One example for this are the Grasslings. They have enough brainpower to follow the order, but not enough to question the order.
Just enough, according to the queen.
Pure mana is mana with no intent or any essence. Unclaimed mana should be rare to find, but anyone can claim pure mana, and once claimed, the intellectual being's intent and essence are infused into the mana.
From a wild beast, it turns into a tamed dog.
If unique mana is sent into another object, be it inanimate or animate, they retain and transform the unique mana to their attributes.
Devour used on a rock depleted his mana pool significantly by using more resources to change the unique mana into his own.
Much later, Tetsu also discovers the rock to become much weaker. This was like when he used Target. As a rock has no other stat, depriving its inner mana makes it much weaker. It's almost like draining its health pool.
Out of curiosity, Tetsu also tested to see if the rock, being an inanimate object, could gain its mana back.
He didn't want to share the details, but the rock regained its mana much faster than Tetsu.
"Dumb rock has only one thing to do. Of course, it's a bit faster than me." He scowls at the rock.
The rock was so much faster than him.
"Hey!" He shifts the scowl toward the sage.
Devour paid his efforts in gold when Tetsu used the rune while devouring the black meat of the booger.
This satisfied his childhood fantasies and proved his many theories on vital energy. It is indeed created by a living being.
How is Vital Force in the environment? More experiments and theories were needed.
Above all, with an increasing appetite, he was looking forward to competing with the best.
"Must be something to do with its remnant vitality?" Tetsu wonders as he tears into the meat. "Hmm... surprisingly good." He mumbles with his mouth full.
Two little dings confirm his core theories.
For all the times Tetsu scolded, taunted, and praised the system, one sound never failed to raise his excitement through the roof.
Any heart patient with his condition would be long dead.
While Tetsu cherished a billion albums and trillions of sounds throughout his entire life, none ever came close to this sound. This unique sound held a deeper meaning to the most important aspect of one's life.
'Ding!' The sound of progress.
[Ding! Skill: Mana drain is available.]
"I've been waiting for you." Tetsu chuckles. "Der aaye durust aaye" He recites an Indian proverb. Better late than never.
[Mana Drain breaks and consumes other mana affinities into your own. A shell depleted of mana takes longer to recover, while the user can siphon new mana with much more ease.]
[Affliction: Mana drain increases over a recovering enemy. Level: Warrior. Rarity: Uncommon. Cool down: 00:00sec]
Strong skills come with cool-down periods, and crazy powerful skills take even longer timers. Tetsu notes down the discovery and places the skill in the skills tomb folder.
[Ding! Racial gift: Vampiric fangs are available: Quench your thirst by devouring the world from its claim over the life force. The deeper your fangs penetrate, the stronger shall your hold become. For the fangs mark your identity amongst the Bloodfeast races of the Vamp and every prey is but at the mercy of your fangs. Any and every affliction caused by the use of fangs has a stacking effect. Devour every form of vitality to your heart's content as you regain vital energy. Like the order of the Bloodfeast races of the multiverse, you have proven your hunger for blood.]
"Ew! Blood." Gags Tetsu. "Wait... Vampires?" He puzzles over the information. "Hmm... now it's cool."
Tetsu's inner goth cheers over the idea of two pointy fangs.
Which generation of teenagers didn't dream of being a vampire? He knew the implications of being a vampire. Movies never show you the backlash and here in the incubation grounds, every aspect revolves around backlashes.
The reason Tetsu got the gift had to do something about how he ate.
"I need to cook my meat more." Tetsu shakes his head. "This is my fault, but…" He moves his tongue over his premature tooth.
[Warning! With no affinities related to the Crimson Curse, you cannot accept the racial gift.]
"Party popper." Tetsu scowls at the notification. "I was not going to accept it, anyway. Vampires must have a lot of flaws and I like the sun."
[Ding! The Crimson Curse affinity has been weaved into your mana.]
[Ding! Required affinity found…]
Tetsu ignores the rest of the message and accepts the racial gift. With a toothy smile, he drenches under the information gained from his new skill.
[Vampiric fangs are being woven over the shell and connected to your soul.]
A severe headache invades Tetsu as his head molds itself to support his new fangs. He stops resisting and lets the pain overwhelm him. Being unconscious was better, and so he willingly passed out.
[Ding! Congratulations, the racial abilities of Vampiric fangs have been unlocked. Now store part of your records inside your fangs to strengthen their bond. Fangs grow alongside their user and still maintain parts of the user's soul after the user has long passed away.]
[Ding! Skill: Vamp Bite has been unlocked: Rip flesh or penetrate rock through a single bite. Once under your mercy, never shall your prey escape. Bones break, flesh, tears, and enemies surrender when they see a vampiric fang. These fangs aren't just your identity but a symbol of terror. Level: Initiate. Rarity: Common.]
[Ding! You unlocked the skill: Empiric Hiss: Strike terror into one's soul. A sound is enough to mark your presence, demand surrender, and claim your territory. It's more effective than other blood users. Level: Initiate. Rarity: Common.]
[Ding! You unlocked the skill: Vital Drain: Drain vital energy with ease when your fangs are embedded deeper inside your victim. Far from being a true Vamp, you took the first step to embrace their true order. As a hybrid, you don't require vital force to survive, but vital drain can assist you above and beyond the norm means of consumption. Level: Warrior. Rarity: Uncommon.]
[Ding! You unlocked the skill: Skull Ore: it has modified your skull to better suit your fangs, increasing its structural integrity to neglect minor damages and resist stronger afflictions. With a stronger skull, may you push your body to greater limits. +1 Fort, +2 Dex, +2 Rex, per level. Level: Warrior. Rarity: Common.]
[Ding! You unlocked the skill: Vamp break: Fangs can down any object to its most basic component, allowing its users to drain the pure vital energy and neglect any harmful substances circulating inside the shell or vital force. Level: Conqueror. Rarity: Epic.]
[Warning! Any affliction greater than the user's level will still deal substantial damage. Mana usage depends on conversion.]
"Let me apologize for my premature ass." Tetsu bows, his head still piercing daggers.
[Warning! Crimson Curse is forcing Rune Force to bow to its will.]
"Fuck you!" Tetsu flips off the system. "I knew you were up to something."
To date, Tetsu can't explain the exact details leading to this incident, but somehow, he managed to enforce the Rune Force with his will and dominate the Crimson Curse to fuck-off.
He would've loved to have them both, but the Crimson Curse was too dominating, and 'Rune Force' was too much of a coward to do anything.
A conflict arose, and the runes packed their bags, ready to leave. They simply don't do conflicts. Tetsu had to force them to stay while the crimson curse behaved like that douchebag who mistreats the heroine before she found her way to the hero.
Crimson Curse must have tried the smooth approach at first. Yet he had no way of knowing how strict of a girl 'Rune Force' was. His red flags made her leave as soon as he tried to approach.
Tetsu intervened, not wanting her to leave. To solve the problem, he had no other choice but to decline the crimson curse from his system. With no clue how? He just willed Crimson Curse to leave and so it did. That's how Tetsu lost the crimson curse affinity, retaining 'Rune force.'
"Not all affinities mix." He shrugs.
A part of him missed being a vampire, but those two seconds of grandeur will forever be with him.
The pointy edge of his teeth, the unusual sensation of having two daggers stuck between his teeth, the unbelievable sensation of being able to chew through bones, and the overall might of his head, made him desire a headbutt contest with some rocks.
"I can still feel it present." Tetsu runs his tongue over his fangs. "It's like it never left." The tooth cuts across the enthusiastic tongue. "Ah, it is real!"
Tetsu shuts his mouth, activating his vampiric gift and the devour rune. He contains and swallows the blood, healing his tongue within seconds.
"I still have the skill?" gurgles Tetsu.
Tetsu didn't mind nor wonder about the many gifts of becoming a full-fledged vampire. He has fangs to show off and satisfy his inner goth and that was more than enough.
Little moments and little victories.
[Ding! Skills lost…]
The list went on as Tetsu lost quite a lot of skill. The fangs being weaved into his true soul must've forced them to stay or whatever they meant by that!
His skull got stronger to support his fangs, while the core feature of the fangs being able to suck on vital force was left with Tetsu. The rest followed the blood affinity and left Tetsu's system.
He also assumed he could access other features of the fang with more training. Some experiments already forming in his devious head.
Hoping to boost his resources faster, Tetsu tried to etch even more runes of Devour around his body. This theory failed, as he had to split his focus, which did more harm than help. But pairing his fangs with his 'devour' rune complimented both skills and boosted his recovery rate.
"Let's take this as a win and move on."
Two wins, if you consider Tetsu's latest entry.
Red flags of runes.
1. Perfect Communication.
2. Twins are trouble.
Unlike humans, fairies or runes have identical twins. Just adding more than one rune over the same object doesn't enhance its power. If one fairy is working, the other will take a nap. This splits your focus during battle, while ultimately only one rune works.
"Twins are high maintenance with similar benefits and high risks."
Tetsu stirred far away from his research and wanted to get back to making some 'one-shot' 'one-kill' artifacts. After retrieving his expandable walking stick, which did one thing and was deemed an artifact, Tetsu planned on modifying it to get the class.
Like his Glyphsage or Rune force affinity, he might hack his way into becoming an artifact maker or whatever it is they are called. Another sage or an affinity related to artifacts can bridge the gap between theory and practicality.
Tetsu just wished he got a better teacher this time.
Tetsu Sharpened a stringer and carved small holes beneath the artifact. When the holes got too big, he infused more mana into the stick's rune to activate and cover his mistake.
With the help of his new class 'Crafter' and the new title 'Novice Craftsmen', Tetsu carved better holes to fix tiny charcoal shards.
Expand the stick towards the target or Tetsu's favorite move; twist and slam the stick with style to release a gust of smoke. The idea of breaking a bunch of charcoal shards over his opponent's face was tempting, yet this didn't qualify Tetsu to become an artifact maker.
An inspiration pushed him to use his smoke orb but Tetsu's held out on that idea. He had something more interesting in mind, and this would be an amazing addition if that worked out.
Tetsu practiced and controlled his intent while infusing his mana into the artifact. With practice, he extended the tip without disrupting his curvatures.
It would be tedious work to sit and carve holes into the artifact after every fight or during a fight. Once he got accustomed to enforcing his will onto the artifact, Tetsu moved on to the design part.
At the bottom of the stick, Tetsu carved out a cylindrical shape that can hold or throw his smoke orb. With enough force, he plans to flick the stick and send the orb flying.
Under the guidance of his new crafting knowledge, he made several deeper holes to hold charcoal shards. After all, the smoke orb is primarily meant to serve as his safety pill for extra mana and later as a quick distraction. The actual use of the system skill.
Tetsu wished to fill the orb with vitality instead, but he had to work with what he had, no more bickering.
The artifact did not have a top or bottom. Based on one's 'will' or intent inside their mana, the stick grew either from the top, bottom, or both ends.
"Maybe that's why it's an artifact?" He notes down.
His idea of sharpening a stick didn't involve the user's intent. Tetsu considered infusing his 'will' to make the sharpest wooden stake ever, but gave up on the idea once he said it out loud.
"We need wooden stakes if vampires are lurking around." Tetsu considers the idea and disagrees with himself once again. "Nah! There must be much more to it than a simple stake."
Tetsu's stomach rumbles, imagining juicy steaks. Tetsu's fangs slid into existence, filling Tetsu's mouth with uncontrollable saliva. These fangs increased his imagination and hunger.
"Dang it, you English language!"
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