Chương 5: Mana Manipulation

Time passed with Sebastian and me mostly staying still. I had asked the man about my fighting style and how I should use my Stat Points, but he refused to answer. He just said that this was a deeply personal thing and that I should come to the conclusion on my own. However, he made sure to reiterate the fact that I didn't have to come to the decision today. But I did. Pretty fast too. I was in a completely new world, with magic, and I was not supposed to use magic? Yeah, there was no way.

The decision was easy, quick, and instantaneous. Are you sure you wish to learn [Mana Manipulation - Uncommon]? Yes. You have gained [Mana Manipulation - Uncommon]. And with that, a wave of information, combined with a certain feeling, hit me. I knew what Mana was. I knew how it functioned in relation to skills. Most importantly, I felt my mana inside my body. Most of it was densely packed around my heart, while a small percentage kept circulating through my body, head to toe.

It was as if a whole new world was unlocked for me. I focused on my heart, then tried to use one of the circulation paths I felt. I failed. No, I didn't just fail. The mana inside my heart didn't even budge, let alone move towards the circulation path. I tried again. This time I focused on moving a small amount of mana. I failed. I tried to move less mana than before. But if before I tried to move 80% of my heart's mana, then now it was around 50%. I failed. I tried again and cut the amount significantly.

It still didn't budge. I repeated the process until the amount was so minuscule that my pride hurt. This time the mana budged, if ever so slightly. And with that came a giant headache. I wanted to continue trying, but my migraine didn't allow me to focus properly, so I had to give up for now. Still, I was extremely proud of my progress. More importantly, I was extremely happy with my skill. I was hesitant at first, thinking my skills would be better suited for people originally from this world, but nope.

Well, maybe, but I wouldn't give up my Mana Manipulation no matter how much more suited they were for it. I loved the skill already. It was mine.

"I see so you have decided to use Mana Manipulation," Sebastian said.

"Not a bad choice. Especially considering how the skill is already Uncommon Grade. But I am sure you have already noticed the problem with it." I nodded. Higher rarity skills were harder to use. Especially General Skills.

"I managed," I said, quite proud of my progress.

"It was fun. Before I even could focus on using the mana, I had to force my mind to focus on less mana. And even then, the process was hard. It was like pushing against a tree with all my power just with my mind." Sebastian nodded.

"Yeah, Mana Manipulation is fun for a lot of people. And it's also the foundation of a lot of Classes. It's a very useful skill, but it all depends on how you use it. For most, it just complements their other Mana Skills." Me and the man kept talking about Mana Manipulation for quite some time. While Sebastian was a lot less enthusiastic about the skill compared to me, he also liked it. He even recommended me a few exercises I could do once I was properly able to use my Mana.

Honestly, I could have talked about mana a ton longer. It was that awesome. It was the world's energy and used in pretty much every skill. Each sentient being held a small amount of mana no matter what. And I could manipulate that. Well, barely. But I could. It wasn't until Sebastian stopped me from talking that I realized just how much time had passed.

"Use your Stat Points when you are ready," he said and drank his tea. I didn't know when his cup appeared, but it was somewhere in the middle of the conversation. I petted Inky and pulled up my status sheet. Name: Ivor Harvings Class: Life Simulator [Unique] Level: 5 [9%] Rank: Wood Stats: Strength: 7 Dexterity: 8 Constitution: 5 Mana: 8 Free Points: 25 Skills: Life Simulation [Unique] - Level 1 Skill transfer [Unique] - Level 1 This novel is published on a different platform.

Support the original author by finding the official source. General Skill [1/3]: Mana Manipulation [Uncommon] - Level 1 Limbo State Skills: Swordsmanship [Common] - Level 5 Assassination [Common] - Level 4 Hiding [Common] - Level 6 The first thing I noticed was that all of my stat points had risen by four points, exactly the number of times I leveled up. I brought it up with Sebastian.

"That's normal," he nodded.

"But it's not about your Class. It is believed to have something to do with your Race. Dwarfs and Elves also get points each time they level up, but I am not certain if their distribution is the same as ours. I haven't met one of their kind yet. Anyway, it has nothing to do with your Class." Finally, I understood. After Sebastian's explanation, some of that information returned to my mind. I had learned it in class but since I was drunk, I couldn't remember anything.

Anyway, on the other side of the Kingdom, we bordered a Kingdom of dwarves. As for elves, I had no idea. I decided not to use my Stat points for now. It didn't matter if I did after all. Sebastian and the families knights were enough. I couldn't make a difference no matter what. I rested after my Mana Manipulation and made sure to drink and eat enough. Once I felt like my head was back to its prime again, I began playing with my mana again. A couple of hours later, our carriage stopped, and we took a break.

I used this chance to walk around a little. I tried to use my mana while moving, and surprisingly, it worked without any issues. But since it was resting time, I quickly stopped my little test. Once the horses had adequate rest, we went back on the road and I back to my Mana Manipulation. And with that, the day passed quietly. But my results weren't for naught. Right before going to sleep, I managed to move a small percentage of my Mana through what I learned were my Mana Channels. Unfortunately, I didn't get far.

So, I went to bed.

I woke up and started my Mana Manipulation training. With the time I had to myself, I also realized there were some questions I needed the answer to. So, the moment Sebastian woke up, I bombarded him with those questions.

"How many more days until we reach Blackstone town?" Sebastian groggily looked at me, then answered with a sigh.

"Hard to say. Depends on how often we rest and how much time we will spend in the last city. We will need to restock supplies, but if I had to guess, around a month."

"How long until the city?"

"Five to seven days." I nodded.

"What do we know about my new territory?"

"Not much," Sebastian said and stayed silent for a brief moment.

"The count didn't share much. And even when I went and asked, he mostly just scolded me for being there instead of you." I grimaced.

"Blackstone Town might be a town in name, but it's the size of a village. Famine has withered it and the surrounding lands' crops, starving and killing a good portion of the population. There are no natural resources that I know of besides wood in the Verdant Expanse Forest and stone in the Titans Spine Mountainside." I stayed silent for a moment and considered the man's words. Honestly, they didn't mean much to me. Sure, stone and woods sounded nice, but I had no idea what to do with them. Sell them, I guess?

But the Verdant Expanse was gigantic. The forest I saw yesterday was that forest. And we were at least a month away. Wood should not be a scarce resource around here. The Mountainside was the same size.

"What kind of famine was that?"

"No idea." I stayed silent. The next question died in my throat. The situation was bad. People were already starving. Dying. And I had no idea what to do about it. So, I changed the topic.

"What about threats?" Sebastian nodded.

"It's relatively safe. The power level around Blackstones' immediate surroundings is at the maximum Bronze Rank. The forest is large, so only weak beasts roam its edges. There is no dungeon that I know of, so no interest from other nobles and adventurers. Our neighbor is Baron Adrian. He keeps the roads safe. Not much information besides this." I should have known all of this information. But the past Ivor didn't bother asking. We kept talking. Then one of the knights stopped at my window and brought us breakfast.

It was dried beef cheeky from pork and meat and some bread. Sebastian and I ate it without complaints and drank his tea. Then I went back to my Mana Manipulation training.

Five days had passed by now. I tried Life Simulation multiple times already, but the Skill was still on cooldown. With nothing better to do, I just trained until I had a headache. Like right now. I looked outside, enjoying the view and cool breeze against my face. The sky was still as clear as before. As long as I have been here, I had only seen clouds a few times. The flowerbeds from before, however, began to disappear. They changed to a slightly rougher view than I would have preferred.

A raging river cut through the lands in front of us, and debris was scattered all across the surroundings. The carriage neared the river, the sound it made practically drowning out everything else that could be heard, before we reached a stone bridge. Hitting the peak of the bridge, I took a sharp breath. My nostrils filled with the damp air, and my eyes widened.

"A bastion turned city," Sebastian said to me.

"Fort Barthorn. Named after the man that defended the thing until his last breath. A brave soldier." Giant walls that were as thick as they were tall entered my vision. A moat was dug around it, with laid-down wooden bridges allowing for entry. Around it barren lands and a few out-of-use farms, with not one stone or tree in sight, giving perfect visibility. The city stood on a small hill, making it the highest thing in its surroundings. Unless you counted our position too.

We were quite a bit higher, but the road sloped downward before going up again. Still, it allowed me to see inside the Fort. The houses too were built out of stone. Inside there was a second wall, but this one was significantly smaller. I almost had confused it with the other houses.

"You said the place was safe?"

"It is," Sebastian confirmed his words.

"But it wasn't always. See the forest in the far distance. That's the Verdant Expanse. Maybe a century ago, greens used to pour out of it in mass. The river being a strategic resource back then excused the formation of the Fort. But that was a long time ago. The Greens are gone now." I nodded. I knew what the Greens were. Goblins, Orcs, ogres, and everything in between them.

They were all classified under the term greens, one because they all bore similar skin, but more importantly because of their practically identical nature. Greens were pests. They would breed with whatever and whoever, mature fast, and devour the lands they were placed upon. It was said they were at fault for the barren lands. As we neared Fort Barthorn, I realized just how far away we still were. I wasn't even sure we would reach it tonight. So, I turned my attention back to what was more important.

Mana Manipulation. I focused on my heart, then the mana within or around it. I couldn't quite tell. I locked in on a portion of mana before forcing my mind to concentrate on a smaller part. Then I repeated the process until it was just enough Mana I could control. It was kind of like using a microscope. Today, I would try to use more of my mana. My mana instantly moved out from my heart through my mana channels.

Following my pathways, it traveled all the way to my fingers before circulating back to my heart, up to my brain, down to my legs, and back to my heart. After I completed one lap, I felt my body strengthen ever so slightly. It was barely noticeable. In fact, I doubted it was even noticeable to other people. But I felt it. And in that process, some of my Mana dissipated out of my body. Now, I had done this before. But it had never felt this easy. It was amazing.

I felt like I could use even more mana than I used right now. I opened my eyes and realized why. Mana Manipulation [Uncommon] has reached level 2.