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Enchanted Mystical Book
[ "Tidal Tome" ]
Mana: 30/30 -> 26/35
Durability: 1203/1500
- [Active Effect: Blessed of the Storm] Greatly enhances the water attributes of one's [Mana] for ten seconds.
- [Passive Effect: Transformation] The Tidal Tome shrinks and grows when certain conditions are met. When Thalassa's Trident is stored inside the Tidal Tome, transformation between them is possible.
- [Bonus Effect] When supplied with enough [Mana], grants a cast of [Poseidon's Domain] while near a sufficiently large body of water.
- *NEW* [Extra Effect: Aqua Versatility 1] Through [Mana] expenditure, one may enchant one's [Mana] with ice attributes.
- "This is a record of my existence. It is my pride and joy."
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'Aqua Versatility...' Athelei read through the short and new section that had appeared on the Tidal Tome's description. He swiftly noted the details down onto his file of complete item descriptions.
The [Mana] storage function of the Tidal Tome had also increased, making Athelei wonder if the cast of [Poseidon's Domain] would increase in power if he used an even larger amount of energy to supply its creation.
'Likely,' was Athelei's guess to such a thought.
As for the actual effect of [Aqua Versatility 1], Athelei decided to try things out right then and there.
With his free left hand, he drew a Mystic Pattern he had learned from the Tidal Tome itself. At the same time, he willed the [Mana] inside the handbook to life, stimulating the glass-like transparent gem now found on its old covers.
When both tasks reached completion, Athelei had enchanted a Mystic Pattern called Water Blade with a generous three points of [Mana]. It brought about an interesting change to the pattern he had drawn.
A water blade was shot out from the milky white pattern, swiftly freezing and becoming solid as it flew forward. After a certain distance, it became perfectly solid, bringing frost to the surrounding waters while it zoomed through the dark depths. It disappeared into the distance in the next moment, floating upwards to eventually arrive in shallower waters.
"Hmmmm," Athelei saw how such a thing had occurred and then remembered the original [Active Effect] of the Tidal Tome.
'What's the difference between enhancing and enchanting?' Athelei decided to do play around a bit more. The slight difference in wording was something he had no choice but to take note of.
After all, the difference between Inspect and the other three Analysis Skills were only a few words. And yet, the applications between them had an outstanding variation.
Athelei activated the effect, [Blessed of the Storm]. He used his Tangible Will this time to see how things would develop.
Whoooom!
The sudden change in Athelei's [Mana] caused a small ripple around himself, and he instantly felt comfortable with the waters around him. More comfortable than he already was.
'So enhancing my [Mana]'s water attributes basically means this...' Athelei thought as he spread out his shining silver Tangible Will and allowed it to mesh with the dark waters around him.
Swiftly, the waters had begun to churn with his commands. It was forming a small maelstrom reminiscent of [Poseidon's Domain]. The waters became a part of his Tangible Will and vice versa.
When the maelstrom was at its strongest, and just as [Blessed of the Storm]'s duration ended, Athelei triggered [Aqua Versatility 1]. The whirling waters infected by his Tangible Will swiftly crystallized and solidified just like the water blade before.
In only a short moment, Athelei had created a sculpture that depicted the wondrous yet terrifying beauty of mother nature's wrath. It was of an underwater whirlpool, whose spirals had behaved like a typhoon or hurricane.
The eye of the storm was where Athelei stood, silently admiring the effects only a few changes in wordings could create.
Athelei then sent out his Tangible Will once again, this time without any supporting effects.
Silvery light spread out of him as the whirlpool sculpture ascended to float on the sea's surface. It coalesced into a humanoid figure, one that looked identical to Athelei's physical body.
Details were a bit difficult, given his abilities as a measly Rank 1 Dictator, but at least the shape was there.
"Now, freeze." Athelei softly muttered as he triggered [Aqua Versatility 1] once again.
Similar to before, something did become very cold... but it was not the waters anymore. It was Athelei's Tangible Will instead. Without the greater water attributes that allowed it to assimilate with the waters around him, all that graced his Tangible Will was a chilly aura that slowly began to spread to the surrounding waters.
"I see..." Athelei noted down his findings inside his mind library as he tested a few more things.
At the end of it all, he could summarise all that he found with the following,
=o=o=o=o=
• Enhancement of an attribute creates greater affinity with a certain element, allowing assimilation and strengthening of water-based abilities.
• Enchantment means a sudden change to the nature of [Mana], creating a variety of effects depending on the timing of enchantment.
=o=o=o=o=
But then, when Athelei decided to pack up and leave given his depleting [Mana] reserves, he belatedly discovered a problem.
'...Did I wake them up?' Athelei would have gulped if he was in his physical body. Glowing eyes as large as a carriage was peering at him from the darkness.
Stars had begun lighting up all around him, looking wondrous and otherworldly. It was almost like being in deep space. Just that, instead of feeling lonely given the grand distances in between the lights and lives, it was suffocating here. Everything seemed way too close for comfort in the thick darkness caused not by distant lights but by the deep waters.
Athelei was not fearful of his own safety, but he did not wish to lose the Tidal Tome to the belly of a leviathan beast just yet. There was still a string of questions he was going to scour the world for answers to, and it was all related to the book in his hands.
Losing it meant that those curiosities of his may just never be answered. It was akin to losing his tickets.
RRRRRAAAAAAAH!
A deep below shook the surrounding waters, and a huge beast's body lunged towards Athelei despite his lack of life signs.
'Indeed, they're after me,' Athelei activated [Blessed of the Storm], drew Water Control, manifested his tails, triggered an instant cast of Area, and then sent out his Tangible Will.
Several of Athelei's abilities all manifested in the short span of four seconds, just as an immense suction descended upon him. The beast had opened its gaping maw, swallowing tonnes of water as it brought its humongous body forward.
Vwhoosh!
Athelei sluggishly extricated himself from the vacuum and sidestepped the beast's charge. He was then thrown around by the passing slipstream, disorienting him for a moment.
'To think all these things are residing in the vicinity of Atlantis,' Athelei dryly thought to himself as he imagined quite a few tragedies that could serve as the end of the newly birthed city. 'It would be a hundred times more terrifying to die to these beasts than the beasts that invaded Avina now, wouldn't it?'
Before he got any ideas, Athelei shook his head. He did not want Atlantis to fall just like that. In fact, he wanted to see it thrive, separated from all the chaos that might just befall the mainland.
He would do his best to prevent such a sad end for Atlantis.
Just as he thought of such things, a school of slithering, bioluminescent eels with see-through bodies and organs on full display charged him. It brought Athelei a few chills as his still-present human instincts screamed in pure fright.
An Endbringer was born from a human after all. At one point in the transition, he was a mutated human, and he even had a human physical form.
But Athelei's fears were always accompanied by curiosity. So much so that his human fears only served to bring those bodily reactions to life as his mind was awash with questions.
'It is interesting how the leviathan's eyes were the only things that lit up... these eels are like lanterns with their glowing bodies.' Athelei thought to himself as he cut off all his senses and viewed the entire world in greyscale. While he was at it, he also willed a maelstrom into life with his Tangible Will.
Now, in this grey world, lighting and brightness were irrelevant.
He saw an even larger portion of the leviathan beast that he had previously only peeked at. With the school of eels being swept up by his maelstrom, Athelei used this opportunity to lock onto the leviathan and use Inspect.
"What birthed you?" was the question he imposed.
He felt the Analysis Skill's execution and he allowed his senses to return. A multi-coloured screen had already appeared before him,
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Filter Beast
Health: 8,201/9,412
Mana: 1/1
Energy: 47/50
- Created by the Zodiacs eighty-two (82) years ago.
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