Chapter: 89

[New Skill Acquired]

[Mana Membrane Level 1] (Passive)

Mild protection from various mental attacks; mana drain, mana burn, mana overload, destabilization, mental disarrangement.

[Cytokine Stabilization] (Passive, head only)

“Good. Practice that at least once a week.”

“Hmm wonder what a cytokine is…” wondered Jay as he realised he was being talked to, he looked up from the notification at Viladore.

“Oh, yeah sure.” he nodded “So how do I use this ‘essence’?” quizzed Jay, remembering what Sullivan said.

“Well, you’re meant to be learning about it tomorrow unless you happened to have discovered your essence today… there’s like a whole thing I have to explain to you before sending you off to find your essence.” He looked at Jay confused.

“Hmm, no I think I’ve found it…” Jay said as he stood up, backed away from Viladore and had his floating bone ring appear before Viladore – Viladore’s eye’s opening a little wider as they reflected the intermittent glows from the green wisps of gas floating between the bones orbiting around Jay.

“Wha…” Viladore was temporarily speechless.

Jay simply smiled as he plucked a stink-rat bone out of the air before the gentle bone-whirlpool disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

As Jay was sitting down, Viladore’s face cringed at the bone Jay had chosen as a wave of stench washed over him. It was still black from the marsh, the marrow inside probably rancid and rotting, what was left of the attached cartilage was absolutely stinking.

“No… this will be bad… for your concentration.” Viladore thought of an excuse as he grimaced “Have you got anything else?”

“Hmm…”

Jay returned the bone to his ring, not insulted at all “It’s completely understandable” he thought to himself, as he pulled out a stink-rat tooth from his inventory. “Hmm… these didn’t want to go into the bone ring so I stored them in my inventory. Perhaps they have other uses?” said Jay, holding 3 black teeth in his hands as he showed his teacher.

A little disgusted that someone’s essence was seemingly body parts, Viladore continued his lesson. “Ok so Sul… *ahem* the guild master” he corrected himself with a slight cough “wanted me to train you in ranged attack magic.”

Jay did a slightly arrogant half-smile in response.

A few hours passed as the instructor and Jay spent time talking about mana, manacraft and magic; the difference between the cause and effect of them, the results along with the randomness. Viladore explained how mana could be chanelled into certain objects as well as yourself as he touched on the previous lessons – then the lessons on the usage of essence began.

“Hold your essence…the tooth… in your palm and channel some mana into; remember, use your own mana and not the ambient mana. Do this until you can sort of feel the tooth as if it’s a part of your body – then will the tooth, or imagine it, flying at one of those nearby stones.”

Jay held the tooth as he looked around at the nearby stones – some seemed to be new, sitting on what seemed to be dust of the same type of stone, others had scorch marks and some were even split in half.

Following his instructions, Jay began to channel his own mana into the tooth – the tooth began to float in his hand. Suddenly it began to spin quickly before flying off as fast as an arrow being launched; coming into contact with the stone, it exploded, sending smaller bits of tooth shrapnel everywhere. The stone remained intact with what seemed like some tooth residue left on it, while Jay received a notification.

[New Skill Acquired]

[Unstable Teeth Level 1]

[Ranged Attack]

[5 damage]