Chapter 131: Of Enchantments and Dragons (2)

The first 3 hours of Rainer’s sleep went by uneventfully with him focused on fully memorizing several events. The first was a reiteration of the Divine Presence, assuring himself that no matter what it would not be forgotten in anyway. Then he added in his memories of Amer’s Avatar Ritual along with every inch, nook, and cranny of the ship all the way to the feel of the wood. And the final included memories of both his trials once again to fully witness the enchantments at work and his sight of his sister with [Arcane Revelation].

Opening his eyes in the white void at the conclusion, an endless sea of water predated the appearance of a ship. If he was going to enchant it at sea, he may as well do the same here.

With a refreshing of the Divine Presence memories, it took everything Rainer had not to continue working on his plans for Absolute Dominion. But recalling that they were drifting at sea and that he didn’t have all the time in the world for enchanting, he moved his plans forward.

[Void-walking] to the center of the ship, Rainer looked over the skills he had for enchantment so far. Both [Runic Engraving] and [General Enchantment] were at level 2, along with [Mana ???? Transfer] still being level 1. Something he imagined would rectify itself the moment he enchanted the actual ship.

He sat cross-legged and spread out a [Mana Presence], as he did before in reality, to get another feel for the ship. He assumed [Mana Presence] would be better, given the Mana-related nature of enchanting.

The first step would be both the most important and yet simplest, strengthening. It needed to not only cover the entire ship with just a single enchantment, but also leave room for further improvement.

Using the white void to create a small box, Rainer first focused on gaining a Dragon-related enchantment skill.

Closing his eyes Rainer fell back into the memory of using [Arcane Sight] in his Trials. The enchantment of the Tower was so thick it was nearly incomprehensible but, searching through the memory, Rainer looked for the single portion that was responsible for strengthening it. He used his own knowledge of [Draconic Runic Language] as well as the normal enchantment for strengthening to slowly pick it out. It was by far the weakest enchantment on the tower, making it easy to find in that regard.

Weak, was of course, a relative notion.

Until finally, the only thing on his mind remained was the single pattern responsible for strengthening the tower amongst the myriads of other patterns within the building-wide enchantment. Many of which he couldn’t even hope to understand as he hadn’t even seen their effects. In the end, it was hard to say for either trial that he completed them in a normal manner.

Rainer channeled his Mana as he looked at the small box in front of him. Placing his hands down, a web of Mana expanded outwards, only to slice at the box in countless ways. Whereas enchanting normally with [Faraan Runic Language] was akin to the ordered runic lines of [Arcane Awakening] centered on certain Runes, Draconic seemed to be akin to the flowing lines of [Arcane Invigoration], lacking any sort of clear central focus.

Rainer glanced at the damage to the box. Nothing more than light scratches covered the wooden box. Given the amount of Mana he spent, it was clearly an inefficient means of attack if one had such a purpose while enchanting.

He refocused, repeating it over and over again trying to match it even in the slightest way to the enchantment in his memories.

The failures came over and over. They were different every time. At times the wooden box exploded, sending splinters in every direction. Other times the Mana merely faded into the air, as if he had done nothing at all. But most attempts were somewhere in between. With parts of the enchantment sticking and warping into the wood and the rest failing.

With [Arcane Awakening] at its max and the accelerating effects of [Arcane Awakening: Surge] activated, Rainer went through countless attempts, all the while using a created [Mana Storage Ring] to supply him Mana for enchanting. One that refilled with just a thought in the white void.

And subsequently after a few hours of concentrated effort he leveled the skill once more.

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[Mana Object Transfer has reached level 5]

A crossover between this and taking Mana from the Mana-Well existed. So it was not a waste to improve it.

Rainer sighed as he looked at yet another recreated box. His [Archon] class simply wasn’t coming through for him no matter what.

It could be something that isn’t a separate skill, but Rainer doubted that. Rather, he believed he was missing a step, if not several. Something about enchanting with [Draconic Runic Language] that required more from it’s enchanter than the usual.

He stared at his own hand for a brief moment before thinking of that step. Was not Dragon Magic created in one’s blood and body?

When it came to Body Enchantment, one had to form Runes within their bodies before then applying the enchantment on their targeted person. Something Fae did naturally. And so recalling the barrier of entry when it came to Body Enchantment, Rainer tried another method.

He formed the vein-like enchantment lines now in his hand instead of directly in the box . The goal was to feed them through and slowly enchant the entire box.

But on his first try a single vein-like line of mana caused his hand to jerk in pain. Struggling through it, he brought his hand to the box and tried to add it.

With a bit of sweat and grimacing pain, Rainer managed to move that Enchantment into the box.

[Skill Gained: Enchanting Medium: Body lvl 1/10] Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

With that burst of knowledge, Rainer understood the skill.

He went through his memories and actually found a different version of this in the Nalmar enchantment books. That one involved placing the Mana for an enchantment on an object, but not finalizing it. And then doing this several times with different enchantments and different objects, before attempting to combine all these partially finished enchantments in the final product. Using those other objects as a medium.

Though, keeping it in one’s body wasn’t the preferred method.

Or a method at all...

But to Rainer, who thus far lacked the ability to enchant anything with the Draconic version of enchantment, it seemed like the best course. To use his own body’s capabilities for Dragon Magic to enchant with. After all, [Draconic Runic Language] was a language of flesh and blood.

Rainer started trying to enchant the box once more. With every attempt he was able to form more and more of the enchantment within himself. And with practice, it hurt him less.

[Enchanting Medium: Body has reached level 2]

But his improved success did not amount to a final result. Instead he noticed something else far more closely. It worked partially as before, though on larger parts now. And with these larger parts he could see that some of the enchantment seemed to naturally merge into the wood.

Did I not just think that Draconic Magic was a magic of flesh and blood? A manipulation of the existent pathways already in one’s body.

Placing his hands on a box, Rainer used [Arcane Revelation] as he outpoured Mana from his hands, with no specific intention.

He watched with fervor as the Mana naturally flowed through the wood, taking certain paths. The same paths his attempts at Draconic Enchantment used.

Closing his eyes after a few minutes, he reached out now with [Mana Detection] and felt the pathways, falling into a trance as he followed the Mana through the box with his awareness.

Time passed unceasingly as he became lost in it.

Coming out of his trance as he felt he saw and learned all he needed to, he began enchanting. Veins of Mana formed in his arms and then flowed out, using the natural magical pathways of the wood and morphing them with the Draconic Enchantment.

With a red glow, unseen by his closed eyes, the box strengthened and the space between the wooden parts tightened.

He opened his eyes to a welcoming message.

[Skill Gained: Draconic Enchanting lvl 1/10]

[Title Gained: Magus of Draconic Enchanting]

[Experience Gained: Deferred, Deferred]

[Title Gained: Magus of Enchanting]

[Experience Gained: Deferred, Deferred]

Rainer let out a laugh as he inspected the wooden box in front of him. When it came to enchanting with the [Faraan Runic Language] there was no possible way a wooden box could be made so strong. The better a material the better the enchantment. And wood ranked quite low on that scale.

But with his use of Draconic Magic and now studying it’s enchantments, he realized a difference between the two. It was hard to say whether one was superior than the other. Though for sure one could claim any Draconic variety started off with a huge advantage.

[Faraan Runic Language], however, proved far more flexible in what one could accomplish. He truly didn’t see how he could pick apart or alter [Eldritch Flight], whereas even as a novice mage he ended up creating [Void-walking] from [Arcane Bolt] and the then spell [Sleep Learning].

Thinking of his future path, he didn’t know which would be better.

Vanishing the box, Rainer focused on the far bigger task around him, enchanting the entire ship. With [Draconic Enchanting]’s seemingly natural ability for finished enchantments to be added on to, he knew he could do the ship in steps and connect it all to a single enchantment, improving the general strength and leaving room for the future.

And so he began, spending the rest of his time practicing on the whole of the ship. He released an amount of Mana that likely not even several Yazirs could have done in reality. The air became saturated with the power and, with [Arcane Revelation], Rainer watched with rapt attention, marking down how the Mana flowed in the ship, taking care to pour some of it into the ship as well just as he did with the wooden box.

When taking into account the entire ship and the flows between even individual pieces of wood it was a sight only witnessable in the unlimited Mana of [Sleep Learning]. Or perhaps with the massive Mana of a dragon itself.

Once more he sank his focus into the ship as he followed along with the numerous pathways of Mana. From the mast to the sails, and down to the very depths of the ship. He felt how the wood and Mana reacted to the water around it, and how it all connected together. Time passed as he felt the very existence of the ship with his mind. Almost as if he, for a brief moment, merged his magic with it.

Snapping himself out of it, he immediately laid down. Still in [Sleep Learning] he shut his eyes for an hour, committing everything he just witnessed to memory automatically.

Then, he finally opened his eyes in the white void, preparing himself for the final step. His body pulsed with Mana and he slammed his hands down, forcing his enchantment along the pathways. Ones burned into his memory.

The lines of [Draconic Enchanting] spread out of his sight as they slowly crept across the wooden vessel and the sails. The unlimited mana of [Sleep Learning] let him do this without stopping, though he took momentary breaks to make sure he could do the same in reality.

In his inexperience, he missed certain parts or failed in certain areas, resulting in cracks that erupted out across the whole ship.

[Draconic Enchanting has reached level 2]

Hours passed as he repeated the task over and over again, a part of him realizing the exhaustion of before led him to sleep longer than usual. But with it being purely physical exhaustion, Rainer saw little issue with staying longer in the white void.

The massive mana used as well as the size of the enchantment, pushed his knowledge forward as he gained more and more familiarity with the skill with each attempt.

[Draconic Enchanting has reached level 3]

Taking a small break, Rainer thought back to the [Arcane Revelation]-aided memory of Sarah using [Enchantment Manipulation]. Perhaps that would be of use here. For even in his best attempts he noticed countless places where, if he could just adjust the already inlaid enchantment, it could make great improvement.

Sorry Sarah…

Rainer thought with a smirk as he went over the memory of her using [Enchantment Manipulation]. He had no plans to let her be special in that regard as long as he could manage it.

The same memory told him her body was inherently magical, making a copy of her [Enchanted Flesh] a far different affair. Even now, Rainer hadn’t a clue on how to use Body Enchantment on humans. Even mages. After all, Human Mages’ bodies weren't inherently magical. Rather, the Mana occupying their bodies affected it. With no Mana they’d be no different than humans in perhaps just a few weeks.

He shook a bit as he realized Sarah would likely ask for Body Enchantments at some point. For the first time, he was glad he couldn’t recreate life in here, because it meant that without her to recreate in here, enchanting someone who was so different from his other experiences was impossible to do safely.

He sighed. Knowing that if it ever became safe to test enchantments for Sarah, he would have to do it. He wouldn’t knowingly prevent his sister’s strength from growing.

But not only would he feel awkward about it, Sarah would make it worse for him. It wasn’t that she wouldn’t feel just as awkward as him. Only, she was the type to deal with uncomfortable situations by making everyone else around her feel more uncomfortable than she does.

Rainer recreated the wooden box, enchantment included, and begun his tests for gaining [Enchantment Manipulation].

He knew how she moved the Mana. He saw it in more detail than perhaps anyone else could. He even felt how she moved the Mana and Enchantment within herself. He seemingly didn’t lack any knowledge of how the skill operated.

And yet...even with his [Archon] class bonus, he failed to mimic the skill no matter how many attempts he continued to make.

Looks like you get your wish for now, Sarah.

Rainer thought wryly. Not that he’d ever tell her that he thinks even [Enchantment Manipulation] might be related to her being a [Manaborne].

Just before he woke up and prepared to enchant the real ship, Rainer noticed something strange. He could feel the [Soul-Trace]s he left behind in here.

For the longest time Rainer believed that the final part of the level 9 [Sleep Learning] related to the creation of Life, given it seemed to be the only thing he could never do. But now, he had a far different thought.

But alas, it was a thought left for different days. He had a ship to enchant. And an ocean to sail.

--

Rainer awoke to just Luna clinging onto him more than usual. He admitted it was a bit cold in the morning. Or perhaps she found discomfort in the rocking ship given that the Fairy was only affected by extreme levels of cold.

He was glad to be unbothered by the rocking the ship did overnight. With Gunthar manning the helm, it was little different than during the earlier day. Lilia’s recent advancement also improved her condition as well.

Towards the end of Gunthar’s lecture, Lilia seemed to have gotten a handle on the Soul skill and even became unaffected by the lightly rocking boat. Perhaps related to her Soul Affinity, but the improvement to her condition and body was clear. She just seemed a little brighter. Otherwise he might have even asked Luna to sleep in her room and heal her on occasion.

He felt only a fleeting bit of envy at not gaining the skill even with his [Archon] bonus and instead found himself completely proud of his talented apprentice. He wasn’t even all that bothered either at his previous failure with [Enchantment Manipulation]. It was an easy excuse to give Sarah a place among them, that of fixing all his enchantments rather than any sort of combat role. He truly wanted to give her a break, but it was her decision in the end.

“Luna, shrink a bit,” He whispered to the Fairy, as he shook her slightly.

“Rainer just wants Luna to be small so he can take advantage of her…” The fairy mumbled as she shrunk and crawled into his overcoat on her own, the pockets left far emptier with the little dragon keeping Lilia company at night.

“Luna will hide so Rainer has to come find her…”The fairy sleepily remarked.

Rainer void-walked to the deck, but he felt a bit off crossing through the Void. Frowning for only a moment, he just attributed it to his recent injury and sleepiness.

He looked over to where Kara was doing some light sparring with Gunthar, while Sarah sat next to Lilia, looking over the notes on runes Rainer had given to his apprentice earlier. The studious girl was doing all she could to commit what he wrote to perfect memory.

He saw Kara look over at him and stop her spar, so he began explaining his success over the night.

Along with a disbelieving look from his sister he received a statement of admiration from his apprentice.

“I knew Master Nvos could do it,” Lillia remarked.

Rainer grinned and rubbed her head, all the while looking at Sarah.

“If only she was my little sister…” He sighed wistfully.

“As if, old man. She’s closer in age to be your daughter.”

Rainer gasped in faux hurt.

“That’s not true,” Lilia defended him, “Master can be any age he wants to be!”

“Definitely a better little sister. Now, you guys should probably get on the extra boat, just in case,” Rainer then remarked. He knew there was a proper name for it, the small boat used for disembarking when there was no need for the whole ship to make port, but for the life of him he couldn’t remember the name.

“...Rainer? Did you overstate your success?” Kara asked. It was never like Rainer to be so cautious.

“No,” Yes.

He did fail a few times out of his numerous attempts. But towards the end it was a complete success. But he couldn’t say that he wouldn’t fail. Or that it was anywhere near perfect. Perhaps Sarah could fix it up afterwards? Though he’d rather her practice on smaller wooden objects first.

They agreed as Rainer stood up on the quarterdeck before sitting down. Taking out the Mana-well, Rainer mentally prepared himself. Suddenly with a wave of magic, Mana poured out from the Mana-well and to Rainer.

Once more he felt the Mana and knew instinctively it was pointless for spells, and refocused on enchanting the ship.

Waves of Mana went out as his own quickly depleted.

[Mana ???? Transfer has reached level 2]

[Mana ???? Transfer has reached level 3]

Over the course of a few hours of enchanting, the ship gradually became covered in a reddish blue haze, more akin to blood than the blue of Mana. A mix of violet could be seen but with the added Mana coming from the Mana-well, most of it lacked Rainer’s Arcane-laden Mana Pool.

With a giant shuddering pulse of magic, one that felt almost like a snap in all their ears, the entire ship fell under the draconic enchantment. Cracking could be heard, as the wooden parts of the ship tightened imperceptibly.

The glow of enchantment faded, leaving only a far stronger ship.

Though the degree of strengthening wasn’t comparable to the wooden box, as Rainer had focused on leaving room for further enhancements and cutting down on the time it took.

With [Enchantment Manipulation] from Sarah and the pliability of [Draconic Enchanting], he knew he could add improvements at any time.

The group returned back to the ship, Rainer opting to just fly down and lift them up with the boat. He could manage at least that.

“Now we just have to make sure she’s pointed in the right direction,” Rainer remarked, “And figure out what to do about the scratches some sort of Wolf left on the deck…” he grumbled.

Kara thought she was safe for a moment before she realized in Rainer’s first inspection of the ship before buying the boat he would have definitely noticed any previous scratches. She glanced over at Sarah only to recieve a look that said “I told you so”.

“Soon as I recover my Mana, we should get going.” He spoke. Noticing that the waves were a bit rougher than yesterday, he did not think staying here for long was a good idea.