While checking the other pages, I find a very interesting discussion. Qi is most definitely a thing, and there are cultivators of it. Among those is one person who seems very knowledgeable on the topic, but not so much in the english language. There’s other people too, who claim to use Qi, Ki or Inner Power.

That’s what the discussion is about, though: Everyone who use Qi say they can’t or haven’t tried using mana and magic, while several people who use the terms ‘Ki’ or ‘Inner Power’ say they have mana as well. Wow, there’s five pages to the discussion, and the original post was posted only twelve hours ago.

Hmm, as the discussion went on it seems like people agree that there are two different ‘mystical energies’ or what you would call it. Qi is like what you’d find in a xianxia novel, while the other, which people (mostly) agree on calling Inner Power to avoid confusion, is more like the japanese concept of Ki.

Oooh, there’s tutorials for learning the energies. Too bad Qi doesn’t work with mana, though. I can probably learn Inner Power, though. Either there’s something I don’t ‘get’, or these tutorials suck. Objectively. You need to learn to breathe properly (with your belly), which is understandable. Then you need to find your center, and breathe while concentrating on the center. Once you feel a change, do some exercise to stimulate it, while still breathing properly.

The three tutorials that have good enough english that I can actually say whether they are good or not all use different exercises as their example. One uses martial arts with punches and kick, the second uses tai chi (and does not elaborate on that) while the final just tells you to go for a walk/jog for fifteen minutes, with the highest speed you can keep up for that long with regular, proper breathing. At least the general idea is the same…

Alright, time for some Google-fu to find out if someone else has actually succeeded by following these or some other tutorial, and what they found to work or not. Let’s see… Oh, there’s a thread on another of the forums where people talk about trying to learn it. Very mixed results. Some do not find their ‘center’ and ask what that even is, others get to the exercise part, but the change disappears before they can do an exercise, or when they try to do one.

Hm, this person succeeded. One’s center should be seen more like a spiritual core of sorts, and should be one inch… 2,5cm? In from your navel, but might be higher or lower. You want to breathe ‘around’ the core, in a circle or loop of sort. The change will be obvious if you manage to do it. As for the exercise, just about anything should work, but the point is that you need to keep breathing regularly, and try to move the energy in your center as you move your body.

The person is a qi cultivator, though. That said, they have a lot of upvotes, so clearly there is something to what they’re saying. Multiple people said they figured it out thanks to them. Most of those seem to be cultivators, but at least it is possible for those of us who use mana. Alright then, let’s try.

I turn around to sit down on the floor, only to find Leda with eyes closed, swaying with the playing music. I know the song being played, and successfully get her attention by humming along with it. ｢{Relaxed, happy, surprised}Lars knows good sound!｣

I chuckle, which ruins my humming, but oh well. ｢It’s called music. You should be able to learn it, too.｣

｢{Joyous}Ability share!｣

｢I can’t teach you to make that sound,｣ I wave my hand at the computer’s speakers. ｢-but I can teach you singing, or at least humming, like so.｣ I hum along with ‘Boogie Back’

Leda simply closes her eyes, swaying in tune with the song. Audiophile, huh. Once she manages to take on a more humanoid form, maybe I’ll buy her an MP3 player and some earbuds or headphones that work with whatever her physique ends up as.

Once the song ends, she practically radiates happiness and eagerness, so I share my [Singing] ability with her. While I’m not that great of a singer, I can follow a beat. I also have decent control over my voice, which can be quite loud (mostly unintentionally). If she can sing with her throat I don’t know, but if it’s too horrible I’ll just tell her to be quiet and listen to the actual music.

I got the ability as I was about to enter the shower when I got back after my camping trip, and if anyone calls me weird for singing (well, more like humming) in the shower, I actually sing all the time if I’m alone, which… makes me weirder, I guess. That argument fell apart quickly…

｢Leda, listen to song, learn the song, and then you can sing along.｣ I tell her in anticipation of her ‘singing’ not being the best, before sitting down on my knees, using the folded kilt as a cushion.

Okay, step 1: Breathe. I already breathe with my belly, thanks to dabbling in martial arts when I was younger. Hmm, I should be able to unlock [Aikido] fairly easily. I move my focus back to the task at hand. In, through the nose. Beat. Out, through the mouth. I continue the deliberate, slow breathing, trying to find this mystical ‘center’.

…

After who knows how long, I feel… something. They were right in that you’d know once it happened. Focus, keep breathing. If I can increase it, it should be easier to do the exercise properly.

…

Okay. That should be enough. I stand up in a smooth motion, then move one foot forward, kicking the kilt to the side. For the exercise, I decided to use the motions of [Water Bending], as that seems close to the tai chi stuff.

…

Ability learned: [Inner Power Generation]

Puhh. I let out my breath. I didn’t get [Inner Power Manipulation], but it’s something. Sounded like those who succeeded got both immediately though, and probably easier than me too. Have long did this take, anyway? My stomach answer with a ‘long enough to become hungry’. Right, late lunch time, then. I have to buy some food for Tåke. As for Leda… Will she eat dog food? Otherwise I’ll just have to send her off to hunt. But first, let’s make those collars.

The collar I made for Tåke is made of three strips of silk cloth in layers, dyed with [Fog-sea Grass] and [Dew-Drinker Pine Needles], giving it a light greenish blue, and affinity with Mist and Water. I further imbued it with Mist, and it has a tag made of [Silverpine Softwood] with her name on it, and a small magic crystal on the back.

For Leda, I made simple bands to tie around her legs and a more elaborate collar with the tag inlaid into the collar itself, which is undyed. Of course, I made one set for each of her current forms. She vehemently opposed going with me to the store, though, not wanting to leave the egg alone. It’s too big to carry around willy-nilly, but it seems like she might be okay with Tåke protecting it, at least once they get to know each other a bit more.

I made a leash for Tåke’s collar, because them’s the rules, but with the mind bond I don’t really need it, so it’s just for show. Not that everyone else follow the laws, but if something were to go wrong, the fact that Tåke is a magical wolf would probably mean a worse punishment.

And so I’m going shopping with said magical wolf. Waiting back home I have a wyvern with strict orders not to break anything, eat anything, or use magic on anything I haven’t told her to. Though, I left the playlist on, which should keep her attention. Actually, it might be a good idea to get that plastic tablecloth while I’m out. And maybe a food bowl for Tåke. Actually, one for each. Pet store, then. Or… They might have both at miscellaneous stores, so let’s head to Clas Ohlson.

I put us down in a lesser used street close-ish to the city center. There’s a convenience store here, but I’ll try to get the other things first. ｢Tåke, sense the aspects around here. [Aspect of the Human]. Try to get it. Learn [Aspect of the Human]｣ I am not sure how much she understands, but the general concept should have been transmitted.

｢{Eager}Yes!｣ She transmits with a short bark, before turning her nose to all the no doubt interesting smells around here. It does not long before we reach a more crowded and busy area. At first Tåke seems a bit overwhelmed, and scared by the cars, but I calm her down while trying to impart that they only move in the street.

I know they have a store nearby… There. I lecture her on traffic lights as we cross the street, though if I recall correctly dogs are basically red-green colorblind. Even if wolves are not, there’s the question of intelligence and comprehension… Oh well. If nothing else she might gain a better understanding of language, if she even perceives the mind bond like I do.

A couple minutes later, I tie the leash to a nearby water drain and enter the store. There is a free clerk, and I quickly find two fitting bowls and a plastic tablecloth big enough to save my kitchen from the disaster that is two magical beasts. I exit in time to see some dog trying to sniff her butt, in response to which she helpfully sits down with a low growl.

As I untie her leash, the owner of the other dog decides to initiate conversation. “What breed is that? I’ve never seen any like her.”

I give Tåke a quick scratch behind her ear. “That’s probably because she’s a mist wolf.”

“You have a WOLF as pet?”

“Pet? She’s a beast companion. The leash is only to follow the law, otherwise I’d mostly let her do whatever.”

The man looks like a mix of amazed and horrified. Since the conversation seems to be over, I start heading towards the convenience store. ｢Have you learned [Aspect of the Human?｣

｢{Happy}Yes!｣

I stop and stare at her. ｢Wait, really?｣

｢{Happy, proud}Yes!｣ She barks.

That’s awesome! ｢Can you show me?｣

I meant for her to share it over the mind bond, but instead I look in fascination as her frame shifts, her torso becoming flatter, hind legs longer and fore legs shorter. Her front paws taking the form of bulky hands with four fingers and a stubby opposing thumb. Her tail shortens, her neck bends towards what was once down, and once the shifting is done, I simply stare at her wolfkin form.

Seeing the [Aspect of the Human] like that, in all its flawed glory, is like a lightbulb going off. I instantly recognize it all around me. That’s it, it has been here all along, as the core of my very being! I was right! You can’t sense the aspect because you are in perfect sync with it - A Complete affinity. Despite it being in every human ever, I have been unable to sense it because I’ve been overlooking it! But now, seeing this flawed, crude approximation of the aspect: That’s not right. It should be like this.

I ignore the increased buzz around as I step up to her as she staggers up on two feet, clearly not used to it. She turns to me with the biggest, most wolfish grin ever. ｢{Joyous, happy, confused, eager, proud}Did it!｣

“｢{Surprised, proud}Yeah, you did it. Not what I meant you to do, though.｣” Seeing her standing unsteadily, I transmit my knowledge of walking to her, a skill I didn’t really think I’d ever teach like that. She’ll still need practice, but with her new, bipedal [Wolfkin] form… I should probably get her some clothes.

With my initial surprise gone, and focus on the new aspect and Tåke’s sudden shapeshift, I can no longer ignore the clamour from the people around me. Her form is pretty small, having only used her original body mass, which might be why she seem like a young teenager. I suppose that’s a good thing, since even with her petite form she has two budding sets of breasts.

Right, clothes. I have my bag, but no reserve clothes because why would I? Making new ones would take a while, too. I look around, levitating off the ground to see above people’s heads. Ahh, there. Clothes store just across the street. I quickly disconnect the leash from the collar, putting it in the bag, then grab Tåke and levitate up and across the street, apologizing to the people I push away.