XLVII

  Kaz woke with a start, and before he could even grasp what just happened to him, his [ Archive ] opened, pages were forcing themselves open, overlapping, his [ Archive ] not knowing what to put in the front for him to view.

  With a sigh, he closed his eyes, and he tried to recall what happened to him. He remembered the experience with the Manashroom, him extracting the mana from it, and then his mana core burst free. His eyes flew open and he quickly opened his robe, and to his relief, his abdominal area where his mana core should be looked all normal.

  His needy [ Archive ] was throwing the pages in front of his face, even as he was looking down, and he growled in annoyance, forcing his [ Archive ] to close. When he felt it trying to open again, he strictly reprimanded it, mentally scolding, “Behave. Put it all together so I can read whatever I need to, and don’t rush it.”

  After some internal deliberation, his [ Archive ] opened one single page, and it read:

  You have unveiled your Skill Ability, [ Mana Siphon - ? ? ? ].

  Thoughts couldn’t form in his head after the first read, dumbstruck by the message in front of him. After reading it a few more times, he was overjoyed with obtaining new Skill Ability, especially one at three stars, and his concern of not having his third one by now, was now a concern of the past. What did disturb him though, was the wording of the message. It wasn’t like all of his previous Abilities, where the message would mention if he wanted to learn an Ability he unlocked. This simply said he “unveiled” his Ability and it was added to his Skill Abilities without him confirming or denying it. Was it like this with all three-starred Abilities? Before he could even open his [ Archive ] to investigate further, another message popped up, this one containing more text:

  The [ Archive ] failed to accurately assess your potential during your Awakening. Due to an Ability sealed Mana Core, your full potential was hidden. Unfortunately, you are not able to choose another Calling, but your Calling has been updated from Mage - ? to Mage - ? ? ?. Check your [ Archive ] for updates to your [ Status ].

  Kaz needed a moment, as his head was now spinning. He let himself fall back on the soft moss at the base of the tree and just gazed up at the words on the page, not fully comprehending what he was reading. If he thought a three-star Ability seemed impossible, transitioning from a one-star Mage to a three-star Mage broke his mind. He wasn’t even happy about it.

  Anger like no other started boiling up within him. His mana started coursing throughout his body, pulsating and burning, as his breathing grew heavy. What do you mean the [ Archive ] failed?

  At this, his [ Archive ] quickly closed that page, only causing Kaz to scream out in outrage. All this suffering that he had to go through was because it made a mistake? He lost his childhood friends, his town, and most probably, vast opportunities because the all-knowing [ Archive ] couldn’t do it’s one job correctly?

  Kaz couldn’t stop the tears of anger and also of past agony that flowed freely down his cheeks. All of this because of an incomplete Awakening. After crying for a few minutes, he couldn’t help himself and started cackling from the absurdity of it all. Of course, this was just his luck.

  Not even bothering to open his failure of an [ Archive ], he tried activating his newest Skill Ability, [ Mana Siphon ], for the first time. It immediately began channeling, feeling more natural than any of his other Abilities, even his first Ability, [ Mana Burst ]. He saw the blue mana being extracted from the nearest Manashroom, and halfway through, it was already turning silver, entering his outstretched hands. He smiled in bliss when the mana went straight into his mana core.

  Roughly ten seconds later, his Skill Ability haltered, and to his surprise, he was able to channel it again, noticing that the Ability itself did not draw mana in order to function like his other Skill Abilities. It was also worth noting that he was able to channel it again as soon as it ended. Kaz experimented by repeatedly activating it five times with various Manashrooms to confirm that he could continuously activate [ Mana Siphon ] without there being any drawbacks.

  Dreading this moment, he reluctantly opened his [ Archive ], going straight to [ Skill Abilities ], to see what this Ability was capable of. The lengthy description showed:

  [ Mana Siphon - ? ? ? ]

  Rank 1 > Rank 10

  Siphon up to 100 Mana Points from living and non-living mana sources. 10 second channel time, but upon damage or action, channeling will be interrupted along with a 5 second cooldown. Absorb 20% of Mana Points siphoned from channeling. Any excess Mana Points will be released from the Mana Core, not recoverable by the living and/or non-living mana source.

  Shaking his head after reading it, he safely assumed that this Ability was overpowered for sure. From his understanding, he was able to siphon Mana Points from anything that possessed mana, like the Manashrooms, up to one hundred Mana Points, but he only gets twenty percent of it, for now. There was a chance for the channeling to get interrupted by damage or action, which made sense, and the cooldown is only if he gets interrupted, but if there’s no interruption, he can channel it again freely.

  Ten whole Ranks in a matter of minutes of experimenting was another pleasant surprise, which he apparently couldn’t get enough of today. Kaz wondered why he was gaining so many Ranks with this Ability, was it because it was a three-star Ability? But that shouldn’t be the reason behind it, because one would assume that a three-star Ability, which should be challenging to obtain, would be equally challenging to Rank.

  As if his [ Archive ] couldn’t contain itself, it opened to his [ Status ], and Kaz detected a hint of smugness coming from it, and Kaz was quick to remind it that it was an absolute failure. It revealed:

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  — Status —

  Name

  Kazimoriel

  Race

  Gnome*

  Calling

  Mage - ? ? ?

  Enhancement: Due to Mage - ??? Calling, Abilities are progressed at an increased rate of 50%, along with a 50% chance of obtaining starred variants of Abilities. Only applicable till Second Revelation

  [ Mantle of the Adventurer ]

  Wood

  Resonance

  18

  Mana Points – Health Points

  171 - 109

  Yep, there was too much stimulating information presented to him again, and honestly, Kaz just needed a second to get himself under control. He settled into his pose that he used for his [ Mana Regeneration ], but instead, he faced his palms outward, towards the sides. He closed his eyes, and then activated his new Skill Ability, [ Mana Siphon ], immediately feeling the Mana Points being drawn from a nearby Manashroom.

  It was satisfying for him to be able to sense nearby mana without him having to physically lock on to it visually. After cycling through this Ability roughly four times, he noticed he wasn’t able to siphon anymore Mana Points from the Manashroom. Confused, he opened his eyes to investigate, and to his surprise, the Manashroom, once bright blue, was now a lifeless gray color, half the size, and wilting.

  Kaz would be lying if the image before him didn’t disturb him, but it made sense to him, as he essentially drew out the life of the Manashroom. But from what he gathered, that Manashroom had a total storage capacity of four hundred Mana Points, which was very impressive, and it made sense why these were used to make mana potions.

  Sitting there, he simply sat back, trying to process the information from earlier, as his emotions have settled down a bit after calming himself by allowing the mana to flow within him. He was glad to be a Mage at the moment, not for the power it brought him, but for his connection with mana, as it was something that brough him comfort, something that he could rely on to be there for him.

  Looking back at his [ Status ], he noticed the extra text below his now three-star Calling, and he couldn’t fathom the information presented to him. A fifty percent increase in developing his Abilities was absurd, and he wondered if that was the case for all three-starred Callings, or if it was a way of the [ Archive ] to make up for its previous mistake. He felt a slight hint of denial coming from his mind, which confirmed that this was a bonus given to all three-starred Callings.

  The fifty percent increase in acquiring starred Abilities was great, although in a sense, useless to him now since he has already unlocked all of his available slots with Abilities. It did apply to him till his Second Revelation, so there is a chance he would be able to acquire at least some starred Abilities after his first Revelation. The enhancement was incredible in its own right, and it made sense to him why people held such a high regard to those who became three-starred, even two-starred, because their advancement through their Calling would be faster and more fruitful.

  After reading that, he glanced up, because something small caught his eye before. Under his Race, his Race, Gnome, had a little star to it, which he swore wasn’t there before. He tried prompting his [ Archive ] to provide him with more information on the matter, but it remained silent. Kaz wondered if this had to do with him achieving a three-star Calling, making him a Gnome of a higher caliber or something of that sort. Another question added to a list of a thousand questions to ask Elder Aelon.

  Finally, he reached his Mana Points, which were now at 177. Just prior to his small stint with his Ability, he was at 171 Mana Points. Which meant he jumped two tiers of his Resonance, but that wasn’t even what the point was. He gained fifty Mana Points after he seemed to unlock his mana core, according to his [ Archive ], which meant his base now was one hundred, instead of fifty. One hundred, like how it was supposed to be from the beginning.

  Kaz sank into the soft patch of moss at the base of the tree again. He felt complete in a way, as if he wasn’t restrained in a box anymore. It made him wonder why he had to go through all these hardships ever since his Awakening. But it didn’t even start there, as he grew up in an orphanage. Did his parents know something about him, which caused them to abandon him? With a remorseful sigh, he decided that there was nothing to dwell on, as overthinking anything right now was not the right thing to do in his state.

  Plus, he had a new Ability to experiment with.

  Kaz strolled around the beautiful forest, absorbing Manashrooms till they wilted, noticing that each Manashroom had a different amount, and his previous assumption of the brighter and larger Manashrooms containing more Mana Points was correct. He continued to explore the vast forest, leaving a trail of wilted Manashrooms behind, his mana core satiated to the point where he grew tired. Unknowingly to him, he spent almost a full day doing this.

  After he siphoned a rather large Manashroom, a familiar voice entered his mind.

  “May you stop draining the Manashrooms in my forest? At this rate, the ambient mana of the forest will not be able to regrow the Manashrooms at a steady rate.”

  Kaz quickly spun around, and the magical fox he saw earlier looked at him, its blue eyes piercing into him, with a disappointed glare that could rival Miss Astreta’s glare. He quickly stammered out an apology, “I am sorry, I will stop right away.”

  The fox shook its head, and replied to him, more gently, “No need to stop experimenting, young one. Only drain them slightly, leaving them able to recuperate with the ambient mana.”

  He nodded his head in understanding. Kaz made way to continue, but he noticed the fox still sitting there, examining him. After some time, she mentally reached out to him again, with a proposition, “If you would like, you may follow me to a location where you may experiment with no limitations.”

  Kaz immediately turned around and followed the fox, who made a cute noise, almost like a giggle. They traveled for what seemed like over an hour through the dense forest, and then they reached a small body of water, and in the middle of the water, there was a small area containing several rocks, vibrant blue trees, and lots of flora. He also noticed massive looking Manashrooms, and even small saplings that glowed a bright whitish blue.

  “This is the source of the mana present in the forest, directly connected to the core of the Realm. From here, you would be drawing mana from the Realm itself, and not the forest.”

  After this revelation to him, he was even more confused, but decided to ignore that, as he couldn’t contain his excitement of being able to freely use his new Ability without angering the guardian of the forest. He swam across the water, noticing it was warm to him, and felt denser than normal water, which made it more difficult for him to get across it.

  Gasping for air, his muscles burning, he finally reached the small bit of land, and heaved himself up, flopping onto the soft grass. He steadied his breathing, and sat up, immediately noticing the air quality. It pierced into his lungs, and his mana core began heating up. He did what felt natural to him at the moment, and quickly got into his relaxed sitting pose, and began cycling the mana within him through [ Mana Regeneration ].

  He sighed in relief, and relaxed when his mana core settled, his body now acclimating to the rich density of mana present in this area. Reaching a comfortable balance, he promptly fell asleep.

  ? ? ?

  Kaz woke up, feeling well rested after a deep sleep. He looked around and noticed the sun beaming down on him. He then realized that he must’ve spent so much time in the forest, he forgot the time, and since it was dark when he entered the forest due to the dense fog and foliage, he failed to realize that this small grove was open to the sky.

  Feeling the tug of mana from the grove reminded him why he was here in the first place. His new Ability. He quickly ate some of his rations, noticing he was getting very low. He knew he had limited time, and promptly begun his experimentation with [ Mana Siphon ].

  For hours he just constantly siphoned the mana infused nature around him. It felt like hot liquid burning throughout his mana core, and after doing it for too long, he would switch over to [ Mana Regeneration ], and to best describe it, it would cycle the mana in his body to filter it, removing the uncomfortable heat and density of it.

  It got to a point where he would simply sit there, with his eyes closed, running through the cycle of [ Mana Siphon ] to [ Mana Regeneration ], over and over again. He felt no hunger, no thirst, and no tiredness. All that Kaz felt was the intricate elements of all the mana that was flowing into his mana core. He felt the Realm feeding him all the mana it produced, ranging from soothing water mana to blazing fire mana, and everything in between.

  It was when his [ Archive ] forcefully interrupted his endless cycle, that he managed to crack his eyes open, noticing the sun setting, and a pair of shining blue eyes examining him from nearby. He couldn’t help the dejected sigh that came from him when the [ Archive ] again forced itself open to reveal something.