The Layer Method

Fate was sitting still on one side of the room while Lily was watching him worriedly.

Both of them were in this ridiculous situation where they were kidnapped so that they could use their 'genius-level' talent to make new methods and mana arts for the research of 'The Professor'.

Fate currently sitting still in the lotus position had come up with a method that anyone could understand... He would shove mana into his core until it couldn't contain it anymore, and then he would use that excess mana that would release to form a crystallized layer over his mana core.

To do this one would normally need to gather mana from the atmosphere for a while, but luckily Fate only needed to advance to the first stage which required barely any mana. He had also used a potion that was given to them to boost his current amount of mana.

Fate was trying to focus this mana in his mana core which had taken him a couple of hours to get to full capacity before it started to release the excess mana that it couldn't contain within itself.

Fate was guiding this excess mana to cover his mana core in a layer of itself before he started to pressure the mana and condense it around his core, sealing all the outgoing mana within a new container that had started to crystalize.

Though this process sounded simple, Fate still had to make small veins within the new structure to allow blood and mana to pass through to his mana veins and body.

If Fate had only made a crystal layer of mana around his mana core he would have stopped his mana from flowing through his body along his mana veins, but he was currently shaping the mana in a way that it connected to his mana veins without blocking them effectively allowing his mana to continue to flow through his veins.

A few hours passed while Fate did this, and Lily's worries continued until she sensed Fate stop controlling his mana and open his eyes making Lily sigh in relief.

Fate smiled a little at her cute actions before checking his status.

[Status]

Name: [Fate Bloodheart]

Age: [16]

Mana Core: [1st Layer]

Gift: [Mana Resonance]

Heart Bond: [Lilith Dreamweaver]

Mana Arts: ---

Fate's smile widened even further. "I did it..."

Fate stood up quickly and hugged Lily. "I did it, Lily! I'm a freakin genius!"

Lily blushed a little from being hugged before she hugged him back and sighed. 

"You're lucky you're a genius" Lily lightly punched him

Fate laughed. "I'm not only a genius, but I have a genius partner to help!"

Lily smiled slightly at the compliment. Fate's laughter soon died out as he gave Lily a serious look. "Now that I've done it I'll guide you through it."

Lily smiled at him. "You know I can sense your emotions and mana right?"

Fate blinked. "Yeah… what about it?"

Lily laughed lightly. "That means I could sense what you did when you formed the layer, which means I can copy it."

Fate froze. "Wait… isn't that just cheating off my hard work?!"

Lily slightly raised an eyebrow. "Hard work? I thought it was easy for a 'genius' like you?"

"Ugh" Fate winced

"Fine, I'll stop teasing you, and I'll still take your help just in case."

Fate nodded. "Okay" Lily soon drank down a few potions before sitting in the lotus position to guide her mana following Fate's instructions over the next few hours and soon she had formed the First Layer as well.

"Congrats Lily!" Fate smiled after she succeeded

Lily smiled back. "Looks like you're not the only genius stuck in this dungeon." she chuckled

"It's good... with the both of us we'll have an easier time conquering this dungeon." Fate's expression turned solemn

Lily sighed. "Fate... stop worrying, we'll make it out of this dungeon alive, together."

Fate smiled wryly. "I'm not worried for myself, but I am worried about you. I can handle myself getting injured, but I'm sure that seeing you get injured or killed would harm me more than any physical wound could."

Lily blushed before she punched Fate's arm. "Don't say stuff like that! It's embarrassing!"

Fate turned his head away. "Why can't I say it if it's true?"

Lily looked at him blankly. "Are you dense or are you just... you know what, forget it, now is not the time for arguing this."

Fate nodded. "We now need to focus on making Mana Arts... I'll be focusing on the sword, but will you be able to cast spells?"

"Yeah, but from what I can see, the layer method will work better if used alongside runes... you should focus on those too after you develop a basic sword style."

Fate tilted his head. "Why?"

Lily sighed. "Because the layer method seems to have a higher affinity for runes, which means that runes will work the best with your sword style."

Fate nodded his head at her reasoning before sighing. "I guess I'll have a lot of work cut out for me then... runes and swordsmanship huh?"