Chương 31: Chapter Thirty-One: Experiments

With the array bearing down on me, I move to the center of the room once again. Ignoring the sticky sensation of wet blood underneath my feet, I set my emission rate and make sure I have the timing controlled before beginning my cycle anew. It takes a few minutes of gathering, but I eventually have a sufficient amount of filtered mana flowing through the loop and begin infusing the excess into my hands. I have made minor tweaks to my timing and the total amount of mana I have remaining in my network.

This time though, I make a bigger change, and instead of using <Emit> to continue the filtering process, I lighten the load on myself by expelling any newly produced mana altogether. This new version of my experiment will allow me to focus more on managing the infusion process into my hands, while freeing up some smaller part of my mind that usually manages the filtration process. The new version is not without fault though, as I can feel my timeline to act drop sharply as no new mana is introduced to my body.

This leaves me with significantly less fuel to manage the entire process as a whole because my skills still require some measure of mana to operate. Feeling the dwindling mana pool, I hesitate for a moment before attempting to remedy the situation by rushing to my end goal. Using the mana in my hands, I begin to reach out a tendril of filtered mana through each of my palms. Since the mana doesn't contain any of the volatility that my converted variant does, the tendrils reach out of my skin with relative ease now.

I attempt to bind the two tendrils together to create a tunnel between my two hands, but my rush to complete the process causes my control to lack the required finesse, and my stored mana leaks from the tendrils. Due to the leak and my dry mana stores, the loop in my network begins to unravel, and I am forced to abandon this attempt while letting the mana release through my pores using <Emit>. A tsk echoes through the empty room and I head toward the archive to check out my record.

It also gives me a chance to refill some of my mana pool, as each experiment results in a significant loss of mana despite me not having achieved anything. Reading the records from my last attempt, I can already tell where I went wrong. This try was significantly better than all of my previous attempts, and I think I know just the push to complete the experiment. Slotting the sheet back in its spot, I take a few minutes to consolidate my thoughts on the exact process I want to follow for my next try.

This could realistically be the time in which I finally make the new skill I have been sorely wanting for the past week. Tens of previous attempts and hours upon hours of blueprinting in my head should finally pay off and grant me either the same skill that Lirin has, or at least something adjacent to it. I can't wait to see the look on the bastard's face when I show him. If he doesn't take me out to level up immediately afterward, then I know for a fact the maniac-wannabe-warlock is insane after all.

Letting out a calming breath full of quiet excitement, I begin the familiar process of filtering my mana while I begin to feed the loop in my [Mana Foundation]. The mana fills my network, and I try something new that should void my need to use <Infuse> until the very end. <Mana Control Lvl. 13 -> Mana Control Lvl.

14> Splitting my focus as best I can, I use the familiar cycling technique to passively siphon the majority of the mana waves that spill from the loop and feed them into a new route that follows through both of my arms. Slowly, I begin flattening the growing circle in my foundation and use the new pathways the mana takes through my arms to stretch the circle into an ellipse.

Without the activation of another skill to worry about on top of the three I am already using, the process of stretching the loop to run through my entire upper body is slow but much easier than my attempts before. After several minutes, I can feel the loop filled with enough mana to move to the next stage of my plan.

As the cycle reaches toward my palms and continues on its path back through my chest, I let <Emit> take over the expulsion of any incoming mana, while I instantly swap the vestiges of concentration that were regulating my filtering process straight into managing <Infuse>. With that taken care of, the timer has started and I push mana through my palms smoothly while making sure not to rush.

I don't even bother checking my dwindling mana pool and instead hedge my bets on my reserves that hopefully won't peter out in the middle of the next step. Ever so carefully, I connect the two tendrils formed between my hands. The second they are one, I shift the majority of my attention on feeding the singular thread to strengthen its existence using <Infuse>. As this goes on, I hollow out the tube in a similar fashion to when I attempted to melt my restraints back in the goblin prison on Floor One.

Finally, while I feel my mind begin to strain under the precise use of so many skills, I open my eyes and begin envisioning the shape I want to form. The sweat and blood that linger on my skin cause my eyes to sting, but I am beyond the point of feeling any of it as I watch the contained tunnel of mana in my hands begin to build a mass inside.

I've easily poured 80% of the mana I had contained in the loop into my hands, so with the regeneration process of my mana stalled due to <Emit>, I am forced to go all in before my mana stores run out. Dropping my use of <Emit> entirely, I ignore the trickle of volatile mana entering my network and instead use <Mana Control> to cut off all remaining mana from my hands.

With only two skills to worry about, I push my concentration to a razor's edge as I pull every last dreg of mana I had collected and <Infuse> it into the containment tunnel I created between my palms. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. < Fixation Lvl. 9 -> Fixation Lvl.

10 > I don't even notice the notification in front of me before I finally run out of mana the very second I form the tunnel in my hands into a sphere and shrink it around the concentrated mass of mana I forced inside earlier. My vision partially blacks out and I feel a horrible weakness left from my empty mana pools as my connection to the mana mass is cut off. Instead of despairing though, I grin and collapse to my knees as I stare at the hovering ball of mana.

It is no bigger than a grape and looks almost transparent due to my lacking mana stores that fueled it, but floating lazily in the air is a certified mana sphere that persists despite not being connected to an energy source. < You have learned the skill: Mana Construct > < Mana Construct Lvl. 0 -> Mana Construct Lvl. 1 > The little ball only sustains itself for a few seconds before falling apart. It doesn't matter though; the hardest part is done.

"What the hell are you doing?" The suffocating array around me dies off as I turn around to find Lirin waiting next to the archive with a heavy frown marring his face. That is not the face I was hoping to see.

"Uh, weren't you supposed to be gone until tomorrow morning?"

"I finished my task and hurried back because I thought of a new training exercise for you." You have got to be kidding.

"Is there a reason you are using an array I specifically told you not to use?"

"Eh…Did you see what I did before you walked in? I know you didn't want me to use it because it could hinder my skill progression bu-""Who told you this?" My words catch in my throat under his intense blue gaze. He looks even angrier after I repeat what I heard from Wade.

"You are an ill-informed imbecile." The warlock takes off his robe and walks toward me with that alien glow emanating from his irises. His gaze feels like it holds me in place as my breath begins to quicken.

"The reason I didn't want you using this array is not because I was concerned about your skill progression. If you had properly done your homework, then you would know that this array was specifically designed by me to enhance the user's skill growth. The array was created to offer the user an analysis of their skill usage without providing technical advice. It records and simulates the exact mana configuration utilized for the user themselves to observe and learn from.

The Artificial Mana Vector Examination Array is a prototype I built to provide a solution to our monster wave issue outside the walls of our kingdom. This job was tasked to me by King Kryle's most trusted attendant." The blue light from Lirin's eyes shine brighter and I can feel my body being squeezed.

"Despite the array's superior function, there is one issue with my prototype that which I have been working to fix. The array consumes too much power. Even a meager five minutes of usage at its highest setting will run even the largest mana batteries we have on hand to empty. The warlock stands in front of me and stares down his nose at me while I cannot bring myself to look at him.

"And what do I find my useless trainee doing while I am gone? Wasting all of my stored mana batteries to level his skills despite me having already provided him with more than enough training to raise his skills to levels that wouldn't be attainable on his own." All of the anger I had gained from hearing that the other mentors were treating the rest of the group members so well seems to have abandoned me.

The bravado I gained from learning a new skill that I thought would shut Lirin up for good is also draining from my body at a rapid pace.

"Bu-but…I haven't gained any levels to be ready for the wave in less than a month. I just thought that my progress wouldn't be enough to survive." My excuse sounds even more lame out loud than in my head.

"Oh, I see. You heard about how the other trainers were allowing their trainees to level up toward getting classes, is that right?" I stay silent as he begins to pace around me in a circle.

"You probably aren't aware of this because I specifically made a point to not tell you. The more skills and higher levels you reach in each of them carry forward for your class selection. These 'free levels' as you friends might refer to them as are nothing more than a waste of their time and energy. By rushing toward the level threshold for a class, you are squandering your potential options." Dread seeps into my veins like an icy chill.

"Now you might ask why I don't just let you reach level 24 then, right? Theoretically it would allow you time to still gain more skills and levels before your class selection at level 25, correct?" I feel a heavy impact in the back of my head that blurs my vision, but I still do not budge from my spot in the center of the room.

"This is the thought process of a fool. An individual's level itself is also a factor in the class options provided by the System. The lower level you are, the more impressive your ability to gain skills. To reach a skill level above one's own before the class selection is an achievement in itself. This would be significantly harder if you were to sit at level 24 and only then begin to attempt to level your skills like an ape." Another slap rocks my head in place.

"Now, with all of this information finally at your fingertips, do you realize the mistake you have made?" I can't move any of my muscles, so another slap spins my skull back and forth like a bobblehead.

"Of course you don't. You still probably think attempting to learn a new skill using my array was a stroke of genius, right? I can tell you succeeded, as your network is already partially adapting to your new skills' requirements. Congratulations are in order then, correct?" I am on the edge of passing out due to the continuous head trauma and the squeeze of Lirin's presence.

"No, you fool. I don't know what skill you received, but I am sure it was not worth raising the difficulty threshold for your next skill's requirements. Despite the ample supply of knowledge I have been spoon-feeding you for the last nine days, you still don't seem to understand there are checks and balances in all of this. There is a limit to how many skills you can have at once, which means the skill I had wanted you to learn within the next few days will be near impossible for you to gain now."