Mana Manipulation
Three days of relentless practice transformed Kaiser from a predator into something more.
Something evolving.
A magical predator?
His wings had once dominated the sky, his talons carved flesh like blades, and his eyes pierced the canopy like twin suns—but mana? Mana was another world entirely. A world of whispers, patience, and deep comprehension.
It wasn't just energy.
It was language.
A living, breathing system of expression that sang through the soil, danced across leaves, and coiled around stars.
A system older than bloodlines, deeper than predation. The Amazon rainforest was not just wild. It was alive in ways Kaiser had never comprehended before.
Now, he listened.
Day 1 – Observation
Kaiser perched upon a gnarled branch of an ancient tree that had stood longer than empires. He remained perfectly still, wings folded like a monk in prayer, his golden eyes scanning the undergrowth.
Mana currents moved beneath the surface of reality—invisible threads of potential. Most beasts, even apex predators, went their whole lives never knowing. Never sensing.
But Kaiser was not a normal predator, but a common tiered beast. who has the skill of mana manipulation.
Now he could see it.
Not fully, not clearly, but enough to sense disturbances in the weave of mana. Faint pulses. Flickers of rhythm and vibration in places that should've been still.
He could sense it with his eyes wide open, after swallowing the core. He had gotten more mana thus, he was able to sense it more easier.
He could sense a signature, or a pattern from everything.
He named this phenomena as mana signature.
It was primitive. Raw. But it was real.
He turned his gaze toward a vine-choked plant, its leaves glowing faintly under moonlight. At first glance, it was no different than any other bush. But now, its mana signature pulsed like a heartbeat.
Three pulses. Pause. One long pulse. Repeat.
A code? A cycle? Was this how magical flora communicated?
Kaiser's feathers bristled. Everything had structure. A pattern.
He scanned again—wolf prints on wet soil. Even those had lingering mana trails, evaporating slowly like morning dew. The living were in constant flux. Plants remained steady. Magical ones, though?
They sang.
Day 2 - absorption
He shifted his practice from observation to absorption.
It was agonizing slow at first.
To draw in mana while not meditating, with his eyes open.
To draw mana into himself was like trying to drink sunlight through his talons.
But still, he persisted.
He perched atop a flat rock and let his breathing slow. His wings relaxed. As he actively imagned the pulling of a circular force. He could think 3 things at the same time.
So he permanently wanted to use one of these to actively pull in mana, so he could recover faster.
Tiny threads of blue-white light, like mist caught in sunlight, slowly coiled toward him. Entering him through his chest, merging with the invisible vortex of energy inside.
His natural rate of recovery before, was 1 mana point per hour.
But now due to active recovery, it was 1 mana point per 10 minutes.
He had a hunch, it would increase when he evolves once again.
His mind jolted as the first clean breath of mana surged into his system.
It felt cold, but alive—like biting into lightning.
The sensation wasn't painful… but it was intoxicating.
Kaiser nearly lost himself in it. His body trembled. His wings stretched involuntarily. A screech escaped his beak—short, high-pitched, exultant.
His instincts screamed to consume more, at a faster rate.
But he knew this was the perfect rate for the current him, so that it did not affect his mental energy too much.
So he stopped his instincts by calming down. Controlled it. Noted the strain. Measured the intake.
That night, he stared into the stars with glowing eyes, not from reflection—but from stored mana radiating inside him.
He slept with a proud accomplishment.
Day 3 – Manipulation
He wanted to manipulate. To not just absorb—but shape.
He focused his will on his right wing.
Mana pooled.
He visualized a line—a cord—a string of intent reaching out from his feathers.
And for one second, it worked.
A thread of translucent blue emerged from his wingtip, dangling into the air like a strand of fate.
Then it collapsed.
It snapped back into his body,draining his mana.
Every attempt afterward took a toll.
He noticed the pattern. Every time he released mana externally, it depleted from his core. If the thread detached, it was gone forever, it dissapered without any support from the mana of his core.
But each thread formed faster than the last.
Each line straighter.
Each collapse less mana painful.
By the time the moon rose, Kaiser could form a six-inch mana thread from his wingtip, one that lasted three seconds.
Primitive.
But to him?
It was a good start.
He tested his growing control with his skill.
{Weak Telekenesis}
He could pick up heavier objects, and his stamina also increased while using the skill.
***
He came to conclusion, based on his practice and observations.
Kaiser began categorizing mana patterns:
Living creatures: Their mana danced. Ever-changing. Pulsing. Some like drumming war-beats. Others like shy whispers.
Magical plants: Consistent, but multi-layered. Several channels radiating at once.
Beast cores: Condensed galaxies. Dense, potent. No movement—but immense depth.
Environment itself: Interwoven mesh. Stable. Alive. A collective subconscious.
***
Lieutenant James Carter's thermal imaging scanner flickered erratically. Something was disrupting their technology. Electromagnetic interference that defied standard scientific explanation.
"Movement," whispered Sergeant Rodriguez. Her voice carried the tension of a coiled spring.
Three scouts moved with practiced silence. Military-grade camouflage blending into the impossibly dense Amazon vegetation. Each step calculated. Precise.
The ground felt... wrong. Soft where it should be firm. Shifting imperceptibly.
"This isn't natural," Dr. Elena Volkov muttered, her scientific curiosity battling pure survival instinct. "The terrain is responding to something."
Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet trembled.
Not an earthquake. Something deliberate.
A massive scale, reflecting sunlight like obsidian glass, emerged briefly from dense vegetation. Then disappeared.
The Anaconda King knew they were here.
Was it watching? Hunting? Studying?
Corporal Martin's hand tightened on his weapon. RPG hanging ready. Armor-piercing rounds chambered.
"We're being evaluated," Lieutenant Carter said softly.
The forest went silent.
Something was definitely watching.
And it was definitely not human.