Chapter 14 - Mana

The situation to him was like a gift pack inside a gift pack.

There seemed to be no endgame.

However, he had to try to sort things out to his best.

He focused on the new title he got, and lo and behold, a Nixy Window of it popped up.

[Title: Kin of Amethyst

  ->You are being supervised by an entity who prefers to be called Amethyst.

  -> Skill Granted: [Trinity Candidates]. ]

[Skill: Trinity Candidate

  -> A skill bestowed to only the possible potential vessels for Trinity.

  -> This passive skill helps Amethyst supervise the holder of the skill subtly. It is meant as a means of control and has no other use.]

"I expected this," sighed Reve.

A restriction in the form of a skill. It reminded him of his first time at Arcadia. While Nixy was trying to convert his race, something blocked it. It could only resort to mere adjustments.

It was like the skill was meant to mould him into a perfect vessel for whatever that Trinity was.

Also, Reve noticed that he wasn't the only vessel. This made him a bit agitated as a situation like that didn't smell good.

It felt more like a battle royale to him. A game to find the perfect vessel.

A game he would be forced to play.

Reve took his mind off the skill and absorbed a fresh breath of air.

Things were going the way he wanted them to. Now, it was indefinite whether he would get his cat harem or not.

He tried to cheer himself up by looking at the other skills.

[Skill: Sixth Sense(Lv.9)

  -> An innate skill of all cat races that enables them access to the usually dormant sixth sense of an organism.

  -> It is used to sense one's surroundings without relying on any of the main five senses.] 

[Skill: Energy Sense(Lv.1)

  -> the ability to perceive the living and breathing energy of the world.]

[Skill: Magic Eyes(Lv.Max)

    -> An innate skill of some special cat races and other unique races.

  -> It is the ability to sense the magical structure of the world through one's sense of sight. Not to be confused with [Energy Sense], which is derived from one's sixth sense.]

"Hmmm...these are all good skills," commented Reve.

For instance, he had one way or the other already experienced the skills.

Reve just needed to be familiar with them and it would be okay.

"Meow, now that the--What is this?!"

For the first time, he nonchalantly took a look at his physical surroundings and was flabbergasted.

Green moss grew around him. The original decrepit buildings now had more holes than he could count.

The few books he left open became brown to the point of not recognizing the Arcadish characters.

Everything in the building seemed to have been influenced by the sands of time.

Even the grasses outside grew a few inches longer.

"Did I just travel to the future or what? I fail to believe all of these just happened over a few hours of sleep," Reve paced around.

He tried to arrange his thoughts.

He slept in the morning and now it was night, evident from the beautiful moon hanging in the sky.

However, it might just be a misconception.

Perhaps, he slept for days--No, months--No, years!

"Hmmm….I slept for a long time….to awaken….hearing it again, it almost sounds like hibernation. Myrna used to talk about some Earth animals that hibernate throughout a season. Of course, it wasn't this long," analyzed Reve.

It followed the cocoon concept, except Reve's cocoon was basically just sleep.

"I do not know how long I slept. It doesn't even matter. What matters is that I'm done with this place. It has nothing to offer me anymore."

He had acquired every bit of knowledge he could scavenge from the books here.

Moreover, now that he had obtained the [Energy Sense], he was already good to go.

His destination, The closest Mr.Owner's building.

But before that, he has just one last thing to do.

As soon as he thought of that particular thing, a Nixy Window popped up.

[Notice: You have accessed the Arcade. Do you want to purchase the skill [Appraisal]? ]

"Yes," smiled Reve.

Following that, a bright white light descended from the sky and invaded the building. It finally settled on his body after much distress.

[Notice: [Appraisal] has been acquired. Deducted 10 AP.]

It was certainly a strange feeling. The feeling of being a puppet in a stranger's hands.

It was like he had encroached. All his buried secrets had been brought to the light once more.

It was extremely frightening. Thankfully, the feeling didn't last for long.

At last, he was ready to go.

As he approached the door, he looked back and smiled. He would come back here if he ever had the chance.

...….

A few hours after leaving his territory, Reve experimented with his newfound strength.

He familiarized himself with the energy called Mana.

Of course, his practice targets were the common blue slimes.

Currently, he was not yet out of his territory. Just a few more steps and he would be there.

*Blob!* *Blob!*

A slime came to his sight.

"Oh, what a lucky day," purred Reve.

As he fixated on the slime, his [Appraisal] began its work.

[Blue Slime(Lv.9)

  Skills: Elongate. Encroachment. Impact Absorption.]

These were things Reve already knew about but it didn't hurt to see them arranged in a way that he could use them as a weapon.

As he kept his distance from the slime, he chanted in his mind, "Mana, the first energy of the world. Feel it. Absorb it. Refine it. Then, shoot it out."

Those were the basic steps of utilizing the mysterious Mana, the same energy he felt around him.

Feel it. Absorb it. Shoot it.

Reve heeded the crucial steps.

He imagined himself as a magnet for Mana and they came closer to him.

The moment they touched his skin, they got sapped into his body, flowing in a random movement.

After Reve had gotten control over them, he imagined it flowing out rapidly and directed the angle of the shot.

*Phew!*

The Mana flew out. It looked saintly as it arched in the air and reached for its target.

As if!!!!!

In truth, the shot couldn't even reach its target.

It shot out like a depressed man.

It was extremely embarrassing to watch.

Reve displayed his thick skin by ignoring it and trying again a few times.

The second, fail.

Since they say the third try guarantees success, he tried again

The third, fail.

The fourth try, fail.

Fifth try, success.

The mana shot barely hit the slime, but it did, alright?!

The slime reacted to the foreign energy and simply burst into jelly substances.

Reve smiled knowing what had just happened. That was the weakness of slimes. They couldn't absorb the impact of Mana.