Mana Thread and Importance of intent

Ethan's Pov-

The next morning, when I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the soft sunlight coming through the curtains, warming the room. My body felt a little heavy, but I also felt lighter inside—a sense of relief that was new.

I stretched, feeling a bit sore from everything that happened yesterday, and took a moment to clear my head. Yesterday had been intense, full of ups and downs. I had shared my secrets, and instead of the rejection or fear I had expected, I found acceptance and support.

I couldn't wait for a future without lies. Now I could ask about any doubts I had along the way. As I was thinking about these things, I noticed Lydia coming into the room. She saw that I was awake and greeted me with a cheerful "Good morning, young master." I smiled back and said, "Good morning."

Before anything else, I wanted to clear something up. I asked Lydia, "Yesterday, you said we're a family, right? Do you really believe that?" Without hesitation, she confirmed it. So, I asked her to stop calling me "young master." Before she could object, I explained that it didn't feel right and made me uncomfortable. I felt like it was putting her down somehow. I asked her to just call me Ethan. After a bit of discussion, she finally agreed to call me Ethan.

Next, I asked about Sir Rodrick and where he was. She told me he was out handling some tasks related to the enchanting building I saw in the square. She also mentioned he'd visit me in a few hours, and we could talk then.

I started on my daily routine, assuring her I could handle it myself and that I would feel embarrassed if she helped. She laughed but agreed after a while, telling me to ask if I needed any help.

After finishing everything and having breakfast, I told Lydia I would do a bit of training in the room. At first, she was a bit worried and thought I should rest because of what happened yesterday. But I assured her I wouldn't do anything strenuous; I just wanted to check my skills after the upgrade. Seeing her concern, I invited her to join me while I trained, which made her very happy.

Before starting anything, I used my Mana Sense to check my body and make sure my mana veins were fine. To my surprise, the damage was completely healed, thanks to Lydia's treatment. I could see how much easier it was to use Mana Sense with the extra levels; it was becoming almost instinctive.

Lydia noticed my smile and asked why I was so happy. I explained how her healing had fully restored my veins, and I felt no injuries at all. She was pleased to hear that and curious about how much I could sense. I told her I could now cover my whole room with my Mana Sense and even a little outside it. I also mentioned how I could use the Visualization skill to create a mental picture, making it more effective.

I sheepishly admitted that I had been using my Mana Sense to detect her mana signature when she entered my room. She gave me a playful glare but was impressed by how uniquely I was using these skills. I then told her I was going to start my mana training, and she agreed to watch.

For mana training, I began with my old mana thread exercise, creating tiny wisps into threads and extending them while wrapping them around my fingers and arms. I noticed Lydia observing my mana threads, which were visible because they were made of condensed mana. Seeing this, Lydia asked how I came up with the idea. I told her that in my past life, I had seen characters in novels using thread powers and wanted to try it out myself. I also mentioned that I had many ideas for future uses of these threads.

Lydia wondered why I hadn't gained a skill related to making mana threads. I was confused, so she explained that the system can give any skill related to any task; you just have to work on acquiring it with intent. This surprised me and raised questions about why I hadn't gotten the skill. I asked her to clarify what she meant by "intent."

Lydia was initially silent for a few seconds. Then, she assured me that it wasn't my fault. She explained that as I learn more about the world, I will gain greater understanding. Lydia emphasized the importance of knowledge. Listening to her, I felt grateful to fate or whatever entity reincarnated me with such good people. Reflecting on what I was discovering, I realized that if I had been reincarnated into a normal family, I might have unintentionally endangered myself countless times.

She explained that intent is crucial when doing any task. She asked about my process for making the threads and why I did it that way. After telling her, she made me realize that my focus was on mana manipulation training, not on creating mana threads. That's why my gains were in mana manipulation, and not in a new skill. She added that it's not that I wouldn't have gotten the skill eventually; it just would have taken more time. She joked that it might have taken a few more months for me, while for others, it can take years without intent.

As we talked, I demonstrated my mana diffusion and absorption skills. Lydia remarked that I must have a natural talent for mana, since acquiring mana-related skills is quite difficult. She also expressed astonishment at my speed in leveling up these skills. Gaining so many skills, including an epic one, was already rare, but leveling them up so quickly was even more exceptional. I eagerly absorbed all this knowledge, understanding its immense value for my future endeavors.

Suddenly, Rodrick's voice interrupted my thoughts. He mentioned having an idea about my fast skill leveling. Startled, I realized I had been so focused on Lydia that I had forgotten to keep my Mana Sense active and hadn't noticed Rodrick approaching the door. We both laughed at my lapse. Rodrick entered the room with a smile and joked that we needed to work on my sensing skills. I chuckled and asked him to call me Ethan instead of "young master," explaining that the title made me uncomfortable. He nodded in agreement.

Rodrick explained that my trait's 350% boost to skill gains likely applied to skill levels as well, not just gaining new skills. This made sense of how my skills were leveling up so quickly. We discussed it briefly, and I told him about my current mana training.

He sat down with us and asked about my plans. I told him I wanted to continue developing all my skills by gaining more knowledge and that I planned to start using the library. I assured him that I wouldn't attempt anything dangerous without supervision, which pleased both him and Lydia.

Rodrick agreed with my plan, saying I was too young for intense physical training and should focus on basic physical skills while expanding my knowledge. As I learn more, I can start other training with a solid foundation.

With that, I told Rodrick and Lydia I wanted to understand how intent works in gaining new skills, so I decided to try developing a mana thread skill. They agreed, and I started thinking about how to achieve it. The main challenge was that I had been making threads through mana manipulation. Without relying on that, I had to figure out how to shape mana into threads effectively.

I began by observing the threads I created using mana manipulation, noting all the small details. Over time, I realized these weren't true threads; they were merely concentrated mana held together by mana manipulation, which made them disappear when I stopped focusing. To address this, I used mana diffusion to fill the room with my mana, aiming to create threads without depending entirely on internal mana.

Gradually, I used less mana manipulation and focused more on visualizing the thread structures. My goal was to create a real mana thread. However, it became clear that some level of mana manipulation was still necessary. Unsure if my approach would work, I asked Rodrick for advice.

He explained that using skills to gain new ones is actually a good strategy. The key is to have a clear intent for what you want to achieve. He noted that my previous threads weren't true threads since they were simply condensed mana shaped for practice, not for an actual skill.

Taking his advice, I concentrated on visualizing and creating an actual thread. I used focused meditation and began molding small wisps of mana into tiny strings, visualizing them intertwining into a thread. As I did this, I felt the sensation of acquiring a new skill.

My smile reflected my success, and Rodrick and Lydia congratulated me. I opened my status to check my new skill and shared it with them.

New Skill Acquired: Mana Threads (Uncommon)

Progress: Level 1/20

EXP Gained: 1000

Description: The Mana Threads skill grants the ability to generate and control thin, versatile threads composed of mana. This skill also allows for enhanced manipulation and refinement of both the quality and quantity of Mana Threads as the skill levels up.

After seeing that I had truly gained the skill, my mind opened up to countless ideas and experiments. I was eager to acquire all those skills, but I reminded myself of the danger—how one experiment had nearly killed me. Learning more first would allow me to gain more skills safely.

Lydia and Rodrick noticed the expression on my face and were amused. They assured me that I would soon get the hang of acquiring new skills, especially with my trait likely to grant me many more. Rodrick expressed his excitement about training me and asked what interested me most. I replied that I didn't want to miss out on anything—I wanted to learn everything I possibly could. Soon after, they left to attend to their tasks, and I began my training for the day. I also noticed during training that I had gained a level in Visualization.

I felt genuinely excited about the future. As the day passed, I managed to gain six levels in Mana Threads. I observed many aspects of the skill—how my previous experience accelerated my progress and the stark difference between the new threads and the old ones. The new threads had a density that made them feel almost real, unlike the previous ones, which now seemed inferior by comparison.

I depleted my mana pool twice during training, and by the third time, night had already fallen. After dinner, I lay down in bed, contemplating the upcoming visit to the library and the wealth of knowledge I was eager to explore.