Jordan's POV

Humans are foolish.

Not as foolish as me, but stupid all the same.

Why is it, that even when you try to do something nice without expecting anything in return. They still stubbornly pay you back?

*sigh* "I don't think I'll ever be able to understand those monkeys."

Still... there were things that came with having a willing champion.

I held up my fingers. Marveling at the way they curled and twisted with power.

Shadowpelt had already conquered the forest, some of the residents of Roads End had begun to offer up their power to him, and by extension, me.

That was how it worked, after all.

I breathed out, and stared at the particles of mana expelled from my body.

Mana was everywhere. The ground, air, in every living thing. Even plants and trees breathed mana, but there were differences in the amount and purity, depending on the being in particular.

You see, every living thing, (excluding undead) produces mana. It may be a tiny amount, but they produce mana all the same. When a living thing reaches the cusp of their mana pool, and are unable to store any more mana, they breathe it out. A regular human spends most of their life breathing out mana. Although there is a difference, like I said, between a mortal and something more releasing mana. High-level magic users breathe out much more, and purer, mana than normal people. Warriors, simply by increasing their strength, also gain increased mana generation.Though a low-level magic user generates as much mana as a high-level warrior. Excluding a few exceptions. Using myself as an example, if you were to use the mana I breathe out, you would be able to instantly level a village. I am one of the weaker gods, however, and this is thought of as weak by my more powerful brethren.

Objects are different. They can hold mana, and they can release it, given the correct circumstance. However, released mana, and mana that is breathed out, is often too impure to be used in magic. That is where wizards come into play. As wizards, they have learned how to harness mana, and use it. Most are only able to use the mana that they themselves produce, but those who reach a level where using only the mana pool that they own becomes troublesome, look for another way. mana can be liquidized, or stored in an object. Gems are the best at this, and are thus very valuable. You can store as much mana in a bowling ball sized gem as you could in a mountain. Of course, there aren't very many bowling sized gems, but you get my point.

*sigh* I should really stop talking to myself. It's creepy.

Oh well, I started, so I might as well continue.

Liquidized mana can be put into a bottle, and drunk, as well as used by anyone. The taste, however, is rather bitter. If someone were to drink mana while their mana pool is full, they would have more mana then they usually have, but it would quickly release from them, so it is only useful when you want to cast a spell that would normally require more mana than you usually can contain in your body. Drinking a bunch of mana would be useless, no matter how much you drink, if you don't use it immediately besides straight mana, there are also concoctions that can increase the rate at which you produce mana. These are hard to make, and very valuable. Now, you might be thinking, 'wow! so that means that every living being can store their mana?'.

If you thought this, you would be dead wrong.

It requires a great amount of time, as well as specialized equipment, to extract any mana from anyone. Even with this, a large portion of the mana extracted is impure, and must be removed, or else it would kill the drinker. As expensive as mana regeneration potions are, straight mana is even more expensive, as the person who has it extracted is usually the one who uses it.

As for the uses of mana, there are two widely known uses, though there are many unknown uses. The first, is -aided magic- which is accomplished by writing runes, or chanting, or a scroll with spells already written down on it. Scrolls can be one-use or multi-use, depending on their contents.

The second is -unaided magic- which is done instinctively. Shadowpelt’s shadow manipulation is this kind, and is done with will and mana alone. This type usually takes more mana, but the effect is much faster. The first type commonly takes less mana, but the preparation of runes or scrolls, or the memorizing of spells, is required. It also takes time to activate the runes and scrolls, or to chant the spells.

There is another type of power, one that few have knowledge of. It is something that, just like mana, is present in every living thing, but it is also present in all non-living things. (Excluding undead)

This power was what us gods lived off of, what we drew our strength from. It was a strange power, and the few mortal scientists that had knowledge of it had never been able to explain it.

Put in simple terms, it was a mana that only gods can use. It is obtained through owning something. Or someone.

For example, if a person decides that they believe in a certain god, then they will give that god their power. If that same person were to plant a flag and declare a hill to be there's, the hill will give it's power to the god. The more people, and the more land, the more powerful the god. Sometimes, however, a god’s name was forgotten. Or was considered a myth. If that became the case, then that god could send a champion to spread his or her influence, and thus gain power.

I had been able to survive as a god because i had a dozen places in the world where I had staked my claim. They were so small, and so insignificant, that I had been little more than a ghost with immortality. Now, however, things had changed.

I felt power buzzing in my fingertips, and felt the mana all around.

I was a fool, but because of Shadowpelt’s ability and determination, I was a fool with power.

I had used all of my, as mortal teenagers in another world would say, 'minutes' to talk to Shadowpelt in person. Now, I would have to do something else. However with this new power sending a simple message would be like taking candy away from a rock.

Effortless

It only made sense I help him, right? If a man offers to make you a cake, the least you can do is give him the sugar.

But we're talking about conquering the world here. A little sugar won't do shit.

I smiled, and raised my arms.

"I will use this strength you have given me, Shadowpelt."

My grin grew wider.

"I will use this Power!"