upon reaching the 40th lap.. he had realized there had been a crucial flaw he had failed to account for
'mana consumption'
keeping up the spell to constantly remove any sense of pain takes a lot of mana, even more so for two reasons, he's aware he's being hypnotized, thus his mind is naturally rejecting it, causing a faster consumption.
the second is the fact he had barely formed his mana core hours ago, it barely had time to fill out half way by now, and its his first time ever using a spell. at such a rudimentary level his consumption will only increase
'the second the spell comes off.. all the pain my body's experiencing will burst out all at once.. and il probably faint. so its all up to luck weather i even pass the last lap.. heck my body might even give out even before that.'
while he cant feel the pain.. it sure as hell is still there, and his body was already showing signs, his body is chuck full of sweat, even his skin tight suite is barely holding itself together.
not only that but his steps are slower, his entire body practically vibrating, it wouldn't be a surprise if his own body gives out before the spell does..
its all up to lady luck now..
'1 lap.. 9 more to go.'
'another one, 8.. more..'
'one more.. only 7 left..'
'hold out.. just 6 more!'
'my body.. keep.. moving! you fucking bitch! we have been in worse states! keep. going.'
'my mana can only last another 30 minutes.. just 4 more..'
'why.. why wont you move damnit.. please.. just move..'
and at the last stretch of the 47th lap.. his body gave out. his knees buckling against themselves, perhaps broken under their own weight.. and with it.. so did his mana.
a crushing feeling of pain crosses his body, a stifled scream escaping his body. but his will.. it wont let him do it, his mouth tightly shut to the point of shedding blood, his own teeth cracking
'i.. wont... scream...!'
but his resistance was all but futile. his body fully giving out, as he passes out completely. leaving everyone, weather it be the instructor, the reincarnators or his other classmates.. shocked, baffled, befuddled any way to express shock is what's going in their mind, wondering what sort of desperation is driving this man to go this far.
'so why do i.. like it? had it been someone else.. i would've thought it pathetic.. is it because he's the same as me..?'
a certain confused princess asks herself, before completing her last lap, along with the other few who had also passed, barely passing 10.
'i wonder.. what else you will show me, my new.. friend.'
-2 HOURS LATER-
opening his eyes, Cain feels.. light, perhaps in even better shape than before.
"you were quite lucky.. your schoolmate, the saintess. had treated you."
'i had suspected as much'
getting up, much to the doctors reluctance to let him, Cain simply goes to the training hall, entering a private training ground, one of the privileges of his rank
{are you fine dear..?}
'i would be lying had i said yes.. but it was necessary, it was a loss i was prepared for, even if it hurts.'
truthfully, he had expected his body to give out before the end, and if he did make it. he would've been far behind the others in time
{so what now? my dearest one}
'we train.. train till our hair falls of.. and my nails are filled by my own blood.'
{oh how similar could you be to your own old self! i thought atleast you would have some sense of self preservation..}
'are you.. pouting?'
and to answer his question.. is silence
'i had expected as much, what i did was incredibly stupid, but i gained a bit out of it.'
he did indeed get alot out of it, he had made an impression on others, and most importantly. a reason to speak with the saintess
'a healer is crucial in a fight.. and i think i have a way to get her on my side..'
it mostly derives of two things. manipulation 'a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do' and another thing, something very dear to her.
'and knowing she was going to be the one to heal me, i can approach her under the guise of thanking her for it.'
but right now..? now he trains.. and trains.. and trains again.
'Echidna isnt very important at the moment, i do have plans for her. but im mostly gonna be using my male form for a while'
so he's going to mainly be focusing on two things, creating his second mana core layer, and increasing his mastery of both his newly unlocked ability's, mirror manipulation, and charm magic.
he had time to practice blood magic, and he already has a plan to further upgrade it, but he had only just gotten mirror manipulation and charm magic unlocked today, and their mastery's are abysmal.
'lets focus on creating a mana core layer first, since i barely have any mana at the moment and il be able to train for longer periods with another layer.'
the process of creating a new mana core layer is quite simple really, in the same way you had made your first core, you simply stack a larger layer on top of it.
but the quote easier said than done had never been truer
not only is the process painful as shit, its extremely tedious and time consuming, since you need to circulate your mana in a sphere over your existing mana core, while making sure it doesn't touch the original mana core, slowly condensing the mana into a physical form, which takes hours on end, and the second you stop the process, the condensed mana will begin to uncondense
'in order to make the first form, you simply had to spin it in a spiral, but now i have to make sure the condensed mana doesn't touch the original core'
and so.. its just a matter of tedious work from now on.
-10 HOURS LATER AT MIDNIGHT-
"done..!"
sprawled on the ground with a happy grin Cain cant help but feel as if his effort's hadn't been in vain, feeling his capacity being more than double its original capacity.
'status'
[STATUS]
Name: Cain
Age: 18
mana core layer: second layer
Stats:
Strength- 16
Agility- 16
Endurance- 13
Charm- 23
Intelligence- 19
Owned artifacts:
[cigarette box (black rose design)]
function 1: once every 12 hours, replenish the cigarettes in the box(requires mana, due to users lacks of of which, every cigarette must be made from scratch by user)
function 2: the cigarettes have a calming effect upon use, and are in no way harmful to the users health
buff: every puff of the cigarettes replenish a small amount of mana
[blood rose ring]
function 1: use blood magic at the cost of the users own blood
buff: passive increase in regeneration
[black metal kusarigama]
function 1: the length of the chain can be adjusted at will
function 2: the shape of the blade at the end of the chain can be altered at will between a sickle, blade or spearhead
buff: any blood drawn by this weapon will be absorbed into the user as regeneration
[earbuds(black)]
function 1: can play music from a list of any songs the user has heard before along with a playlist function.
function 2: due to being made with rainbow chameleon skin the color of the earbuds can be changed at will.
buff: gain a separate ring corresponding in design to color of the earbuds, that is connected to the earbuds and can be used as a communication orb between the two.
{blessing}
-gifts of the past-
{owned gifts: 7}
gift of the drinksmith
gift of the craftsman
the collectors gift
gift of the playboy
gift of the undying
gift of the Maren crown
gift of a promise
[STATUS END]
now you would normally wonder.. if everybody stacks their cores.. what's the difference in mana between everyone?
the answer is the same as it is for aura, its quality and traits or affinities.
a persons mana quality, unlike aura. cant change, atleast by normal means. if your aura is purer, not only will you consume less of it, your spells will naturally be more powerful.
as for affinities, neither can the be changed naturally. perhaps by an artifact or the such but not much else, and the main difference is simply talent, a person whose mana has an affinity for water will have a far easier time casting water magic
but while most people can learn all the basic elements, albeit with varying levels of difficulty. you must be born with an affinity for certain elements, less your simply unable to use them, such as blood magic, which only vampires can use naturally. or special elements, like sound and gravity, that's what his charm magic is in.
so far he only knows two affinities: blood, albeit with some limitations, and charm. the rest he will have to find out during his first magic basics class, although he has an inkling as to what one of them are.
'luckily its tomorrow, so there wont be much waiting time'
and so, his exhausted feet walk over to his room, but he passes by a certain friendly princess along the way
"want one?"
showing up suddenly, the startled Delilah yelps for a second, before her eyes light up in intrigue at what he's offering her
"its called a cigarette, its from an artifact i made, upon consuming it your mind will calm down and you'll regenerate a little bit of aura and or mana"
taking it carefully, her eyes turn confused. wondering how to use the strange item
"you light the tip up with fire and inhale from the other tip."
taking out his own cigarette along with a lighter, Cain demonstrates how to use it. handing it to Delilah, who herself inhales. her body relaxing visibly
"your right.. it really is calming."
"i could make you a replica with silver and red colors instead, to match your hair and eyes"
"it would be great if you could, thanks.."
the both of them quietly inhale their cigarette, a melancholic gaze filling both their eyes
"i wonder.. considering how similarly her minds work.. are we thinking the same thing..?"
suddenly.. a warm, truly genuine smile graces the princesses face, one he's 100% sure isnt fake.
"should we just let our actions do our thinking for us..?"
both lean in.. their lips gently pressing together. while both had expected it to be this hungry, lust filled kiss. it wasn't, and in truth.. it just made it feel all the more genuine, in their world filled with lies and deceit
breaking their kiss for a moment.. their gazes dreamy.
"it seems we truly were made for each other.."
"soulmates in a way no?"
instead of answering.. he simply leans in again, the full moon illuminating their first moment of love, man more to come.
-CHAPTER END-
heyo! spicy one wasn't it? don't worry though, no lemon(or for the near future)
todays chapter note is a bit more of a trick writers use than anything. and that is... the status screen! and why it shows up every dang chapter.
the reason authors add the status screen every chapter are for multiple reasons, among them, is the word count. with a single copy paste of your mc's status, you've just banged out 100-200 words out depending on how your status is written, the second is to remind readers of your mc's ability's and capabilities. by constantly reminding them you don't have to worry about writing what the ability does every time the mc activates it.
peace!