Chapter 24

Luke grabbed his ribs as he laughed uncontrollably on the ground. Tears ran down the sides of his face, and his chest ached as he struggled to breathe.

"What's …" he heaved, "happening?"

Trixie looked around the room helplessly. "Uh! Anyone know what to do?"

A crowd of people formed around Luke, whispering and pointing fingers. Most were initially annoyed at the commotion before realizing that something strange was happening.

"Why's he laughing so much?" asked a short black-robed man with a shield. "There isn't anything funny going on right now, is there?"

You think I'm doing this for fun?

"No." A blue-robed figure cut his way through the crowd. Kneeling by his side, he stopped Luke's motions and held him down with frightening ease. His hand snaked through the front of Luke's robes. "Huh." He frowned, leaning in and putting his ear to his chest.

"Hey! Get away!" Spiros came running toward the crowd, pushing and shoving people as he made his way toward his friend. "You! You did this!" He leveled his spear toward the blue-robed figure leaning over Luke. "Move or I'll run you through."

Spiros, you idiot. Luke wanted to smack him upside the head but couldn't get any words out of his mouth.

"What?"

"You're the Yarn guy! They warned me about you!"

"What? Who warn—"

"Spiros. Calm down," Arya said, suddenly appearing beside him. She hooked the shaft of the spear with her finger and gently pointed it away from Yjarn. "I doubt he did this."

"How do you know?" He looked at her indignantly.

Such an idiot.

Sighing, she ignored the question and knelt down beside Yjarn, staring at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Right." Yjarn nodded and backed away, leveling Arya with an angry stare as he did so.

Laying her own hand on his chest, she closed her eyes and concentrated. A look of surprise briefly came over her face before she tamped it down, donning an emotionless expression.

"HA-HA-HA," Luke guffawed as they pinned him to the ground.

"He just awakened his mana. The … giddiness will fade away in a bit."

Yjarn cocked his head in confusion, opening his mouth as if he wanted to say something, before deciding against it.

Trixie looked at her with surprise. "Really? I remember being a little smiley when I started to sense mine"—she pointed to Luke, still thrashing in silent laughter—"but whatever's happening to him seems a lot more intense. I, uh … I saw him move his sword earlier. He figured out the technique. Like you did. Could that be it?"

Arya looked at Luke in surprise. "Did he? Maybe learning the technique and unlocking his mana at the same time made it more extreme."

Trixie looked unconvinced.

"He has a lot of mana for someone who just unlocked it," said Yjarn, looking between Arya and Luke with suspicion.

"Listen, guys. As fascinating as all this is, maybe now isn't the time. Let me take him to his room." Spiros handed his spear to a random guy. Then, kneeling beside Luke, he lifted him onto his shoulder before collecting his spear and walking off, while leveling an angry glare at anyone who looked like they were about to stop him. Or anyone who even looked at him.

Spiros. I love you.

"Which one is yours?"

Luke pointed to his room. He was doing his best to stop shaking but failing miserably. "Thanks … Spiros. You're a real frie—"

"Don't mention it. I'm not sure I can go in, so you'll have to make your own way, all right? Do you want to take a minute?"

"No," Luke wheezed, breaking into another laughing fit. "I'll manage."

For fuck's sake, what's going on with me right now?

Spiros lowered him to the ground, and with shaky steps, Luke ambled into his room. He fell heavily down on his mattress as soon as he made it, trying his best to regain his composure, taking deep breaths in between fits of laughter.

This is really something else. Why did no one say cultivating fucks with your head? It's a weird detail to leave out.

He stayed up the rest of the night. Eventually the uncontrollable feeling of giddiness left his body, leaving him to think about what had happened.

It's obvious it happened because I unlocked my mana. I never expected to be able to raise my Arcana attribute naturally, but it did go up.

The timing suggests that it was directly related to advancing with the technique, and I really have no clue what to make of that. But, if having a higher Arcana stat helps with learning the techniques, that's a massive discovery. Maybe not worth the scene I made, but it is something.

Speaking of, that many people being aware of me can't possibly be a good thing. I can't for the life of me imagine anything good coming out of being in the spotlight. At all.

It would have been better if no one knew I had made any progress and I could have just moved under the radar.

It's not terrible, though. At the very least, information won't spread to Arke for as long as we're all trapped here, and even then, it's unlikely. Arya and Spiros are probably the only ones that know I've only been cultivating for a few weeks, and I think they have enough sense not to spread that information around. So most people won't think that it's unusual for me to unlock my mana.

Trixie. Fuck her. Why couldn't she have left me alone? Damn it.

Think. Think. Think. What else is there?

Yjarn.

He's touched me before. Which means he probably sensed my mana then, too.

Luke rolled off his mattress and started pacing at the foot of his bed.

Hmm. Arya has checked my mana twice now. Once when I joined and didn't have any, and now. Back then, not having any mana was somewhat normal, but I've boosted my Arcana since then. A lot. She'll probably have some questions. I'll have to figure out what to say to her.

Yjarn touched me not long before we entered the tomb, and if he thought anything was unusual, he didn't notice it then. Or, at least, he didn't say anything, but is there a way to know if someone can sense their own mana or not? More importantly, does Yjarn know how to tell? He may not have bought Arya's claim about me just awakening it, either. I'll have to deal with that. Somehow.

How much mana is even normal?

All right, let's think this through. What do I know? What are the facts?

My Arcana ticked up naturally. For the first time, and incidentally, I gained awareness of it.

Okay.

If I assume that the relationship between Arcana and Constitution is the same for everyone, and that everyone that unlocks their mana starts with a single point in Arcana, then that means that on average, people start with an amount that's exactly half of their Constitution attribute. Unless the Seed is mucking about and the relationship between mana, Arcana, and Constitution doesn't actually exist in anyone but me. I don't think that's the case, nor do I have any way to test that. So, for the moment, at least, I'll assume that I'm not unique in that.

Most people start sensing mana when they reach mid-Mortal tier. Except, I don't really know what that means.

The only person I know who's at the peak of the middle stage is Ethan, and he was pretty strong, unnaturally so, but the distance between him and Yjarn seems to be a lot further than the distance between me and him.

As strong as I've gotten, Yjarn had no problem whatsoever holding me down. Then and now. With Ethan, I'm sure I could struggle a little bit. Maybe even take him if I catch him off guard. With Yjarn, it's like I'm helpless.

So basically, If my assumptions are right, then the midstage of the Mortal tier isn't exactly five hundred points in each attribute like I first thought it was.

Actually, based on what Arya said, once someone starts sensing their mana, they usually focus on one aspect and try to push for the Warrior tier as fast as possible. So even they may not have every attribute at five hundred. Depending on when exactly they reach the midstage.

If I had to guess, then Ethan's Strength stat, if he has one, would be in the seventy to eighty range.

Luke thought back, recalling the strength of the bows they'd used when hunting the harpies.

A hundred max. As for his Constitution and Agility, they're probably a fair bit lower, just because it's easier getting stronger than it is getting tougher and faster. Maybe. So far, I haven't noticed any reduced gains, but I'm also pretty far from reaching a point of diminishing returns. If I ever do.

The Seed might be preventing any bottlenecks, too. I've been assuming that my growth, minus the stat points from my sword, is standard, but is it?

Whatever. Long story short, that sucked. Arya and Yjarn may have some questions. I don't know Arya too well, but I don't think she'll screw me over. Yjarn could go either way, but there isn't much I have to worry about so long as we're all in here. If anything, he hasn't made any progress with the techniques yet, and me and Arya are the only ones who can help. So there's that.

Once people start leaving, though, word will spread about what's going on in here. I doubt that word will reach Arke, but if I can swing it such that I'm the first person out of here, I should.

Luke sat back down on his bed.

Can't believe I can actually feel my mana now.

Closing his eyes, he observed its presence in his body. It was ephemeral, but there. Originating from every cell, it spread itself evenly across his body. For the most part, his mana was content to just sit there, but Luke noticed that it pulsating where his heart was.

Not exactly moving, but rippling with every beat of the organ. It felt nice. Warm.

Concentrating, Luke sloshed it around his body.

It's … responsive, but doesn't do anything.

He gathered a good chunk of it and sent it to his hand. Then, with a flex of his will, he expelled it, opening his status as he did so and watching his pool deplete one or two points at a time.

Should I? Yeah. He added another point to Arcana.

Status | Skills | Quests | Inventory

Name: Lukas King

Tier: Mortal

Mana: 718/787.5

Rate: 15% per hour

Strength: 43

Agility: 46

Constitution: 45

Arcana: 34 > 35

Stat Points: 3

Bloodline: Locked. Conditions not met. (1/10,000)

Charges: 7/10

"Phew. Why does that feel so good?" he said to himself. He felt all the cells in his body stretch and contract as they released more and more mana into wherever mana was stored. His mental image of it in his body simultaneously became a fraction clearer as well, like a camera suddenly coming into focus.

He stopped expelling mana.

Let's see what improving my Constitution feels like. He added a point, closing his eyes in bliss as something left the Seed and massaged its way into every part of his body. Strengthening it. Making it more robust.

That feels different. It always felt good, but this is almost addicting. Better than every high I've ever felt. Might as well finish the package and see what Strength and Agility feel like.

Strength first. He sent the Seed the command. Once again, he felt something leave the Seed. This time, though, it didn't saturate his whole body. Instead, it wormed its way into every fiber of muscle and just stayed there. Still feeling good, but not amazing. Luke clenched his fist, feeling the increased power and smiling in satisfaction.

He added a point to Agility, sensing something once again escaping the Seed. Still too fast for him to follow. This time, the energy burrowed its way into every nerve and tendon. A substantial portion of it made its way into his optic nerves and ears.

Huh. I suppose that makes sense. Although—he blinked, focusing his gaze through the door leading to his washroom. I haven't really noticed myself seeing better. Maybe it's just been happening gradually? Not like I've been reading a lot. Hmm.

I wonder what else I can do with mana, though? It's kind of just dissipates when I push it outside my body, and I have no control after that. So probably no fireballs. At least for the moment. Maybe I can figure out how to make talismans?

I'll have to ask Arya. Although I doubt that she knows. Someone probably does, though. Hmm. Maybe I can trade? Tell them how I got the technique working in exchange. Unless Arya's already spilled the beans.

Yawning, he rolled into the bed. I'll figure it out tomorrow.

"LUKE. I NEED HELP!"