17 A fistful of earth (2/2)

He was thinking about how to make the Perception Skill stronger.

What can I do? I was an idiot to think that it would have been as easy as train the body. The ways of Mana are indeed mysterious. I'll need to work harder.

Helial had naively tried to train one of the first Skills created as if it were a muscle, but with little success. He clenched his fists. He had to keep calm, but he couldn't do it.

That crazy idea of his was putting his sister at risk. He needed more strength. He absolutely needed to find a way.

Mana Reflowing had helped him to calm down.

He put his hands on the ground. He grabbed a fistful of sandy soil and let it run through his fingers. He was trying to think.

The sand was tickling his fingers, while the solid earth was resisting his pressure.

He looked at Lumia. Her little body looked so frail… Her small chest rose and fell rhythmically.

He kept fiddling with the earth. At first glance, it had looked hard and solid, but it was actually brittle.

Once in the hand, it gives a totally different feeling…

!

Helial had an Epiphany.

Nervously, he activated the Skills necessary for training.

Skill Activated:

Perception

Skill Activated:

Communion with Mana

He steadied his breathing to focus as much as possible. This time, he did not extend his senses beyond two yards. He could perceive Lumia's weak Aura. It was very delicate, but there was something more to it.

As he observed the girl's Aura with his mind, Helial noticed that it was like looking at a picture through a fogged glass. He sensed there was much more to be seen. Just like when he had grabbed that fistful of earth, he noticed right away that what his eyes perceived did not match what he touched.

He thought of using that same idea to train Perception. Perception took advantage of the Mana resonance to detect everything in the surroundings. It was some kind of tuning in with Mana.

Helial focused all his energies to examine the Mana coming from Lumia's body. It was weak, but there was something more.

He employed all his mental power. Since young, Helial had always possessed an extraordinary control over Mana. But he had not been much educated on how to develop Skills. Actually, he had not received any education at all, creating his own Skills, like Perception and Mana Pistol.

He began using his Mana as if caressing Lumia's. He slowly ran over that feeble Aura, just like a whisper. He breathed in and hugged all of Lumia's Aura.

In her sleep, Lumia felt enveloped by a warm, soothing hug.

Helial could now see so much more. Everything was becoming clear before his eyes. Before he was blind, but now he could see. Lumia's Aura was not only steady, it contained an amazing power. It was Earth Affinity. Helial could see that the Aura condensed in some points, then it flowed away and condensed again. It was wondrous to behold. It was as though flames were condensing and then dissipating, in an infinite cycle.

In that moment, everything else disappeared, there were only him and Lumia. He could sense her Aura with exceptional clarity. This was well beyond the normal control even for someone in the First Phase.

While Helial was deep in that meditative state, notification windows started to pop up.

Mana Control allows you to perceive the outside world with incredible clarity.

You will be now able to distinguish other people's unique Auras.

From now on, any physical disguise people might use will not be able to fool you.

Perception reached Level 10!

Helial was so deeply focused that he did not notice the notifications.

Only few people in the continent are able to reach this state before the Third Phase.

You reached the level 'Mind's Eye'.

Your Stats receive a positive influence!

Intelligence +20

Wisdom + 40

Helial was almost in a coma state. It was as if he had always been blind and now he had received the gift of sight. After perceiving Lumia's Aura in that way, he started examining his surroundings.

The ground inside the cave looked alive. Its Mana had a resemblance with that of Lumia, but much more vivid. Every element was naturally imbued with Mana Energy.

He used the Skill to examine the entire cave. He observed the walls. Their Mana was of the same type as the ground, but with a much higher density. That Mana radiated a warm, reassuring feeling, but stable and firm at the same time.

Helial was not aware of the fact that he was having an Epiphany. It was a special state in which people found the key to unlock the secret for a Skill or get a glimpse of the path they must follow to get what they coveted.

Helial kept expanding the range of Perception. Now he had gotten outside the cave. The trees. The shrubs. The flowers and animals. He could sense everything clearly. He traveled even farther, as if no limits were constraining him anymore. Suddenly, Helial changed his focus and directed it towards the sky.

1000, 1500, 2000…

He could sense the birds flying. Their wings. Their feet flailing midair. Everything.

He shifted again. This time towards the depths of the earth.

There, Mana was richer and more difficult to examine.

Below the cave, there were iron lodes that extended for miles…

There was a huge block of iron right below the cave. It was not a lode, it was a mass of extremely dense Mana… How could that be destroyed to penetrate it or to extract the iron? It would have been very difficult.

Nevertheless, thanks to its meditative state, Helial was able to go further down into the gigantic iron lode. He felt an odd, warm energy pulsing in its depths. It was… fire?! Could it be magma? No, the heat was more gentle.Helial began to feel the vibrations of that Energy. It was incredible. It felt boundless and indestructible. Just when he was about to examine it closely, in his mind…

ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAR