Chapter 60: A Trade (3)

Rainer finished his notes as night came. He wrote down and analyzed the way Elru channeled mana through her finger. The Mana within almost seemed to form several different runes as she wrote a single Rune on herself.

It seemed not even she was fully aware of her actions.

[i]That may be why no one else could learn it. It’s something Fae might naturally do. It may even be related to the talent to communicate with spirits and use Spirit Magic. Of course, she could be hiding something…but [Mana-Reading] showed no lies.

He didn’t dare attempt something like that in reality. Especially given how different his Mana was. Images of his fingers blowing up floated in his mind. He wasn’t looking forward to it that much in [Sleep Learning] either.

[23:21:45]

Rainer noted the time as Kara walked in. Luna flew in after her, though with her eyes practically closed, she flew into his coat without a word.

“Did you figure anything out?” She asked noticing he was no longer in his fever of writing.

“Far more than intended,” He would eventually share this knowledge with his party but telling Elru, and subsequently all Fae, was not on the list.

“How was training?”

“Elru…Is strong,” Kara said. The distress, however, was clearly on her face.

Seeing the door closed Rainer added some comfort for Kara in this regard, “I figured out why no one else could use Body Enchantment in the past. It shouldn’t be a problem for me; the only question is getting it to be fueled by Aura instead of Mana. Plus, getting it on a body not of Fae origin. But I have hope.”

In the end, his confidence came from the [Archon] class. If the skill existed and a human could learn said skill, it would help him.

“Then?” Kara’s face lit up at the prospect of having similar powers to Elru’s enchantments.

“I may be able to enchant you, though I’ll need something to practice on first. I should probably learn the Fae Variety before anything else. I can at least practice the skills needed for it in [Sleep Learning] even if I can’t test it out here.”

Kara immediately hugged him. She was of course, aware of the gap in their strength. And while it was related to Death Magic, being left behind in his fight with the [Arch-Lich] had affected her. His conversation with Theodore that she very much heard didn’t help the situation.

“Why do you think I agreed to give her a Fruit? Even if this doesn’t work, I’ll figure something else out. I see how hard you train; I’ll help with that.”

This work is hosted on mananovel.com

Kara grinned, intent on rewarding him. Rainer slept without the aid of Luna that night.

--

Entering the white void of [Sleep Learning] Rainer thought over what he would practice first. As always, he maintained [Arcane Awakening] at 100% the whole time he was here.

Unfortunately as a non-Magical Race I can’t use myself to practice on…From [Demon Anatomy] I know Demons are partially a Magical Race.

However, such a thought immediately caused Rainer to curse at his narrow-mindedness. He already depended on the [Archon] class to learn something that shouldn’t be possible for a human, and on top of that to try to make it fueled by Aura instead of Mana, why would he stop there?

Rainer began first with object enchantment, intent on seeing if there was a connection that could aid him.

He summoned his usual wooden box in front of him and created a [Mana Storage Ring] in his other hand. A surge of Mana flowed out of him as he repeatedly emptied and charged the ring.

[Mana Object Transfer has reached level 3]

The mass flowing of Mana had quickly improved his efficiency in a matter of minutes. He now stared at the transfer occurring with [Arcane Sight]. He monitored the loose Mana that would be lost in the transfer and quickly dissipated. He focused his [Mana Manipulation] on this loose Mana. Something made easy with [Arcane Sight].

After nearly an hour, and an immeasurable amount of Mana, both skills saw improvement. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

[Mana Manipulation has reached level 5]

[Mana Object Transfer has reached level 4]

That should be enough for now.

He noted a roughly 1/17 Ratio.

General Enchantment, and Runic Engraving…

He recalled the two skills he now needed. Looking at the wooden box still in front of him, he thought of the first enchantment that should be learned, strengthening. It involved a single Rune and depended less on the complexities of enchantment but more on one’s mana control.

The stones that built Nalmar, came from the practice material of beginning enchanters. The longer lasting ones for buildings of greater importance came elsewhere.

With this, Rainer changed his mind, instead forming a block of stone. The wooden box would require far too delicate control to avoid destroying it. Next, one of the enchanted stones of Nalmar appeared in front of him. Without [Arcane Sight], examining an enchanted item involved far more effort.

He stared at the enchanted stone as he brought his hand over to the normal one. The simple Rune for strengthening formed within his mind as the very stone beneath his hand became a vessel for the Mana.

The whole object glowed blue for a moment. But shattered from the influx of Mana.

Any other new enchanter would never use such a reckless method. The book strongly told its readers to only practice under a teacher. One who can deal with the Mana going out of control. Alternatively, an item of a similar purpose.

Refreshing his body, not willing to pick out the pieces of loose stone in it, he tried again. Hundreds of attempts passed by. Only the first few resulted in explosions; the rest ended in the Mana simply fading away.

But in a realm of infinite Mana, the class of [Archon], and no consequences, the result of even one lacking a talent in Mana, guaranteed success.

[Skill Gained: Runic Engraving lvl 1/10]

[Skill Gained: General Enchantment lvl 1/10]

New information flowed into Rainer as he understood more about enchanting. He quickly leveled both skills, by this time strengthening a far more fragile wooden box. He noted the technique for [Runic Engraving] may have use when forming the Runic lines for Body Enchantment.

[Runic Engraving has reached level 2]

[General Enchantment has reached level 2]

I guess it’s time for that huh…

He thought with a bit of hesitation as he looked at his finger. Already knowing how to flow Mana through his body due to [Fire Breath], hope filled him. Hope that his fingers would remain intact.

Not understanding the full purpose behind the Runes that formed in Elru’s finger, he could only try and replicate Body Enchantment.

Creating a large bowl, Rainer cut open a vein that would kill any normal person. He filled up the bowl and healed his body. Refreshing himself would cause the blood to disappear.

If this weren't the case, his attempts in learning [Combustion] would have filled the space with hundreds of his body parts.

He felt a bit dizzy, but his improved attributes under [Arcane Awakening] kept it at a managed level.

He mimicked Elru as best he could, flowing his Mana into his finger. Until the Body Enchantment began, no Runes were formed.

He let the Mana seep into the blood as he dipped his finger in. He looked at his stomach. Removing his shirt with the intention of drawing what seemed to be the most important part; the Mana Output Rune.

He couldn’t just directly draw the Rune the same as he would for a spell. They differed. A difference his [Archon] class bonus facilitated when he created his two branching [Arcane Awakening] skills.

Rainer paused for a moment, deciding to spend some points to level up [Human Anatomy] yet found the cost surprising.

70 points…

He took a moment to increase [Demon Anatomy] from level 6 to 7 at the cost of 6 skill points. Such was the plan in any case. The cost spiked for getting [Demon Anatomy] to level 8. [Human Anatomy] was not special.

Looks like tomorrow night I’ll be making new spells…

Once he figured out how to level tier 4 magic, Rainer would have fewer worries about skill points. Creating new spells posed a small issue as well.

For now, he returned his focus to Body Enchantment.

Holding his Mana infused, blood covered finger, a Rune began forming in his finger.

He pulled more Mana towards the Rune as it seemed to require far more than he thought. The mana surged beyond his estimation. Unable to control the flow, his entire hand exploded.

Already prepared Rainer, refreshed his body before the pain truly set in, though it still felt unpleasant. Seeing the blood he gathered gone as well; he decided to start on forming the Rune before anything else.

He wanted to avoid pain. So instead, he tried to create a stable Rune with Mana in his head.

Unlike Elru who had an entire magical formula in her finger when writing the Body Enchantment, he focused on but a single Rune.

And this time, one he was far more familiar with, the primary one involved in Arcane Magic. It appeared on his forehead when casting [Arcane Awakening: Final Arcanum].

No longer suffering pain, he lost track of the number of times he died. The slightest influx of Mana meant failure. Evidence, that it was a natural ability of Fae rather than skill.

This did not deter him.

Every few seconds he died from an explosion of Mana. The amount he could draw on in [Sleep Learning] was quite dangerous if in reality. Every attempt he grew closer to forming the Rune.

Close to the end of his [Sleep Learning] session he found success.

Looking at the Rune formed of his Mana, joy filled him. But realizing that without a proper target, like say an enchantment, the Rune soon went out of control once more.

He imagined if this was a part of a Fae’s natural abilities, the Rune would naturally fade. Returning to one’s body, the Mana would cause no harm.

With his body reformed and a new skill gained, Rainer attempted to draw the Mana Output Rune in the form needed for Body Enhancement. After a few failed attempts where the blood only burnt his skin, much to his discomfort, [Sleep Learning] had ended.

--

Rainer woke up with a smile on his face, despite that final bout of pain. He hadn’t been successful in enchanting himself, but the skill he gained, a skill that may not even exist for the Fae who naturally do it, was a welcome sight.

He didn’t discount the possibility that Elru kept this skill’s existence from him. But if he questioned her directly, he risked revealing his new secret.

[Skill Gained: Internal Runic Mana Formation lvl 1/10]

[Internal Runic Mana Formation: The ability to form Magical Formulae within one’s body using Mana.]

A secret that may extend beyond just Body Enchanting.

He needed to see Elru draw a Mana Output Rune before his next attempts. He imagined that such a thing wouldn’t be as simple as her previous demonstration.

“Good Morning,” Kara, still in high spirits from Rainer’s plans, said. She as well noted the content expression on his face.

He kissed her, giving silent thanks for Luna’s fire that handled dental hygiene, before mentioning his success.

“The first stage and likely determining factor is done.”

Kara, who already had faith in his success, only nodded.

They both got dressed and headed out to see Gunthar and Theodore.

“We should head north today and see if we can hunt any monsters on the border,” Rainer said recalling the Yeti’s they hunted. He wished to level [Voidwalker] as well. He, however, had no thoughts on [Archon] receiving noticeable experience from this.

“A fine idea, we can head to the edge of the of forbidden land as well, see if you might gain something from it. We should not under any circumstances enter deeply, however,” Theodore said.

“Let’s stop by the tree first; I want to try and change Luna’s class. Where’s Elru?”

Rainer headed over to her room but, Gunthar stopped him.

“It would be best if Little Wolf woke her up, yes?”

After a few minutes, Kara dragged a sleepy looking Elru into the hall.

“What…do you want…” Elru mumbled while rubbing her eyes.

“Just letting you know we are heading North to hunt some monsters.”

Elru just nodded her head and escaping Kara’s grasp went back to her room.

“Rainer, wasn’t part of the deal for her to be a guard?” Kara said with a bit of laughter at how different Elru seemed now. Especially for a race that didn’t need to sleep. The two Fae they knew enjoyed it quite a bit.

Before he could respond, a fully armored Elru left her room.

“Pardon my previous state, I will accompany you on your hunt if need be,” An Elru, looking nothing like her previous sleepy self, spoke, “You should know, that apart from Yulia coming herself, she may not have many options to send against you.”

“If we are stopping by the tree, and the danger is lessened, should we not see if you can garner Gunthar another class?” Theodore said.

Activating [Mana Reading], Rainer clarified what Elru said.

“So, other Fae aren’t likely to come?”

“None that would be of any threat.”

Seeing she wasn’t lying, Rainer, however, still didn’t want to chance it yet. He thought there was still the possibility of more dangerous Fae coming, even if she was telling the truth.

“We’ll hunt, for now, there is no rush.”

“Then let us be off,” Elru added, leading the way.