
Spell: Piercing Light Spear
Description: A powerful ranged attack light attribute spell that gained its reputation from its high attack power, piercing capabilities, long attack range.
---
Gweheheh. let's test this out.
Turning my attention to a nearby boulder, I began to read the instructions and details of the spell from the book. I closed my eyes and started to visualise the spell with a high focus. I imagined the feeling and visual characteristics of light. I referred back to when I used the「Illuminate」spell and used it as a reference. Slowly, as if something was guiding me, the structure and details of the powerful light attribute spell began to form in my mind.
Mana from my body began to get consumed at an alarming rate, the pain began to scream in my mind but I did my best to endure it. Moments past as my mana continued to be consumed and I persisted in forming the spell with full concentration. Soon, the spell stopped consuming mana and the gut feeling of the instructions to create the spell disappeared. Curious, I opened my eyes to observe what happened.
Beside me floated an enormous polearm partisan that pointed towards the boulder I was facing. It was made purely from light and had no definite form, many waving strands of ethereal white light can be seen extending out from its being. The head of the partisan was quadruple-edged and the light that emitted from the polearm illuminated the surroundings as if it was a majestic existence. The polearm was about three metres long.
I continued to stare at the「Piercing Light Spear」in awe.
Wah...
I made this...
Its...really good looking.
Coming back to my senses, I brought my attention back to the boulder that laid in front of me.
Oh my goodness, I can't wait.
Heh...Let's test this out!
As if I had done it all my life, I instinctively knew what to do as I unleashed the spell and launched the spear of light towards the boulder. A trail of light appeared behind it as it travelled through the air at an incredible speed. The light from the spear illuminated the surroundings as it passed by and the strands of waving lights emanating from the spear bent backwards from the momentum of the launch.
*BOOOOMM!!!!!*
As the spear came into contact with the boulder, a blinding light exploded from the boulder. I continued to stare as the light from the collision shrouded the entire scene and prevented me from observing. After a few moments, the light subsided and revealed the damage caused by the spear.
The only thing that remained of the giant boulder was pieces of debris that laid all over the ground.
haha...
HahaHA...
AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
THAT WAS AWESOME!!!
I continued to celebrate until I felt something strange, it was like something had clicked in my mind. The feeling made me feel as if I had conquered the use of light magic. Curious, I used「Appraisal」on myself and observed in awe the new addition to my skill section.
「Light Element Magic」
Hmmm. Magic is pretty easy isn't it?