Mana (2)

With the discovery that mana can increase power, and that they could manipulate it, the three immediately thought of different ways they could use it. However, before they share their ideas, they wanted better control.

"Let's talk about different applications later. We can give up on any ideas if we can't control mana properly."

The other agreed with Johnathan. So with that said, the two quickly closed their eyes and focused on their core, trying to do what their friend did seconds ago.

Johnathan closed his eyes again and focused on his arm that had his mana concentrated on it. It felt comfortable. 'It's like my hands covered in room temperature water, ' Johnathan thought as he focused on lowering the amount of mana he used on his arm.

He concentrated on his arm and imagined the mana flowing back into his mana core. Johnathan watched in amazement as he felt his core fill up with his mana once again. He then brought mana out from his core and gathered it in his hand once more.

He opened his eyes and stared at his arm that had around a quarter of his mana. He believed he found a comfortable percentage of mana to enhance his strength, while still being able to use his power. 'At least I think it's good enough. I still need to try it out.

Since his mana got denser with the last crystal he ate, he still needed to check how much mana he needed to stop time. However, looking at his arm, he felt it had a little over 25% of his mana. But that was it. It felt like it. But in actuality, he used exactly 1/4th.

Controlling the percentage of mana he needed to use wasn't too hard. It was like the mana listened to his commands and did what he needed. However, what he lacked was speed. It took a couple of seconds to get the amount of mana he wanted to his arm. It wasn't bad, but a fight could lead to his death.

'Time to test how long I can hold 'time stop' for'.

Johnathan thought as he kept his focus on his mana enhancement hand while bringing out his mana from his core, turning the world grey. As soon as time stopped, Johnathan started counting.

"One"

"T-"

Before he could say two, the world regained its color. Losing focus, the mana that was enhancing his arm seeped back into his core, leaving him with only a quarter of his tank filled.

'About a second and a half. Not bad, but it's a lot lower than before. Not a bad tradeoff though. This way I have more physical strength and can fight a lot easier without having to worry about depleting my reserves.

It truly wasn't a bad tradeoff. Not that he can use his mana to enhance himself, the need to stop time would lessen and give him, as well as his teammates, an easier time when fighting zombies.

'I can still lower the amount of mana I'm using to enhance my hand if I really need to stop time for a longer time. Now then, how are they doing?'

Johnathan thought to himself as he looked over to the other two. Danny and Ivan both had their eyes closed with smiles on their faces.

'Safe to assume they got it.'

He then looked at Ash, who was looking at them with a confused look.

Ash kept hearing the word mana, and he was confused. The only reason he didn't speak out and ask them was that he saw how focused they were. So it forced him to push down his curiosity and stay quiet.

Making eye contact with Johnathan, he tiptoed over to him and asked what mana was.

"Mana? It's an energy. I don't know too much about it either, but it's something that gives superpowers. You'll have it soon too."

Ash listened closely and when he heard he can get superpowers, his eyes widened in excitement. Every kid his age had seen at least one superhero movie, so it wasn't surprising when he got excited. 'Even we danced around like little girls when we found out we had powers' he thought as he watched Ash squirm around on the floor like a puppy who met its owner for the first time.

"What's your superpower," Ash asked after finally calming down.

After thinking for a second, Johnathan answered.

"I can stop time"

Ash looked confused at what that was. It wasn't a total surprise. After all, few kids see time-stopping heroes. Most of the time the heroes would have some sort of elemental ability or super strength.

"Anyway, looks like they're done"

At Johnathan's words, Ash turned towards Danny and Ivan, who had weirdly opened their eyes at the same time.

Looking at Johnathan, Ivan was the first to speak. "Mana is so cool. But the thing is, I have trouble using the exact amount of mana I want to use".

Danny and Jonathan's eyes widened."Really? It's the opposite for me. I can get the correct amount but the time I take to do it is a bit too long."

Johnathan explained, making Ivan nod. The two then looked over at Danny, who shrugged his shoulders and explained his experience.

"I had a pretty simple time with both speed and amount. It's understandable though. I am stronger than you guys"

Johnathan and Ivan glared at him. "Really? Wanna test that out." Ivan asked as he stood up. Danny followed Ivan's actions and stood up as well. Johnathan sighed as got up and walked to them. "You guys are idiots. Where would we even fight? There's no space and I'm pretty sure we'd break the walls and floor".

Johnathan was annoyed at Danny's comment and wanted to fight him as well but he knew they couldn't. There was no space. So, being the more mature one of the three, he calmed them down.

Once they calmed down, the three sat down again. Ash, a few meters away, scooted over to them, wanting to hear what they were about to talk about.

"What do you guys think we can use mana for other than enhancing our strength?" Asked Johnathan.

It was a hard question. Mana for them never existed until now. Meaning there's no record of anyone creating anything. No one could guide them, so they could only use things they did in movies and other forms of entertainment that included mana.

"I saw this in one anime. They used something similar to mana to stick to trees, walls, and even walk on water by guiding the energy to the soles of their feet. I don't know if it'd work but there's no harm trying"

Johnathan thought about Danny's suggestion. It wasn't a bad idea, but he didn't want to risk breaking anything. There was always a chance that by guiding the mana to their feet and stepping on a wall, it would shatter because of the concentration on mana.

"Let's leave that for when we're outside"

Not wanting to damage the only place they could live in, Johnathan decided to not test it out. At least while they're inside the apartment.

"How about we look at mana like a unique ability everyone has? Instead of bringing mana to the outside world to activate our abilities, we bring it out solely for the mana. That way we can make mana balls or whatever."

'Pure mana. It could work. If it works, there are so many things we can do with it.'

Johnathan thought as he kept going through different moves he would create if it were possible.

"You're a genius. But I doubt we have enough control for that and if we do it without enough control, there could be drawbacks."

Ivan agreed with Johnathan. No one knew what would happen if they lose control of their mana. In some cartoons/Anime they've seen, some got heavily injured or even died.

"What about you? Any ideas?"

Johnathan nodded his head and quickly replied to Ivan's question.

"I think the safest option, for now, is just spreading the mana throughout our body. We already know we can enhance our strength so instead of enhancing just our arm, let's enhance our hold body.

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AN: At first, it's going to take some focus for them to keep the mana enhancement, but it won't always be like that. After practicing, it'll be as easy as breathing. Also, I hope you guys don't think I nerfed Johnathan with the addition of mana enhancement.

If you enjoyed the chapter, do support it. See you guys next chapter!