Chapter 71
A profound chill coursed through Keith’s brain as his body digested the Rainbow Pearl Grass. Unprecedented clarity struck him – similar to the times when he studied arrays and solved a problem or the moment when ignorance transformed into knowledge. That was the state Keith found himself in.
Keith felt like he understood everything, and yet, nothing at all.
His mind wandered without focus.
Seconds passed until a sense of urgency rose.
Vaguely, Keith knew he was wasting precious time.
The effects of the Rainbow Pearl Grass wouldn’t last forever.
Like waking from a dream, Keith’s awareness returned.
He quickly began meditating and homed in on the motes of mana floating aimlessly around him. Keith tried controlling the brown ones to no avail. Even with the Rainbow Pearl Grass, I still can’t control them. What am I missing?
While in a state of enlightenment, a question came to the front of his consciousness: How does mana regeneration work?
Keith was stunned.
Sometimes, when directionless, a question was all you needed to get started.
Right! Keith thought. When I spend mana, I’m somehow capable of restoring it over time. Obviously, it comes from my surroundings. I should observe the process.
With that said, Keith cast Arsenal of the Desert a few times to drain his mana.
Then, he watched.
At that moment, though it was almost imperceptible, of the countless mana floating around him, a few flew in his direction, almost as if it was pulled by an unseen force. It entered his chest.
What’s affecting it? Keith was bewildered.
Again and again, he observed motes of mana entering his body, whereupon they attuned to him through some unknown method. Frowning, he recalled how meditation could increase a person’s mana regeneration speed.
Why was that?
Testing something, Keith willed for the surrounding mana to surge toward him.
Shockingly, he observed a dozen motes of mana listen to his call.
It worked!
His will affected mana unattuned to him.
The discovery delighted him.
To confirm, Keith tried it again, and again.
However, after willing the surrounding mana multiple times over, he suddenly felt exhausted. At the same time, the effects of the Rainbow Pearl Grass wore off.
Taking a deep breath, Keith concluded his findings.
Firstly, it appeared that his body was akin to a reservoir. Whenever the reservoir wasn’t full, it’d attract the surrounding mana to fill itself. Secondly, his consciousness had a weak effect on attracting mana.
When Keith opened his eyes, he saw blinking notifications.
Congratulations! You’ve unlocked a secondary stat: Mind.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
(Secondary Stat) Mind
Description: Determines how strong your consciousness is and your ability to control it.
Congratulations! You’ve unlocked a new title: Secondary Stat Holder.
(Title) Secondary Stat Holder
Description: Gives +20% effectiveness to primary stats.
Keith was overwhelmed with joy.
A secondary stat! They do exist! Keith clenched his fists. The Mind stat was a quantification of Keith’s consciousness. Wondering what its value was, Keith opened his status panel.
Mind: 9
Keith was speechless by what he read. 9? 9!? Are you slimeballing me?
His primary stats were all over 10,000, yet his secondary stat had an unbelievably low value of 9. The disparity was huge. Was his consciousness weak or something? No, Keith thought, Maybe secondary stats are quantified differently. Yes, that must be it.
For a moment, Keith ignored the stat and looked at his new title, happy with its effect.
A +20% effectiveness to Keith’s primary stats immediately gave him a considerable boost to his overall combat power. It was now one of his strongest titles.
Just then, a raging headache assaulted Keith's brain.
His face paled. Have I overdrafted my consciousness?
Quickly drinking some water, Keith lay on the couch and rested his eyes.
Without knowing it, he fell asleep.
A few hours later, he awoke, feeling much better.
Wanting to test his mind stat, Keith sat back down.
Using Mana Vision, he beckoned a few motes of mana over, repeating the process until he acquired another headache. His efforts weren’t futile, having gained a few points in the mind stat.
Mind: 13
As long as there’s progress, there’s hope, Keith smiled.
This time, Keith chose to meditate.
He found that it greatly assisted the recovery of his consciousness compared to sleeping. Keith was excited to see what the mind stat had to offer, so he put aside all his other tasks besides defending the Blockade and focused solely on training his consciousness.
Like that, a week passed.
Mind: 95
Keith discovered that his consciousness was like an undeveloped muscle.
If you hadn’t controlled it before, it was weak and lacked endurance, but as you continued to flex it, it grew in strength. After a week of exercise, Keith could tell that his consciousness was far stronger than before. It was now a simple task for him to control a few hundred motes of mana.
Currently, Keith sat cross-legged in his living room, prepared to do something he’d never heard of anyone else doing. Taking a deep breath, Keith's consciousness locked onto a few hundred motes of mana floating in front of him. Under his will, he forcefully controlled the unattuned mana and formed a Fireball array.
Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as he smiled.
I did it! I created a spell using unattuned mana!
After the excitement faded, Keith fell into thought. Even then, what’s the point? Using my consciousness to control unattuned mana is far too taxing. Is there any other potential use?
A minute later, Keith’s face lit up with surprise.
Wait, if I can control unattuned mana, does that mean I can do the same to someone else's attuned mana? Can I use my consciousness to forcibly break down their spells?
Keith’s eyes brightened. I don’t even need to go that far.
With Keith’s experience as an array master, he could simply disrupt the spell’s formation instead of breaking it down. A few nudges in the right spot were all he needed to neutralize another person’s spell, at least, in theory. He needed to give it an attempt before confirming for sure.
After Keith saw he could control unattuned mana, he moved on to his next task.
Keith locked onto a brown mote of mana floating above his head.
Under the pull of his consciousness, it shuddered.
The earth element mana had significantly more resistance compared to non-elemental mana. Unwilling to give up, Keith mobilized the full extent of his consciousness. Only then did it enter his body. At that moment, a notification popped up.
Congratulations! You’ve acquired a new skill: Earth Manipulation.
(Universal, Skill) Earth Manipulation
Description: Determines your ability to control earth element mana. Levels reduce the mana cost of earth-attribute skills and increase their effectiveness.
Keith wanted to stand up and jump for joy, but he was too exhausted.
He simply smiled.
Since he could acquire Earth Manipulation, it meant he could get Water, Wind, and Fire Manipulation. Keith wondered how would the Elemental Dimension’s natives feel if they heard Keith could acquire all their innate gifts. They’d probably complain to the System about unfairness.
As Keith meditated, he thought about whether there were other types of elemental manipulation skills. He knew there were lightning-attribute skills, for example. In that case, shouldn’t there be a lightning manipulation skill?
Unfortunately, Keith could only see earth, water, fire, and wind elemental mana in his surroundings. There were no other elements. Was his Mana Manipulation skill lacking, or did lightning element mana only exist in specific environments?
Keith had heard of a zone filled with lightning, yet that was where Tyranus’ home base was. No matter how much he wanted to acquire lightning manipulation, there was no way he’d court death by sneaking over there.
