Chapter 25: Paths

"Aly, What kind of craft do you want to pursue?" Mom asked.

It was morning. We are eating breakfast, a hot pot of Domr meat, milk, and fruit slices.

"We are going to open our own business." Dad supplemented, "While Feyan supports us as a nurturer, she also makes jewelry and sells it to merchants. Me specializing in gem cutting and metalworking, we complement each other. You don't have to pick something that compliments us, but as a Runalymo, you need to pick at least one."

"It doesn't have to be a craft, arts work too, like your music, but you also don't have to pick only one. Kanato has gem cutting, metalworking, and woodworking, although she isn't specialized in the last one."

What did I want to pursue? Music, I suppose, but I also have four general skill slots open. Hmmm, A craft. Something to work towards? Art? Both? Woodworking, Metalworking, Tailoring, Jeweler, I doubt there is a skill for all that isn't a class skill. These skills already encompass several things.

Mom is more specialized in just jewelry, dad has an advanced metalworking skill but just gem cutting instead of gem working. There is also enchanting. Why don't I go into gems and enchanting? Gems are used to in enchanting so they can help make powerful magical items. Yeah, why not? I am specialized in mana sensory, so it fits! But if I am also going into gems, I'll also need Metalworking or something to make the base to fit the gems into and have something to enchant.

If that's the case, why take gem cutting? I can just have dad cut the gems for me and specialize in enchanting and one other thing. Unless gem forging is a thing? Hmmm, it's already close to a class skill. I don't want to risk it. Out of four skill slots, do I really want to use three of them for crafting?

"I already specialize in magic. I'll take enchanting," I declare.

"Enchanting is really hard to get, but I know you can do it!" Mom said, encouragingly

"If you want to play to your strengths, then you should also consider mana weaving. Being able to make the ice silk that the ribbon of your hair ornament is made from."

Mana weaving? That does sound right up my alley! But doesn't it also sound a little bit like mana manipulation? I wonder if I can still get the skill.

"That's also a hard one; not many people are able to mana weave," Mom said, looking expectantly at me.

"I can try to get both," I said, giving into Mom's expectations.

Our village has four mana weavers and two enchanters. I decided to try [Mana Weaving] first as I am worried it might be too close to [Mana Manipulation].

The mana weaver we visited was a tall woman with black hair and black eyes.

"Well, if it's you, I have no doubt you'll be able to do it," She said when I asked her to teach me. "First, you need to focus on the mana in the air. Try to condense it into a very thin and fine line of mana. This does use your own mana, so how much you have determines how much you can make at one time. It is possible to weave your own mana, too, but that's extremely hard to do."

Yeah, this is [Mana Manipulation]. Still, is it even possible to get [Mana Weave] without getting a breakthrough in mana manipulation instead?

With my [Sense Mana], like I did when gaining [Manipulate Mana], I focused and tried my best not to use [Mana Manipulation]. I focused until nothing else was in my mind and condensed the mana in the air into threads; several chimes echoed in my mind.

Ting! Mana Manipulation has met requirements for a breakthrough. Mana Manipulation will now continue leveling past level 70!

Ting! Mana Manipulation has obtained level 50!Ting! Mana Manipulation has obtained level 51!Ting! Mana Manipulation has obtained level 52!

Fuck.

"Wow, you're a natural!" The weaver said.

"She's a genius after all!" Mom bragged with a huge smile.

"It's not that I have a talent for it," I corrected them. "It's [Mana Manipulation], I already have a skill for it; all it did was give me another breakthrough," I said with no joy.

"You have a more advanced skill?" The weaver asked

"It's a cursed skill," I informed her. "You'll need a class for it if you don't want it cursed."

"There's always enchanting," Mom said optimistically.

"Thank you for teaching me," I said to the weaver.

We left to go to the enchanter. Mom's tail swished more exaggeratedly to counterbalance her gravid belly.

"If you already have a skill for something, is it even possible to get another skill for it?" I ask Mom. I really should have asked this before trying [Mana Weaving]

"Not as far as I am aware of. If your skill is of lower-tier, then it's possible to upgrade the skill, but that's hard to do."

Hard to do or haven't figured out a method to do so?

I want to upgrade my [Charm]. [Acting] is an art, so I'd get a bonus to it, and I'd have more ways and opportunity to level it up. Maybe I should roleplay? Cosplay too? Speaking of we don't have theater plays here, maybe I could introduce it? Well, once that knowledge comes back to me, it's there, whatever it is, but I don't have full access to it yet.

We arrive at the enchanter's house. There is a sign outside in beautiful calligraphy advertising his profession.

"Welcome. What can I do for you." The tall woman said.

"I'd like to learn how to enchant!" I said

"[Enchanting] is incredibly hard to do. Less than one in a thousand are able to do it, but for someone who saved us from that storm, I'm sure you'd have a good chance to do it!" The enchanter said before going into the back of the shop and taking out a piece of violet cloth.

"Lightning silk. One of the easiest enchantments is the illusory ones. By attaching your mana, you can have illusory lightning mana to safely flow over the cloth. The most important thing is the image. You'll fail to enchant it if you don't have the proper image."

"So it's similar to casting a spell?" Mom asked.

"Yes, you are effectively casting a spell on the cloth."

"Do enchantments wear off over time?" I asked.

"Yes, but true masters seem to have a way to make it last so long it might as well be permanent."

I take the cloth from the enchanter and focus on it. I need to attach my mana, but first, I need the image. I imagined lightning coursing through the fabric. I felt my mana transform; lightning mana combined with light mana formed within me, using my reserves, but it wasn't pure lightning mana. Was there a type of essence somehow fused with it? Was it acting as a glue to combine the light and lightning mana? I don't quite understand what's going on here.

I push this specific mana into the cloth, letting the MM force do most of the work for me, except I'll need more of that essence and the light mana. Hence, I focus on duplicating more of it before the enchantment fully takes, watching the light mana with its strange essence stick to the lightning mana already present. Seeing as there is way more lightning mana, I didn't need to create as much, just enough for the enchantment to stick.

Ting! Mana Manipulation has met requirements for a breakthrough. Mana Manipulation will now continue leveling past level 80!Ting! Mana Manipulation has met requirements for a breakthrough. Mana Manipulation will now continue leveling past level 90!

Ting! Mana Manipulation has obtained level 53!…Ting! Mana Manipulation has obtained level 60!

I groan. Of course, it is Mana Manipulation. I should have guessed.

"That's... That's incredible! To be able to enchant at this level of proficiency is impressive! You are a genius enchanter! In a few years, you could surpass me!"

Before mom could open her mouth to brag, I held my hand up.

"It's Mana Manipulation again," I said flatly.

I am beginning to see why there's a divide between general skills and class skills. One is significantly more powerful than the other. Not to mention I got nine breakthroughs, barely even trying, well, [Sense Mana] is helping tons. Maybe enchanting and weaving are intermediate breakthroughs, but that means I have seven beginner-level breakthroughs. How many intermediate breakthroughs for [Mana Manipulation] are there?

Welp, let's see what the other breakthrough was, shall we?

Manipulate Mana: You have managed to reach out to the ambient mana and manipulate them. This will help you master the ways of manipulating mana outside of you.1st Breakthrough: You have learned how to manipulate elements. This will help you do so with less mana used.2nd Breakthrough: You have learned how to manipulate essence. This will help you do so with less mana used.3rd Breakthrough: You have learned to expand your area of control. This will help you master doing so4th Breakthrough: You have learned how to manipulate small amounts of mana. This will help you do so with less mana used.5th Breakthrough: You have learned how to manipulate large amounts of mana. This will help you do so with less mana used.6th Breakthrough: You have transformed an element into an essence. This will help you do so with less mana used.7th Breakthrough: You've learned to weave mana. This will help you spin fabric of pure mana.8th Breakthrough: You've learned how to cast spells; this will help you cast more powerful spells in the future.9th Breakthrough: You've learned to Enchant items. This will help you create and attach magical effects onto things.

Manipulate Mana: 10/101st Breakthrough: 10/102nd Breakthrough: 6/10 (Action: 2/5 Knowledge 4/5)3rd Breakthrough: 6/10 (Action: 2/5 Knowledge 4/5)4th Breakthrough: 3/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 2/5)5th Breakthrough: 10/106th Breakthrough: 4/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 3/5)7th Breakthrough: 3/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 2/5)8th Breakthrough: 4/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 3/5)9th Breakthrough: 4/10 (Action: 1/5 Knowledge 3/5)

Damnit! Casting spells too?! There goes being a mage; what can I do now? Am I stuck being forced to use [Mana Manipulation]? The cost isn't too great that I know of, but the more I level it up, the more my evolutions will be corrupted. I need advice again. I have another meeting with the guardian coming up, so that's my chance.

"Mana Manipulation?" The enchanter said, "Is that a more advanced skill?"

I told the enchanter about the class skill and left with mom.

"There are other things, Aly. You could be a mage!"

"Casting spells fall under Mana Manipulation, too; the only thing magical I have that hasn't been corrupted is my Bond."

Silence fell between us.

I need to level my Bond to two hundred before my next evolution and before I get my class. If I can get a class based on my Bond rather than casting magic, it might not be corrupted.

"Chyzu knows more about mage classes; maybe you can ask her? I know that you don't always need the skill to cast spells," Mom suggested.

I nodded, and we went to the mage dojo. Mom got a bowl of Ice cream from Efula in an attempt to cheer me up.

"There are three types of mages,'' Chyzu Explained. "Caster mages, Non-Casters, and Bond mages. All of them have advantages and disadvantages. Casters are by far the most versatile able to cast any spell of their element. Advanced casters can even cast some essence spells. Casters do suffer from needing to focus on their spells, so skills like [Clear Mind] or even better, [Unbreakable Focus] are a must."

"Non-Casters are mages without the skill to cast spells. Instead, they have dedicated skills for a spell. They are far more powerful but lack the ability to adapt to any situation, so a lot of training and consideration must be made for each spell. Sometimes you have to drop an otherwise good spell for a defensive or perception-based skill, but the major advantage is being able to level up that skill and expand it with breakthroughs."

"Bond mages are solely focused on their Bond. Instead of using their class to round out their abilities or cover weaknesses, Bond mages flip that around and dedicate their class to boosting their Bond. Naturally, Bond mages are the most powerful mages but suffer from the same weaknesses as non-casters. Bond mages can also specialize in just a few Bond skills rather than your entire Bond class. Your fairy summons, for example, could become more powerful themselves than you. For example, casting your [Beauty Beam] through them could be more damaging than if you used it yourself."

"Classes have ten skills, so having ten skills augmenting a few Bond skills could make those super powerful; of course, you leave yourself very vulnerable by doing that. So the least powerful but most flexible are casters, in the middle are non-casters, then bond casters, and then the least flexible but most powerful are bond skill casters."

This was a very eye-opening explanation; I never knew mages could be so varied.

"What about general casters?" I ask. "Casters that can cast all elements"

"Good question. Someone with [Casting] as a general skill can cast any spell. Still, they also don't have any classes to boost them, so they are the weakest even though the skill itself is strong than, say, [Fire Casting]. While it is possible to get a general caster class, it's hard to do, and generally weaker anyway as the normal plus one hundred percent to an element likely won't be there. Hence, they are at best half as strong, and that's not including skills that boost elemental magic like my [Water Affinity] skill."

In other words, there's always going to be a trade-off, jack of all trades, or master of one. I could already be considered a general caster as I have [Mana Manipulation] which seems to be from an advanced general caster class.

"Is there any way to level my Bond faster?" I ask a Bond class or non-caster beauty mage class may be an option for me, maybe even a light-based class.

"Hmm, not really, no. The most you can do is try to find new ways to apply your bond to or use it in new situations'' I could tell that Chyzu isn't telling me everything; she knows a better way but doesn't want to tell me. I know there is a better way. I leveled my Bond like crazy during the super storm, and that was just using my Grace of Wholeness and Aura of Elegance, which spread out the efficiency of my healing.

The weeks went by with me focusing more and more on my Bond. To the point where I had every skill I could run constantly. [Grace of Wholeness], [Aura of Elegance], [Summon Familiar], [Beauty Enhancement]. When practicing music, I use [Imbue Beauty] every chance I get.

I used to get one level every week, but after a month I only got one now. There is no way I was going to reach two hundred at this rate.

Should I evolve now? Or is there maybe a faster way?

I had gotten used to having my familiar follow me around, healing based as not to accidentally hurt anyone. At first, people were surprised, but it soon became the norm for me to have a strange creature of mana following me everywhere. Mom and Dad had given me time to sort things out and not pursue the topic of my future in an art or craft. I have music, after all, and that does satisfy the Runalymo tradition of following arts and or crafts.

"Momara, can we visit the Guardian early this time? I know we still have a few months before the normal time, but there are a few things I want to ask the Guardian." I ask my mom. Dad was out somewhere; she's been looking for a good place to set up a shop. A house big enough for us to live in and that has a storefront and workshop. It'll have to be built, and Mom and Dad have discussed the layout of it. The bottom floor would be the workshop and storefront, while the second floor would be where we live.

"Is it related to the cursed skill?" I nodded.

Also, I need advice on how to plan around my cursed skill. It's definitely going to corrupt a number of class options, and the number one go-to about cursed skills seems to be the knowledgeable Guardian.

"Very well, We'll go in a few days. first, let us have the new house location; we don't need any further distractions from that."

Tana has been progressing a lot with his new battle-oriented skills. [Battle Sense], a skill that lets him sense the flow of battle. [Weapon Arts], a top-tier general skill-based on weapon usage, although he specializes in swords. And [Battle Flow], A skill that works in tandem with [Battle Sense], helps him flow with battle to better react to his senses.

Tana is a true genius when it comes to martial arts. He's leveling his skills and getting breakthroughs in them like I was with my [Sense Mana] and [Mana Manipulation] skills. The strict Esofy has even called him a true prodigy!

For me, I'm still stuck on stances. Chyzu is forcing me to practice even though I had given up on it. I swear I am standing still!

After I had finally found something I was interested in, it turns out I couldn't pursue it. To say I was frustrated is an understatement. My base strength is below average, at nine. My endurance is at ten, so it's average. Only my agility is above, and that's probably because of my tail. Not to mention, that's just the average stat-wise. For Runalymo, The average seems to be twelve in strength, fourteen in agility, and fifteen in endurance. I am not physically inclined, so that pretty much takes martial arts and other physically strenuous activities off the table for me. Things like metalworking I'd be disadvantaged in.

Pretty much the only thing I have is being magically inclined, and that is now cut off from me. I didn't even know what to do with my future, but more and more paths for me are being closed off. I wish I had never gotten [Mana Manipulation].