ตอน 5: Chapter 5
I recovered my total mana in about 2 hours, I know because I counted the time. I wanted to know how long it would take for my body to regain mana passively and without me having to actively do anything. I have an assumption that it's possible that it would increase by actively trying to absorb mana, and I say assumption because I haven't tried it yet.
After I had regained all my mana and stopped feeling that emptiness, I started practicing my earth magic again, only this time I would try to make spikes come out of the earth and not an earthquake.
My attempts worked, but their cost was high. I managed to create 5 spikes before I ran out of mana completely. The spikes were, from the widest to the thinnest, the size of my arm, half that at the tip and half my height. Although I don't know how tall I am, it's not important, the point is that they're big enough to cause some damage.
When I was testing the usefulness of the spikes and their destructive power I used a rock about my size. The power of the spike or stalagmite (from the bottom up) pleasantly surprised me, as it easily stabbed the rock.
The stalagmites I created stayed in place and didn't return to the earth, so I understood that my magic practically molds the earth according to my will and in relation to the consumption of mana I used. If I used all my mana to erect a pillar, it would probably be very tall, but it would only serve as a defense...
I thought a bit and it seemed right to investigate ways in which I could use my attack and spend less mana, thus getting more attacks to only 5. I also gave myself the mission to create defensive spells that I would use to defend myself from a very strong attack, or a weaker one, and if necessary create obstacles in the way to escape.
With the conception of that thought I set out to enter my house and reach for the goal board, for it was time to sign off on my short term goal and time to start new ones.
Short term: Learn to cast elemental spells = DONE.
Now raise the new short-term objectives.
Short term (2): Learn elemental spells of - Defense / Utility.
Short term (2): Check the rate at which mana is recovered if you actively try to recover it.
And now I only need to add the medium-term ones.
Medium term (3): Gain control over my powers (Mental - Bodily) (basic control).
Medium Term (3): Learn to control attack spells to lower your mana consumption.
As I finished writing, I took a moment to contemplate the board.
I'm happy to have completed my first objective and also to learn magic. The feeling of using magic isn't exactly what I expected, but being able to make things happen that I couldn't before, there's no better description than "happiness".
Well, since I now have a path and I know what I have to improve and do I will start practicing again. Maybe I can complete another one of the goals soon.
...
I took my time, I estimate 2 months... I'll have to find a way to make a rudimentary clock, I just don't remember how to make one. Moving on, these "2 months" have been spent practicing fully and I can say, somewhat half-heartedly, that actively trying to regain my mana does help. So, that's the second goal I've achieved so far.
I don't know exactly how much less time it takes to recover mana by actively trying, but I can estimate roughly 30 minutes. I'm not sure how I know, I just know. That's another thing I've realized so far, I can estimate the time instinctively. Of course, I wouldn't be able to tell if that amount of time has actually passed or not....
Another thing I've learned that I forgot to put as a goal is the question, "Will spending my mana and replenishing it increase my mana amount? I estimate yes, because, although the attacks I perform are still the same in quantity, I no longer feel the same empty feeling as I did at the beginning. Of course, it could be that I've gotten used to it and gained stamina or I might have increased my amount of mana minimally. But that's something I'll have to analyze further and write down on my board.
Long term (1): Check if spending and replenishing mana continuously helps to increase total reserves.
That would then be my first long-term goal. The way I'm going, with the amount of time I've spent continuously training, spending and replenishing mana, I can guess that it will take me a long time to fully check this out.
Thank "God" I have a LOT of time left, I hope.
The other thing I have found is my control over myself. The continued training, the lack of anything else to do, the isolation and the "peace" have allowed me to think a lot, and when I say think a lot that's an understatement. Luckily, being locked in perpetual darkness without even knowing if I'm doing anything has given me (Sarah Kerrigan's voice): Perspective, hahahaha.
Whenever I find a joke that I can apply to a situation I do it for the simple pleasure it gives me. I'm also glad to know that I still have a sense of humor, because being a rock doesn't mean I have the sense of humor of one, hahahaha.
Well, well, as I was going. All these events have "allowed" me, not to say forced me to maintain a sort of emotional and mental balance. I must also admit, that even though it can get a bit boring after a while to practice with magic, making what I imagine come true gives me enough motivation to keep going. And for the times when I want to give up training so much, I just give myself a "little motivation" by imagining what will fall from the sky soon. In fact, just imagining that ipso facto overcomes any feelings of reluctance to train.
It may seem like I'm a masochist to treat myself this way, but as they say, sweat today so you don't bleed tomorrow. I also think I can blame it on my current body. Apparently, a rock being like me, or maybe my elemental status has made it so that in a sense I can go for a long time without needing rest, other than when I get that "hunger" or slow down a bit when I run out of mana and feel the "emptiness. So, except for those two circumstances I'm as stubborn as a rock and I can keep going.
If I'm still not making myself clear, I'll make it simpler. Since my body doesn't hurt and practicing magic only makes me feel kind of empty, I have no problem continuing to train. I've been training for so long, for what I consider normal for a human, that my mentality has changed a bit and I've started to have more patience. At least I have more patience than when I was human.
I can assume that my new race, being immortal, i.e. I do not age, puts me in perspective that there is no need to do everything at once and also, it may be, but I do not minimize it, that my growth potential is slower. Example: A common hose and a fire hose both serve to carry water from one end to the other, but the power is different. For this example let's assume that both have the same amount of water in reserve that will be spent. The fire hose has more water passing through it every moment, so it will run out of water faster, on the other hand, the common hose only a trickle of water, it does not compare the expense. That's how I understand it at least.
Since I'm not dying, I don't have to adapt quickly and I can take my time if necessary, and that, come to think of it, is precisely how humans and elementals differ. They can adapt quickly. In the case of mages they train their magic and their reserves continuously, but since they don't live so long their body takes less time to try to get used to those events causing a rapid growth, and if the cultivation novels are not wrong, when they are children is the best time to start training since they are small and can adapt for longer to magic, among other things, like taking advantage of their growth spurt in adolescence is when they go through the process of accelerated growth in their life.
From what I have seen so far with myself as an elemental, my growth is tied to eating more elementals and absorbing the fifth element in the environment. By continuously realizing those two points I grow, but it takes time just to absorb the fifth element and it has its consequences to struggle to devour other elementals. For example, dying... That explains why there are so few elementals comparable to an elemental lord or a little lower in the chain of command. Practically they are either born by favorable environmental circumstances, created by beings of greater power or they are just like me, grow slowly and accumulate power over time.
*sigh*
My third wish should allow me to have a terrifying potential as an elemental, but I don't know how to use it because ironically I don't know how to use my power...
Anyway, I'm taking steps in the right direction, running at this point will not bring me any good.
Changing the subject, I'm also proud to say that I've also recently added combat training. Of course, it's just to test the damage I do, the speed of my attacks, how fast I can attack and block. A training where I want to get to know myself as much as I can and prepare to fight some elemental.
I nodded in satisfaction at my internal monologue of my improvements. Daily I explain the things I have done to maintain a good language, also to learn how to explain things to others. I do it because I had a small ambition when I was human. I wanted to teach a group of children about science and so I focused on explaining it as clear as possible, or as Momonga would say, "Demiurge, please explain to everyone the plan in such a simple way that even a human child can understand it" hahaha.
The small joys of life, it is only now that I can truly understand these words...
*sigh*
Anyway, my magic training has led me to realize that I need to keep my imagination and my mind active, so today I started creating flashcards. I do this not only as an activity where I practice my mental agility, but also my creativity by making them with my hands, or well, with my magic. Magic really is versatile and now that I think about it, this also helps me with my mana control. It's not that I possessed low mana control, in fact, I think I was born with medium mana control, but I won't say no to another advantage of doing it this way. Maybe I'll also try to make sculptures using only my hands and fingers, with that I'll practice a finer control over my body and how to adjust to my massive upper limbs.
Well, I think I should write that down in the long term goals.
Moving to the chalkboard in my house, I wrote.
Long term (4): Train the art to keep the mind and imagination active.
Long Term (4): Train memory while gaining control of your mental powers.
Long term (4): Train making sculptures to get a finer handling of your hands and as a source of entertainment.
I guess that would be it. I'm glad to finally think of a way to entertain myself besides training. Although I don't plan to stop doing it, I'll have to make a schedule for this.
*sigh*
Life is good but hard...
I hope you like it, I try to move the character at a good speed but without making him OP too fast or too slow. I invite you to comment what you think of the story so far. Every comment is a motivation. I wish you all the best, until the next chapter ^^
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