Capítulo 7: Gains
Julian studied the book given to him for two days before he was dropped off at the entrance of the grand magic zone. Surrounded by trees as far as he could see, with the sounds of birds and insects filling the air, he felt a mix of excitement and trepidation. Fortunately, the natural mana was less chaotic here.
Deciding not to cross the middle of the region due to the high danger, Julian remained cautious, always mindful of not encountering any high-level beasts that had migrated from the central zone. He didn't have to worry about beasts from the innermost region, as they rarely left their place. He had even heard about natural teleportation portals formed due to the clash of mana within this region. If he had such an encounter, it would only mean he was unlucky.
For today, Julian focused on upgrading his core to the orange stage and finding shelter. The hunt and technique improvement could come tomorrow. After much practice and trying to replicate Sister Lily's healing ability, he managed to cast a minor healing spell. "Minor healing spell is not enough; I need to make it a proper spell," he muttered to himself.
Walking a short distance, Julian found a relatively safe place for meditation—a tree with dense branches to hide his figure. This was just the entrance, so no predators should be found here. He climbed the tree by propelling himself upwards, creating an explosion from his feet. Sitting on the largest branch, he began meditating. His mana core stored mana from the surroundings and his cells, allowing him to use it with his body mana while casting spells.
Julian forced his body mana into his core to enlarge it. Bit by bit, cracks intensified, and a dark orange core of mana was uncovered. The broken pieces of mana were absorbed by the core, increasing his mana capacity and filling his body with energy from the surroundings, pushing his mana limit to 85.
Suddenly, Julian felt a sharp pain throughout his body, causing his mouth to fill with blood. The sudden creation of dense mana caused a backlash, and he immediately used healing magic. But it was not enough, as his body forcefully adapted to the sudden rise in the quality of mana, increasing the pain. Julian dropped everything and focused only on healing magic. He remembered the spell Mars used in the original story and tried to create wings of flames to wrap around his body. Unknown to him, a different power worked in his body to heal his injuries.
After what felt like an eternity, Julian felt a warm embrace wrap around his body as the pain finally subsided. A notification popped in front of him.
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Spell unlocked: Phoenix Robe
-Medium-tier healing spell
CORE: DEEP ORANGE
BODY POINTS: 42
MANA POINTS: 85
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His body points had improved significantly after the evolution of his core, but Julian didn't have time to celebrate since he had to leave that place as it now had the smell of blood. With his current mana, he could now grasp the technique of mana rotation. During a fight, Julian's core usually stopped absorbing mana. The technique he aimed to master would allow his mana core to absorb natural mana during combat, providing him with almost endless mana. However, he would only be able to control the amount equal to the maximum capacity of his body and core combined. This technique would be more useful when he got his grimoire, doubling the power of his spells. Unlocking the Phoenix Robe was a huge achievement for him since he didn't have to worry about injuries.
The matter of shelter and food remained. Julian wandered for a few hours hunting wild rabbits with flame bullets. He climbed another similar tree to meditate. Without spices or salt, the rabbit didn't taste very well, but he didn't have a choice. He decided to get some spices from the forest. Julian prepared a makeshift bed with his clothes, covering it with more branches and twigs to hide himself properly before going to sleep.
The next morning, Julian continued his journey in search of his prey. Shadow wolves were larger than normal wolves, with dark grey fur. Sometimes, some were born with a horn and white mane. These wolves were groomed as new leaders by the old leader. This horn could be used as a weapon or to call for reinforcements. Although these wolves were groomed as leaders, they had to meet some requirements before becoming one: form a group of loyal subordinates, go hunting with their pack to gather enough contribution, and lastly, defeat the current leader. Julian was amazed that these wolves didn't fight to the death; the defeated leader became the commander of its species.
While moving, Julian forcefully stopped the input of mana from his body to his mana core, allowing it to absorb only natural mana. Absorbing direct mana from nature was painful, as his body was not adjusted to using natural mana. Continuous purification by his mana core and constant use of the Phoenix Robe somewhat lowered the pain. He wandered for hours and finally found a small flowing stream in the chaotic zone. The mana near the river was so chaotic that he almost crouched in pain as his core absorbed and circulated it in his body. The Phoenix Robe didn't manage to help him in this condition. After a while, he managed to stand up but didn't stop his progress; the gains were worth the pain.
"I hope I don't turn into a masochist," Julian consoled himself, but he was very wrong about his nature.
He approached the river, drank some water, and stored some in the container he had brought from home. Sitting near the shore, he meditated for some time, only to open his eyes to the growling sound of an animal. What he saw made a devious smile form on his face: his prey, a shadow wolf, was coming towards the river, holding a twin-horned dead deer in its mouth. The deer had two holes in its chest, still bleeding, indicating it had put up a fight. The wolf must have come to gather food for its pack. Julian thought as he jumped towards it across the stream, preparing a flame whip to stop its movement. Sensing danger, the wolf threw away its prey and prepared to dodge, but Julian was faster, managing to wrap his whip around it. Concentrating mana in his hand, he shot a compressed flame bullet at its head, successfully killing it in one hit.
Julian sighed in relief, glad to have caught it off guard. He didn't feel any pity, as it was not his first time killing an animal, and survival was his priority. As he approached the wolf, a small flame bird appeared and spoke in Sister Lily's voice, "That's one, nine left," before disappearing.
Her keeping an eye on him was natural, given the danger of this zone. Julian had a keen interest in magical beasts and their power of elementalization of the highest-ranking beasts. He had an urge to dissect the corpse and find its secrets, but he lacked the proper methods. His thoughts were interrupted as something flew out of the beast and entered his eyes and mana core, filling him with immense pain. He fell to his knees as his mind was filled with new information.
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Flame Nature Progressed Evolution Path: Devouring Flames
Steal mana from mana beasts before it returns to the environment
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After a while, the pain subsided, and Julian realized what had happened. Earlier, Sister Theresa had explained to him about the unique property of his flame of absorbing mana. But Julian wondered if his flames had evolved after his core progressed. Julian had just absorbed a pure form of life force, which started to mix with his innate flame ability. He understood it getting absorbed by his mana core, but why his eyes? Apart from the slight pain, he didn't feel any difference in his eyes, confirming it by seeing his reflection in the stream. Pointing at the beast, he used devouring flames.
His flames caused slight corrosion, and energy from the beast entered his body.
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+0.5 mana points
+0.5 body points
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"0.5 per beast is a good amount," Julian thought. With food acquired, shelter was no longer a problem. When he tried using the ability again, it just burned the beast, and the corrosive effect didn't take place. Not pondering much on it, he continued his mana rotation and started practicing flying without a broom.
In this technique, Julian had to propel himself upwards by creating an explosion by shooting mana from his hands and feet, controlling his movement in the air for fast and instantaneous movements. This was perfect for his current condition, as he hadn't perfected his mana control to a degree to form wings or learn to walk on air with a mana zone.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder