Witchery (360/4315 days until Eve) (Rayne’s POV)

Avalina was staring at me, watching my progress. I’ve spent 4 days on this single spell, and I’ve had no progress at all. It’s a simple spell, just supposed to create a candle flame. But I have absolutely no idea how to turn mana into fire. I wasn’t really the type to pay attention in school, so I barely have an idea on how fire works.

I’m supposed to call upon Fornar, the God of the Flame, but I don’t exactly know how to. I’ve been trying every waking second to call upon his power to create a simple flame, but nothing ever happens. I was actually beginning to doubt the fact that it was possible until I saw Avalina do it without even focusing. Her flame was huge, nearly a foot high.

Needless to say, I was astonished. So I tried harder. 4 days later, I’ve accomplished nothing.

“So you aren’t as much as a demon child as I assumed! That makes me feel a little bit better about myself…” Avalina joked from the sidelines, a small glint of truth in her words.

I sighed, disappointed in my lack of progress. I wonder if it had anything to do with my Faith stat.

Status

Name: Rayne

Level: 3

Experience needed: 593/600 (1.17%)

HP [110/110]

MP [106/56] (0.50)

SP [19/19]

Race: Vampire

HP [0.1/sec]

MP [0.008/sec]

SP [0.1/sec]

Blood [82%]

Strength

7

Endurance

12

Luck

7

Perception

30

Dexterity

18

Agility

9

Intelligence

26

Wisdom

22

Leadership

8

Vitality

11

Faith

2

Willpower

75

Skills:

Blood Drain (Max)

Gain stats based off of amount and quality of blood drained.

Persuasion (8/10)

40% chance to persuade people to your side. Lessens if they know about the situation.

Mana Sense (5/100)

Sense mana. Higher levels allow more detail and range.

Advanced Meditation (18/100)

Recover mana 1000% quicker, regain stamina 8000% quicker.

Bewitching Gaze (2/10)

Stare into people’s eyes and activate their libido. Every Vampire needs a harem.

Mana Wave (2/50)

Sense anything within your mana as it spreads outwards. Higher levels allow more precision.

Mana Condensation (1/5)

Condense mana from the air into your mana orbs, making them fluctuate in density.

Mana Construction (3/~)

Shape your mana into anything.

This skill can evolve.

Effects:

Sunlight Weakness

5% less Strength in sunlight.

Disease Immunity

Immunity to any disease debuffs.

Blood Drinker

Grants Max level skill [Blood Drain]

Mana Body

All Spells deal 20% more damage.

Vampiric Body

Sets Hp/sec to 1, if over 1, 120% increase.

Overcharge (Max)

Overcharge your mana capacity, increasing it permanently by 1 every 100 extra.

Boulder

2x Hp and Sp regen.

4x Mana regen

A few things I realized over the past 4 days. Overcharge is really painful. I stopped so many times it wasn’t funny.

Another thing about overcharged is that the extra mana dissipates into the atmosphere at an incredible rate. So I’m actually quite lucky to be left with 100 mana after a minute of letting it go. But what I’m more worried about now, is the fact that my spells aren’t working.

My faith stat had actually decreased. I wonder if that’s because I’m doubting the gods… My luck stat also went down one, but I have no idea why that would ever go down even the slightest amount.

I’ve been doing my best to work out my muscles when I have free time, but I don’t have much of that. The best I’ve done is stand while I meditate, which increases my endurance by leaps and bounds. Another thing I found out is that mana is heavy. Really heavy. Three mana is 5 pounds.

So, of course, I made some armor out of it. Mana construction now has quite a few different branches.

Mana Construction details.

Mana Construction (3/~)

A skill with many, many uses. Shape your mana into anything. Upon breaking, the mana that made up the shape will last on the object for up to a day before evaporating into the atmosphere.

This skill has no definite maximum level.

This skill can evolve and branch off.

Evolutions found so far:

Mana Armor

Mana Weaving

Mana Constriction

Mana Forging (Max)

Mana Armory

Mana Bolas

Mana Enhancer

Let me explain them:

Mana Armor Is exactly as it sounds. It creates armor with solid mana, which is one of the densest materials known. The only problem is that I have to be constantly meditating to use it. So it pretty much gives me the ultimate defense, in exchange for my movement and the slightest twitch of my concentration could kill me. Lovely.

Mana Weaving turns my mana into a thread, which I can weave to make a sort of cloth. The problem with this is nearly the same as the Mana Armor. I don’t have to meditate to keep it around, but it only has an hour lifespan otherwise. I'm not entirely sure why that works as it does, but mana threads seem to be able to hold their own shape using the mana from the threads around them. I can already see how I would be able to improve this.

Mana Constriction is another self-explanatory one. I am able to mana to constrict around different things, effectively immobilizing them. The problem is that I need physical contact with the thing to make sure there are no side effects. I also have to meditate before placing it, or else it only has a 30-minute lifespan. With meditation, it extends to nearly 6 hours.

Mana Forging is a deviation from Mana Armor, and it’s how I create ‘new’ things with mana as if it was metal. It pretty much allows me to become a mana blacksmith. This is something I need to be meditating for, as it requires extreme, emphasis on extreme, concentration.

Mana Armory stores all the plans for Mana Forging, allowing me to create something again with much less effort. I can even create something without meditating if I have created it more than 5 times. But I still have to be still and completely focused on the task.

Mana Bolas is the first thing I wanted to do when I saw the demonstration, but it was much harder than I had originally thought. I shot out a projectile of mana, but I kept full control of the mana. When it exploded and the mana was left behind, I would use something along the lines of Mana Constriction to immobilize my enemy. The only drawback is that I can’t keep a hold on my mana 100% of the time. More like 35%.

Mana Enhancer is a mystery. I only managed to complete it once, while I was unfocused and just fiddling around with some mana to level up my control. It temporarily leveled my perception by 5 points. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to replicate it, to no avail.

The strange part is that they seem to have levels, but I can’t see them. Mana Forging can’t get any better, as shown by the (Max) beside it, but I’ve been trying to figure out how to max out the other ones, to no avail. Obviously, I just have to remove the restrictions in each of them. I keep training them, trying to use them without meditating.

The mana in front of my finger flickers with the slightest bit of flame before going out. I curse myself for getting distracted before going back to trying to create the flame. Not that I expect it to work.

Forgotten by the Gods

By having your FTH stat go below 0, you have gained the Effect: [Divine Betrayal]

Effect: Spells will not work.

“SON OF A BITCH!”

Alright. I’ve calmed down. I’m out of my vampire state now. I may or may not have gotten a scolding from Avalina for cursing, but that’s unimportant. I can’t use spells. Have you ever tried to do something for 4 days straight, only to then be told that you can’t? It’s quite the feeling. A horrible feeling, but quite a feeling nonetheless.

I told my mother about it, and she could only stare at me in wonder. Not the good type of wonder, mind you, but wonder. Probably confused as to how I even managed to get my faith stat to 0.

But now I can devote all my focus to upgrading my Mana skills. There is nothing that could stop me from using my mana directly to beat things up!

I used my Mana Armory to forge myself a sword. It took me about a minute of standing still. Then I tried something I hadn’t done yet. I was going to focus on the other side of my stats, so I needed something to bring up my strength. Mana condensed on my arms and legs. I tried to move, but the mana became unstable and exploded outwards in a wave. Before it could evaporate, I drew it back to me. Mana Armor was like this in the beginning too.

I did it again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Eventually, I was doing it as a habit, making me capable of walking around at a slow pace. As my foot hit the ground, I would use some mana in a [Mana Wave], allowing me to collect the unstable mana and place it back where it should be. The entire process recycled the same 50 mana points. 36 mana was used on my arms and legs, 9 on each, and the extra 14 was used to stabilize the mana. I was actually gaining mana, since when I used [Mana Wave], I had 4 less mana than my maximum.

Another step. Another step. Another step. Focus. Another step. Focus. Two steps. Focus. One step. Focus.

I fell into a rhythm, slowly walking away from the broken down shack with unfocused eyes. I didn’t exactly care where I was going. I just knew to walk in one direction.

Two hours. I did that slow walk for two hours. Then I decided to look to the sun and find out what time it was. But when I focused on my surroundings, pulling the mana back into me, I realized that I was right next to the city.

Was I really walking only 4 times slower than the carriage? How intriguing. I thought the carriage was going much faster than that… I wonder if the carriage is going slow on purpose? Maybe Avalina asked for that speed. Oh well, I suppose I can ask her later.

I looked behind me and there she was. Avalina, my new mother, was staring me in the eyes, seeming curious like a small child who had found a new toy. It was actually quite concerning that she came all the way with me. It was a two-hour walk, right?

“What were you doing? You just suddenly started walking…” She asked, moving a bit closer. I moved a bit further back.

‘Walking. What did it look like?’ I made my mana letters. Now I could make up to 106 of them at a time, a mana per letter.

“You seemed to be doing something with your mana as well. I wanted to know what it was.” She crossed her arms, looking to me for an answer.

‘I was… I don’t actually know what I was doing.’ ‘I was just walking while making mana weights.’ Two sentences, both the truth and yet they both contradicted each other.

I fully came out of my odd meditative state, making windows pop up.

Status updates

Due to special actions, you have gained a sub-skill of [Advanced Meditation], [Walking Meditation]

Due to special actions, you have gained the title, [Wanderer]

Title System has been unlocked.

Due to special actions, you have gained a branch skill of [Mana Construction], [Mana Weights]

STR +8

END +13

AGL +9

WPR +5

WIS +2

A title system? How does that work?

The Title System gives you titles that are gained through extreme measures. You can choose to display them. Each gives you a particular effect of the same name when equipped.

Oh. Wanderer was gotten from walking so far, then? I suppose that makes sense since I wasn’t really aiming to go anywhere. I was just trying to level up my physical stats. I guess that counts as ‘wandering’.

I equipped it, just because why not.

Wanderer

Increase stamina by 50 points.

The title, Wanderer, has been equipped.

I felt quite overjoyed at my rewards from this excursion. I doubt anything could bring my spirits down. Until, of course, I felt a large impact from behind me.

“It’s you! I’ve been waiting forever!” I heard a female voice from behind me. Or, more accurately, on top of my back. Two things pressed against my back. As I realized what they were, I could feel my face heat up a bit.

I was flipped over, so I got a good look at my assailant. It was the maid from last time. She seemed to also have the same plans from last time, as she began to stare at my eyes. I returned it, not too bothered, as her eyes were the second most beautiful I had seen. The green was like crystal, reflecting the light and seeming endless.

My mana began to circulate on its own, begging to be released as I continued to fall deeper into a trance. That deep jade green surrounded me, embracing me in a warm earthy hug of strength. My stamina fully regenerated, not that I would know until I got out of the trance.

A ding sounded, but I my consciousness had left that world and was instead exploring the depths of the maid’s eyes. My mana was leaking out by now, a silvery color expanding in the green world. A meadow of emerald, reflecting the light of the jade sun shone into my vision. Peaceful, with small birds chirping. Following some instinct of mine, I made a mana orb and began to use [Mana Construction] branch skill, [Mana Forge] to create a bracelet.

Twenty minutes, probably more passed before I was done. The bracelet was perfect, with a clasp and everything. But the oddest thing was that the silvery mana that I used to create it was green. The bracelet didn’t reflect light, but it seemed to produce some and it gave me the feeling of the earthen embrace I had gotten a bit earlier. I looked over it one last time, before awakening with a yell.

I managed to see something blocking my vision and throw up my hands to push it to the side. It seemed I was still holding on to it, though, as I was pulled with the same force I used to land on top of whatever I pushing. I twisted once more, flicking my body off of the soft surface. I had felt that feeling before, it was flesh.

My mana exploded from me, forming letters. ‘Are you alright?’

But there was no response from the maid next to me.

Oh god, did I kill her?

But then my eyes picked up on something green. Something abnormally green. Something that shouldn’t be in this world.

The same bracelet I had made in the world of her eyes.

Rules? Ha! (Avalina’s POV)

Oh look, it’s Elliot. Aaaand, there goes Rayne. Another round of this? Last time was five minutes, let’s check out how long this one will take.

I sat down, starting to time them. 5 minutes passed and they showed no signs of stopping. Well, Rayne didn’t. Elliot was already panting hard, seeming a bit… Erotic, to say the least. Rayne was still calmly looking upwards. In fact, wasn’t he a bit too calm?

I walked a bit closer, almost losing count. 357… 358… I reached Rayne, so I bent down to look at his expression. It was gentle, like the face a person would make if they had just found the softest animal and was trying to coax it into coming near them.

I was actually quite disturbed. Rayne never really liked it this much, did he? I mean, the first time he did it for most of the time when I wasn’t there and some after, but I don’t really think he had any idea of what was going on, so he couldn’t have any aversion to it.

Wait, wasn’t he already nearly as smart as I was when he was born? He had that look in his eyes… One that a newborn should not have. He seemed like he had been through hell and back, learning everything about it on the way. He even understood my words before he was able to speak… or did he? When was he able to speak? He also seemed to have memories... I wonder why?

Too much thought. Too little memorization. I want to be able to recreate this perfectly so I can tease him about it later.

After about a minute I had memorized his face, but the scene had still not stopped. Elliot seemed to be reaching her limits. If he didn’t stop soon, Elliot may just do some inappropriate things in public. I tried moving my hand in front of his face, but he showed no response. Even worse, neither did Elliot.

Another two minutes. Elliot couldn’t hold back her voice much more and began moaning softly. Rayne had shown no change, except the small smile that spread across his face like he was having a good dream.

2 minutes and Rayne still showed no signs of stopping. Elliot was looking faint, her arms beginning to shake from the strain of holding her body up. Her moans had grown in volume, actually starting to attract attention. Rayne had started letting out slight amounts of mana. More than that, the ana began to change color. Slowly turning green.

Wait, what?! Mana is silver! That’s, like, a rule of mana! Right? Is it? Every time I’ve seen it, it’s been silver… I swear to the gods I will eventually stop being surprised at the things my child does…

But for now, I think I’ll have to deal with it. I dipped my finger into a small amount of the swirling liquid mana and came up with some interesting results. For a second, I saw a meadow. Everything was green, in varying colors, but it was so peaceful. I heard a hammer ring out every once and awhile and I felt a large sense of strength and vitality. Overflowing strength.

I managed to pull my finger back, barely. I wasn’t sure I would be able to pull my way out of it if I had stayed any later. The feeling was overwhelming. It seemed to be pulling at my very being, wishing me to stay with it.

The meadow, even with all the sounds that rang out like the birds and hammer blows, seemed very lonely. I shivered unconsciously, feeling both sorry and disgusted about that place.

But then I realized something. Rayne was producing the mana. Does that mean that he is inside of that world? Is he stuck in there? If only I could help him… I wish I knew how.

Ten minutes have passed. Elliot is holding onto her consciousness by a thread. Her moans have become a single, continuous one that rises and falls in volume. If she wasn’t using both of her hands to hold herself up, I’m 100% positive they would be in other places over her body. Just what is my son doing to the elder’s maid?

Rayne’s smile faded in an instant. He shot upwards, pushing Elliot to the side. But his other hand was clamped over her wrist, forcing him with her in the movement. A second passed before Rayne flipped off of Elliot. His mana, silver once more, burst out from him, forming his letters. Doing a quick read, I understood his concern.

He hadn’t looked at her face yet, it seemed. If he had seen that face full of ecstasy and lust, he would not be asking if she was alright. Or maybe he would, just in a different way.

I focused once more on the scene in front of me, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. Rayne lifted Elliot’s hand slowly, gazing at something attached to it with great interest. Or was that astonishment? I shifted my gaze to where his was.

A small green bracelet adorned her wrist. At first, I was confused as to why Rayne was so entranced with it, but then I realized on a closer look. It was made of mana. The same mana the Rayne had just produced. I attempted to take control of it, to take even a little bit back home with me. But I was mistaken if I thought I could do it with my skills.

The mana itself resisted my grip, barely wavering before fitting itself back on Elliot’s wrist. Lusty maid gets all the fun toys…

I want some special mana!

Surprise Development! (Another Power’s POV)

Rayne was restless on the walk back home. He had decided to level up with [Walking Meditation] subskill, but he couldn’t even get into the state with his uneasy mind. The reason for his restlessness lies in the windows that showed up after he had made the bracelet, and the bracelet itself.

Rayne’s Status

Name: Rayne

Level: 3

Experience needed: 426/600 (29%)

HP [110/110]

MP [102/59] (0.43)

SP [89/89]

Race: Vampire

HP [0.1/sec]

MP [0.026/sec]

SP [0.1/sec]

Blood [80%]

Strength

15

Endurance

25

Luck

10

Perception

40

Dexterity

18

Agility

18

Intelligence

26

Wisdom

28

Leadership

8

Vitality

11

Faith

-10

Willpower

80

Skills:

Blood Drain (Max)

Gain stats based off of amount and quality of blood drained.

Persuasion (8/10)

40% chance to persuade people to your side. Lessens if they know about the situation.

Mana Sense (5/100)

Sense mana. Higher levels allow more detail and range.

Advanced Meditation (18/100)

Recover mana 1000% quicker, regain stamina 8000% quicker.

Bewitching Gaze (4/10)

Stare into people’s eyes and activate their libido. Every Vampire needs a harem.

Mana Wave (2/50)

Sense anything within your mana as it spreads outwards. Higher levels allow more precision.

Mana Condensation (1/5)

Condense mana from the air into your mana orbs, making them fluctuate in density.

Mana Construction (10/~)

Shape your mana into anything.

This skill can evolve.

Effects:

Sunlight Weakness

5% less Strength in sunlight.

Disease Immunity

Immunity to any disease debuffs.

Blood Drinker

Grants Max level skill [Blood Drain]

Mana Body

All Spells deal 20% more damage.

Vampiric Body

Sets Hp/sec to 1, if over 1, 120% increase.

Overcharge (Max)

Overcharge your mana capacity, increasing it permanently by 1 every 100 extra.

Boulder

2x Hp and Sp regen.

4x Mana regen

Wanderer

Increase Stamina by 50 points

Titles

Wanderer ★

All in all, he received +3 luck, +10 perception, +4 wisdom, -8 faith, 2 levels to [Bewitching Gaze], and 7 levels to [Mana Construction]. Give me a second to recreate the window he got from [Inspect]ing the bracelet.

Mana Bracelet (Elliot)

Owner: Elliot Mandrive

Creator: Rayne

Mana: 4/4

Duration: N/A

Effects: +10 Strength, +2 Vitality

There. Pretty accurate, If I do say so myself. Anyway, he was very concerned with both the ‘owner’ and the ‘effects’. The effects were amazing, giving free stats for no reason, but the owner part was a bit more questionable. He didn’t quite know exactly what that entailed.

He shrugged, before realizing that his mother was watching him with a strong intensity. He shrank back a bit, not sure why he deserved that look. Avalina stood up in the shaking carriage, not exactly the smartest of ideas. She stumbled, but Rayne caught her before she could fully trip, throwing her on the seat next to him.

A sigh of relief. “Thanks, Rayne.”

A small nod before she continued. “But I have a question. I’m not sure if you’ll be able to answer me, but are you human?” She asked.

Rayne stiffened, stopping his walk. He relaxed his body, a large torrent of mana exploding out from him as he activated his vampire form.

“You have seen me in some of my… less human times. But I can assure you. When I am not like this,” He gestured to his red eyes and silver hair, “I am human. When I am, however, I am not a human. I am… something a bit less and yet a bit more.” He thought carefully on his words, making sure he didn’t directly state what he was.

Then again, Avalina already knew all this. She had been a victim of his vampiric state before. The first one, in fact. Rayne happened to be unconscious while this happened, but that’s unimportant. Avalina simply wanted to know what he thought about himself. If he wasn't human, even in his own mind, she would have tried her best to fix that.

“Next question. What was that mana? It was green.” She asked, stupefied. After all, she had never seen mana in any other color than silver.

“I’m not quite sure… I can probably reproduce it, but I would need concentration I can’t find in meditation…” Rayne sighed, holding up a hand. It began to emit mana, slowly, like steam was wafting off of it. The mana increased in density, making it more of a smoke. Then it was a liquid, but it was still rising. A solid that acted like a gas.

“What did you just do to the mana? Solid mana doesn’t float…” As if to prove her point, she created some. Letting go of it, it dropped to the ground with a thump.

“Well, I’m not sure how much mana this takes, but try doing it exactly like I did. Start with a gas, then slowly increase the density.” He reverted it back to its original form instantaneously, causing a small steam explosion. He managed to absorb most of it before it actually exploded, but some escaped.

Avalina attempted it, but it ran through her mana reserves just after she got to liquid. Panting heavily, she changed the subject.

“So… Why does… Elliot like your eyes… so much?” Rayne looked embarrassed, looking away with a small blush on his face.

“That’s… probably because of my skill, [Bewitching Eyes].” After seeing his mother’s look of confusion, he went on to explain, “When people look in my eyes, it activates their libido…”

Avalina had a reaction. She laughed loud enough for the driver to comment on it. A familiar voice echoed back to the carriage, “What’s so funny back there? I want in!”

“It’s nothing, Elliot!” A few seconds passed, the laughter dying down. “Wait, what?! Elliot, what are you doing here?!”

“Hmm? Oh, I talked to the Elder and I managed to transfer my ownership to you! I may be inexperienced, but please treat me well!” Elliot leaned over to the side, far enough for Avalina to see her through the window as she waved.

Nobody spoke for the remainder of the trip home.