Chương 351: Chapter 334. Mana Advancement

/Rumble... /" Wooo.... Shhhh..." It's been 2 days since I found out that Paradise was going to be visited by the King and Queen of the Dark Elves. Even though they were technically blindsiding me, I can't really be too upset. I'm sure that Warrick and Aqua brought up wanting to meet them in a letter he sent to them and I guess they were going to finally meet up. Since we would be visited by the Nyx couple first. Knowing that was happening was a bit much...

But I still tried my best and was able to work through all of the paperwork after working from when I got back. So from around noon to around 8 pm the next day. With that all done, I was able to focus on getting Paradise ready for Leonard and Crystal's arrival. Mostly it's just been about procuring some items from the storehouse, some meat from that Wyvern and some of the Alligators that we've hunted.

For vegetables and the like, all the items around Paradise are up to the quality I'd expect from my world, so we don't really need to pick and choose any of that." Shhh.... Wooo...." I've actually been left with nothing to do from working so hard the past 32 hours. Sarah and Anna are having a girls-only tea party that I was obviously not showing up for. So, I decided to get back to my training, I decided to start with Tempering my Mana. So far, nothing is too different.

It feels nice to return to some kind of normalcy." Woah!" /Thump! /" Ah!" Fall! Land! Someone was surprised and their voice shocked me out of my Tempering... And I landed on my butt? Why? I looked up to see that it was Aaron, one of the 3 Butlers that have been working here since we took in those first 3000 Demons when we first arrived." Aaron? What just happened?"" Y.. You were floating, Lord Matthew."" Floating?" I questioned his answer." Yes floating... How did you do that?"" I was Tempering my Mana...

How the hell did I do that?" Aaron and I were both lost. Well, there's really only one way to figure this out, I got back into position and alerted Aaron to what I was going to do." Hang on, let me try it again. Watch me and see what happens."" Wait! Let me go and get Brandon and Chris, they're both smarter than me and Chris has a bit more mana than Brandon and me, he should be able to tell you something!"" Okay." I watched Aaron run to the kitchen and waited for him to come back with both of his fellow Butlers."

Hey, does anyone have any ideas why I can do this?"" No." I quickly asked my Contracted Spirits, and they had no answer for me." What about you 2, Scarlet? Julia?"" I'm a sword, John, I have no idea why you're able to do that."" I also have no idea, Little One. The original Julia had a Physical-Type Job, so something like Tempering Mana is beyond me."" Well... Thank you both anyways..."" Relax, John. If you didn't feel like anything was "off" during your Tempering, I doubt it's something bad."

Scarlet offered me some words of comfort, I guess I seemed a bit shaken... To be fair, it's strange that I started floating when I was trying to Temper my Mana, I usually stay on the ground." Lord Matthew! We're back!" Aaron, Brandon and Chris all came running over to me. I wonder why they seem so excited?" Lord Matthew! Is it true what Aaron said? Did you really levitate?" A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation."

Bran, relax, you shouting like that will disturb him." Chris and Brandon seemed to know what was going on. After speaking to Brandon, Chris turned to me and asked me a question." Lord Matthew, could you Temper your Mana for us really quick? I'd like to see it in person."" Me too!" Chris and Brandon really wanted to see me float... I just nodded my head and closed my eyes and began to Temper my Mana again. /Rumble... /" Shhh.... Woooo...." I began to Temper the Mana while breathing slowly.

I took the mana and began to spin it, then I add more and more mana as it spun. /Rumble... /" Shh... Wooo..."" He really is doing it!"" A-Amazing..." Brandon and Chris spoke out loud as I Tempered my Mana, I was able to keep my focus however and I gently stopped my Tempering. Fall! Land! I felt my butt hit the floor again, so I was floating. I opened my eyes to see a look of wonder on the faces of Brandon and Chris. Aaron was just as confused about everything as I was." So, I floated again, right?""

Yes, you did, Lord Matthew." Chris answered my question along with nodding his head." So, what is it?" I bluntly asked for an explanation from Chris. he took a breath and began to speak to me." You've Advanced."" Advanced? What does that mean?"" The quality of your mana has changed. You've Advanced your mana's quality, as well as its quantity. You've accomplished the goal of Mana Tempering... Well, not to its heights, but you've Advanced from the basic Mage level.

It'll make your Spells stronger and less draining among other things."" Wha-"" Did your teacher never explain this to you?"" No, my teacher was Queen Aqua, she never told me anything about this."" Ah... That explains why." Chris made a face like everything I said was understandable after I mentioned Aqua's name." Queen Aqua is a genius and she probably didn't think to explain this to you since she blew right past it."" What do you mean?"" Well first, let me explain the levels of Mana Quality.

Starting from the lowest to the highest, it goes, Beginner Mage, Intermediate Mage, Expert Mage, Master Mage, Grandmaster Mage and then Mythic Mage."" Okay, but what does that have to do with Aqua not explaining it to me?" Chris looked at me with an uncomfortable look on his face. I understood that he might have to tell me something. Something that might offend me as Aqua's Son-In-Law. I needed to allay his fears about it." Relax, what we say here, stays here, Chris. Just tell me."

Chris eventually came around after a few moments." Well... This is all conjecture on my part, but from word of mouth. I've gathered that Queen Aqua is a Genius when it comes to mana and Magic. I've heard many older people tell story after story about how great she is. The thing that made me think that she didn't mention it was because of that genius."" I didn't realize that she was so well-known for her Magic."" She and King Warrick were the figureheads of their generation in terms of Talent.

Not to say that others weren't close to them in terms of ability, but for one reason or another, those 2 were always doing something newsworthy."" I see..."" Continuing on, Queen Aqua, when she first learned of her Job, she began to follow the traditional training. She read through the basic Tomes in a month's time and she reached Expert Mage Mana Advancement at the same time. The ability to float during your Tempering is a sign of an Intermediate Mage Advancement.

Eventually, you'll learn by feel how to stay on the ground if you so choose to, but for now, you're going to float. I should mention that you're also somewhat of a Genius, from what you've told us, you only started seriously Tempering your Mana a year ago, right? But with all of your duties, how much time would you say you've actually spent Tempering your Mana, Lord Matthew?"" About 7 months, I'd say?"" It took me a year and a half to Advance to Intermediate Advancement. That's the usual amount of time.""

Wow, Aqua is crazy then. But I haven't sat down to Temper my Mana in about 2 months, Chris. Why would I Advance now?"" Well, you were in an intensive battle, right? Jobs, Mana, Skills, they all grow with adversity. It just goes to show that you've grown stronger without even realizing it."" Even if that was the case, why haven't I heard about Advancement before? I mean I understand Aqua not saying anything, but nobody else has either?""

Well, Mages don't really talk about Advancement Levels much since we tend to keep what we can do private, Queen Aqua is something of a special case, just because of how startling her development was. As for those who aren't Magically Gifted, well... What use would a Swordsman or a Spearman have, knowing that their opponent's Mana Quality was placed on a scale?" I was surprised from Chris's words. Not so much his explanation about why I didn't know, but more about my recent battle.

I really had to go through all of that, just to Advance one level in the Quality of my Mana. I'd much rather do it the slow way then. At least then, Sarah and Anna wouldn't have been put through so much danger. I mean if Anna and I weren't there, Sarah would've died from that injury... I hope nothing like that ever happens again." But did you really not feel anything different from your Advancement, Lord Matthew?"" Hm? No. Everything feels normal?" Chris looked puzzled by my answer."

Am I supposed to feel different?"" Well... Usually, for Demons, we feel stronger after our Advancement. Maybe it's different for Humans? Did you feel anything after the battle, Lord Matthew?"" Not that I can think of? I mean, I felt lethargic after I found some dead bodies. Could that be it?"" I wouldn't know, Lord Matthew. All I can say is that we won't know until you Advance again."" I guess so? I hope not though. It sucked feeling like that...

I mean it was nice to have Sarah and Anna dote on me, but overall, I'd rather be my normal self." Once the words left my mouth, a look came over the Butlers in my presence." I think we need to get back to work, don't we, Brandon, Chris?" Both of them nodded their heads and left me abruptly..... Oh! Right... They're all still single... I got back to Tempering as I thought about the best way to apologize to the 3 of them. They eventually accepted my apology, after a few pints of ice cream were given to them.