Weapons of Mass Destruction

In the end, I pick the trait, and the window disappears.

Congratulations! You have acquired Mana Circuit (passive)

Traits 1/3

I immediately feel my heartbeat speeding up, and warmth washes over my body. My heart goes into overdrive and sends wave after wave of mana through my body. At first, it's only warm, but quickly it feels as if someone set a red-hot wire through my body. I clench my teeth, but a quiet groan escapes my lips.

Forget anything nice I said about the system.

The pain becomes stronger and stronger as the system etches a network of mana channels through my body. Mana travels from my heart towards the tips of my fingers, up my skull, everywhere leaving a burning sensation in its wake.

After what feels like an hour, the pain slowly subsides and is replaced by a feeling of lightheadedness, as if I'm about to pass out.

Damn, I can't wait to go through this two more times!

Someone, please, send help.

Still lightheaded I send mana through my body and stop instantly.

Ehm?

I try again.

And again.

What the heck?!

I take back everything I said. Give me more! More pain, more circuits!

It feels as if up until now, I kept using a fork to eat soup, but then someone bonked the back of my head and put a spoon in my hand.

It feels so much more natural to take mana from my Mana Heart and use it.

Also, the network of mana etched into me feels as if someone replaced an old road with a high-speed highway.

What the heck!

I almost want to forgive the system for playing favorites, but at this point, I'm sure that the traits others will get will be better than mine.

But that won't be able to quiet down my happiness.

I move mana all over my body; it's so fluid, so quick, and the amount I can move is much finer and more accurate. Now instead of using a river of mana, I can send a thin thread of mana through my circuit for more delicate control.

It's as if I used too much mana before because of my terrible body and low mana conductivity.

But dang, it just shows how unprepared and inefficient the human body is for handling mana.

[Mana Manipulation - Lvl 5 > Mana Manipulation - Lvl 6]

Here we go!

I get on my feet, and as I walk, my body still screams, but now I am more content with the pain.

"Finally!" Kevin sounds super annoying. Even more so now, when my head is still hurting.

But I'll let it go, just this time! Because I'm in a good mood.

"Even Burrito is ready to go."

"…"

Okay, he's not making it easy.

"Also, you walk like you crapped yourself." He laughs.

Well, that's it.

"Hey, hey, Nat. Why are you looking at me like that?"

Hmm, maybe I should make him skin more deer? I think he really disliked it a lot.

"Nat? Nathaniel, stop, wait a bit."

Biscuit greets me by wagging his tail and continues walking next to me.

"Look, it was just a joke, you know that, right? Just a joke, I didn't even mean it. You know how I am, right? Hehe."

I might make him train his skill a bit more. I'll help, obviously! I can throw some stones at him for him to reflect.

Maybe I can use a bit more mana this time; it will help him improve faster.

"Nathaniel…? Sir?"

He stops somewhere behind me, and I join Tess and Hadwin.

The girl greets me, but Hadwin only nods. He's trying not to show it, but I see the corners of his lips lifting up just a tiny bit.

Dang, are you remembering punching my face, old man?

Tess starts talking, "You seem to be ready, so we can leave in a few minutes. As we decided in the talk before, you and I will be scouts, and Sophie, Kevin, and Kim will move a bit further behind us, and then there will be Hadwin with the others."

"What about the dog? He seems to be uncooperative lately…" The look he gives to Biscuit doesn't seem that nice. Not at all.

What the heck did you do to him, Biscuit?

Good boy!

We are all looking down at him, and the best corgi sticks out his tongue while breathing. He looks so cheeky and almost smiling.

The dog looks at me, and I look at him; for a few seconds, our gazes meet.

"Stay with Hadwin and the others," I say shortly.

His tail stops swinging from side to side, and he blinks slowly.

"So we walk until it's about time for the night to come?"

"Wait, that's it for Burrito? Did he understand or something?" Kevin says something in the background, but most of us have already learned to mostly ignore him.

Someone already calculated the time when suns are going to disappear by looking at the system countdown until forced return, and now we can predict it pretty accurately.

"We can walk for like 5 to 7 hours, and after that, we will have to set up somewhere and build at least some defense. A few hours should be enough."

It's all the things we talked about before, so I start to filter them out and continue focusing on training my [Mana Manipulation]. The good thing is that my [Oscillation] has become easier to use, and now I can keep it up longer.

I glance down at my finger and the blade of mana created around it. When I activate the [Oscillation], the difficulty goes up pretty fast, but it's doable so far.

The blade of mana oscillates wildly, and I keep it up for as long as I can before it slips out of my control and dissolves.

New record!

Just a bit more, and I might be able to coat the entire blade of my short sword with it.

Then Tess pokes my shoulder, and I look up. Everyone is staring at me.

Did I miss something?

"Haaa…" Hadwin sighs.

Why do you sound so annoyed? I just practiced a little bit! You don't have to be such a jerk about it!

Biscuit, defend me!

I look down, and the doggo is already jumping around a butterfly.

"…"

He catches it and eats it. Then he spits it out. He then looks at me while sticking out his tongue, trying to get rid of the taste.

Biscuit…

God bless your poor soul.

Tess and I enter the forest first. Even though I am walking first, Tess is the one pointing where we should go, as her skill somehow allows her to see through the dense forest. Why not call it X-ray vision? Why Farsight? Huh? System?

There is no answer, and we continue scouting ahead of the others while Tess seamlessly points me in the right direction.

You know, we came up with a code.

I have my [Mana Perception] activated, and when I feel her collecting the mana in her right hand, I go right; the same goes for left. If she collects mana in her chest, that means there is a monster. If she collects it in both of her legs, there is a strong monster, and we have to run. Stuff like that.

To be honest, our cooperation has become pretty good lately, and we can quietly go through the forest while leaving marks for the others.

Sometimes we kill one or two monsters, but that's it; the forest is quiet.

The wind blows gently, moving the leaves and creating shifting shadows on the ground. Sunlight streams through the branches, making the forest look lively and bright. The sun feels warm on my skin, the breeze is cool and refreshing, and the forest has a pleasant smell.

"Such a pretty day…" her voice is soft and quiet, and I slow down to end up walking next to her, loosening some tension from my body.

If she doesn't see any monster, there's no way I will, even with my [Mana Perception] active.

"Yes."

I look up at the sky, and the wind messes with my hair a bit. As I walk through the woods, I notice how the trees seem to create a natural rhythm with the swaying of their branches. The forest is quiet, devoid of the typical sounds of animals and birds, adding to the sense of solitude. The fresh air fills my lungs as I take a deep breath, and I can't help but feel a sense of calm and stillness.

Out of nowhere, Tess laughs quietly while covering her mouth with a hand.

"I'm sorry, but I just remembered the look you made when Hadwin hit you."

Woah, such a low blow.

"Don't look at me like that," she whispers and smiles at me. It's the first real smile I've seen on her face since we entered the First floor. "You kind of deserved that."

Maybe yes, but please be a bit less happy about me getting punched.

We continue walking in silence.