'Woah, did she do this last night too? No wonder I didn't feel cold. Sweet, now I can begin thinking about creation magic.' Cain ate another skewer as his subconscious filter allowed the note taking process to begin.
'For these experiments, I'll need something to create to test some theories. I'll have to try creating something I vaguely know of, something I barely understand the production process of, something that I completely understand the production process of, and something I know the composition of.
'In the fire spell earlier I understood the reactions of the atoms and how they were arranged. This can be counted as a complete understanding of the object. The cost of mana for that spell wasn't much and the size was decent.
'I can use my shirt as something I barely understand the production process of. I know the fabric is woven from cotton using industrial machines and cut to corresponding pieces. After this, workers or machines would connect the fabrics with seams to make the clothes. Seems reasonable…
'For the third type, I can use paper since it has a fairly simple production process. As for a vague creation… I guess I can try soap. I know the chemical processes for making soap vaguely, ironically, it's called saponification. I just don't know all of the ingredients, the methods used, or the detailed process since there are so many varieties. '
With the notes written, Cain expelled some mana in front of him and controlled it to form the shape of a shirt. He desperately focused on mimicking the production process in his head and allowed mana to freely flow out of him. After a few minutes passed by, a shirt started to take form and the notes continued.
'Holy crap, that took so much mana. I only used the mana within my body to create it, so… about 500,000. According to the mana streams, there doesn't seem to be any residual mana floating around like that fire left earlier.
'It appears that it consumes mana directly to make mass… Yikes, if I continuously use this method while regaining mana from the environment, I could end up breaking the cycle of mana (if there even is one).
'I have to be careful to not use this method too often or for big items or else this place will lose all of its mana, presumably like Earth. Or maybe Earth didn't have any mana to begin with… or maybe we just can't sense it? Agh, got sidetracked again.
'Oooh, I wonder if it's possible to make items or living creatures turn into mana. I should try it with Insect Eraser after I finish this set of experiments. This way I won't have to clean up so many ash piles.
'Now it's time to try creating something that I thoroughly understand the production process of.' Cain tossed the newly created shirt up and down a few times before setting it aside, through this process he estimated its mass and the gravity of this new planet.
'It seems like gravity is the same as Earth. Based on the feeling of the shirt, it weighs a little under 150g. I can't tell exactly so I'll assume a potential 20 grams higher to be safe.
'A normal piece of paper is about 5 to 10g a piece. I'll assume 8g per piece and create 25 sheets of paper. Having set the specifics of the experiment, Cain followed the same process for creating the shirt, the notes gathering all of that knowledge in one spot for convenience.
'Paper is just matted plant matter that's crushed, filtered, squeezed, then rolled multiple times by machines. After the machines are done with the process, it's laid out to dry in massive sheets.'
As Cain centralized all information related to the process of making paper, multiple rectangles hovered in front of him. They slowly started to form as small amounts of natural mana circulated around the transparent rectangles.
'Now that I got the hang of using my mana and natural mana, I should be able to step it up some.' Cain eagerly thought, curious about his limits. Small streams of mana circled the unformed paper, slowly forming its existence. Within a minute, the paper started to take shape as it neared completion. The newly formed paper floated downwards towards the fire, the effects of gravity now able to affect them, the mana used to hold them in the air consumed.
'Crap! I need to save some of it so I can inspect it.' Cain frantically grasped at the floating paper as most of it caught fire. Dresil stared in awe and amusement while using her roots to direct the lit papers into the fire to prevent the spread.
'Phew that was close… I managed to get a few crumpled pieces and I think one landed to the side.' Cain sat back down as he picked up the stray paper, the report on the experiment's results coming up.
'Let's see… The paper seems to be a bit rougher than what I'm used to. It burns like normal paper and is crushed with the same amount of effort. It's just the texture that's off.
'I used about 100,000 of my mana and roughly 350,000 natural mana to create this batch. Mass is assumed to be the same, meaning the mana difference should be due to a difference in understanding.
'I just need to test to see how vague the understanding can get before I can't create anything anymore. I should probably burn the rest of these though. It could cause a stir, seeing how Dresil was using parchment earlier.'
As Cain reluctantly tossed the newly created sheets of paper into the fire, he recollected what he knew about soap bars.
'Creating one bar should be the same mass as everything else made so far. I really don't know anything about soap… Just that there is maybe some calcium carbonate in it, fat undergoes a chemical process, and it cleans well.
'I've seen some of my shampoo have caffeine listed in the ingredients for whatever reason… I should exclude this though in case I accidentally create soda. On second thought, I should do that soon...'
Cain expelled some mana and pulled all of the natural mana within a 5-meter radius towards him. Once the mana was somewhat packed together, he began forming the soap bar. The enormous amount of mana was condensed into a small rectangle. The soap started to take shape as Cain slowly opened his eyes, unable to bear the anticipation.
After all the mana was condensed into the rectangle, it appeared the bar of soap was getting its color. A faint sweet smell emitted from the semi-transparent mass. Cain took a peek at the soap, imagining the days he can finally take a shower. Dresil looked over, attracted by the smell.
The bar of soap started to solidify while releasing some bubbles. Right as it neared completion, the bar collapsed inwards and disappeared, leaving those small amounts of bubbles floating in the air. Dresil giggled as Cain stared off into the empty space left by the bar with pure disappointment.
'You've got to be kidding me… What happened? Cain used his mana to examine the surroundings of where the soap was being formed. Oh… all of the mana here has been used up… Dang… I was sure there were at least 2 million packed in here. I think I used 400,000 of my mana as well. I never knew this was so inefficient…
'For future creations like these, it would be better to try experimenting with the production process and already created items to understand them more. I could even try creating it by hand first.
'So far creating inanimate objects is a success. It would be best if I tried creating small animals somewhere else in case the creation draws unwanted attention.' Filled with disappointment, Cain looked down as the dim light of Insect Eraser radiated throughout the cave. 'Oh right, I still need to test some things out with this.'
Cain let out a big yawn as he meditated on the giant magic circle laid out under him. 'It seems like the residual mana left in the circle was enough to keep it maintained for now. Let's put some more in and change it to converting insects into mana. As for the process, breaking them down automatically and using existing natural mana as a blueprint for conversion into mana should be good.'
As Cain ironed out the details to the changes, he reached for another skewer. He grasped air several times before opening his eyes. 'Dang it… I ate them all already.' Disappointed, Cain finished changing Insect Eraser as a few moths were drawn to the fire. 'Perfect. Some specimens arrived right on time.'
The moths came into range of the Insect Eraser and instantly dissipated. Several huge bursts of mana are released violently as huge amounts of mana was drained from Cain. He coughed several times due to the unexpected drain of mana.
'Dang… Wasn't expecting it to use 200,000 mana per moth all of a sudden. It looks like it released about 300,000 though. I should change the magic circle to absorb some of the mana the insects release to ease the burden.
'Actually, let's make it self-sufficient. Otherwise, my body would be just like a leaking bucket whenever I try to replenish my mana. After making the necessary changes, Cain put on his new shirt. The smooth yet stiff shirt wrapped around his skin, the texture slightly different, but still passable. He laid down in the bed Dresil made, deciding to call it a night here…
Almost. As usual, our thoughts roamed rampantly at this time of the night.
'The shirt feels like normal. Some parts feel weird though. Looks like understanding and the will to create or cast have major influences in magic overall. Mana can be used to overcome one or the other at a great cost though.
'We should head into the city tomorrow; we can't keep living like this anyways. I also need to find ways to strengthen my body, become immune to poisons and disease, read minds or develop an intelligence system to stay one step ahead of potential enemies, and the limits of regeneration if I want to be completely carefree in this world.
'I also lack a lot of combat experience. Signing up at the adventurer's guild and doing quests should expose me to opportunities to find the answer for all of these as well as getting some combat experience. I'm going to need to find a sparring partner to get some human combat experience since fighting humans and monsters are different.
'There's also the big question as to why I was summoned here. Wait, was I summoned or reincarnated? I couldn't see without my glasses before, so it seems like my original body was brought here. That's good… I won't have to waste time getting used to moving around in a new body.'
Dresil floated over to the fire and collapsed the ground beneath it. The fire was swallowed by dirt and was extinguished. The ground laid still for a few moments until the remaining wood and charcoal are abruptly spit back out.
The cave glowed eerily as the Insect Chaser spell was being maintained. Dresil floated back and lifted Cain's head up while squeezing her lap underneath. Leaves sprout from the ground as they cover Cain like blankets.
'Was that a ghost? Oh, no, it's just Dresil. Scared me for a bit. All I could see were her knees and up, this lighting didn't help either. The ground seemed to move around her spookily too. I was kind of hoping she would join me in bed for cuddles… Meh, at least this pillow is nice, soft, and warm. Time to hibernate…'
Cain drifted into a deep sleep while Dresil inspected his body. Her inspection revealed Cain's mana constantly replenishing itself using the surroundings. She couldn't hold back her eagerness as she started to slowly absorb some of it before calling it a night.