Truly shocking. Even with my highly perceptive mind I didn't have an inkling of an idea of how she did it. Except for…
'System, what is mana?'
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'What? So it's just energy?'
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'Did my mother just harness mana to dim the lights? Why can't I see it?'
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No way. I'm in a fantasy world, far beyond my expectations and hopes. This world will definitely be enjoyable for me who has never heard of, or more like remembered this mana. But, how am I supposed to interact with it.
I snuggled closer to my mother and closed my eyes. I focused on my sense of touch on my skin. If mana is a substance, maybe I could feel it on my skin… No it's intangible. What about in my lungs… no that's the same...Wait, what was that. I felt a sliver of something go in my body and come out unchanged, and it wasn't gaseous, it was like a wave of heat that didn't emit heat or feel warm. I focused more on what I was breathing, to discover that there was something else in what I inhaled. It came with the air but it didn't go to my lungs. Instead, it bypassed my lungs and went straight for something near my heart, but off-center to the right of my chest instead. A small orb, quite dark except for a small sliver of it.
'System, what is this orb in me.'
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'LV. 2? Is it because I asked about the mana core?'
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With the system's words, I feel as if a whole new world was just opened to me. My whole skin, my lungs, my breath, my mana core felt so lively and brilliant. Everywhere I felt there was something there besides the tranquil air, a serene but stagnant mana that felt more substantial, or more evident in the world. With this, I could do things that I never dreamed of! Like magic!
'System, how do I do things that my mother did?'
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'Develop it? How?'
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'Hmm. How much more mana do I need?'
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It can't take that long right? I already have one so I just need one more. I probably got that one by breathing in mana into my mana core, so I'll try first by breathing.
With my new mana sense, I could feel my inhaling process much differently. A somewhat large amount of mana gathered and entered my lungs along with air. The mana travelled and then entered my mana core. Success! It seemed as easy as breathing, in a completely literal sense.
Clearly, my hopes were too high. The moment I started to exhale, the mana began to leave with the air rapidly.
'No! Stop! Dammit!'
Soon enough, my hopes were dashed just like how the mana disappeared. All that was left was a small strand of mana that was lucky enough to get caught by my mana core. Although it was a meager amount, my mana in my mana core doubled. I guess that one strand is worth one mana. But that was still a lot of wasted mana…
'System, how much mana do I have?'
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Wait, something was off? How come my mana wasn't constantly increasing with every breath I took since I was born. I was in the middle of inhaling when I realized this, and I felt my answer with Mana Sense.
If I didn't concentrate on breathing in mana, I wouldn't be able to increase my mana capacity . Unfortunately for the rest of the world, my mind was one of the sharpest, honed by the great whetstone of time. And so I began to practice - to practice how to inhale mana without concentrating, as well as to increase efficiency. So I breathed. In. Then out. And then in again.
When my mother awoke from her sleep, I began to reflect on my progress. I estimate that someone who underwent strain from labour may have slept for at least a few hours. In those few hours I progressed well. The first solution I discovered was that if I had my mana in my mana core spin, which was as easy as blinking twice, the vortex generated would allow me to retain more mana in my mana core, increasing it to about 5 % of the mana I inhaled. I also progressed well with my goal of constant 'mana breathing', or so I call it. Although I haven't reached it yet, I have to the point that I only need awareness of how I'm breathing to mana breathe. I can probably calculate the time my mother was asleep by checking on my mana points.
'System, how much MP do I have?'
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The amount of mana I have has dramatically increased with my new techniques. Although, I don't know how much I am lagging behind others in Das and Karia.
'System, what is the average amount of mana of Das and Karia?'
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Unexpectedly, the average MP is lower than I was led to believe by the amount of mana I have. It won't even take me a couple of days to get to where they are at. I should probably aim for a high degree of mana so I will be able to stay relatively safe. I'm pretty sure it is safe to assume that the more mana you have the more power you will get, and thus, the more security you will acquire.
I decided I should open my eyes and see what's going on with my mother awake. I opened my eyes and two things massively shocked me, the first far more than the other, although I would have expected it to be the opposite.
The first of which is that I saw my mother with her eyes open looking at me. And yet for some incomprehensible reason there was something that my mind could not come up with any reasons for. There was love in her eyes.
I truly could not understand. I was born just a few hours ago, so there was nothing I could do in that time to earn her love. In fact, in the last year, I must have caused her great pain in pregnancy and labour. Yet she did. What's worse is that I didn't regret feeling repulsed by this family, her included, the moment I was born. At that time, it felt so natural, yet now…What is this feeling. Melancholy? Hope? I'm not sure, but I feel very content that this mother is easily pleased.
The other was that the world became illuminated with so many colours. So bright. Although nothing compared to that light, it was still so bright. There was red, green, blue, white, and brown, with green and brown tied for brightest and the rest tied for third. I knew that these colours were mana, but I didn't know why there are so many different colours, I just assumed mana would be the same colour.
'System, why is mana so many different colours?'
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It seems there is more to mana than I thought, but I have a more pressing matter at hand.
When I opened my eyes, her eyes brightened and she began to speak some words which saved me the shock from later.
"*&^@ you #$%^ Leo?", she asked, " Don't $%^, Mom%^& will feed you!"
And so began my meal time, for a whole fifteen minutes. I must say that while I was hungry, it was nowhere near the extent that I would willingly drink. But as a baby who couldn't speak or move, I had no choice. If I didn't eat now, I would have to have my meal later and for longer.
'System, do you have an internal clock? What���s the time system for Karia as well?'
< 1 minute is 60 seconds. 1 hour is 60 minutes. 1 day is 24 hours. 1 week is 7 days. 1 month is 4 weeks, or 28 days. 1 year is 12 months, or 336 days.>> It's really convenient that the time system ingrained in me is the same as in Karia. Although I am sure I can adapt quickly, I don't want to spend time on something like that. And so time passed, and my meal came to an end. Eventually she closed her eyes and leaned back on the bed frame while I practiced Mana Breathing while asking the system about this world. But before that... 'System, can you appraise my mother?' < … 'System, appraise my mother' < Hmm… It seems the system isn't as amazing as I thought, but this is probably better. I want to actually learn how to use mana, not the system doing it for me. But how am I supposed to use the appraise skill? I took another look at my mother, who was resting while swinging me lightly in a trance. I decided that the most likely way was to use my mana. I tried to take some mana out of my mana core. It felt odd, as even though it left my body I could still control it. Once it left me it became a grey colour, and for some reason, which I assume is due to my mana sense, I was able to recognize it as non-elemental or unattributed mana. Firstly, I wanted to get a better grip on my mana. It wasn't as easy as it was in my mana core, but it wasn't especially hard. I started by making it go round in circles, and then, using a little more mana, I was able to make a nice sphere that rotated about As my sphere was rotating, it came to me that my sphere might alert my mother to my adult mind. I looked up to see her still in her trance of swinging me gently left and right. I realized I didn't have much time to appraise her. As if it were practiced movements, my mana slowly enveloped her whole body. The issue was, it was too thin. I decided to add more mana until eventually there was a thin layer over her body, which took about 15 mana. When enough mana was supplied, I controlled my mana to sink into her. Magically, information flooded my head. This didn't make sense, but I didn't care to find out how it worked and how I knew right now. As if proving it was still useful, the system also displayed the information I received. < Name: Layla Williams (Layla Donabel) Age: 25 years old Titles: Spouse of Jonathan Williams, Fallen Princess, Mage Princess, The One Who Chose Her Own Fate, Saviour of Karia, Disgrace of Karia, Commoner, Elemental Magus. Condition: Fatigued, Joyful, Healthy STR : 42 DEF : 28 SPD : 45 INT : 97 WIS : 82 PER : 40 Skills: Elemental Magic - (Fire Magic - LV. 7, Water Magic - LV. 5, Earth Magic - LV. 5, Wind Magic - LV. 6, Lightning Magic (Derived) - LV. 5, Ice Magic (Derived) - LV. 3, Sound Magic (Derived) - LV. 1, Primal Magic (Original) - LV. 2, Spatial Magic (Derived) - LV. 2) Body Enhancement - LV. 2 Mana Perception - LV. 3 Healing Magic - LV. 3 Etiquette - LV. 7 Diplomacy - LV. 4 Note: Other information available on request due to Host Mana Exhaustion>> That information from the appraisal… was truly astounding. To think… that this mom was so… amazing… She seems… to even be… a … princess. I thought… we were… commoners. So… odd… So… tired...