Chapter 55 - Trust My Ass (Patreon)

Sleeping with his new, deeper connection to his manabody was a strange experience. A background portion of his brain was active and receiving information throughout the night. He watched every breath he took, fully aware of his chest rising and falling. His heartbeat was a dull throb that created a soothing cadence as the hours passed. The field of energy also gave him the same level of detail for everyone else sleeping in the inn. Yet somehow, his mind filtered all the information into a background hum that didn’t detract from his dreams.

He knew he was waking up before he woke up. He watched himself smile just before his eyes opened. The moment his brain caught up to what was happening, his aura snapped back into its regular, crystal-clear awareness.

“That’s going to take a while to get used to,” Jiran hopped up with a stretch and made quick use of the chamberpot before he headed to the public room of the inn. A breakfast of low tier meat and bread was already being served but he decided he wanted something a bit more filling. He paid an extra twenty copper for the smashed bucket and cracked floor before heading to the gate out of town.

The streets were mostly empty in the dim twilight of morning. Crisp, clean air filled his lungs as he eagerly anticipated another day of exploration and travel through the skies. A crowd of thirty hunters was gathered at the gate out of town, blocking his way. Curious, and wanting to leave anyway, he approached.

“The Voice has spoken! Mother Oracle demands your sacrifices for the good of all her children! Redeem yourselves through supplication and devotion! The Voice has spoken!” Jiran felt bile rising as the fanatical preacher screamed at the crowd of gathered hunters. To his surprise, the men and women all kneeled before the man, pressing their foreheads into the dirt. Even one of the three guards at the gate followed suit.

The preacher noticed Jiran and his eyes lit up with feverish intensity. Not wanting to get involved, he pushed forward through the crowd toward the gate. When his aura was close enough to encompass the sycophant, the man threw his hands high into the air.

“She speaks to you, my Son! Heed her call for the good of all!”

“Uh, thanks?” Jiran mumbled, now completely disturbed by the man’s insane ramblings.

How does anyone get behind this stuff? I guess this town is pretty close to Sanctum, the head of the church. Makes sense they would be a bit more zealous.

“Yes, my Son, thank her, praise her. That is the way. May you travel in peace and prosperity. May you thrive.”

The guards gave him a nod in passing and he stepped into the sweeping fields outside Solorin; free from the constraints of civilization once more. Jiran filled his legs with mana and sprinted for the distant hills. He pushed his body to the limits, exhilarated by the effort and thoughts of a fresh breakfast as he left all thoughts of crazy priests behind him.

Lenton always flew around with his aura, I wonder if I can do the same thing now.

Jiran focused on the mysterious energy and it eagerly responded to his call. He lightly jumped into the air and formed a flat panel of aura beneath his foot. His weight pressed against it and for a moment, he thought the panel would shatter but it held fast. With a burst of laughter, he jumped off the panel, flying higher into the air. At the apex of his jump, he formed another panel. Six hops later, he was so high the town behind him had shrunk to the size of his fist. The hunters filing out of it now looked like beetles scurrying on the ground.

I’m running through the freaking sky! How is this possible though?

Jiran formed a flat panel of his aura parallel to the ground far below. Coming to a complete stop, he stood on the invisible platform. He stood still, raging winds fluttering his hair and threatening his balance before he formed more panels of aura to push against with his hands. They were so solid, so real, yet invisible and impossible all at once. A single question echoed through his thoughts, impossible to ignore.

What the hell is holding all my weight in the air right now?

My manabody is just a part of me infused with mana. So it’s mana that’s holding me, but how? I’m too far off the ground to push against it, I can feel my aura pushing against the air as if it were ground, but that makes just as little sense.

Mana seriously doesn’t give a borrat’s ass about gravity. Since it can completely defy gravity, does that mean mana isn’t a particle? What is mana? What is density? How can mana transform into elemental particles in the first place? I still have so many questions about how all of this works.

If mana can magically turn into other elements, maybe it’s not defying gravity so much as turning into a force that’s repelling gravity? Easy way to test that theory! I’ll just make some gravity of my own. I’ll need a mental image though. Hmm, I’m pretty sure gravity has something to do with bends in spacetime.

Jiran focused on everything he knew of gravity. He pictured his own considerable weight forming an attraction between particles and other bodies of matter. He imagined himself becoming as heavy as a star; pulling, warping, and distorting the universe in an attempt to draw all matter into himself.

I can go further, Why be constrained by my own weight?

He pushed the image, taking himself out of it and envisioning a single point in time and space where all matter was compacted into a single atom. The formation of the universe, the beginning of all things. He fed his image into a Shaping, allowing it to draw freely upon his mana until his creation became reality.

Jiran pushed the shaping away from his hand to the full two-meter limit of his range. A black ball ten centimeters in diameter formed in front of him as light was sucked into the shaping, unable to escape. No light meant Jiran’s eyes revealed nothing about what he’d just created other than it being a dark, spherical shape. However, his manabody was under no such constraint.

He saw clearly as air, dust, and light were attracted to the center of the amorphous ball and stuck there. He felt the skin on his arms and face being sucked in as well. A quick application of Coating blocked the effect.

CONGRATULATIONS: Gravity Control technique discovered

Nice!

After releasing his shaping, Jiran quickly used the automated version of the technique with the same mental image and watched with fascination as a similar result occurred, though at a much steeper mana cost.

Technique evolution triggered: Gravity Control > Gravity Manipulation

Technique evolution triggered: Gravity Manipulation > Big Bang

Big Bang: + 11

WHAAAT?! What’s with that awful, super-embarrassing technique name?

Jiran couldn’t stop his imagination from picturing him yelling the technique at his enemies as he sucked them into a miniature black hole. A sinking sensation of his heart being pulled into his stomach caused a grimace to mar his features.

It has to be something to do with my mental image. I don’t know exactly what gravity is so I used the big bang and that’s why I got that name? It’s okay, everything is going to be fine. I just have to figure out what gravity really is and evolve the technique so it will change the name again. Simple, yeah, no problem. Just figure out what gravity is…

I’m going to have to look at that on my status for the rest of my life, aren't I?

Jiran groaned while looking up at the sky.

Well, at least I proved mana can definitely choose to affect and be affected by gravity. One step closer to the truth of mana. A ball of compressed gravity. How can I use that in a fight? Creating it so close to myself is dangerous and could end up pulling me into an attack I would otherwise be able to avoid. Of course!

Jiran let go of the platform beneath his feet. Gravity immediately took effect, pulling him to the ground. Just before crashing, he pulled up on his body with his aura, slowing his fall, until he landed softly on the ground. He sat in the soft grass between two bushels of berries while he mentally prepared for his next test. When he was ready, Jiran held out his hand again and focused on his newest skill.

“Channeling.”

He focused with every sense he had as his mana was sucked into the tiny, river-like channels that crisscrossed through his torso. Just like last time, the moment his mana began changing into the new element, he lost track of it, unable to see the process unfolding.

What if I add in extra mana that’s not changing, could I use that to watch? Like little spies piggybacking on the original mana.

Doing just that, Jiran added extra mana into the mix. Dual Minds kicked on as he split his thoughts in two, one dedicated to the channeling, the other dedicated to observing. Instantly, the transformation process unfolded through the senses of his unaspected mana. The inside of his channels were coated in microscopic bumps sort of like miniature tonsils. When mana passed over them, they popped up, becoming visible for only a moment before falling flat once more.

As the bumps flickered to life, the mana that touched them changed, taking on the properties of the element he was envisioning. Before he realized it was done, the mana had moved all the way through his body and out his hand. A tiny ball of condensed, attractive force was ejected from his skin at a high speed to crash into one of the bushes of berries. The plant was pulled into itself like a collapsing planet until there was nothing left but a tiny ball of matter.

Channeling: + 5

Big Bang: + 1

Jiran’s toes curled with barely repressed elation.

Those little bumps, I think things like that are called papules. Anyways, the papules change the mana into an element while the channels accelerate the element so it can move through the air once released. I assumed the increased mana cost of channeling was because of my low level in the skill and using its automated function, but that's not the case at all!

It’s more costly because channeling is so slow and thorough. Shaping only creates a bit of the element on my skin, while channeling creates a ton of it and then has to move it around inside me without killing me. It’s probably also doing other things that help the element retain its shape while it moves.

Jiran brought himself down to eighty-five percent mana with one more test. This time with fire. He again watched the entire process until the second nearby bush went up in flames.

Different papules were used. Which probably means there are separate ones for each element that are pre-programmed to work with that specific task. I need to figure out why the channels zig-zag through my body. Why aren’t they a more direct path? If the purpose is to accelerate the effect out of the body, the straightest path possible makes more sense than a labyrinth.

Jiran’s excitement petered out and a frown co-opted his typically peaceful expression. After several minutes of quiet contemplation, he stood up with a huff.

It’s all so damn inefficient. It makes sense for the channels to meander if the papules need more time to charge the element. But that’s sacrificing speed for function at a huge mana cost. There’s got to be a way to make this skill better than just hucking a shaping of fire trapped in a coating.

His stomach grumbled, reminding him of why he left Solorin so early. He walked into the air, using a new platform of aura with each step. First Father was just peeking above the mountains to his east, bringing a crimson glow to the sky and filling the world with light and life. With a powerful leap, he blasted himself west and closer to home. Breakfast presented itself within the first few minutes of travel.

[Spine Flayer] (Tier 3) ???

Identify: + 1

After spotting the small beast as it was tearing into its own breakfast, Jiran descended from the sky headfirst. When he was almost upon it, the beast looked up only to be blinded by a flash of Light Manipulation. With a squeal of pain at the sudden brightness, the creature rolled into a spikey ball. Jiran’s Coating—in the shape of a blade—easily pierced clear through its body.

EXP: + 1

Strength:+ .2

Agility: + .2

After draining the corpse of blood, Jiran roasted the meat while discarding idea after idea on how to make channeling more efficient. His peaceful morning was interrupted by a flashing notification that snapped him out of his thoughts.

[New quest acquired!]

[Building Trust: Rescue the imperial citizens from certain death]

[Citizens rescued: 0/15]

[Time remaining: 5:00]

A golden icon suddenly appeared in his vision between him and a nearby hill.

What?! Is that a quest marker? Do I go?

Jiran looked at the five-minute timer rapidly counting down and the number fifteen which represented the lives of real people, his people. People that needed his help.

Dammit, of course I go.

He abandoned the last of his meal in a blaze of blue fire as he launched himself toward the golden marker. As he gained altitude, he realized it was not pointed at a nearby hill but far beyond it. An expanding cone of fire flared behind him as he piled on more and more acceleration with each passing second.

Wind buffeted his body, pulling his skin and trying to rip his new clothes apart. He struggled forward, cursing the air pressure that made him feel like he was swimming through mud. A flash in his notifications caused a scream of frustration to rip free from his throat, only to be drowned by the howling air.

[Citizens rescued: 0/14]

I’m going as fast as I can! There’s got to be a way to go faster. Think Jiran, think.

Desperation forced his brain to churn through ideas at a blistering pace until the obvious answer struck him like a bolt from the blue. He folded his manabody into two angled panels in front of him like the top of a tent. They cut the wind to almost nothing and his speed suddenly increased several fold. He felt the air give way as a sonic boom blasted behind him.

Guided by the marker, a forest became visible in the distance, and within seconds, he saw it. A massive beast as tall as the trees opened its mouth and roared at the people scurrying before it.

Jiran flipped around so his feet were facing the beast and without slowing his speed, he wrapped his legs in the thickest, most durable Coating he could muster. The monster saw him coming far too late to evade and they collided with a shockwave that blasted everyone in the area onto their backs. Trees shook and the ground rumbled as the beast was thrown off balance. Roots shot from its back and pierced into the ground, barely preventing it from falling over.

Jiran’s legs and back ached as he bounced from the beast's incredibly durable skin to crash into the ground. Ignoring the pain, he pulled himself into the air with Forcing and got his first good look at his foe.

[Sapling Shrieker] (Tier 5) ???

Oh hell no! Stupid, manipulating, shrelkshit of a system, how is this building trust?! You just want me to restart the timer, you don’t care about saving anyone. Well, screw you because I don’t have to kill it, I just need to save the idiots who wandered into its territory.

The shrieker opened its mouth, causing a rush of air to fill its lungs. Not one to let an excellent opportunity go to waste, Jiran lobbed two Coatings crammed full of compressed hydrogen and oxygen. Just as the invisible balls of elemental mana were before its face, he unleashed a blast of True Origin of Lightning.

Cerulean lightning met unstable hydrogen in an explosion of raging fire that destroyed rocks and flattened trees. Even with his ears plugged, Jiran’s head rang like a struck bell. The civilians trying to stand up were knocked back to the dirt more violently than before.

If not for Jiran’s manabody spread wide to cover the civilians, several would have died from the blast. For the first time since he gained access to his aura, he felt the energy wane. A second later, It winked out like a light switch before flickering back on, much weaker and smaller than before.

The beast fared worst of all. Flames were sucked into its mouth and seared the monster from the inside out. As the mass of oxygen inside its lungs propagated the explosion, huge gouts of fire ripped clean through its body, creating holes that leaked black smoke and gushed orange sap.

Shaking his head to clear his vision, Jiran saw a woman who had thrown herself atop two children and all three of them were unconscious. He ran toward them, his legs feeling awkward as though the ground were tilting under his feet. He roughly wrapped his arms around them before pumping his legs in the opposite direction from the Sapling Shrieker.

With a hasty look over his shoulder, he saw the towering monster rise amidst fire and smoke. The flames covering its body were quickly being doused by the abundance of sap leaking from its bark-like skin.

You have got to be kidding me. A tree monster resistant to fire. C’mon!

Jiran passed an old woman struggling to get to her feet. He wrapped her in the little aura he had left and dragged her along behind them.

“Run!” His shout was picked up by others and together they made a mad dash to leave the beast’s territory. A tingling from foresight caused him to look over his shoulder again. The beast had recovered from its dazed state. It was regenerating so quickly Jiran could see tough skin knitting itself back together like time was rewinding.

One red eye stared directly at him with murderous hatred as the shrieker screamed in fury. Its root-like fingers wrapped around a nearby tree, yanking it from the ground. As it pulled back its arm to throw, Jiran’s perception of time ballooned, slowing the world to a crawl. In that moment of supreme clarity, he saw everything: The size of the tree about to be thrown, the trajectory it would fly, the distance to cover for every last survivor, who would live and who would die.

We’re not going to make it.