New Abilities [Part 1]

I tried to recall exactly how my body had reacted the previous day.

The memory was vivid.

The moment that high-tier spell had activated, it was as if a siphon had latched onto my very core.

Mana had been pulled out of me in one swift, violent rush.

My breathing had changed without me realizing it, it became different from the normal way I breathe.

At that moment, I had no choice but to endure it, the steady, creeping wave of exhaustion that washed through me.

Each wave hit harder than the last, until it reached a threshold where my body could no longer bear it. I had felt as if I would collapse.

Until I actually did...

Now, I tried to re-emulate that moment. Not the pain, but the process.

Mana is the magical energy that exists in all living beings.

However, unconsciously, a small amount is constantly released and replenished at the same time.

By having total control over one's mana, one can regulate, suppress, conceal, and even release it in tremendous amounts to intimidate.

If I could replicate the breathing, mimic the exact rhythm that released my mana, then maybe, just maybe, I could achieve the same effect.

The effect that would create the attractive force between my mana and the ambient mana, which would give me more control.

If I got it right, I wouldn't just be able to release my mana freely into the world, but I could also attract mana back in.

There was a delicate force, an invisible pull between my life-force-infused mana and the free-flowing mana around me.

DROP!!

Beads of sweat had started forming on my brow with the mere act of changing my breathing method.

They trickled down my face and dropped on the tiled floor with a soft plop!

Since I wasn't doing any physical activity that could make me sweat, and considering the room was well-ventilated, this development could only mean one thing: I had succeeded in releasing magical energy than the normal rate.

I can now release it freely, not unconsciously.

'My magical energy...it is being released.'

A tinge of happiness welled up within me.

With each passing second, more drops of sweat splashed against the floor, wetting the tiles beneath me.

And they weren't just flowing from my brow anymore, every part of my body was sweating.

I began to feel light-headed, like my life force was slowly seeping from my body.

It wasn't painful, not yet, but it felt... fragile. Dangerous.

[Ding!]

[Attractive force between ambient mana and that of the host has been detected!]

'Does that mean I've attuned my mana with the surrounding energy?

I can't let that get to my head now, can I?'

I needed to remain focused.

Not when a wave of fatigue was already flooding my body.

This meant I had yet to overcome the pull, I needed to reverse it, to attract the surrounding mana into me instead, to gain more mana control.

What I was doing was risky.

If the surrounding mana ended up pulling out more of my own, I could suffer tremendous damage.

In the case of geniuses who could harmonize with the ambient mana, they probably had complete, unwavering control over their energy.

But me?

I was still trying.

Still learning to hold on.

The exhaustion grew heavier with each breath.

I could feel it, the attractive force of the ambient mana.

It wasn't just nearby anymore. It had clung to my skin, tugging, sucking my mana out like a siphon.

"This is what is called attunement"

And since one's magical energy was deeply intertwined with their life force, every moment, I lost more mana than before, and at the same time, I could feel my vitality being shaved away.

The rate I released mana had been increased, but the rate I replenished it was still low.

That was probably what caused the wave of exhaustion.

Yet I didn't clench my teeth. I didn't tense my muscles.

Instead, I relaxed my whole body even more than before, but made my will sharper.

Stronger.

My will to live.

That very will became the fuel, the anchor that steadied me against the pull.

This powerful life energy, fused with my mana, would be the key.

It would be the bait.

The draw to pull the surrounding mana in.

I could feel it.

A thin smile slowly formed on my lips.

This warm sensation welling up within me, starting somewhere deep in my stomach, spread through my entire being like a rising tide.

As my pores perspired, instead of the usual cool, soothing relief that followed according to science, a strange warmth began to rise.

It wasn't comforting.

It was intense.

It was alive.

My body grew hotter, as if it had been set on fire from the inside.

I crashed into the bed and rolled instinctively, trying to find some relief.

My skin was burning, but there was no flame.

I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth, this time not from resistance, but to bear the sensation.

It was like I had suddenly developed a raging fever.

BANG!

I felt something explode deep inside me.

Like a big bang!

The explosion brought about a sudden hot sensation, as if a star had gone supernova within the depths of my being.

It flooded every corner of my body with heat and light.

My eyes flung open wide in an instant, and that was when I saw it.

Mana.

The tiny, colorful particles floating sparsely around in the air.

The magical energy that pervaded every space in this world.

I quickly sat up, my whole body drenched in sweat, as if I had been pulled from a pool of boiling water.

Yet I hardly noticed.

It was beautiful.

My mouth opened wide in pure awe, my breath caught in my throat.

I was utterly awestruck by what I was witnessing.

The magical energy, the source behind the activation of skills, the force that made spellcasting possible.

The energy particles floated freely around.

Just like light, the magical energy exhibited wave-particle duality.

I raised my hand slowly, trembling from the exhaustion that had shaken the very core of my being.

I watched as one tiny speck of mana drifted down onto it.

Then another.

And another.

They settled on the tops of my fingers, one at a time, like dew on morning grass.

With a held breath, I pinched them gently between my fingertips.

When I opened my fingers, they had clung together, stretching into a single silvery thread.

Beautiful.

The thread shimmered, silvery in color, as if the multicolored energy particles had blended perfectly into a single monochrome thin strand, pure and refined.

It looked delicate. Sacred.

SNAP!

As I tried to open my fingers wider, the mana thread snapped.

I used my fingers to stick more and stretched them.

SNAP!!

Again, they broke.

Beads of sweat trickled down, traces of exhaustion eating into my body like endoparasites.

Still, I didn't stop.

Somehow, I was hellbent on stretching the magical particles into longer threads.

It felt like something I had to do, as if I wanted to accomplish it at all costs.

SNAP!!

Again. And again.

Then it happened.

I stretched it, three silver, intricate threads, like glistening spiderwebs.

Their lustre shimmered, catching the golden light from the crystals at the corners of the room.

I beamed brightly, quietly, proudly, in that way one does when something long desired finally falls into place.

Then I felt it, my strength draining out of my body like water through a cracked jar.

I had reached my limit.

Still, I smiled wholeheartedly, collapsing on the bed, my vision fading thereafter.

[Ding!]

[+300% Experience Points]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[New Skills Acquired!]

[Magic Sense]

[Arcane Weave]

_____

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Even though our MC had awakened an overpowered skill, I still feel that he have to earn his place in this world.

Thanks for reading.