Chapter 5: Chapter 4 - Runes
After that close call I've calmed down.
I should get my act together.
Luckily Clarissa didn't notice anything was wrong. I don't feel good lying to her, but when I think that I might lose her it hurts even more.
Sorry mom, I'm doing this for us.
I never expected to find so much general knowledge about the world in a book about magic. I thought it would be more like a book of spells. Not that I'm complaining.
This planet I've been reborn into seems like a really interesting place. I can't wait to explore and discover everything, especially the Elves. After reading about them in the old Earth's manga and books, I can't help but anticipate the day I'll meet one.
I swear I don't have any impure thoughts...
Ah!
While I was busy lusting... I mean thinking about the Elves, Clarissa has already reached the start of the next part.
'Part two, Magic'
It seems the first chapter is about runes. Perfect.
Let's see now.
According to this book, in the past, Humans didn't have the ability to cast spells. Unlike creatures with mana organs, we had no way of converting our mana into magic, instead we were seen as a warrior race while our mages were limited to just being warriors with a higher resistance to spells.
However that all changed with the advent of runes. Nobody knows exactly where they came from, but one day the archmage Merlin returned to the human kingdom with a piece of a strange tablet. Inscribed in it were words of an unknown language. When asked where he found them, Merlin simply shook his head and claimed he'd gotten lost in some ruins and woken up with the tablet in hand.
At the news, the kingdom dispatched their fastest people to the location, but by the time they'd arrived the ruins were nowhere to be seen. With no hope of discovering more about the tablet fragment from the ruins, they were forced to study it on their own.
Unfortunately, with no prior knowledge research was slow. It wasn't until a researcher individually copied out the words and channelled mana into them that he found a reaction.
Spurred on by this discovery, they tried stringing together different letters until, finally, something happened. As the stone they had inscribed on disintegrated, a ball of light appeared, identical to that of the beginner spell 'Illuminate'.
With this discovery, the kingdom went mad searching for the rest of the tablet, while researchers were trying to find new letter sequences, now known as runes, in order to cast more magic.
Eventually they found the rest of the tablet fragments scattered across the human kingdom, giving birth to the runic alphabet.
Due to the discovery of a magic system totally isolated from the concept of the mana organ, this knowledge is closely safeguarded by humanity's mages.
Though many of the spells performed using runes are lackluster compared to their pure magic counterparts, there have been some instances in history where high ranking mages have showcased the more powerful runic spells.
It was with the advent of the runic alphabet that humanity secured their place on the world stage.
Sigh.
I can understand why they wouldn't sell books on runes to anyone, but really, I was hoping to get at least some information.
Maybe an example.
Just one spell would be fine!
Hmm, but since Clarissa is also a mage, does that mean she knows the runic alphabet?
I should try asking her about it when I can.
Just before we're about to turn to the chapter on pure magic, Clarissa yawns and looks at me apologetically.
"Sorry Cain, I don't think I can keep this up. Mommy's getting tired."
She yawns again, and I can see her eyes are starting to droop.
I should be more considerate. This must be boring for her.
Don't worry mom.
We can continue tomorrow.
I feign a yawn and smile at her, slowly shutting my eyes and pretending to fall asleep.
She carries me to the crib and gives me a goodnight kiss, before blowing out the candle and leaving.
Now that she's gone and while I'm still awake, let's get started.
Earlier, the book said that warriors could channel their mana into their limbs. But how does that work? I can only experiment.
Slowly, I channel my mana into my hand.
...
I don't feel anything.
Is this not enough?
I gradually increase the flow of mana, but there's no change.
Maybe my method is wrong.
Now that I think about it, just filling it with mana doesn't really seem like it would be enough to empower it. Let's try to fuse the mana into the cells.
Slowly. It starts off slowly, but gradually as I get used to it, I'm slowly getting the hang of it.
This is easier than I thought.
I don't know how to describe this feeling. It's like my hand is immaterial, I can barely tell it's there. But I can still touch my face and feel my blanket.
Ok, now lets try gathering mana.
I sit cross-legged and close my eyes, in a meditative posture.
Concentrate.
Hrrng.
This isn't working.
Am I trying too hard?
I should try to relax a little.
As I slowly calm down, I can sense it. The mana in the air.
I try and pull it towards my mana sea with my mind, and bit by bit, the mana is being sucked up.
I don't know how much time has passed but I can sense a slight increase in the amount of mana in my mana sea. Good.
Now let's try experimenting with being a mage.
I try to the recall the feeling I had previously as I once more fill my hand with mana and channel it through the skin, forming a thin glove.
So, this is able to protect me from magic? Interesting. I wonder if I can change the shape.
As I concentrate, the thin film of mana on my hand shrinks until it forms a small circle.
Can I move it around?
Perhaps responding to my will, the circle slowly rotates, moving from the front to the back of my hand in an orbit.
As I'm playing around with it, I manage to shrink it to the size of a fingernail and move it to all parts of my body. It seems the smaller it gets, the faster it is to move it around.
Ok, let's see how large I can make it.
It starts off the size of a fingernail in my palm, but as I channel more mana into it, it slowly spreads.
First my hand, then my arm. Across my chest to the other arm, and down below my waist to both legs. Finally the head. Even though I can feel it in front of my eyes, I don't see anything.
For some reason, my head is starting to hurt.
Everything suddenly goes dark as I pass out.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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stone