The next morning, I pushed through four grueling hours of Imperial Swordsmanship drills. My body protested, but the movements were becoming more natural, the connection between form and force less forced. After a simple meal, I turned to the second, more uncertain part of my new regimen: Magic.
I needed to move beyond simple spells. The goal was to learn Body Enhancement—a common magic skill adventurers used to temporarily boost strength or speed. But I refused to buy a skill book. If I was truly my mother's son, if this half-elf blood and Plant affinity meant anything, I had to forge my own path.
I settled into a lotus position in the quiet of the cottage, clearing my mind. This wasn't about casting a known spell. This was about feeling.
Instead of activating my Mana Control (F) skill—which would execute a known, crude method—I closed my eyes and turned my awareness inward. I sought the energy that had been growing so mysteriously within me.
At first, there was only the quiet thrum of my own heartbeat. Then, gradually, I felt it. A cool, vibrant current flowing alongside my blood, a river of potential energy. My mana. It moved in a slow, lazy circuit through my body, a natural tide I had never consciously perceived.
Now, control it. Not with a skill, but with will.
I focused, imagining a gentle hand guiding that current. It resisted, like water slipping through fingers. I persisted, my concentration a pinpoint of intent. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the mana responded. I nudged it, directing the flow down my left arm, then back, tracing the pathways of my circulatory system.
A full circuit. Then another.
With each completed cycle, the sensation shifted. The mana wasn't just flowing; it was cleansing. A warm, purifying energy seeped into my muscles and bones. The residual fatigue from the morning's training melted away. I felt lighter, as if gravity itself had lessened its hold on me. A faint, unpleasant odor reached my nose—the same black impurity I'd expelled during the elixir rituals was being pushed out through my pores once more, but in minute amounts.
This was different from the elixir's violent purge. This was gentle, natural. Harmonious.
I lost track of time, lost in the rhythm of the internal circulation. When I finally opened my eyes, the afternoon light had shifted. I felt incredibly alert, my senses sharpened.
I immediately checked my Status.
[Skill: Mana Control (E)]
A jolt of pure triumph shot through me. I hadn't just practiced; I had advanced. I'd skipped from F-rank to E-rank in a single, profound session. This proved it—the "Ancient Way" of direct mana perception and manipulation was not only possible for me, it was optimal.
Empowered, I moved to the next experiment. I held out my palm and willed raw mana to gather there. A small, shimmering orb of white light coalesced above my skin. It felt insubstantial, like holding a soap bubble made of energy. When I cut off the flow, it popped silently into motes of light.
The real test came next. Body Enhancement.
I focused the circulating mana, not to gather it externally, but to infuse it. I pushed the energy into the muscles of my right arm, visualizing it reinforcing the fibers, boosting their power.
It was far harder. The mana wanted to flow, not saturate. I pushed, my brow furrowing with effort. I felt a slight warmth, a faint tingling in my arm, but no surge of strength. I increased the output, straining my control until my modest mana pool began to drain rapidly.
I repeated the process until my core was empty and a headache pulsed behind my eyes. Had I failed?
Hoping against hope, I pulled up my Status once more, scanning the skill list.
[Skills:
...
Mana Control (E)
Physical Enhancement (G)
...]
My breath caught. Physical Enhancement (G).
I had done it! I had created a skill! But… the name was wrong. I was aiming for Body Enhancement, a known skill that boosted physical parameters. This was Physical Enhancement.
[Appraisal] I focused on the new skill.
[Physical Enhancement (G) - A skill born of mana circulation and willful infusion. Temporarily reinforces the physical structure of a target (self or other), increasing durability and resistance to impact. Minor effect on strength. Growth Type.]
Understanding dawned, followed by a rush of exhilarating possibility.
I hadn't replicated a common skill. I had invented a new variant.
Body Enhancement was a blunt force boost to strength and speed, like overclocking an engine. It was popular because it was simple and direct.
My Physical Enhancement was different. It was subtler. It didn't overclock; it reinforced. It made the material—muscle, bone, skin—tougher, more resilient. It was a defensive skill, born from my instinct to protect and sustain, not to overpower. And most crucially, it was Growth Type.
This was the true potential of my path. Not just learning what existed, but using my unique perspective—my half-elf sensitivity to mana, my Support Mage's affinity for reinforcement, and my outsider's knowledge—to create something the world had never seen.
A grin spread across my face, wiping away the exhaustion. The first spark of true creation had been struck.
But it was only G-rank. Weak. How far could I grow it? And if I could create this… what else could I reinvent?