Chương 54: Chapter 46: The Blob That Worked

The following day, I sank my awareness into my mana channels and examined every millimeter. They looked fine, and I wanted faster mana regeneration, but I still hesitated to cast the Absorb Mana spell on myself again. It was only the beginning of my exploration of magic, and I didn't want to cripple myself and cut this incredible journey short. I tried to create the spell around me, not by casting it, but by "coloring" the mana around my body with the "absorb" flavor.

After half a day, I managed to do it, but the result was only so-so. The surrounding mana grew thicker and denser, and I could regenerate faster because of that density, but it was nowhere near the speed I reached when I cast the spell on myself. Next, I tried to create the absorb aspect in one of the mana channels in my arm. My mana ticked up faster, but my channel itched almost immediately, so I stopped. I was glad I hadn't cast the spell, only created the aspect.

Judging by how quickly the itching started, five minutes would've been torture. Finally, I took a deep fortifying breath, bit the bullet, sank my awareness into my mana channels to monitor them, and cast the spell on myself again, hoping the spread across my whole body wouldn't overwhelm my channels. I could "see" them expanding, and the more they expanded, the worse the itching grew. The feeling shifted into pins and needles, but the spell ended before it got too bad.

Yesterday, I'd had about half a minute of worry before it stopped; today, it was closer to twenty seconds. Hmm, so it trains the channels to expand? The idea was exciting, and I was sure that wider channels would be better, even though I didn't know precisely how. Still, I wanted more control. The spell had a fixed duration, so my first attempt was to change that. Sadly, it didn't work. The spell always lasted five minutes, no matter what I tried. I approached it from a different angle.

Instead of casting it, I only gave the mana the Absorb aspect to control the amount. That worked better, but it still needed refining. For the next three days, I practiced controlling how much mana took on the "absorb" flavor until I could adjust it perfectly up or down. When I felt in perfect control of the amount, I colored a minute portion of the mana in my left hand with absorption and let it flow in. I slowly raised the amount until I felt a slight itching and held it there.

After a while, the itching stopped, so I increased the flow, but I didn't feel any mana going in. I couldn't understand what was happening. My channel looked fine, and the flavor was correct, but I had no idea why it stopped. It bugged me the whole day, and I ended up just staring at the view. In the evening after dinner, I facepalmed and checked my mana: 7, 200/7, 200. God, I'm an idiot sometimes. Ro approached me, rubbing his hands on his pants.

"The two weeks you paid for ended. It will take another four or five days to reach the location you want. Pay me for four days, and I'll tell you if you need to pay more."

"No problem. How much?" He gave me a strange look.

"One gold and eight silver." I sighed inwardly. What was that look about now? I took out two gold coins and placed them in his palm.

"Don't give me change. If it takes another day, this will cover it. If not, the excess is a thank-you gift for excellent service." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. His expression softened. He thanked me with a nod and walked off toward the bow. After some thought, I concluded the strange look was because I'd said, "No problem." It was probably an expression they weren't familiar with. Oh well, I'm John Rue, the exporter of Americanism.

The following day, I continued my barrel examination and experimentation. I learned the "release" part of the spell as a way to spend mana. It was much more complex than the "absorb" part and took me two full days to master. When I felt I had it down 100%, I wet a towel and cast the spell on it. Nothing happened. After quite a while of being stumped, I concluded the flavor wasn't just a simple "absorb" or "release," but rather "absorb mana" and "release mana."

Since that was the spell's name, I felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Now I had no idea how to test the spell. I had no intention of casting it on myself. I liked my mana in me, thank you very much. It was time for a second attempt to create a Purifying Aluminum Blob. I took out my cast-iron potjie pot, dropped in the aluminum blob infused with the Purify spell, and melted it down again.

As it liquefied, I cast the Absorb and Release mana on it repeatedly, slipping in the occasional Purify just in case, until it cooled. The red light started blinking while I worked, but I ignored it. When the metal solidified, I scooped another bucket from the river and dropped the blob inside while monitoring the water with my mana. Within two to three minutes, the water was pure.

I was so focused on the blob that I actually felt the mana being absorbed, taking on the flavor of purification, and then released with the spell. YES!! I created my first autonomous magical item! This time, I didn't stop myself. I went into the tent and danced Gangnam Style. You have learned the spell Exude Mana Progress is something I absolutely love! I returned to the absorption experiment with my mana channels. As I colored the mana in my left arm, I could feel it being absorbed.

When the itching stopped, I added another minute amount of colored mana, then did it again, and again. My mana replenished in under two days instead of three, and when I compared the channels in both arms, the one in my left arm was wider. The difference was hair-thin, but it was there. Ro walked over looking serious, and for a moment, I even got worried. He stopped in front of me, arms folded.

"We'll reach your point on the map tomorrow."

"When tomorrow?" He looked out at the horizon, then turned back to me.

"In the afternoon. I can't be more precise." I thanked him and set aside the rest of the experiments. It was time to relax, play with Stretch, and look for a new song to learn. Flipping through the songbook, I came across"The Boxer" by Simon & Garfunkel. The first time I'd heard it as a teenager, I'd instantly fallen in love with it. I still remembered all the lyrics, and with my current guitar-playing level, it took me only ten minutes to learn the chords.

As I began playing and singing, Stretch joined in, and Jul and Rin moved closer.

"I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told…" When I reached the last part of the song, the simple"Lie-la-lie," I sang at the top of my lungs and felt a pure joy of existence. I celebrated my accomplishments, my journey, my progress, and most of all, being alive. My days were no longer a dark pit of grief and pain but a newfound sense of freedom and joy. I was like the fighter in the song who didn't give up. Each strum of my guitar and every word I sang was a celebration of how far I'd come.

I didn't know if this amazing feeling of being excited to be alive came from my Vitality trait or from inside me, and it didn't really matter. What mattered was that I was alive and thrilled about every coming day. Being a Traveler was the best, despite the horrible Archive.