Mutation

As she begins her attempt to channel anima to find the channels, Angela finds that it is much easier than what the book had described, she is able to almost instantly gain control and finding the entrance to the first channel would only be a matter of time.

After considering what could be causing her ease in controlling the anima Angela remembers that she had gained an anima affinity and while she doesn't know exactly what it does, from the name she can deduce that it is the most likely reason.

While it has been easy so far, Angela is still full of trepidation towards the part of the cultivation that was described as "a long and arduous process that will cause immense pain to the practitioner." however it is currently the fastest way to gain strength, something she still sorely desires if only to avoid having to kill more than she already has.

After a very relaxing period of practicing Angela finally feels the channel described in the book. Now that she has found it she wonders how she has never noticed it before; it is like how you can tell where your hands are even without looking.

As she starts to slip anima into the opening, however, an agonising shock of pain arises from every cell in her body, causing her to scream involuntarily as she collapses to the floor, her muscles spasming like she has been charged with electricity.

After some time the spasms and pain fade away, leaving Angela still there on the floor, panting and gasping with a layer of sweat plastered to her forehead. The pain was far greater than she had anticipated, for the time in which she felt it her concentration was shattered, she couldn't form a single conscious thought. If, and that is if she decides to at all, if she continued practicing this she would have to do something about the pain or she would be completely unable to continue.

Despite the deterrent, Angela is determined to give it another try. Jumping straight into it though, that is foolhardy and would give no new results. Instead, Angela looks for a way to assist her, ways to help her keep her position even when under pain and most importantly, how to keep her consciousness while enduring it.

As she washes the sweat off of her face and chest, Angela is struck with a sudden thought. There was nothing in the book that said that she couldn't practice the arts while partially submerged. The water would make it far easier to keep her balance while also letting her use heat to loosen the muscles which should reduce the pain.

While useful, water alone wouldn't make a large enough impact to allow her to practice, she would need something else. Nothing comes to mind, however, and Angela is on the verge of giving up. Just as she wavering, from the corner of her eye, she sees one of her plants behaving erratically; spasming and growing at a pace visible to the eye.

Intrigued, she heads over, baffled at the constantly changing plant. originally she had planted it because of its nice minty taste and beautiful long stems, stems that are currently becoming more and more elongated. The original green leaves change colour to have a purple hue and small buds begin to form.

After about ten minutes the changes come to a halt. Comparing it to others of its kind, it is about three to four times larger and both the colour and the budding is different, almost as if it is a completely different plant.

Registering the plant, Angela is met with a pleasant surprise. The originally rank 0 plant has become a rank one plant with a beneficial effect.

[Rank one Icey veined plant: a random mutation of an insignificant plant allowed the Icey veined plant to transcend its limits and gave it the ability to absorb anima. This mutation has also imbued the buds of the plant with strong paralytic properties to the point that a single bud can paralyse a fully grown adult for several hours.]

With this, she might actually stand a chance of progressing further, despite how long and difficult the process has been. The benefits as such must surely be considerably substantial, or at least that's what she hopes is the case.

Either way, she is determined to see it through. With the water heated and one of the buds at the ready, she is set for her second attempt; though she winces as she can almost feel the pain again.