Chapter 17: Mana Manipulation

"Absolutely incredible!" Chyzu exclaimed. "You must become one of my apprentices!"

Well, She would be able to help me level my bond a lot faster and teach me more about classes.

"Err, I'll have to ask my Momara about it." I'm not sure if I want to dedicate myself to fighting or competition. I'm not sure what I want to do. Music? Crafting? I've been so focused on my skill I never gave it any thought.

"You have to ask them!" Chyzu was starting to get a crazed look in her eye.

"Y-yeah..." Now I just want to get away from her.

Chyzu straightened up and addressed her Apprentices.

"Alright from now on Alysara is going to be joining us for training! Greet your new friend!" Chyzu usher me forward. The others stared at me like wolves eyeing down a helpless sheep. Doesn't help when the youngest of them look to be thirteen.

"L-La-Laeso" I weakly said, taking a shaky half step back. Yeah, I'm not good with these things. Other kids my age? Sure. Other kids twice my height and age? Nope. Hundreds of very important people? Hell no.

"Don't be like that Aly, Show us what you got!" Chyzu encouraged.

Did she forget about the martial fighters? Well, they are looking interested too. Crap that makes it worse. I don't have anything, just one measly laser beam! I want to get out of here. How? Oh, I know! Charm to the rescue!

I droop my ears and tail, already noticing an increase in cuteness essence, and look down. "I-I'm not sure i-if I can." for added effect I gave a little sniffle. If Chyzu could have she'd probably have a rocket nosebleed. Even the expression of the other students changed from looking at me like fresh meat to looking at me like I need to be protected.

Chyzu couldn't hold herself back and hugged me to her large bosom, rubbing her cheek against mine.

"Daaww! You're the cutest thing ever!"

Ting! Charm has met requirements for a breakthrough. Charm will now continue leveling past level 30!

Ting! Charm has obtained level 23!…Ting! Charm has obtained level 26!

Charm: you have used words or actions to significantly change some's course of action. This skill will help you charm people easier.1st Breakthrough: You have convinced someone to give you something they normally wouldn't have, this will let you master the manipulative ways to get what you want.2nd Breakthrough: You have used your cute wiles to avoid punishment. This will help you master getting and keeping away from the consequences of your actions.3rd Breakthrough: You've purposely increased your cuteness essence to influence others. This will make it more effective.

That's a pleasant surprise. I note down what levels I think I got.

Charm: 10/101st Breakthrough: 6/10 (Action: 3/5 Knowledge 3/5)2nd Breakthrough: 6/10 (Action: 3/5 Knowledge 3/5)3rd Breakthrough: 4/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 3/5)

I was finally let go. "Don't worry! We'll show you what you need to know! You've seen the competitions not too long ago, didn't you? Do you have any questions on how everything works?"

Dangit, no freedom. And she's acting like I am already allowed in.

"A-Actually, I've never seen them before. My Sense Mana doesn't go that far." I said. My range is one meter per two levels which is now close to fifty meters radius. Since I was practicing my music for so long we were one of the last ones to the coliseum and had to take some of the furthest seats so it was too far away for my range to reach the arena.

"Oh well, I'll explain it to you then!" Chyzu said cheerfully.

The martial instructor cleared her throat.

"Our students are having a competition, you can explain it to her sometime in the next few years seeing as how she is too young to even have a class yet." The martial instructor seems like a no-nonsense kind of person while Chyzu seems like the excitable bubbly type.

"Oh, right! It's always exciting to have a new student I forgot!" Chyzu stuck her tongue out and bopped her head in a 'teehee' pose.

I was forced to watch the fights but it ended up more thrilling than I'd admit. The close calls, the displays of magic, and the beautiful dance of the martial artists. It even got my blood pumping once or twice.

Mom came to pick me up and Chyzu instantly jumped on her.

"Alysara is joining us!"

Mom looked at me with an eyebrow raised. I shook my head.

"Aly is only five years old. Maybe once she has her first class but right now she should try other things"

"But she can come and watch right? She can practice her bond under my supervision and I can teach her how to better her bond!" Chyzu argued. If only she had a charm skill.

"She is not getting into any fights!" Mom put her foot down. "But yes, she can come and practice if she wants to"

"Then it's agreed! Welcome aboard Alysara!"

"Did you not hear a word I said?" Mom said incredulously

"That's just how she is, don't worry. If Alysara gets hurt I'll beat Chyzu black and blue" The martial instructor said. "I'm Esofy, by the way"

We went to the baths to end the workday. No oil this time as we are still rationing it, even more now that our stockpile is dwindling. It's actually considered communal property and the village sells it to the other villages to pay for everything. I don't know what it's like for the other villages and what they specialize in but from what I gathered a long time ago there was only one type of tree in this area. Well more like a very thick type of fruit-bearing bamboo. Anyway, it has been selectively cultivated for several purposes. It was mentioned one day that the trees grown for building material have stopped producing fruits altogether, instead of producing tough nuts. I wonder if anyone has tried to eat them or roast them?

I noticed Myrou's projections smiling and winking at me. It's something I've come to realize is more akin to my bond and my Impart Instructions skill. It's not actually Myrou but more like an automated guidance helper.

"Do you really want to be a Kheshamo?" Mom asked. Dad has not yet arrived.

I thought for a minute. It was enjoyable watching them when I wasn't trying to unravel the mysteries of mana. However, do I really want to fight? This is a cozy place where I can live my life in peace, but I'd just be fighting for the fun of it. It's more akin to a sports competition, it's not like my life would be in danger.

"You don't have to answer now." Mom said. "You still have years to decide if you really want to."

Mom's right. I unlock my class at age ten, I still have years to think about the path I want to go down.

Dad soon joined us and I bragged about my tenth breakthrough. After getting home I sat in my room and meditated focusing on a small amount of mana in front of me. I purposely focus on any mana as that's the easiest. I try to move the mana but found no purchase on the energies. I focus all my [Sense Mana] on that specific mana, ignoring all else, and willed it to move, to resist the downward draft, and stay floating in front of me. Slowly, as if waking up from a deep slumber I felt something, like a phantasmal limb, a mental grasp of the mana. It fell through my 'fingers' like holding water but the more I focused and the harder I try, putting my whole will into it the mana started to feel like fine sand, still slipping through but not so much I had little effect on it.

I noticed a drain on my mana reserves. No, not drain, My mana is being transformed into the mana I am trying to manipulate.

I heard a "ting!" go off in my mind.

That was kind od hard to do, although I might have had an advantage because my [Sense Mana] is so high.

Ting! You have gained the Manipulate Mana Cursed skill!

Ting! Manipulate Mana has obtained level 2!Ting! Manipulate Mana has obtained level 3!Ting! Manipulate Mana has obtained level 4!

Manipulate Mana: You have managed to reach out to the ambient mana and manipulated them. This will help you master the ways of manipulating mana outside of you.

I noticed a second sphere around me. An area of control where I can manipulate and control mana.

Why do I always find ways to find cursed skills?! I chastised myself. Cursed skills are very powerful, but, well, they're cursed. It's obviously not a good thing. I can't help but think about what might happen to me, what I might have lost in exchange for this power. I had to know.

Using Manipulate Mana on another patch of mana I flinch in preparation for pain but it never came. Instead, I noticed my mana transforming into the mana I am manipulating. The price seems to be my mana reserves. Manipulation came a lot easier to me now, feeling more like I am picking up loose soil.

Astral Projection seems to have no side effects. It's risky but that seems to be more of the nature of the skill.

Truesight causes extreme pain if I use my eyes.

Manipulate Mana doesn't use mana but instead transforms it, I will leak out the unusable mana so it's not poisoning my maximum reserves for long. I don't know if that's a function of the skill or not.

In any case. I should avoid using any cursed skills until I know better, and the best way to do that is to ask the Guardian who seems to know a surprising amount. Then again, if I have lived for who knows how long I would probably have learned a thing or two on curses.

I sigh. Mom and dad aren't going to like this but I have to know more about curses. I walk to my parents who are talking in their room. Probably discussing the possibility of me joining the Kheshamos. They stopped talking as I entered the room. My heart started beating faster as I mustered up the courage to let them in on the bad news.

"M-Momara" I stuttered, my ears dropping slightly. Mom instantly recognized something was wrong

"What is it, Aly?" She said in a too-sweet voice. She probably thought I had broken something.

"I-I got another cursed skill"

There was dead silence for about a minute, my parents letting the news sink in.

"What were you thinking?! Have you not learned from the last time you got one?!" Unexpectedly it wasn't Mom but Dad who blew up.

"Kanato" Mom said, trying to soothe her husband. "She probably doesn't even remember that" Mom touched dad's shoulder to further calm her. "She's lived her whole life with them so she probably doesn't even consider it unusual"

I think dad knows me a lot more. She was the first one to pick up that I can sense the world around me. She was the first one to treat me not as an average child but as someone who's shown a lot more maturity and understanding of the world, even if she misunderstood and thought I was simply a genius. Even now she has understood that somewhere in my subconscious I knew the risk.

It isn't fully my fault either. I still don't know what cursed skills are and why I got them, even if I know how I got them. I still have more general skills slots to fill yet the cursed skills don't take their place. It just seems that some skills are bad and some are good for unknown reasons.

Dad sighed. "You're right. Our little girl has always been so smart and mature I forget that she is just a five-year-old child."

"I have a lot of questions on cursed skills," I said jumping in. "But the only one who might know the answers is the Guardian."

Mom knelt down to me. "Aly, The guardian watches over us and protects us in our time of need. Even going out to hunt incredibly powerful monsters that would attack us. But it is disrespectful to bother her with mundane things"

"This is hardly mundane, and besides the Guardian seems to like her," Dad commented.

Mom is usually the reasonable one but never even thinks to go against tradition.

"I need to know, Momara. I'm scared of what might happen if I accidentally get more." It is the truth. With the message about 'cursed entities,' It terrifies me that I might be on a path to losing myself and becoming a monster.

"Alright, well meet the Guardian tomorrow." Mom relented.

I spent the night in my parent's bed, snuggled between them. Early next morning we had set out to temple island. A well-trodden path for me by now. We approached the Guardian's resting form, sleeping oddly similar to a cat. The guardian slowly rose her head.

I could feel the pressure of her mana pushing on mine, preventing me from leaking out mana. I watched as my mana started to seep into my body, overcharging my flesh.

Ting! Mana Toxicity Tolerance has obtained level 18!

"What brings you little ones here, so soon after your last visit?" The guardian said. Power and curiosity in her voice.

I take a shaky step forward.

"I seek your wisdom, Guardian!" I muster as much courage as I can to approach the most powerful being I can now comprehend.

Ting! Sense Mana has obtained level 97!Ting! Sense Mana has obtained level 98!

The sheer amount and intensity of her mana are almost blinding. She has not only a water based race and bond but also five classes. Four water based classes and one of an unknown essence. The intensity of her mana far surpasses anything I've ever seen. Making the storms look like a breeze in comparison. I can already tell she is retaining as much mana as she can to not kill us instantly.

"What is it you wish to know, Little one?" The Guardian asked. Letting me know that I'm not bothering her too much.

"I wish to know about curses. Cursed skills, cursed beings, what cursed skills are and if it's safe to use them"

"You gained another cursed skill?"

I nod. The Guardian rose up even more and puffed out her chest in a show of majesty. I wondered if I really am bothering her with mundane questions and a shiver of fear ran down my spine.

"You really are a talented one." The dragon said with power and... pride? "

"It is understandable to mistake general skills and any other skills. Especially for one who has not yet unlocked her first class, but do know that there is a difference. All skills can be class skills. But not all class skills can be general skills" The dragon explains in what I can only describe as a teacher lecturing a student. For some reason, I can imagine the dragon with a pair of spectacles and writing on a chalkboard.

"Cursed skills are class skills. Normally you can only obtain them from classes but with a dedicated enough mind and the talent to do so you can obtain a class skill without the class. Doing so, however, is not the correct way to gain such a skill and so some... contaminants are obtained as well. This is what the 'cursed' part means. The curses are side effects, some may be benign and you'll never know what they truly are. Some may result in a slow and gradual death. It is impossible to tell until the effects are felt"

I see, so cursed skills are class skills obtained improperly. True sight causes pain, Manipulate mana does something with my mana. And I don't know what astral projection does, but if there's a possibility that using it may kill me it's best that I never use it again.

"Generally it is safe to use the skills as long as the side effect is safe. But be warned that they may influence potential evolutions. Never forget about what I am going to tell you. Never, Never take an evolution or class that has been influenced by a curse of any kind. Doing so will change you into a cursed being."

I gulped, what would have happened if I had taken the All-Seeing Runalymo or Phantom Runalymo? Then there's the risk that comes with leveling up the skill. The higher the level the more it might influence potential evolutions. Potentially making me lose what would have been a good evolution. I resolved myself to not level any cursed skill at least until I have my next race evolution

"Cursed beings are very powerful beings, some are even on par with legendary beings if not greater. But they are mindless beasts whose soul has been destroyed by their transformation into a cursed being. They are a husk that consumes and destroys every living thing."

I gulped again, that could have been me a few years ago.

"Many things can result in curses or immediate transformation into cursed beings. Cannibalism for one. No matter how much, no matter why, if you eat another of your race your soul is destroyed and you soon transform into a cursed being"

Like mana attracts like. I realized. The magic from your race is too similar. Eating another person will combine their race mana and their magic with yours, but doing so is a very unclean way, the very slight differences become the contaminates! And since it alters your current race you immediately become a cursed being.

Finally knowing the why to a long-standing question is very satisfying, and it is likely that I am one of the very few who actually knows it.

"You seem to have some insight on that matter," The Guardian said, noticing my subtle change in moods and expression.

I explained what I just realized to the dragon.

"Hmm, interesting. We dragons as part of our race have [Mana Sight]. As it is part of our race we cannot improve upon it but we can learn. You may not know but breakthroughs simply alter the magic of the skill to incorporate it. One can still learn to do the breakthrough with enough effort and knowledge. You have given me new insight on how to improve my abilities, I thank you, Little one"

"Now, I have answered your questions, and you have answered some of mine. You'll need rest to recover from the mana toxicity you've built up. When next we meet I'll ask you of any more insight you've managed to gain on mana and magic"

Although the dragon said I was suffering from mana toxicity, which was right. I can tell the dragon too is suffering from it and probably wants to rest.

I bowed to the Guardian and made a quick retreat with my parents.