Chapter 6

Stone got an idea. He would make [Mana Bubbles] and use them for a target practice.

"He is finally completely awakened. Thankfully, he remembers all of my lectures and can make use of them. I wonder…" he figuratively shook his head as if trying to exorcise the insane thought.

"Hehe," Stone chuckled. He was having fun as the bubbles burst with a mana stick he threw at them. He always hit. He tried to miss a few times, but that didn't feel nice.

Stone's focus was broken by the dwarfs nearby. He still could not see them, but they were annoying. Loud noises… And he could not stop them.

He attempted to ignore them, but still…

"DORNUS DAMMIT! Eriv, I hear it again! The plopin! It drives me crazy, I say!" Dori, the male dwarf, stopped mining and frantically searched around about what made the sound, but could not find anything.

'Plop! Plop! Plop!'

He heard it again, driving him nuts.

"Uaaaargh! Stop iiit!"

Eriv, the female dwarf, peeked at him with a pity and said to the dwarf near her, "Poor Dori, Morty. That's a deep craziness. We should tell Overseer Breadbeard."

"Right ya are, Eriv. Yar brother needs help," Morty, a robust dwarf with a brown, thick beard, replied in a feminine voice.

They took frantic Dori between their arms and went outside. Stone was happy; the loud noises went away. Even though they almost stomped on him to Partner's massive scare.

☁☁☁☁☁☁

Outside, the dwarfs stopped at the foreman hut.

"Breadbeard! Dori caught deep craziness," Eriv heavily banged on the doors.

"Dornus dammit! A few months ago Orifog died and now Dori goes crazy? Somethin bad happen' down there," he lamented while observing flinching Dori. "Let's call runemae'str," he made the decision and went to the pen with three trained ravens to send the message to the town three days away.

Meantime Eriv and Morty brought Dori to their tent and put him on the bed.

"Dori! Do ya hear anythin now?" Morty questioned him with worry.

The questioned dwarf peeked fearfully around, "Nae. But I tell ya, somethin is down there with us!"

"Brother, go sleep, will ya. Runemae'str will come soon," Eriv soothingly said. Well... Soothingly as a dwarven voice could allow. To a human or anyone else for that matter, it would sound like a death threat anyway.

☁☁☁☁☁☁

Two days of constant training and patience of Stone and Partner alike were bountifully rewarded.

[Your skill Mana Shaping gained a level]

[Your skill Mana Shaping gained a level]

[...]

[Your skill Mana Shaping gained a level]

[Your skill Mana Shaping is maxed out]

[The technique Ambient Mana Gathering, the spell Mana Bubble, and the skill Mana Shaping can be evolved]

"Loud," Stone complained. He was always disturbed by these annoying sounds. "Status," he ordered next. The lovely tablets always put him at ease.

His status screen softly 'thudded' into existence in his mind

Name: Stone

Title: None

Race: Talc

Level: 1

Exp: 3.43%

Hardness: 1

Lifeforce: 100 / 100

Mana: 20 / 20 MReg: 25 / sec

Strength: 0

Dexterity: 0

Intelligence: 2

Talents: Ageless, Sapient, Heat Accumulator, Partner

Resistances: Heat T1L3, Electrical T1L3

Thanks to the all-powerful Stone's perception sphere, which penetrated everything, Stone could see inside the anthill. Not like he cared about them… The little mineral rather stared at his Universum tablet…

However, the Partner carefully observed them and their doings…

In the middle of the white anthill, in the middle of the throne room was an erected platform with a throne made from dust and leaves. On the throne lay the Queen of Talc ants, observing her subordinates to dance their reports.

"Queen, our soldiers cannot break through pebble's wall."

"Queen, our stock will last one day."

"Queen, here is your snack."

"Queen, we should enlarge the crevice," one of the ants danced his proposition.

Most of the ants froze in their movements and stared at the ant who dared to even make a proposition to the Queen.

The Queen was in distress and she ignored the brave ant. The wall crevice was the sole entrance to their nest, leaving them vulnerable to this type of attack. Who could even anticipate something like this? Whoever heard about a stone who can control magic like that?

She was happy when she found this place; safe, with enough food around, easily defensible and with plenty of clefts. What was more, it was located in a small talc deposit, which was a good insulate for her occasional outbursts of uncontrollable fire magic.

"Increase the efforts! Send more soldiers!" She ordered with a mana-filled voice. Why should she dance like some peasant, right?

Partner turned his attention back to his host. And facepalmed.

Stone adored his tablet. It was made from a beautiful grey stone. The exquisite craftsmanship, the colour… The Universum had to genuinely like him. He sat in the place and lovingly stared at it. If he could, he would have a face full of love. Regretfully, he had only a stony face.

"So?" Partner spoke up.

"…" Stone ignored him, being way too infatuated by the screen.

"Hey!" Partner tried to get his attention with fervour.

"…"

"Oh, for the love of… Stone!"

"Loud," Stone finally registered the voice, needless to say, he was not happy. "What do you want?"

"Can you evolve your skills? I want to leave here as soon as possible!"

"Yes."

"So do it!"

"How?"

"Say expertise evolution."

"Expertise evolution," Stone repeats.

[Hiii, select your skills to evolve,] a cheery voice clamoured in Stone's mind.

"Loud. I don't like loud!"

[Oooh, is this better?] the voice mockingly responded in a quieter, over-caring tone.

"Ye-," Stone was cut in the middle of the sentence.

[Psych! Now choose your skills finally!] The voice shouted again, now even more obnoxiously. [Oh, dear… You have a Partner? HAHAHAHA!]

'Thud' A new screen shows before him

[Technique: Ambient Mana Gathering T1L25

You can gather mana from the atmosphere. What are you?! The higher level, the fast accumulation. Right now? Dear gods… 25 mps!

↓↓↓↓↓

Technique: Ambient Mana Refinement T2L1

You already can gather mana. Now you can also refine it to higher-tier mana! Do you realize this is not supposed to be a technique, right? It's a modifier! For tools!

MReg: 26 mana per second and MRef: 1 refined mana per 60sec

Spell: Mana Bubble T1L10

Gather mana into a bubble in your vicinity. Nothing hard… Higher level, more mana in one place without burst. Cannot be moved around.

↓↓↓↓↓

Spell: Mana Point T2L1

The same as the predecessor. But now, you have to compress it into a single point. Higher level, more mana in one place without explosion. Yep, explosion.

Skill: Mana Shaping T1L10

Create simple shapes out of mana. Squares, triangles, circles… Kiddie stuff.

↓↓↓↓↓

Skill: Mana Carving T2L1

Now carve those shapes into something more complex, but not too much. Simple swords, spears, arrows… Also, you can move it around.]

"Partner? Why did everyone laugh when they found out you were here?" Stone innocently asked. Still, a critical hit.

"…"

"Partner?"

"… no …"

"What no?"

"No!"

[Hey guys, don't fight! You are together for the rest…] the cheery voice paused for a moment, [I should say life… Good luck, little pebble! HAHAHA! And choose that evolution, finally! I want to go back to the party!]

"Evolve everything," Stone wished, still disgruntled with the loud voice. He waited for hours, without single thought or emotion. It was nice to be a normal stone again for once.

"It's not my fault, you know?" Partner tearfully spoke after a long silence. A person could say he cried, but… Who could say for real?

"…" Stone ignored him, too enthralled in doing nothing.

"It's them who always…" Partner was cut in the middle.

[Done and done!] The voice shouted, interrupting Partner. [Hey, drop it, you know Eronos doesn't like it when you throw it arou… Oh, sorry, not you, buh-bye!]

"Status," Stone thought, wanting to see the exquisite tablet again. 'Thud'

Name: Stone

Title: None

Race: Talc

Level: 1

Exp: 3.43%

Hardness: 1

Lifeforce: 100 / 100

Mana: 20 / 20 MReg: 26 / sec

Refined mana: 5 / 5 MRef: 1 / min

Strength: 0

Dexterity: 0

Intelligence: 2

Talents: Ageless, Sapient, Heat Accumulator, Partner

Resistances: Heat T1L3, Electrical T1L3

Expertises: Mana Point T2L1, Ambient Mana Refinement T2L1, Mana Carving T2L1