Alec sighed as he ruined yet another portion of the hide he was working with. The workshop on the second floor had several benches dedicated to the craft, and he was able to scrounge together enough used and broken tools to work the hide. Sort of. He was able to simplify a portion of the process by using his sword to cut through the tough hide and was currently using what his trait told him was a diamond pointed awl to punch holes in the hide. It wasn’t going as well as he had hoped, as he was nowhere near knowledgeable enough to make anything but a passing resemblance to armor. Even that would be better than what he had now though. He threw the strip of leather into his growing refuse pile and began cutting another.

He pressed on, doing his best to fashion the hide in a way that would cover as much of his body as possible. He had already made a pair of pants, using his own as a working model. He was attempting to do the same with his shirt, but it was easier said than done. The hide resisted the steel tip of the awl, making each hole require time and patience. So far, he had stabbed himself in the hand several times, and the leg just once. He would no longer use his lap as a work bench.

It took him several hours, but he finally had a workable set of armor that would go over his clothing, giving him a much better chance to survive. He used his trait on the chest piece, sighing as he read the description.

Rough Fur Chest Armor (Custom)

Rarity: Common

Condition: Pristine

Durability: 8/8

Armor: 28

Material: Stonefur Wolf Fur

Weight: 14.6 lbs

Thick fur chest piece made by sewing cut portions of Stonefur hide together. It is untreated and unburnished, reducing its max durability. Resistant to stabbing and slashing damage. Weak to crushing damage.

The durability hit hurt him, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had no idea what burnishing even meant and had nothing to treat the hide with. He smiled at the armor rating though, it was stronger than the iron chainmail he had originally purchased for Sam. The rest of his outfit followed suit. He had a hood, bracers, and pants. He couldn’t figure out the intricacies of gloves or boots, so he settled on making fur covers for his boots and cut an outline that fit onto the back of his hands with wrist and finger straps. It was heavy, smelly, and ugly, but he loved it.

He had recovered from his fight, eaten, and rest a little bit after he finished the armor. It was never dark out here, as the crystals that lit the cavern glowed brightly on the ceiling, and never dimmed. Now that he knew the monsters weren’t as big of a threat as he initially thought, he could sit down and work on the more pressing issue of the weave in his brain. He sat down in a nice-sized room he found in the living area of the tower. He had cleaned it up slapping the mattress and filling the air with dust. The window still opened easily, letting fresh air in and dust out.

There were no blankets or pillows to be found, but the mattress itself was goddess-sent. He sat down on the bed, getting as comfortable as her could, again with his back against the wall. The wall itself was warm, rather than the cold he had come to associate with most stone buildings. This made it easier for him to relax, sliding into his inner vision.

The blue specks he had seen last time were more numerous now. He reflexively knew that they were his mana, and the if you counted them up however the system did, it would equal his total mana pool. He now understood what the higher mana density requirement meant. Tobias was unable to give him an accurate amount of mana needed to fully sync with the system, but Alec was happy with his progression. Moving forward prevented the weave from deteriorating. As long as he kept increasing meditation, and working on mana cycling, he would be able to access the system and allow it to attempt to sync further. He simply needed to interface with it while within the tower.

He moved his thoughts back to the blue specks floating among his blood. While the mana wasn’t truly in his blood stream, it overlapped in such a way that it didn’t really matter. He looked at the mana, seeing how each speck pushed others away, creating a mostly even spacing between the specks. He focused on a one speck, trying to move it along his pathways. Unlike the blood flowing in his veins, the mana moved slowly, sluggishly. He willed one speck of mana toward another, only to see a chain reaction as it pushed away all of the specks in the direction it moved, while those behind it filled in the empty space. He then willed two specks to move together. To do this, he had to split his attention between both, making it more difficult than moving just one. The closer the specks got to each other, the more difficult it got to push them together. Sweat was beading on his forehead as he poured his willpower into overcoming the distance between them. The distance became less and less, while his focus got stronger and stronger. After ten minutes, he overcame the force separating the specks, merging them into a slightly larger, denser version of themselves. It was a slightly deeper blue, and it pushed the rest of the blue specks in the vicinity away from it with more than double the force, the area around it barren of any more mana. He could feel the power from it exceeding the cumulative amount of the two specks that created it. The whole greater than the sum of its parts. As soon as he took his focus off of it, the two original specks shot away from each other. The balance of mana returning to the state it was in before he began experimenting with it.

He took a moment to himself, the skill he was trying to acquire was called mana cycling. He focused his spirit, pulling his vision away from himself. This gave him a better view of the path the mana in his body followed. At first, it just looked like a large jumble of interconnected roads leading to his heart. The longer he watched it however, the more patterns he started to pick up. In one area of his body, the mana seemed to flow in circle. It would exit the heart into the lungs. It would then circle through the lung, coming back into the heart. He watched the same thing happening on the opposite side of his chest as well. Both lungs were having mana circulated through them from the heart.

It was a relatively short pathway, as he began noticing much longer and complex ones throughout his body. What originally looked like a large mess of randomly placed shining points of mana began to take on the form of a complex, yet organized, system. He focused on the pathway between his heart and lungs, willing the mana within to travel just a little bit faster. He could feel a resistance from the mana. It seemed content to do as it was, not wanting to change its pace. Strengthening his will, he pushed the mana along its path. As it slowly picked up speed, Alec could feel himself breathing more easily, his heart pounding strongly against his chest. He applied more will, causing the mana to pick up even more speed. The effects of the quickened mana grew, causing him to feel as if he could run for hours without issue. His mind began to wander with thoughts of speeding through the forest.

As his focus lost its strength, the mana became unstable, rather than flowing smoothly, it began to lose order. Specks began to separate from the flow, crashing into the sides of the pathway. Pain flared across his heart and lungs, causing him to lose focus completely. His head hit the bed as he slid to his side, arms holding his chest as pain flared across it again and again. What seemed like hours later, the pain subsided, leaving him with chest colored with bruises. A multitude of blue and black spots were scattered across his chest, tender to the touch.

You have learned the skill Mana Cycling.

Gain control over the mana within your body, enhancing your physical capabilities. +5% ease of control over your mana when it is within your body.

Mana Cycling has reached level 2.

Meditation has reached level 2.

Meditation has reached level 3.

Alec smiled at the notifications. He dismissed them and rolled onto his back where the weight of his body didn’t cause his chest to hurt. He looked to the ceiling, laughed at the absurdity of the situation he found himself in, and fell asleep.

-----

After spending more than enough inside, Alec was ready to get some more experience points, while clearing the town of monsters.

“Tobias, point me to the next group of monsters.” He said aloud.

“ Next group, as if I have numbered them and am going down a list. Of course, admin! There is a medium sized group to the southwest of the tower. I cannot pinpoint the exact distance, but it is not far. Are you absolutely certain you want to wear that into combat?” Tobias said, pointing out the lack of quality of his armor.

“For the last time, it’s not that bad!” Alec yelled at the voice… Tobias.

“Sir, if you run into wolves again, they may mistake you for a sick pack member. Do not be surprised if they attempt to help you, rather than fight you this time.” He said mockingly.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny. Have a report ready when I get back, I would like to get the detection system up and running again if I can.” Alec replied, walking to the door. He stopped to check his status to see where he stood.

Name : Alec Montaine

Age : 16

Level : 3

Experience : 825/1450

Condition : Perfect

Health : 100/100

Health Regen : 5.5/min

Mana : 56

Mana Regen : 2.02/min

Physical

Strength : 8

Endurance : 5

Perception : 5

Agility : 8

Constitution : 7

Mental

Magic : 6

Intelligence : 11

Wisdom : 5

Fortitude : 5

Willpower : 5

Attribute Points available : 0

Traits :

Enhance : Spend experience points to modify the properties of an object or entity targeted by the user. May not be used on self. Object must be under the ownership of the user. Sentient beings must give their consent. Non-sentient beings must be under the control of the user.

Cost: Variable Experience Points

Extract: Break down experience into its component parts. Doing this allows you to isolate the mana portion of experience points and use it for yourself.

Current Rate: 1 experience point = 3 mana

Skills :

Meditation Lv.3

Mana Cycling lv.2

Stealth Lv.1

Swordplay Lv.1

After thinking it over since the last fight, Alec had decided to use the extra attributes he gained per level to balance his build between mental and physical. From this point on, he would put two points into his physical attributes, and three into his mental. This would allow him to keep up with any mage that ignored their physical side, while being only slightly less effective as someone who focused solely on their physique. This would be a longer term build, as he didn’t have any mana-based skills just yet, but he didn’t have a choice until the issue with his head was fixed.

He left the tower, heading in the direction of the next group of monsters. He hoped it was wolves again, as he was more familiar with their attack patterns now. It would be nice to get some more experience. After another level or two, he would try syncing up with the town system again to see how much closer he got to one hundred percent.

It only took a few minutes to spot the next group of monsters. Where he had expected wolves, this time there was a troop of monkey-like creatures. They were small, lithe, and covered in fur. Two tails sprouted from their back, one just below and behind their neck, and the other where a traditional tail would be. He could see their teeth as they chittered to one another. Small, pointed things glistening in the light. Their claws looked no less dangerous as they pawed through the rubble they were gathered upon, clearly searching for something.

He counted six of the creatures that he could see, identifying the one on the top of the pile.

Twin-Tail Howler

Level: 4

Health: 38/38

Condition: Mana Starved

Small scavenger that travels in groups. Though weak, it will sacrifice itself without hesitation to protect its brethren.

‎ These things were weak compared to the monsters he was used to fighting. He couldn’t let himself get overconfident though. They outnumbered him at least six to one, and he had no information on their abilities.

They were digging into the rubble, not paying attention to their surroundings as Alec snuck close to them. None noticed as they continued their search. He moved to an area where two of the monkeys began fighting over a spot they were both digging near. He swung his sword, decapitating the first, and followed it up with a quick back swing that nearly bisected the second.

You have slain a level 4 Twin-Tail Howler

You have gained 90 experience points.

You have slain a level 4 Twin-Tail Howler

You have gained 90 experience points.

As the second howler fell, the rest of them lost their minds. Two jumped at him, heedless of the danger, while the remaining two began to throw rubble at him using their tails. It was remarkable to watch them coordinate with eachother. Even as the ones near him attacked, the missiles thrown by their brethren flew just past them, hitting his chest and knocking him back a step. The fur absorbed most of the impact, but he was taken aback by their ferocity. He quickly regained his focus and began methodically removing the weapons being brought against him.

The beasts were small and quick, making him fight defensively for fear of them overwhelming him. He took off one paw after another, until each beast in front of him was beating at him with bloody stumps. He weathered the rubble flying at him and sliced deep into the shoulder of the monster attacking his left side, tossing it off his weapon with a wide swing. The next monkey died with half of his head flying through the air. He charged through the debris being thrown at him to the next two, ending them even more quickly.

You have slain a level 4 Twin-Tail Howler

You have gained 90 experience points.

You have slain a level 4 Twin-Tail Howler

You have gained 90 experience points.

You have slain a level 4 Twin-Tail Howler

You have gained 90 experience points.

You have slain a level 4 Twin-Tail Howler

You have gained 90 experience points.

Each corpse dissipated into nothingness, revealing the loot dropped by the howlers. He was disappointed with the hide and claws but was surprised to see a small crystal lying in one of the piles. He picked it up and examined it.

Low-Grade Beast Core

Rarity: Common

Experience: 150

Beast: Twin-Tail Howler

Alec read the notification several times over. He knew about cores, everyone did. They were used to power certain devices and rituals, as well as in enchanting and even alchemy. Many of the high-tiered potions and pills required beast cores. What he didn’t know was that they contained experience. Holding his breath, he focused on the orb, on the energy inside of it. He pictured the experience flowing from the core and into him. He felt a surge of heat and power from the core just before it dissolved in his hand.

You have gained 150 experience points

You have gained a level.

He sat against the rubble. Cores were sold in the city. Various grades were available at certain shops, as well as the auction house. If he could find a way to make the money to purchase them, he would have a way to power his trait without using his personal experience pool, as well as gain experience without risking his life. He looked over the town with a thoughtful expression. He had found himself in a situation that could clearly be profitable. He would simply need to find out what was profitable near the town. He started back towards the tower. He needed to speak to Tobias.