Drewells976
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Chapter 139 - Mana Child
🕑 Added 2023-11-20 20:00:12 +0000 UTChttps://www.patreon.com/file?h=93235628&i=16639982
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The Guide didn’t give him any time to prepare. As Kai made his decision, the glowing mana veins throughout his body began to flow faster. The sparse ambient essence inside the bedroom streamed into his body on its own.
What…?
Kai observed the whole phenomenon in wonder. No book had described the process in detail. Somehow he had thought the Guide would just ‘poof’ his profession and make it appear like it did with skills.
A foreign presence was guiding his own mana, a myriad of colorful motes whirled inside of him. It should have filled him with some amount of worry, and yet Kai was as relaxed as a sunbathing lizard.
I feel like I should panic a little, right? This is so damn weird.
The concentration of mana grew far beyond what his body could contain but there was no discomfort. Peaking at an invisible threshold, the streams of glowing motes stopped, and the action began.
Thousands of threads twisted and expanded, weaving a second mana network around his own, integrating seamlessly with his veins. A warm tingling pervaded his body, not exactly pleasant, but not painful either. Compared to when he advanced his race grade, this was akin to receiving a professional massage.
Through the veneer of tranquility, his curiosity peeked out, daring him to reassert control over his essence. He had never witnessed mana behaving like this. Was this the Guide taking over? How would it react if he tried to…?
Curiosity killed the cat. Don’t be an idiot.
Poking the Guide while it rebuilt his mana network was very dumb. Kai blamed the strange calmness that had taken over, the awareness that nothing could go wrong. It was probably a measure to help the process go smoothly.
Before he could mull over his state of being any longer, the filaments of mana completed the process. A twin intricate network of swirling channels overlapped his familiar mana veins, linked but distinct.
As waves of excitement crashed upon his calm, the process was done. The familiar glowing pathways formed a new maze. He’d need weeks, maybe months, to learn all the new bends and twirls. The concentration of mana inside his body was still noticeably higher, clouding the finer details.
Kai didn’t get a second to take a closer look when notifications filled his vision. Anything else could wait for later.
*Ding*
You’ve gained the profession: Mana Child.
*Ding*
Profession skill learned! Gifted Novice (lv1) – When passion meets diligence, true talent is born. A Mana Child is naturally gifted at developing his knowledge and skills of the arcane.
*Ding*
Profession skill learned! Mana Echo (lv1) – Create an echo of a mana construct or casting you’ve observed to reproduce it at will. The quality and quantity of the copies is determined by the level of the skill.
*Ding*
Boon granted! Mana Spring: Grants improved body capacity to hold and shape the Essence of the World.
*Ding*
New Feat: Precocious Child: For breaking the Second Seal more than two years ahead of time and selecting a profession, you are awarded: +2 Favor!
Kai’s jaw hung half-opened. One thing was hearing about how the profession worked, another was reaping the benefits himself. The feat was just the cherry on top.
It can’t be a bad choice if the Guide rewarded him, can it?
Any remaining qualms about his decision were wiped from his mind like mist by a rising sun. Soon it would be twelve years since he opened his eyes on Elydes. From the day he had learned Meditation, he had never stopped wondering when he would get a profession.
The day is finally here.
Kai summoned his status to ensure he wasn’t dreaming.
- Name: Kai Tylenn
- Race: Human ★★★ – 16,789 > 17,514 / 300,000 XP
- Profession: Mana Child lv 0 – 0 / 5,000 XP
Body stats
- Strength: 20
- Dexterity: 23
- Constitution: 25
- Mind: 28
- Spirit: 32
- Perception: 22
- Favor: 32>34
Boon:
- Mana Spring
Profession Skills:
- Gifted Novice (lv1)
- Mana Echo (lv1)
General Skills:
- Mana Sense (lv76)
- Mana Manipulation (lv64)
- Empower (lv64)
- Inspect (lv53)
- Blessed Swimmer (lv44)
- Water Magic (lv44)
- Alchemy (lv44)
- Runes (lv40)
- Nature Magic (lv38)
- Swordsmanship – Advanced (lv24)
- Herbology – Advanced (lv34)
- Attuned Meditation (lv14>15)
- Improvisation (lv8>9)
- Hallowed Intuition (lv4)
It was all there. The empty Profession slot with None had been a permanent fixture of his status for… well, always.
Not anymore.
Kai blinked and reread the line a dozen times. Mana Child didn’t fade or disappear, it was real. Unfortunately, he didn’t get any free attributes yet. He needed 5,000 XP for level one and 1,000 more for each level after that.
Not a small amount, but it was a grain of sand compared to the XP needed for advancing his race. With his race at the peak of orange grade, his profession would be easily pulled along through the first levels.
The boon also explained why his body housed more mana than usual. Kai was trying to estimate the extent of the boost when a knock woke him from his reverie.
“The door was open,” Ele poked her head inside. “I was trying that mana exercise you told me when I felt something weird. Did something good happen? You’re smiling enough to blind the sun.”
Kai touched his face, he hadn’t realized it was split by a toothy grin. He couldn't have known taking a profession would cause a disturbance in the ambient mana, and obviously, his sister noticed it as she diligently trained Mana Sense.
Ele’s brows furrowed in concentration before her eyes widened in shock. “Did you really take a profession?” It sounded closer to a statement than a question.
I might have taught her how to use mana skills too well…
Too late for regrets, Kai pulled her inside and made sure to properly close the door behind her. The dampening enchantments would block any sound from reaching their mom’s ears.
“I did.” There was no point denying what she could plainly see, though this wasn’t how he had planned the conversation to go.
Improvisation to the rescue once again.
“After the raid, I was offered the choice to break the Second Seal early, and I took it.”
“Why— Ho— Did y—” Ele tried to speak three sentences at once. She closed her eyes. When she reopened them, her gaze nailed him to the floor.
Oh, boy. Here we go.
“Why did you do something so reckless without telling anybody? There is a reason why people wait till fourteen,” her tone was mild, slightly curt. Anyone who didn’t know her wouldn’t think much of it. Kai knew his sister was borderline furious.
Improvisation and his innocent smile did him little good. He had told two people in fact and asked for advice from Reishi. Kai had enough awareness to shut his mouth. He didn’t think telling her he did go to someone else would help.
Without interrupting her stare, Ele sat on his bed, patting the spot beside her. “Sit down.”
Kai complied with a resigned air and readied himself for a long lecture. No doubt Alana would do the same, and Moui too if he got the chance.
Ele uttered a single word. “Why?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you do it?” Ele sighed. “You must have had a very good reason, right?”
“I—” It was his time to stumble over his words.
Where should I start from…
Kai looked at his sister, determined. “I considered all the possibilities and thought it would be the best decision. I’m so tired of feeling powerless.”
There were two dozen more reasons why that was the best option for him, but the moment he spoke, Kai knew that was what mattered above everything else. He felt like a boat lost in the storm, on the brink of sinking if the wind blew in the wrong direction.
How could he say no when a profession was offered to him? Especially when there were reasons that made it a viable option. He was tired of waiting.
Her scolding look softened as Ele hugged him. Taken aback, Kai sat rigidly.
I’m safe then?
Ele pulled back, keeping her hands on his shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell me or Mom before doing it?” The anger was gone, though a scolding tone remained.
“You and Mom would have told me not to do it no matter what I said.”
His whole family would have given him that same answer. He could already smell the self-flagellation on his sister. If he’d warned them and then done it anyway, they would feel responsible for his choice. As if every danger in the world was their personal failing. This way they couldn’t blame his childish whims on themselves.
“That’s not true…”
Kai raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“I understand that you might not feel safe after what happened…” Her mana pulsed uneasily before she regained control. “But we’re going to keep you safe. The Republic will ensure there are no more accidents, you have nothing to worry about.”
And who’s going to protect us from the Republic? Or the rebels when they decide to come back?
Kai could fill a book with all the things beyond their control. Most were highly unlikely, but not all. He had earned the right to be paranoid after getting kidnapped.
“Now it’s done. It was my choice to take a profession.” Kai attempted to dispel the dark cloud over his sister. “Don’t worry, I’ve got something pretty decent. Even if I waited, it couldn't get better than that.”
Ele looked skeptical at his boastful statement. “I’m quite sure that’s not how it works.”
“Really? Then I guess everybody gets two skills and one boon…”
As if a jolt passed through his sister, she sat straight up, any trace of gloom banished from her face. “What did you get, exactly?”
“You know… the usual stuff. I don’t want to bore you with the details.” Kai hid his smile behind an impassive look.
“Come on, I can see you want to tell me.”
“Do I? You didn’t sound very interested before…”
He continued to tease her with dismissing statements until Ele resorted to her secret weapon: tickling. One way or another she would force the truth out of him.
The room was filled with laughter as Kai tried to return the favor. Without Empower his shorter arms weren’t a match for her. He ended up falling out of the bed to escape her grasp.
“I'll tell you. I’ll tell you,” he raised his hands in surrender and dried the tears at the corners of his eyes.
Kai didn’t hold back much apart from the skills since he didn’t understand them entirely yet.
“I knew you were blessed by the spirits, but this…” Ele looked at him up and down, like she expected to see a halo or a tail.
If you only knew the other options…
Kai made her promise not to tell their mother or Moui yet. They also agreed that Kea absolutely couldn’t find out.
The main requirement to unlock the Second Seal early was danger, lots and lots of it. Neither of them dared imagine what Kea might do if she found out. She was only one year from gaining her profession, but that might not matter if she discovered he had gained one before her.
Kai politely pushed Ele out of the door. He thought she would never stop asking questions. Finally, he was blessedly alone once more.
He had considered telling her about his plan to discard his profession. Maybe getting it all out in one go was better, though he’d never get to testing Mana Child if they started that argument. There wasn’t anything to be done now that he had broken the Second Seal, but they were still in time to change his mind on that.
It would be an uphill battle to convince them there was a mostly safe way to do it, as long as he didn’t level Mana Child too high and made the proper preparations. Unsurprisingly, there was a solution to everything if you paid and knew the right people.
Still two and a half years, no need to hurry. Future Kai will be happy to deal with it.
Future him was always more patient and resourceful than Present him. Worst case scenario he could delegate the task to Future-Future him. A completely foolproof plan in his humble opinion.
Time to unwrap my presents.
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Kai examined his mana network and reserves. The glowing pathways had doubled, he was sure most red professions weren’t so complicated.
Well, not everyone is me. Maybe Ele is right, I'm getting a big head.
Stopping his mind from wandering on tangents, Kai focused on his body. He had gained an intuitive understanding of his reserves through countless uses and training, now Mana Spring and his profession channels had thrown that sense out the window.
Boons were passive boosts. While they didn’t level like skills, they could grant priceless advantages like an intuitive understanding of a weapon, an improved affinity for an element, or, in his case, of his mana pool.
The concentration of essence in his body had not diminished, if anything it was a hair higher. He was glowing like a human-sized lamp. When Kai absorbed more motes of mana, he lost as many as he gained.
This must be my new limit. The question is how much higher is it?
His first idea was to cast a water spell, though his mother made him promise not to cast magic inside the house. Opting for a more unassuming route, Kai expelled an orb of mana in his hands to create a training construct. It was one of the largest designs Dora had taught him to train Mana Manipulation.
Wasting no time shaping the mana, Kai simply let the sphere orbit around him. He had practiced with it enough times to instinctively know how much mana it required. He could make about twelve attempts before he reached his limits.
It wasn’t the most scientific method, but it would give him a rough estimate of the boost from Mana Spring. One by one, spheres of mana were expelled from his body, joining an increasingly busy orbital space. After fifteen Kai was forced to fuse them together to maintain them.
After twenty-four, Kai just let the new ones dissipate. It would be a pain to refill his reserves, but he couldn’t bring himself to care right now.
I’ve doubled my mana.
He knew the increase was significant, but he hadn’t dared believe it. Now the proof was before his eyes. His body could now contain two times the essence it stored before. And that wasn’t even the best part.
Humans needed roughly half their mana before they began to suffer side effects, but the boost from Mana Spring was added on top of that. He didn’t need to spare a part to survive.
Kai had expelled a total of thirty-six orbs. His body only needed a quarter of his reserves, and the mana he could use had effectively tripled. It felt like the last twelve Christmases had come all at once.
And I’ve got two more skills to go.
Comments
Game Devil
Only 5k xp for first level, that's half of the first race increase. I guess the first few levels will go very fast. And the skills and boon are very good as well. Guess this was a good choice after all compared to more life XP since all his mana related skills should level much faster now more than compensating the life XP lost.
nicolas
this "suboptimal" choice will greatly enhance his next choices by raising his skills way beyond what would be possible without prefession. So I would argue that he made the most optimal choice for the time being : gaining more power now and gaining even more power afterwards
Will
Didn't like this profession conclusion at all. It just feels disappointing and bad that he gets a suboptimal choice now that will just get discarded later. I really just want to skip two years right now and see the real choice. The fact that we will probably have to settle for this choice for the unforeseeable future makes me not really want to read anymore.
George R
Thanks for the chapter
nicolas
@Rickard Gustavsson, I don't remember that, could you tell me in which chapter ? (I remember her talking about her orange 3 stars race upgrade, her profession skill, and her desire to learn water magic but nothing else)
Rickard Gustavsson
Didn't his sister once mention something about potentially upgrading her class? something about her class and potential upgrade hinting at her having a high water affinity.
nicolas
Here is a quote from chapter 134 : "Attributes, skills, feats and repeated actions all had an impact on his future profession. All things that tended to improve until fourteen, when the benefits reached a plateau. Some people chose to wait a little longer if they weren’t happy with their choices, though that only helped if you had slacked during your childhood, according to the author. Taking a profession early meant he would receive worse options than what he would get at fourteen." This information comes from the book Elijah has given him so I consider it highly credible
nicolas
Your reasoning based on profession names not only applies to "mana child", but also "Sword Apprentice", and " Promising Herbal Alchemist". If those profession coundn't become something like "Sword Master", or "Expert Alchimist" they would be wird. My current assumption is that profession will change their name one's they evolve to orange, yellow and so on. So no age beeing taken into account, and no profession based quality update with current achievements (or minimaly so).
Thaabit Rivertree
@nicolas, who said profession choice doesn't improve after 14? I don't recall that. All I remember is that professions become available at 14. Similar to skill evolutions, I'd assume people can wait as long as they like to try to get access to the one they want, though it may not be practical.
Thaabit Rivertree
I just think since it has child in the name, likely you'd think there'd be an adult counterpart. Whether there is or not, or if its stronger or not, who knows? If there is, and it's some sort of natural progression from this profession, it might just take the place of his next profession evolution? We don't even know how professions work tbh, can they change or are they permanent? I doubt a profession like Kai's is expected to be permanent. At some point I would guess professions evolve... my point is i doubt it would be anything out of the ordinary, especially since the profession is specifically for those under 12. The only thing extraordinary about it would be that the first one was meant for a child, if professions have evolutions. All depends how the author plays it.
nicolas
you can break your seal when you are 14 and wait until 18 before choosing a profession ( time will be lost for you but it is for science :p) . If you are really motivated, you can take 100 kids, put them in mortal peril, unlock their second seal early and tell them to wait some years before choosing a profession. (It wouldn't surprise me if a powerfull psychopathe didn't do someting like that in the tousand of year of history of this planete (just look at what has been done on earth xD))
Sammot
Okay, but if can you then just break your seal and then just not choose a proffesion, what was all the suspense with breaking the second seal early even for?
nicolas
In chapter 134, she just figures out that Kai can break his second seal and so can read the chapter about breaking the seal early without danger. They never talked about taking a profession
nicolas
it's not directly linked to the 2nd seal, as Elijah book states that underachiver may get they profession improved for 1 or 2 years after 14. (Instead of diregarding the profession, an easier way to test this is to brake the second seal and wait to see if new options appear)
Sammot
Wait so your choices for proffesion don't get better after 14? But how do we now it's 14 and not just when you break your second seal which would make discarding useless? Is that just general knowledge, feels kinda weird to be cause someone had to have broken his/her seal early and discarded it just like kai for anyone to even know that to be te case. And how does kai know that anyway, reishi only said that you could discard your proffesion but nothing further, did i miss something?
Austin
Correct. I'm mostly talking about the child part of mana child. It's why I wanted him to choose it from the 7. I feel like when he's no longer a child it should theoretically change to something else. It's the only one I don't think he'd had to remove. But that's just a guess based on it's requirement of being younger than 14. I don't know if it'll happen or if he'd discard it regardless but it's the only option that also had an age requirement.
nicolas
Correct me if I'm wrong, my understanding is that when people talk about "evolving mana child" they refer to a new system mechanic that would automaticaly improve the qualtity of his profession when he hit 14 with his 14 year old achivements, and not a "normal" evolution from red to orange grade
Cypha
Exactly my thoughts, when he turns into an adult mana CHILD naturally should evolve into something more appropriate. After all there has to be some sort thing to happen when reaching adulthood.
Arkeus
Did Ele somehow forgot he did talk to her about it and she agreed he should get the profession ?
nicolas
This could be a pitfall, but for me, the danger of disregarding a profession has already been nuanced in this chapter with the sentance : "It would be an uphill battle to convince them there was a mostly safe way to do it, as long as he didn’t level Mana Child too high and made the proper preparations" So for me it can't be overhyped now, even if it's just drinking a potion and getting hurt for a few days.
wanderer117
Maybe. It depends on how well it stacks up to mainland classes. If every mainlander gets a class with 2 skills, 2 boons and 5 attributes per level then switching is going to be nessisary.
PlasmaticPi
Well yes I get that but the fact it isn't being explicitly stated implies there might be more to it than that, which is gonna build tension. And doing that only for it to be what we thought was obvious is a pitfall that has ruined a lot of books, especially since if an author does it once they will probably do it again. Just look at Mark of the Fool. The author repeatedly built up big moments, and then was completely unable to meet up to expectations.
wanderer117
All classes evolve when they tier up. but he is mainly thinking about discarding his class because everyone told him he wouldn't get good classes if he broke the second seal early. We know that Mana Child is amazing for an islander class, but we don't know how it stacks up to mainland classes yet. Maybe he will keep it long term, although it doesn't really do any of the things he talked about wanting his profession to do when talking to his teachers. No aspected mana (water, nature etc), no fighting skills, not even a link to his crafting skills. It's super broad in that it helps any mana skill but long term that could make him a jack of all trades and master of none. This feels like a class that just helps him unlock the mystery cube so that he can pick something better once his race is yellow
nicolas
It's a possibility, but I think it would feel cheap after all the forshadowing about profession diregarding.
nicolas
From what I understood, the main drawback of diregarding his profession is that he can't level it much (probably not to orange) or it would cripple him. (And he may need to reach yellow in order to survive the ordeal) Profession choice don't improve after 14 year old so almost nobody is incentivized to diregard there profession.
nicolas
the second skill might be very helpfull with the puzzle box ;)
nicolas
@Blake Noyes, there has still been no indication what so ever that the system has a specific profession evolution policy available only for "child" profession with requirement under 12 year old. While the idea is somewhat plausible, I don't think that this shortcut would have the same narrative weight as having him endure the suffering of losing a profession before having his final OP profession.
nicolas
Profession skills might be harder to incorporate then normal skills. But even if he fail in this endeavor, he will still have the benefit that the skill will give to all his training on upgrading his normal skills :)
Mercy! This one kowtows a thousand times before the mighty Point Daddy
Blake Noyes
I don’t get why he thinks he needs to discard the class. It’s clearly a class that will evolve into something else or it wouldn’t be called child
Austin
Does anyone else think he isn't going to have to discard his profession since he chose mana child? He has to be 12 or younger to get it. Maybe at 14 he just gets the option to upgrade to an adult version?
Blake Noyes
He is the point sage. Put some respect on the name
nicolas
But if Kai is there she can become a macguffin and still get hurt :( (as during the pirates arc) Only Kai has a minor plot armor. We just have to hope that he will train he family enough and leave a lot of protective runes on them before going ^^
nicolas
the second point has already been changed in the non pdf version -> "pratical" has been deleted
nicolas
mana child is already a "full" profession (and a very powerfull one). Personally I would much prefer if he has to give it up. Having it evolve on it's own seems like cheating regarding what we currently know about this system. Kai needs to earn his next profession, even if it hurts
PlasmaticPi
Dang it, what are the consequences for discarding your profession?! Cause if you try to build up suspense with that info and it turns out to be nothing more than needing a potion or something and recovery time to offset the effects, its gonna be super disappointing since that is the norm for stuff like this.
nicolas
And they are all oriented to learning, so even if he loses them in two years, he won't lose the results of using those skills :) Can't wait to see what OP class he will get after the reset !
nicolas
Thank for the chapter :)
CherMi
Ele is precious and should be protected at all costs. Now I'm actually nervous about Kai leaving at 14 and Ele losing protection of his plot armor.
wanderer117
Some of it probably. Some he might be able to keep like he did with incorporating running into empower.
wanderer117
He had never witnessed the mana never behaving like this. should be He had never witnessed the mana behaving like this. His first idea was to cast a water spell, though that would likely land him into trouble. practical inside his house. could be His first idea was to cast a powerful water spell, though that would likely land him into trouble. Past practice of new magic inside the house had been discouraged.
Thaabit Rivertree
Wow, that's an impressive boon. Something tells me Kai might have trouble giving it up. Also, losing an established network of Mana pathways? Ouch. I hope this profession is unlike others, since it has child in the name, and maybe has a "full" profession it can easily upgrade into, or some similar step, so he doesn't have to give it up. Then again, who knows what else might become available to him after two years have passed? Maybe something even better or more advantageous would come along.
Calle
Can you add Boons to the profile page? Not a Problem in this chapter but I struggle to remember everything if it is not listed.😅 thx for the chapter.
Doubledoor
Ooof, the gifted Novice skill is going to be absolutely, devastatingly OP for having gotten it 2 years early. I have a feeling that alone would have been worth breaking the 2nd seal early.
Kai be hoarding favour like Lindon hoarding points.
xxmaniaxx2019
Kai is one step closer of imitating the death star! He just need even MORE mana!
Vamsi Yerraguravagari
These skills look very good.
Bosparan
thanks for the chapter
James Faulkner
Tftc!
Aidan Geverdt
So will he just lose all this stuff when he discards the class?
Andrew
Thank you!
Steph
First 💎💎
