After that hellish training with Arthur, I took a warm bath. Now I was seated on one of the chairs in my room, staring at the blue lightning crackling across my hand. It was genuinely fascinating.
Ever since I formed my mana heart and mana core, I was able to call upon my lightning affinity with just a thought. Not only that, but I could feel the energy flowing out from both my mana core and mana heart, being pumped through my veins, giving off a surprisingly pleasant sensation.
I kept turning the lightning on and off repeatedly. If anyone were watching from outside my window, they would see a blue light flickering intermittently in the darkness.
I was testing whether simply manifesting an affinity consumed mana, and if it did, how quickly my mana would deplete without actually using any spells.
And well… it did consume mana.
I could feel the mana in my core being drained at an extremely slow rate. In fact, it felt like I could keep the lightning active until the next day if I wanted to. That alone made me wonder if this was truly the amount of mana a beginner was supposed to have.
"I guess manifesting an affinity doesn't consume much compared to spells," I muttered. "I'll need to test how many 1st-circle spells I can cast and how many 1-star techniques I can unleash before my mana runs dry."
Earlier before I had taken a bath, I had asked Evelyn to bring me books about 1st circle spells , and regards the sword techniques Arthur was going to teach me himself.
"And on top of that…" I sighed. "I still have to deal with my cosmos affinity."
My expression darkened at the thought.
Before experimenting with my lightning affinity, I had tried to call upon my cosmos affinity first. And well… it didn't go well.
For some reason, I couldn't manifest it at all, even after forming my mana core. It still refused to show itself, and no matter what I tried, nothing happened.
That pissed me off more than I wanted to admit. Still, I had a rough idea as to why it wasn't responding. I believed there was some kind of condition I needed to fulfill.
That was the only explanation I could come up with.
Just like in fantasy stories, powerful abilities always required some condition to be met. Sometimes it involved spilling one's blood, facing a trial, or proving one's worth before the power would awaken.
But how was I supposed to meet a condition I didn't even know existed? Worse, this was an affinity with no historical records explaining how to control it.
I frowned, then suddenly my eyes widened.
I remembered something from earlier, right after I finished training.
When I had looked up at the stars, I felt something stir deep within me. A strange connection.
"Maybe…" I murmured slowly. "Maybe I need to be under the stars for it to manifest?"
It sounded absurd. An affinity that required a specific environment just to be accessed? None of the books I had ever read mentioned anything like that.
But then again…
The cosmos affinity was an unknown power, filled with secrets no one understood. If it truly represented the stars and space itself, then trying to manifest it under the night sky wasn't such a crazy idea. Ideally, I would need to be in space, but since that was impossible, the stars would have to suffice.
I really wished Virgil had given me some kind of guide about this, but whatever. I would go outside after dinner, at midnight, when the stars were brightest.
With that decided, I turned my thoughts to another issue I had been facing. Well, not exactly an issue I couldn't have solved earlier if I had asked Arthur. I had simply forgotten about it, and he hadn't mentioned it either.
It was about switching between my two mana reservoirs.
As a dual-path awakener, I could willingly choose which reservoir to use when casting spells or techniques. This allowed me to conserve one reservoir for later use or even use both simultaneously for advanced techniques like swordplay combined with magic.
I wanted to figure this out on my own first. If I failed, I could always ask Arthur tomorrow.
"Now… how do I do this?" I muttered. "How do I even start?"
I closed my eyes and thought carefully.
"I know I have to consciously choose between my mana heart and mana core," I reasoned. "I need to select one without accidentally using both."
It wasn't like permanently cutting one off, that would be suicide. It was more like… two chandeliers in a room, each connected to its own switch. If both switches were turned on, both chandeliers would light up, drawing more electricity and increasing the power bill. But if only one switch was on, only one chandelier would be lit, consuming less energy.
"So all I need to do is create switches."
With my plan set, I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, focusing inward until I saw my two reservoirs.
My mana heart pulsed vividly, a blue mana ring spinning around it. My mana core glowed intensely red, rotating counterclockwise. No matter how many times I saw them, it still amazed me that such things existed inside my body.
I decided to start with my mana core.
I focused on it, on the mana stored inside, and tried to create something like a dam. Not physically or spiritually, but conceptually. I wanted my mana core to understand that I didn't want to use its mana yet, to behave as if there was a wall blocking it from flowing outward when I cast spells or enhanced my body.
I didn't sever its connection with my mana heart. That would've ended with my body exploding.
Surprisingly, it worked on the first try.
The circulation between the two reservoirs continued normally, but the enhancement I received from my mana core dropped drastically. I instantly felt weaker, as if my strength had been cut in half.
"Fuck…" I muttered, feeling dizzy from the sudden loss of power.
"It actually worked… hehe," I laughed, satisfied.
I tried calling upon my lightning affinity, but nothing happened. Since my mana core's "switch" was off, the lightning refused to manifest. I couldn't test my mana heart yet since I hadn't learned any spells, so I would do that later.
Next, I tested the opposite. I turned off my mana heart's switch and left the mana core active.
The results were the same, except this time I could still produce lightning.
Magic really was fascinating.
Then, a sudden idea struck me.
"What if I turn both switches off?" I wondered. "Wouldn't that make me a normal human again?"
Most people would think that was pointless. Why give up magic when you had it? But for me, it made perfect sense. There could be situations where hiding my power was necessary. Stealth. Deception.
Wouldn't it be useful to appear as a mundane human to someone I didn't want knowing my true strength?
Then another thought followed.
"But would it even work?" I frowned. "Even if I stop both reservoirs from enhancing my body, could someone of a higher rank still sense that I'm awakened?"
Those questions needed answers. I decided to ask Arthur before attempting anything reckless.
"I don't want my body exploding," I muttered, shivering at the thought.
I restored the mana flow to normal, feeling my strength return to its original state. Opening my eyes, I glanced toward the corner of my room where a mountain of gifts sat untouched.
"Right… I still haven't opened the gifts I got after awakening."
Standing up, my body aching from training, I walked over. "Let's see what I got from those old geezers."
Most of these gifts probably came from older family members trying to buy my goodwill. I wasn't surprised. Who wouldn't want someone with the rarest affinity on their side? I'd do the same in their position.
"Honestly, I doubt any of these can surpass what the Empress gave me," I muttered. "What gift is better than money? Well… potatoes are better, but you can't buy potatoes without money!"
With the funds she gave me, I had already planned to buy land far away someday and retire peacefully.
Maybe I'd start a farm. Raise chickens. Grow lots of potatoes.
Potato farming infinite glitch.
Putting those brilliant ideas aside, I began opening the gifts.
The first box was white and contained a golden necklace. "Boring." I wasn't a fan of jewelry, but it could always be sold. I stored all ordinary jewelry into my ring as I continued opening boxes.
More jewelry.
"Tsk. These fuckers couldn't even give me clothes?" I muttered. "The drip in this world is immaculate."
As if the world heard me, I opened a large black box tied with golden twine. Inside was a full black overcoat made from soft, comfortable fabric.
"Oh… hello there, beauty," I whistled. "Now this is a gift."
Before taking it out, I noticed a folded white letter.
A letter?
I unfolded it carefully. The handwriting was neat and elegant. Definitely from a woman.
I read it aloud.
"Greetings Prince Lucas, I write this letter to congratulate you on your affinity awakening. It was truly a great sight to see such a beautiful affinity being awakened by you and I welcome you into the family with open arms. I certainly did not know what kind of gifts or things you like but seeing how stylish your dressing code is I thought I would give you something special."
"Oh, does anyone actually appreciate my dressing style? Thank you." I said as I kept reading.
"This is not just any normal coat, it is a magical coat made specially for you. I had asked an archmage friend to make it himself and add some functions. The first function is that it automatically adjusts to the wearer's size no matter how small or big they are, meaning that you will be able to use it even when you grow up and you can adjust the size at will, very effective I'd say."
Reading that sentence made me stunned with surprise because the person who sent the gift personally asked an Archmage to make it which was completely absurd. An Archmage was someone that reached the 8th circle or 9th circle, that was a rank near the pinnacle of magic, someone with power and influence. To believe that someone of that stature made a magical coat just for me, it was unbelievable.
"This coat definitely costs a fortune." I said with a tone of admiration.
"The second function is that it has its own spatial storage inside the inner pockets, you can store many things as you like. The third function is that it can change colors and style to your liking and it would be great if you wanted to match with other outfits. The fourth and last function, the best feature of the coat, protects you from any attack from the 1st circle to the 6th circle, however it is only a one time use, you can activate it whenever you want so choose wisely. Oh and for you to bind the coat to you so no one other than you can use it, just inject your blood circular silver rune on the lower pocket by putting one of your fingers on it"
My eyes went even wider and a grin spread on my face. "Haha, what kind of amazing gift is this, another spatial storage? Say less. I suddenly felt like a certain ugly squid. " And it can even protect me from any attack until the 6th circle, holy shit!"
This was indeed a life changer, I now had something that can protect me from someone stronger than me if I ever got jumped, the only downside is that it is only a one time use but it was still a great gift.
Following the instructions laid on the letter, I removed the coat from the box and scanned the coat until I found the circular silver run on one of the outside pockets. Without delay, I rested my index finger on it, then a sharp pain assaulted my finger as if something bit it, I then withdrew my finger and watched my blood being sucked by the silver rune that was now glowing and slowly disappearing. I suddenly felt a connection between me and the coat being established just like my spatial ring.
"These things and taking my blood."
I proceeded to put the coat on, it felt really comfortable. Once I put it on completely, the coat suddenly stretched until my ankles while the arms stretched until my wrist fits perfectly. I moved to the mirror to see how I look and oh boy, I looked like a model, no joke.
"This face really is a killer, ahem, I'm not narcissistic, it's just facts."
I then decided to change colors with a thought, the coat obeyed then it changed to green, then to purple, i kept changing with different colors.
I suddenly had an amazing thought, "What if…"
My coat changed from indigo to black but there was something different : potato designs were now all over from the front to the back of the coat.
"Shit, this is so cool." I cleaned a fake tear coming out of my eye with a finger. After I finished doing my shenanigans with the coat, I reverted back to full black color. I'm not planning to be seen with potatoes all over my body, I would be called crazy!
I then looked at the letter again and continued reading.
"I hope you enjoy your gift, and if you one day you'd like to thank me personally, you could come to my mansion to visit and we could make some bab…ahem, banquet of potatoes, I heard you liked them from the maids. Take care, from your dear beautiful and lovely aunt, Lara."
"Thank you very much, I will definitely pay a visit, I can't say no to potatoes." I said with a smile. "But I wonder who this Lady is, never heard of her."
Casting those thoughts away, I moved to the other gifts.
Authors note: Fixed the chapter.