Practice

It was somewhat disappointing to find that, despite the artificial mana stores correctly absorbing and preserving mana, I am still unable to use magic. Vol and I are optimistic, though.

Since we completed the first mana stone, about 2 weeks ago, we've been making a lot more progress. Vol has been working on modifying Elizabeth's sword which she, somewhat reluctantly, donated to our research, with my reassurance that it would still be functional afterwards.

While Vol is carving a spherical hole in the sword, I've been creating even more artificial stores, varying their sizes and limits. So far, I've managed to create 6 variants.

After the third week, Vol finishes the carving, and we verify that the mana store is able to sit within the sword without falling out.

For a while now, Vol has been talking about having to inform the elven elders about these breakthroughs, but I've managed to talk him down so far.

"But this could revolutionize mana tools as we know them!!" he would argue.

"Which is exactly why we need to be careful," I'd shoot back. "We still don't know their limits. They could cause serious problems."

While that is technically true, it is partial. It could cause serious problems. For me.

If somebody powerful gets their hands on these, and I haven't found a surefire way of fighting back, either with proper magic, or through magical tools, I could end up tortured or killed. These mana stores could easily be weapons. As a matter of fact, that's the very thing that Elizabeth, Vol, and I are heading out to study right now.

Vol lets out a heavy breath behind me. I look back and see him heaving a little further back down the path we came from.

We're about halfway up a mountain near Rosewood. I figured Vol would be exhausted, since it sounds like he has lived in his lab for the past who-knows-how-many years. He doesn't exactly get out much. He did last longer than I thought he would, though. We camp for the night, despite it not being that late, and wake up at sunrise next morning to continue our trek.

A few hours later, we finally reach our destination: A plateau near the top of the mountain.

This particular plateau houses a particularly strong monster. Namely, a dragon.

Well, Vol calls it a wyvern which I thought was something else, but it seems like they're the same thing here.

No matter.

A big fire-breathing lizard is still a big fire-breathing lizard.

The monster seems fast asleep. Our purpose here is to fight - and hopefully kill - this particular monster. Not because it's of any danger right now, though it will be once the Demon Lord rises, but for the sake of practice.

Elizabeth grips her sword tightly with both hands. Several small, round glowing stones are hanging off the side of her belt. These are mana stores, each filled with my mana. Our goal is to attempt to measure the amount of strength unleashed from the mana stores compared to the source - me - when using a magical tool. The magical tool being Elizabeth's newly modified sword.

She lets out a breath, focusing on the monster, and inserts one of the mana stores into the sword. Its pale blue light expands, growing in both saturation and strength. From what I can tell, it's equivalent to when I'm holding it.

Elizabeth looks back at Vol and I for verification, and Vol gives her a thumbs up, indicating that he has recorded the result, and that she should initiate the attack on the dragon - I mean, wyvern - in front of us.

She strikes me as tense, and a little shaky, though her gaze remains blank. She has fought face-to-face with a greater monster twice before, so you'd think she was used to it by now. Well, maybe that's the reason why she's so tense. Being knocked unconscious and waking up to find me burnt half to death probably wasn't very pleasant.

Elizabeth bends her knees, her eyes dead set on the wyvern. I see her jaw clench.

She pushes off the ground hard, and dust blows up around her. I see Vol half covering his face, an ecstatic look upon it, as he watches Elizabeth's leap.

The wyvern jerks awake, presumably from the sound of Elizabeth's harsh leap.

Not a great strategy, if I'm being honest, Elizabeth. Best not to wake a sleeping enemy.

Not that it matters.

The wyvern barely manages to take in its surroundings before a long blade slices straight down through its long neck, leaving a blue afterglow behind it.

The monster's large body falls limps to the ground, its head severed in a single, clean strike. Elizabeth looks down at the glowing sword and the dead wyvern on the ground, astonished. I peek over at Vol.

The elf is standing stock still, his mouth agape. I can't help but chuckle a little bit. It looks like his eyes are about to fall out of his head like an old cartoon character.

I see the light of Elizabeth's sword dimming somewhat. It must have expended quite a bit of mana, but it's still a lot brighter than usual. There's no doubt that the mana stone worked.

"I don't believe it..." I hear Vol mutter, admiringly.

"Me neither," Elizabeth responds.

Slowly, almost as if rehearsed, they turn toward me, their mouths hanging slightly open, looks of awe upon their faces.

"That was pretty good. Let's try another one, just in case."