When I got home, I beelined to my computer. For my plan to work, I had to be fast. I had to corner the market before people even realized there was a market. I booted up my bleeding-edge gaming computer - I splurged on it - and got to work. While it was doing so, I opened my blinds, turned on the lights, and put on a thin, white shirt. When it finished booting up, I went to youtube and created a new channel named The Magic Man, which, surprisingly, wasn’t taken. Then I got to work on my first video. The screen counted down.

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“Hello. My name is John, and today I will be teaching you the mana manipulation skill. Now, you may be wondering, how can I learn mana manipulation? I didn’t choose the mage cluster. Well, the system said, “All further skills must be earned,” which means that there must be a way to earn skills, and as the name implies, they are like skills. They are learnable. To prove it, I will show you that I chose the healer cluster and that I am capable of mana manipulation.”

I held up my arm and pointed to a large, ugly scar that traced a line from my shoulder all the way to my wrist. A glass shard had given it to me during The Accident.

“I will now heal this scar.” I drew mana out of my core and infused it with the concept of vitality, life, and healing. I then enveloped the scar in it. Before my eyes, and more importantly, the camera, the scar disappeared in a flash of soft green light.

“Next, I will prove that I have mana manipulation.” I pushed mana out of my hand and created a floating ball of light. “Now that I have proven that skills are learnable, I will begin.

First, you must feel your core. It is located in your sternum or right here.” I pointed to my core and raised a small amount of magic above my skin, just enough for a soft glow visible through my shirt. “This is where mana is stored and should be the easiest part, as your core is new to your body. Please pause the video until you have found your core.” I waited a few seconds and then resumed.

“Now that you have found your core, I will explain how to feel it. First, you must imagine a placid bright blue ball within a dark void. This is your core. Next, imagine a finger within that void. Now poke your core using that finger. You should feel like you have just been poked. If you don’t, try again, but this time poke harder.” I waited another moment or two so that they could pause the video. “Once you feel a poke, you have felt your core. Feeling your core when learning to use mana is as vital as feeling your legs is when running.

Now I will teach you how to draw mana out of your core. First, imagine a tendril of mana reaching out of your core. This is the first step. If you have succeeded in drawing out mana, you will feel a warm sensation in your chest. Using this method, you cannot draw mana outside of your body. To do that, you must detach the tendril from your core.” I waited so they could pause.

“Once you have detached the tendril from your core, push it outside of your chest. You should see a faint light, just as I used to show where my core is. Repeat this process, but this time maintain control over the mana as it leaves your body. If you are successful, the light will not dissipate, but instead, remain.” I demonstrated by lighting up my chest again, but this time it stayed bright. I left it there for a couple seconds before letting it dissipate.

“What you want to do next is shape the mana into a ball. If you succeed, you will earn mana manipulation. In my next video, I will show you how to make a magic missile.” I turned off the camera and sighed.

That was terrible! I sounded so weird! I can’t redo it either, I only have two scars, and even if youtube allowed it, I am not willing to post a video of my own inner thigh. It would have to be enough. I posted the video under the title “How to earn the skill mana manipulation.” My next video would require a bit of preparation. I would need a tripod for one.

I gave everything a once over; it looked good. Getting a tripod when the stores were closed was surprisingly easy. All I had to do was borrow one from my neighbor. I pressed record for the third time today and took a deep breath.

“Hello, and welcome back. Today I will be teaching you how to make a magic missile. This is fairly simple as long as you have mana manipulation. If you do not, refer to my previous video. There will be a link in the description. For those of you who have, I will now demonstrate a magic missile. If you are wearing headphones, I recommend you take them out.”

I pointed my palm at the dirt a good ten feet away. I channeled mana to my palm and made an oval in front of it. I then launched the missile. It impacted the dirt of my backyard with a cacophonous bang. Kicking up a cloud of dirt that reached as high as my hips.

“The skill is deceptively simple looking. There are multiple moving parts to it. First, you must create a shell of mana. This holds the missile together. If you skimp on it, then the missile will fall apart. Next, you must create the body of the missile. This is what determines the penetrative ability of the missile. Too little mana and the missile will do nothing. Too much mana and the missile will fall apart. Finally, you create the propellant; this determines the speed of the missile. Once again, too little mana means the missile will not do anything, and too much mana and the missile falls apart.”

As I explained the steps, I created each part of the missile in turn. Once I formed the propellant, I let the missile fly.

“To create the shell of the missile, create a hollow ovoid, or a three-dimensional oval. Then, in the middle of the ovoid create a barrier. This will separate the body from the propellant.

To create the body, simply fill in the frontal cavity will mana. The greater the mana density, the harder the missile will strike.

To create the propellant, fill in the back cavity with mana. This mana will be unique in that it is loose, do not anchor it to the missile itself.

Finally, to launch the missile, open a small hole in the back cover. The propellant will rapidly decompress and push the missile forward.”

While explaining, I created half of a magic missile. This allowed for each component of the spell to be seen. This video wasn’t that bad, so I decided to use it.

I transferred the video file to my computer and uploaded it as well. However, unlike the first video, I monetized this one.

I got ready for bed and used sedate to put myself to sleep. No more melatonin for me!