Puff

Each of the familiars were left near the bottom of the mountain along with Coral as the witches had made their way upward.

The terrain was difficult to walk upon so they had to be very careful and many of them had used a staff or stick of some kind to support themselves as they went up.

The air was much thinner, the heat they experienced and the weight they felt on their bodies had increased the higher they made it up.

Holly and Maple were both struggling the most and had to take a break due to the harsher conditions. "Hah.. hah.. how much longer?"

Willow was feeling just as bad and was falling behind just like them. "Wai.. wait up. Hah.."

Grimwood had later started to experience the same and it was followed up by Blush who was still wearing her layered and weighted clothing. "Okay… we can take a break. I will scout ahead a little."

Blush went ahead and started to search around the lower parts of the mountain area much closer in to the mountain central parts.

She had spotted several openings that formed cave tunnels going inside the mountain.

A lot of heat was coming from those openings which had caused her eyes to light up. "I should have found a way in. This could be a good place to make use of."

Some climbing gear and tools were taken out of her magic lamp which were placed nearby so they were ready to use.

Her Psychic power swept the area one more time to check for any other life signs or anomalies but she only picked up on some small to medium sized wildlife which posed little threat to her and others.

Upon returning to the others and telling them the plan, they had made their way towards that location and slowly climbed further up into the more dangerous terrain.

Up near the very top of the mountain was where it was far hotter and there seemed to be hot steam being released from the top or other openings nearby at times.

Most of it was being pushed up to the top while small amounts were being spread out between the different cracks and openings in the mountain.

The opening that Blush had entered had experienced less violent outbreaks of steam and seemed safer so she had the other witches sit outside to train their Mana Skin. "Start off here and train your Mana Skin but if you feel that it is too much or too easy for you then move back or forward."

The pressure and heat they would have to endure would increase the further in they went while the further away they were, the less they had to endure.

Those with less experience using Mana Skin needed to be able to adjust to the various changes happening around them to protect themselves properly and efficiently control their mana the whole time.

If they overestimated their abilities then they could end up pushing themselves too far and put themselves in danger so Blush had started them all off at a safe distance.

As they had started to adjust to the use of their Mana Skin in such an environment, they could move forward a little until they started to find it more challenging.

Once they were starting to reach their limit was when they needed to stop moving further in and stay where they were or to start moving back a little so they could provide enough mana and time to go back out before their Mana Skin could no longer be used to protect them.

A thin layer of Mana Skin spread out all around the body of Blush as she walked down into the opening of the cave.

Some small gas containers and masks were left behind near the entrance while one was carried along with Blush and was protected by her mana as the mask provided her with a safe supply of air.

The first wave of air and heat rushed towards her with a slight pause before another came that was followed by another wave that came right behind it.

The Mana Skin on the body of Blush had started to fluctuate and increase slightly as she was hit by each one of them.

Environments with strong and wild concentrations of mana, dangerous elements and other types of energies, like the Dark Demon Realm, parts of other realms or more dangerous locations on her own and other planets made it far more difficult to maintain the technique as the coating had to adjust constantly to the changing energies and elements.

The wild and unpredictable concentrations of those energies and elements had made it far more difficult to manage how much of her mana needed to be used to protect herself.

It required an awful lot of concentration and control to be able to efficiently and effectively manage how much of her mana was used to match what was coming towards her.

It required even more to be able to keep it up and reinforce it enough to be able to prepare for an incoming wave that came in such a short time.

If too much was used then the mana she possessed would be wasted and if it was not enough then he defences would be broken through by the waves which would make it more difficult to reform her Mana Skin for the next wave.

If the Mana Skin was far from enough to protect her then she would risk being hit by a part of the waves of heat.

The further in that she was, the dangerous it was if she had made a mistake so she had to be careful.

One step was taken each time and one wave was taken followed by several others as she had adjusted to it.

Another step was taken forward as she had continued to repeat the same process until Blush found the right amount of heat and force that was hitting again her and her Mana Skin.

She sat down with her legs crossed in a meditation pose as the waves of heat had continued to hit her body in unpredictable patterns and amounts of force each time.

Her mind had become much calmer as her breathing had relaxed and her full concentration was put towards sensing the incoming waves and guiding her mana to meet protect herself. 'Ah… this is so much better than the fire method I was using.

I should really claim this place and make full use of it until the time comes that I leave this island and go looking towards other islands. Who know.. I may even unearth some hidden treasures while I am at it.'

The mountain that she had travelled to was called Puff Mountain due to the natural phenomenon that took place on it.

Hot steam was often released from it so it was one possible location to mark down for beginning Mana Skin training for the other witches and herself since visiting somewhere like the Dark Demon Realm or a Volcano was much too dangerous for beginners.