Karl managed to make it to the third step before the crushing weight of the mana test forced him to a stop, freezing his body in place and preventing him from taking another step.
There was an enormous amount of power around him, and he had very little clue about what to do with it. It wasn't the same as the energy in his beast spaces, but it was similar. It almost felt like an unformed magical attack, power waiting for guidance.
That was a concept that he understood a bit better. The energy that he used to form attacks came through the beast space, normally Hawk's as Karl hadn't tried really using any ability but Rend and Shred. He could use the Lightning Shield to a comfortable standard, and Offensive Optimization was more of a passive ability that worked all the time, so it was the one space where he normally got his power.
