R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 61

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 61

“Not bad.” Micheal rolled his shoulders as he picked up a glowing blue lantern. He then carefully set this lantern down atop his desk, positioning it in the top right corner.

Behind him, the remnants of a Shadow Seeker dissipated, killed in an instant.

It had been a couple of hours since Micheal solidified his first Mana Circle.

In that time, Micheal focused on one thing.

Stability.

As elated as he was to establish a Mana Circle so quickly, Micheal’s cautious tendencies kicked in. Rarely, if ever, do good things come without a price in the 7 Layers.

This time, however, appeared to be an exception.

His Mana Circle was perfectly stable and fine, without any noticeable flaws or errors. It was so perfect it almost felt like he had been blessed, a string of good luck finally turning in his favor.

He really did have talent.

Micheal smiled to himself as he carefully adjusted the Mana Lantern on his desk.

It had been a long time since he’d been this happy with life.

“Mana, eh. It’s been a while.”

Though he said that, this was not, in fact, Micheal’s first brush with Mana, or even Mana Lanterns, in this timeline.

Mana Lanterns were a special Artifact that could be acquired for several thousand Points from the Shop. It drew in ambient energy from the surroundings to create a cool, peaceful environment, enhancing the energy in the air.

They were ideal for practicing with Mana… and an Artifact Micheal had bought previously before.

In what felt like years ago, back when Micheal arrived on the First Layer, he had fought with a group known as the Black Flag Pirates. The Black Flag Pirates were one of the major powers in the Stardust Cluster, the Cluster he landed on when he was transported into the 7 Layers.

Amongst the enemies he faced, one of the Pirate Lords of the Black Flag Pirates possessed the Mana Body Type.

It was an Ability that cost 89,500 Points in the Shop. It allowed its users to draw on the ambient Mana in the surroundings, enhancing one’s physical strength, speed, and durability, as well as multiplying one’s senses.

“A Mana Body…” Micheal muttered as he stared at the Mana Lantern, remembering the past.

The Mana Body Type wasn't a Limited Type Ability, which was rare. Most Type Abilities were Limited in the Shop, save for the ones that were listed on the early pages, like the popular Vampire and Werewolf Type Abilities.

The Mana Body Type allowed humans to absorb latent Mana and form a Mana Body, essentially skipping the requirement to possess a Mana Breathing Method. Forming a Mana Body was the first stage of cultivating a Mana Heart, the melee combatant use for Mana.

Mana Bodies granted great strength, but came with the downside that it was almost impossible to practice Ki. The Shop could make it possible to have both Abilities at the same time, but functional practice was impossible. The two disparate energies would constantly clash.

To progress a Mana Body beyond a certain point, a Mana Breathing Method was necessary.

“Mana Bodies only became popular after humanity reached the 2nd and 3rd Layers.” Micheal nodded to himself.

The first Mana Breathing Method humanity obtained was from the Rakkonians on the 2nd Layer. Mana was the predominant energy source for the native Void Nobles on the 3rd Layer, where Mana Bodies became far more popular of a choice.

As people learned more about Mana, the Mana Body Type became a more and more popular Ability choice.

“Some people even dissipated their own Ki to take on the Mana Body Type.”

It wasn’t hard to see why. The Mana Body Type was simple and made handling Mana easy. There were no dangerous Heart Trials to break through, and as long as you used one of the Mana Breathing Methods that were released to the public, you could progress upward the same as others.

It was considered a safer alternative to Ki.

“But Magic, on the other hand.” Micheal murmured as he held up his right hand, spawning a glowing blue orb of Mana.

“Listea Agur.”

The globe of Mana in his hand wobbled, flashed brightly, and then…

Fizzled out of existence.

Failure.

“Magic is hard.” Micheal smiled ruefully.

If Mana Hearts and Ki lay in the realm of intuition, then Mana Circles and Magic lay in the realm of something far worse:

Math.

“And physics too.” Micheal groaned quietly to himself.

Casting a Magic Spell wasn’t as simple as saying a few magic words and waving your hand.

The Language of Magic wasn’t necessarily a complex language. It was about as hard to learn as it was to learn the English language.

What was difficult about the Language of Magic was how one applied it.

Each Spell you cast required a specific set of parameters if you wished to activate it. From the transfer of Mana via one’s Mana Circle to the exact visualization of the Spell required to cast.

Everything had to be calculated, each and every time you cast a Spell.

Micheal had just attempted to cast the 1st Circle Spell: Light Hand, and failed.

‘I did everything else right… so the problem is with the final step.’ Micheal concluded.

Mana to activate, the Magic Language to shape, and mental visualization to form.

These were the 3 steps to casting a Magic Spell.

Micheal’s Soul was teeming with Mana thanks to the high level Mana Breathing Method he used to form his 1st Circle, while his grasp of the Magic Language was more than fluent.

Therefore, the problem lay in his visualization.

‘...math.’

Every Spell required Micheal to mentally visualize it as he cast it. It was akin to forming a mental blueprint of the Spell, deciding then and there how it would flow, when it would fly out, and where it would go.

“I’ve heard that with practice, visualization becomes second nature.” Micheal had encountered many Wizards in his first life, especially on the 3rd Layer and beyond. Most were stuck-up and convinced of their own self-importance, though not all fit that bill.

“So. Visualization.” Micheal frowned.

“I need to construct a 3D-plane in my head, plotting my position and the target of my spell, calculating Mana usage, and adjusting my 3D model to account for real world changes.”

Micheal shut his eyes for a few seconds.

He promptly opened them again.

“I can’t do any of that.”

He sighed to himself.

He could do parts of that, slowly, but not at the speed required to cast a Spell, and certainly not when under pressure in the midst of battle.

“No, in the first place.” Micheal sighed again before opening up the Shop, and turning to the ‘Miscellaneous Earth Objects’ page near the back.

“There’s something I need to do first.”

A few moments later…

Two loud thunks rang out as two large textbooks landed on Micheal’s desk.

‘Introduction to Calculus.’

‘Introduction to Physics.’

Micheal sighed for a third time.

“I can’t believe I have to study again.” It had been so many years since Micheal had last been a student, the fact that he had to become one again felt almost surreal.

“...”

“Stay in school, kids.” Micheal muttered to himself as he tapped on his Spatial Ring again.

He pulled out a record player alongside an old record of classical music labelled 'Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 3.' He quickly set the record player up, sending soft chimes of music echoing into the air.

As Micheal opened up the textbook, he quietly grumbled to himself.

“It might just save your life."

.