Senseofbeing
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Chapter 33 - Leveling up the Foundational Skills
🕑 Added 2025-01-22 13:33:12 +0000 UTCAlaric examined the path leading through the collection of Witherbloom plants. He had completed the survival test inside the Witherbloom garden for 10 minutes and leveled up his [Mana Absorption] skill to level 7.
Of course, it became easier to absorb more mana as he leveled up the skill, which provided some leeway when the parasitic plants drained mana from his body.
However, the trick was to avoid letting the plants contact the body parts at the last minute. That was the main reason for the severe mana drain. Now, he was eager to discover what kind of new challenge the system introduced for this section.
When he approached the path, a system message appeared in his vision presenting a new challenge.
Advanced Challenge 2 - Find your exit through the Witherbloom Garden Maze without completely depleting the mana in your body.
The grinding of stone on stone reached his ears as he observed the whole garden floor shift, come apart, and rearrange itself to become the new testing ground.
Now, he noticed multiple paths leading deeper into the large garden, which had now transformed into a maze. Dense collections of Witherbloom plants bordered each of the paths, obscuring the view to the other side.
So, I have to enter this mana-draining maze, navigate through it, and locate the exit on the other side? Wonderful! Alaric chuckled.
Being completely deprived of mana, especially when you didn’t have a mana core, felt very discomforting. Like you had not eaten for days. However, Alaric was not the least bit concerned.
He had honed the ability to deplete the subtle energy of his root chakra in this new body since it was part of his training. And, that feeling was in no way less intense than experiencing your body completely devoid of mana.
He ventured into one of the paths leading to the hellish maze and immediately detected the drain on his mana.
However, Alaric promptly activated the [Mana Absorption] skill and maintained it, countering the mana drain. The constant absorption and depletion of mana was mentally and physically exhausting.
I cannot keep this up for more than 30 minutes. Alaric scanned the path leading deeper into the maze to locate some type of clue that would allow him to figure out where the exit was located. I have to find the exit soon.
As he went deeper, Alaric noticed the density of the Witherbloom plants on each side of the path increase, along with the mana drain. It was difficult to counter the mana drain after 10 minutes.
So, Alaric decided to shift his strategy. Instead of walking slowly, he started sprinting to cover more of the path.
This made it harder to concentrate on the [Mana Absorption] skill, and he was losing even more mana. However, it allowed him to cover more ground. Unfortunately, it seemed there was no end to the maze.
He continued sprinting and encountered many more paths. Each of them led to a dead end inside the maze.
Alaric was nearly out of mana at this point, physically and mentally exhausted, and almost out of the time limit.
No, there must be some kind of strategy to clear this maze. Otherwise, this challenge would be too difficult. He seated himself on the ground to recover some of his physical energy and absorb more mana.
I really miss my [True Vision] ability. This challenge would have been a piece of cake if I had it now. Just then, he conceived an idea. Alaric activated his fully leveled-up [Mana Sense] and scanned the area.
Time was running out. So, he rose after a moment and resumed scanning the surroundings.
Suddenly, he detected an unfamiliar mana signature in a corner that didn’t belong to the Witherbloom plants. He sprinted towards that corner but didn’t perceive anything different.
Only a wall of Witherbloom plants greeted his sight. However, as he approached to scrutinize it, he noticed a shimmering pattern barely discernible to the naked eye. Alaric grinned.
Found the exit. He plunged into the shimmering pattern right through the wall of Witherbloom plants and emerged on the other side of the maze. That last contact nearly exhausted the final remnants of mana inside his body, but he narrowly succeeded in completing the challenge.
Congratulations! You have completed the challenge.
Ding! Your skill [Mana Absorption] has leveled up. [Mana Absorption lvl 7 -> Mana Absorption lvl 8]
Alaric pumped his fist and celebrated his achievement. I did it. He turned around to survey the maze once more. Now, I just have to tackle it a few more times to max out the skill. He released a sigh.
Alaric navigated the Wither Bloom Garden Maze two more times. On subsequent attempts, the maze reconfigured itself and even introduced deceptive shimmers that led him back to the starting point.
This was initially frustrating. However, now that he had figured out the trick, it took him less than 20 minutes to exit the maze each time.
The entire time, he maintained his [Mana Absorption] skill, which proved to be an excellent method for training it. Once he finished the challenge, he reviewed the system notifications to assess his progress.
Ding! Your skill [Mana Absorption] has leveled up. [Mana Absorption lvl 8 -> Mana Absorption lvl 9]
Ding! Your skill [Mana Absorption] has leveled up. [Mana Absorption lvl 9 -> Mana Absorption lvl 10]
Overall, Alaric felt satisfied. It was a productive session. However, he had no intention of retreating. Instead, he proceeded to tackle the final challenge.
***
Alaric inspected the stone altar that featured the mana rune puzzles. This was the hardest test in the Mana Grove, and for good reason. It demanded skill, patience, control, and perseverance.
Still, he had conquered the previous challenges in record time and intended to do so again.
He approached the stone altar and awaited the challenge notification.
Advanced Challenge 3 - Solve the Multi-layered Mana Rune Puzzle.
The stone altar trembled, and the upper surface that contained the rune lines sliced into various sections, reassembling into a far more intricate and intimidating configuration.
When the stone altar completed its transformation, Alaric leaned in to analyze the changes.
He let out a whistle. The stone altar now displayed a three-dimensional puzzle grid where the mana node sections and rune lines were interconnected across multiple layers of vertical planes.
This is going to be troublesome…for most young Tier 0s.
Alaric advanced with a confident smile and placed his palm on the designated spot to channel his mana. As soon as he touched the stone surface, he sensed the familiar magnetic pull of mana from within the altar surge and settle down after a while.
He activated his [Mana Control] skill and began directing his mana through the rune channels.
Now, let’s see. Alaric scanned the multi-layered mana rune puzzle to locate all the mana socket nodes. However, it proved far more challenging than he initially anticipated.
The complex arrangement of the rune lines obstructed visibility through the layers. It was a new type of obstacle that wasn’t present in the flat-surface puzzles.
Alaric immediately deduced the purpose of such a sophisticated configuration.
He activated his [Mana Sense] and concentrated on detecting the mana socket nodes that were concealed from his view. As he anticipated, utilizing [Mana Sense] to locate the mana socket nodes proved much easier, and he began a journey to connect all of them slowly.
After some time, he triggered his [Mana Absorption] skill since channeling mana deeper through the rune lines consumed substantially more mana. The cumulative length of the multi-layered rune lines was far greater than those featured on a flat surface.
Beads of sweat appeared on his face, and he wiped them off with his free hand.
It became much harder to keep all three of his foundational skills simultaneously activated. However, Alaric managed to pull through since he had purified his solar plexus chakra, which enhanced his ability to regulate every form of energy.
He had connected 17 mana socket nodes and assumed he was close to completing the challenge when the system knocked him up with another surprise.
Some of the mana socket nodes began siphoning more mana, while others started repelling his mana.
He delicately adjusted the balance of mana he supplied to each mana socket node to prevent them from becoming overloaded or underloaded with mana. By the end, he was utterly drenched in sweat and mentally exhausted. But he succeeded in completing the challenge.
Ding! Your skill [Mana Control] has leveled up. [Mana Control lvl 7 -> Mana Control lvl 8]
Alaric plopped down on the ground, massaging his forearm.
Directing the flow of mana constantly through his arm put a mild strain on it. But it was nothing too severe. However, he was not looking forward to attempting the mana rune puzzle again.
Unfortunately, there was simply no way around it if he wanted to level up his skill quickly.
He rested for 20 minutes and recovered his depleted mana. It was getting a little late, but he was determined to see the challenge through to the end, no matter how long it took.
Alaric participated in the Multi-layered Mana Rune Puzzle a few more times to fully advance his skill. During the final attempts, the rune lines began shifting continuously midway through the puzzle, repeatedly disrupting a single connection to the mana socket nodes.
This caused him to fail a couple of times, but ultimately, he completed the final challenge.
Ding! Your skill [Mana Control] has leveled up. [Mana Control lvl 8 -> Mana Control lvl 9]
Ding! Your skill [Mana Control] has leveled up. [Mana Control lvl 9 -> Mana Control lvl 10]
Alaric sprawled on the floor, basking in the warmth of the sunlight on his skin. The final test had been mentally exhausting and required immense focus. No wonder it took others weeks to solve all these challenges.
Congratulations! You have completed the zone - Mana Grove. Would you like to proceed to the next zone - The Azure Caverns?
Note - It is recommended you form your mana core before entering the next section.
Alaric dismissed the system notification. He was driven but not insane. There was simply no good reason to attempt the next zone without forming his mana core first. He took one last glance at the Mana Grove and exited the Tutorial Rift.
As he returned to the real world, he spotted his friends snacking and chatting in the lounge area.
When Gareth noticed him, he hollered for Alaric to join them for some food. Alaric didn’t refuse the invitation. His stomach growled. I’m starving. Time to have some food. He strode toward the group, eager to share his accomplishments.
