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[ 7 ] Sphere
🕑 Added 2024-11-09 21:59:29 +0000 UTCThankfully, Daedrik rarely entered Kal’s room anymore. Their relationship seemed to have improved, but he was fairly certain he still had doubts about whether or not Kal was actually his son. But that worked in Kal’s favor. He wasn’t particularly fond of having his studies interrupted, and besides, it might mean that he wouldn’t notice the missing painting anytime soon.
At night, when he was fairly certain everyone was asleep, Kal fiddled around with the sphere. It seemed to be fueling a spell of some kind. At first, he wasn’t sure what exactly it was doing, but he had noticed something strange about their home—he couldn’t sense any mana cores within it. Through simple deduction, Kal figured that the sphere had something to do with that. Not only that, but he could sense that it was connected via mana to three other spots that dotted each corner of their yard.
Not wanting to push his luck, Kal left what he assumed were likely more spheres untouched. It was also because he didn’t need more of them, for now, at least. Kal had realized he could draw on the mana stored within the sphere, and there was a lot of it.
Studying the sphere, Kal confirmed that it couldn’t replenish its mana, but that wasn’t overly important since it had a couple thousand points of mana stored within it.
He then experimented by trying to walk away from their home and into the surrounding forest, but when he tried to pull the sphere too far away from where he had found it, he started to feel resistance and feared breaking the spell and alerting Daedrik. Not wanting to lose his new treasure, he decided to keep it in his room.
Not that Kal was too worried. The sphere allowed him to restore his mana whenever he was low in seconds by drawing on the reserves stored within it, allowing him to train even harder.
***
Sitting at the kitchen table, Kal cut up and colored some little targets while doing arts and crafts with Yandi. In his mother’s usual forced ignorance, she was more than happy whenever Kal was doing the kind of activities expected of a three-year-old, so she wasn’t one to question him when he was making little targets. In her eyes, at least he wasn’t reading several-inch-thick tomes about magic and the politics of the realms.
“What are you up to, cutie?”
“Making targets,” Kal said without thinking.
“Targets?”
“Oh—it’s like for a game.”
Idiot, are you trying to get yourself caught?
“A game?”
“Yeah. It’s a game the kids taught me at the play day we had a few weeks back.”
“Did they now? Aww, I’m so happy you’re getting closer to the kids your age,” Yandi beamed.
So predictable.
“Yeah. I want to make some of my own so we can play together next time we meet up.”
“Oh, how delightful. Let me help,” Yandi clapped, taking a brush and painting one of the little wooden cutouts Kal had been making.
She’s even helping, and now I feel guilty.
***
“Okay, here we go,” Kal huffed under his breath.
He had set up a dozen of the little targets around his room. Stepping back away from the targets with the sphere in one hand, he summoned Ice Dart in the other and aimed.
Bouncing around the room, he shot the little darts at one target after another, drawing mana from the sphere as he did.
It hadn’t taken Kal long to realize that knowing how to cast spells was only one-half of becoming a mage. If he wanted to be a powerful spellcaster who could travel the world freely without worrying about the monsters and demons that inhabited it, he would also need to be skilled in his use of magic.
This training continued whenever he had spare time, and he quickly found himself close to exhausting the sphere’s mana.
Kal knew that the sphere appeared to be connected to three other points, and as its mana depleted, he temptation figure out what it was connected to, grew.
Late one night, he crept out, following the sting of mana linking the sphere to the garden, and dug out another corner of the yard.
So, there are more of these things, he thought, looking down at the metallic object in the hole he had just dug.
Reaching down, Kal retrieved the second sphere, and with one in either hand, he transferred the mana between them until they were both about half full.
Actually.
Reversing the process, he reduced one to about a quarter mana and pocketed the other.
Okay, good as new–ish, Kal grinned and dropped the sphere back into the hole.
He knew his little game of stealing mana from the spheres was only a short-term solution, but that was a problem for future Kal. Present Kal, on the other hand, was going to get stronger.
Without a second to lose, Kal went back to practicing. He spent the following weeks shooting his little targets on a nightly basis until he was dashing through his room, effortlessly landing hits.
Swinging around as he hit several targets in quick success, he drove into a roll across a pillow at the end of his bed, bounced back up, and shot two targets within a second of one another, landing two perfect bullseyes.
Bloodline Trait Unlocked: Snapshot +1 Agility +3 Dexterity.
Finally, another one! Not only that, but I finally scored a Bloodline Trait that comes with some dexterity. That should come in handy.
***
The next morning, Kal groggily rubbed at his eyes, rose from his bed, and stumbled to the kitchen.
“Kal,” Daedrik said, standing in the hallway with a stiff expression.
“Dad?”
“Get yourself something to eat, and come meet me in the library.”
“Sure,” Kal nodded.
Oh no, don’t tell me he has figured out what I’ve been up to? Just when things were starting to look up.
Kal’s thoughts trailed as he munched his cereal, barely registering the taste. Maybe this would be his father’s last straw. Had stealing his sphere and draining its mana finally driven him over the edge?
Gulping down cereal, Kal went for another scoop, only to ding his spoon against the ceramic.
“Empty,” he mouthed.
Sighing, he pushed out from the table and slowly walked down the hallway.
Don’t be stupid. It’s only a little mana. If he hasn’t decided to turn you into cinder already, he probably isn’t going to over the sphere.
“I’m in the office,” Daedrik called out as Kal entered the dark library. The office's warm but dim light only illuminated the main walkway between the shelves.
“Dad?” Kal said as he reached the office.
“Come in and take a seat,” Daedrik said, patting the chair beside him.
Kal nodded and took the seat.
Okay, he has a decent poker face if he’s pissed.
“You’ve gotten remarkably good at hiding your mana. You never cease to amaze me,” Daedrik said. “Hiding my mana core might not have been something I ever spent much time focused on, but still… you’re better at it than me—a registered mage adept. It’s unbelievable, really.”
“Well, you said I should…”
“You’re correct, I did. Please, Kal, relax. I’m not scolding you. You did good. Hiding your core is the only way to keep our family safe. Take a seat. What I’m about to show you will likely go over your head, but I want to reward you for doing what I asked. And you’re just so hard for me to keep up with, so I picked something I knew you wouldn’t know.”
“Oh?”
“Have you heard of Primary Casting?”
Kal placed his index against his lip as he thought. The name rang a bell. He figured it was probably something he had seen mentioned in advanced spellcasting, which was why he hadn’t studied it.
“I think I’ve seen it mentioned,” he said.
“Good. Follow along because this won’t be easy. And keep in mind that I don’t expect you to learn or use these techniques any time soon. Primary Casting is very advanced, but for someone as gifted as you, it might help give you direction and help your long-term growth.”
“Roger,” Kal nodded.
***
“Do you understand what I mean, Kal?” Daedrik said, tapping on a diagram at the center of the impressively thick tome his three-year-old son craned over.
“I think so. Unlocking your primary mana points allows a mage to use the entirety of their mana core when casting spells by not limiting themselves to predefined mana pathways. By linking them through the proper channels, the mage can find the perfect efficiency and equilibrium when drawing on their mana reserves, thus greatly increasing their power and unlocking a larger percentage of their mana potential. Not only that, but it is impossible to reach fifth circle magic and above without doing so.”
Whatever all that means. It sounds simple enough on the surface, but I’ve been sensing my mana for years now and never noticed any primary points. What the hell?
“Yes, that’s what the text says. But do you understand how mages control the flow of mana?”
Kal scrunched his brow and read through the instructions again. After a long pause, he shook his head.
“Almost all human mages start casting spells with their hands because that is what comes naturally to us as humans, and the same goes for the mana veins they utilize. Of course, that doesn’t mean you need to learn how to fire spells through your eyes or anything. However, the way we naturally cast spells isn’t necessarily through our strongest veins or mana points, and therefore, it is inefficient. This text is trying to demonstrate the importance of discovering those points. The hint is in how you sense your mana. Feel it traveling through your mana veins as you channel it into your spellcasting. It is no easy task to discover this, and many lesser mages go their entire lives without doing so, so don’t put yourself under too much stress. Even a mage as talented as you are likely to take some time to learn this.”
Take my time? Not if I can help it.
“Wait, so our mana points differ from our mana core?” Why wasn’t that mentioned in the book about awakening mana cores?
“Our mana core is the source of our mana. But our mana points and veins are how we form external mana and use it to weave spells. We have them all over our bodies, but our primary points differ for everyone. This is what you have to discover if you want to unlock your true potential. It’s especially important for high-efficiency casting, and why it is often quoted as a requirement for casting fifth-circle spells and above.”
“So, it’s not a requirement?”
“Strictly speaking, no. But very few mages would have enough mana to cast fifth-circle spells without mastering their primaries, and those who do have that much mana wouldn’t need to because they would be great mages with power on par with an Archmage.”
“I see,” Kal nodded.
“Good, but I was being serious about taking your time. You have no need for spells that powerful, and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you damage your mana veins or primary points.”
“Okay, Dad. I’ll take my time.”
Daedrik narrowed his gaze on Kal. “I don’t believe you for a second. But I’m being serious, Kal. Many impatient mages have tried to force this process and permanently damage themselves—limiting their potential.”
Kal eyed his hands. Maybe I should slow down. I’ve already made so much progress for my age. It would be silly to damage my potential because I’m impatient.
“That look on your face,” Daedrik said. “It almost makes me question what I know about you.”
“Huh?”
“That wrinkled brow. Your curious and uncertain expression makes you look like an actual child.”
The poor guy is alright, isn’t he? I’ve just gone and freaked him out by doing things a child my age has no business doing. I can’t really blame him for how he has been acting.
“Sorry, nevermind. I’m just blabbering.”
“No,” Kal interrupted. “Thanks for saying that. It makes you feel less distant.”
“I’m sorry, Kal,” Daedrik’s gaze drifted down. “I don’t mean to put so much pressure on you. I hope that it hasn’t been too much. I forget sometimes how young you are.”
“No, it’s fine. You know what? I’m actually grateful. I don’t suppose my path is going get any easier, and at least I have an understanding of how the world is going to treat me.”
“Good to hear. It sounds like you’re getting it. I have a feeling you won’t stick around a boring little backwater like Ebenshire for too long. You’re going to turn heads; that much is clear. But if you’re not careful, that will have consequences. Bad ones.”
“I understand.”
“I’m not sure you do,” Daedrik sighed. “But that’s fine. In fact, it’s kind of refreshing to see you not fully comprehending something. Even as tightly hidden as it is, I can tell that there is something different about your core. Thankfully, I think you’ve already reached a point where you can hide yourself from mages below the adept level. But there are stronger mages than me in the big cities. Not only that, but it is harder to maintain your focus when you’re exhausted. You have to be careful of this, especially if you decide to use your magic in combat. If you become weakened or exhausted, you could expose your secret.”
“I will keep improving my ability to hide my core, I swear it.”
“I’m sure you will,” Daedrik flashed a smile. “Just be careful, that’s all I ask. Don’t let yourself get overconfident. We’re hidden away from so much in this little town. You really don’t know everything that awaits you out there, and reading books will only prepare you so much for what you’ll find.”
“I’ll be careful, Dad.”
I wonder how high the ceiling is for magery?
