Chapter 23: Mana Type

They took a seat in the open lobby and decided to get something to eat to pass the time. The guild’s small cafeteria area had a better menu than back in Les. He decided on a beef stew with a side of mashed potatoes. Abigail picked a lighter meal, a chicken salad with a small soup on the side. Both came out looking delicious and the taste matched.

He decided to ask a question he actually forgot about, “You said before you have an idea on what my mana type is. What do you think it could be?”

She responded “I was wondering when you would ask. Did you forget? I know someone who uses force mana, your mana gives me the same feeling as her. Not exactly the same but similar.”

Ignoring the jab at him forgetting to ask about something as important as his mana type, he asked, “Force mana? How does that even work? What feels different about mine than the one you know?”

She shrugged and said “My friend Jade uses force mana normally by empowering her war hammer. Her fully powered strikes hit with the weight of a falling building. She also does other things like concentrated blasts that feel like getting kicked by a mana empowered horse. Yours doesn’t feel as heavy as hers does. It’s hard to explain but yours feels sharp? Either way we will know shortly.”

He nodded at that; the excitement was almost too much for him to contain. He was practically vibrating in his chair as he waited for the guild staff to inform them when they were ready. The wait wasn’t long as a receptionist came and got them shortly after they finished their meals.

They were escorted up to the second floor, the layout here was different than what he had seen back in Les. It had an open area that could overlook the ground floor that seemed like an exclusive area. It had its own bar and actual waiters to bring them food and drinks. Sitting there were a handful of people relaxing. There were only nine people, four woman and five men, sitting there but when they saw Abigail it was clear that they recognized her. One of the men was about to get up and come over but she held up a hand to stop him. They walked past the balcony area and into another hall.

Thomas gave Abigail a questioning look. She answered his unspoken question saying, “Its for B-ranked and up or their parties. This city I believe has nineteen B-ranked and two A-ranked normally. Which is higher than normal for a city without a dungeon or something else to incentives them to stay. The frontier is close enough to be worth It guess.”

They walked through a door in the hall. Inside the room he saw a white ball sitting atop a clear cylinder. The cylinder was covered in markings that were so small that Thomas couldn’t make them out. At the bottom of the cylinder was a tube that ran to some sort of dark thick metal panel. Sitting behind the panel was an old man with wispy white hair. The warm smile on his face, and calm blue eyes on his wrinkled face made Thomas feel at ease even before he spoke.

The old man said in a calm almost grandfatherly voice saying “Welcome, come on in. I’m Leo and I will be testing your mana today. You’re Thomas, correct?”

Thomas nodded in answer. Leo smiled and said “Before we begin, I have to say, if you want to do this in private we can. It doesn’t matter if Abigail is an A-ranked or not, this information is for you only. If you want her to leave it will happen.”

Thomas was taken aback, someone disregarding her rank so easily probably never happens. He looked at Abigail, but she didn’t look offended at all, instead she just shrugged. Saying “He’s right, it is completely up to you. I can leave if you want.”

He shook his head saying, “You’re the one that’s going to be teaching me, so I would prefer it if you stayed.”

She nodded and they turned and looked at Leo. He said “Good, let me explain how it works since everyone asks. The stone is actually an alchemical creation that stores the mana imprint of every type of mana that has ever been tested. Not just here either, if a new type is found we update the information in all of the testing stones. When we begin you will place your hand on top of the testing stone and slowly push mana into it. I will tell you when to stop. Any questions?”

“Not really, I’m ready whenever you are.” Thomas said as he pulled off his gauntlet from his hand. It wasn’t necessary to do so but not having any obstructions seemed like the smarter move.

Leo smiled again and said, “Alright let’s begin.”

Thomas placed his hand on the stone. Pulling mana from his core, through his mana channels and pushed it into the stone. Making sure not to push too hard just keeping it a steady stream the entire time. The testing stone felt smooth and cool under his palm. The white stone slowly changed colors; it took on a slight silvery color. He only stopped when Leo told him to. The panel Leo was working on also chimed and lit up brighter.

Pulling his hand away he stared at Leo as he hummed and tapped the panel that was facing him. He looked up and his blue eyes gave him a penetrating look. He said “Well I’ll be. You do have a truly unique mana type. I would almost call it a variant of a variant type. Your mana is closely related to force mana but different. It has never been seen before, but we will move onto the next phase.”

The mana stone slowly drained of the silvery color as the cylinder underneath filled with his mana. The cylinder flared to life, that’s when Thomas noticed that the markings were actually runes. They were so densely packed that he couldn’t even tell what the runes were so he asked, “What is the second phase do?”

“It runs the mana sample through tests to see what aspects it has. The runes act as testers to see how it responds to different stimulations. We also use the mana in some of the runes to see how the runes perform. It paints a clearer picture of what your mana can do.” Leo answered in an offhanded tone, he was to focused on the panel in front of him to explain more.

Turning to Abigail with a raised eyebrow he asked, “Do you have any idea what that means?”

She nodded and said in a low tone “Yes It’s something we will discuss when we start mana training.”

Before they could continue speaking a ping sound came from the panel and Leo said “Interesting. Yes, that is interesting.”

They just stood there staring at the man waiting for him to say something. Finally getting annoyed at the distracted man, Thomas said “So what is my mana type?”

Leo seemed startled for a second before say “Oh yes,” clearing his throat he continued “Let me finish and we will go into a sitting room.” Clearly Leo was more interested in the findings than paying attention to them.

Leo pressed a few buttons when the cylinder pulsed, and his mana dissipated. Leo turned and walked them out to another room that had a sitting area so they could discuss it. Following the man, they took a seat on the couch and waited for Leo to speak. At this point Thomas was barely restraining himself from shaking the information out of the man. Abigail put a hand on his arm to calm him, but Leo seemed oblivious to him. Leo was distracted by making tea and humming to himself than noticing that Thomas was getting even more impatient.

Thomas had been waiting since he first awakened to know what his mana type was. Even as uneducated as he was when it came to magic, he knew that your mana type could dictate how to use your mana. Outside of strengthening techniques which could work with any mana type, actual mana usage needed to be compatible with your mana type. At least from what he knew, but right now was when he would learn what his mana type was, and Leo was too busy getting a snack and drink to tell him.

When Leo finally sat down Thomas eagerly waited for him to speak, but instead he took a bite of a cookie that was in the room. Leo looked like he was lost in thought, Thomas almost growled out “Leo could you please tell me what you found?”

Leo jumped like he was startled and forgot they were there, he cleared his throat and said “Sorry I was lost in thought. Like I initially stated you have what I would call a variant of a variant type, That’s extremely rare. It isn’t just a variant with a sub aspect but a true new variant type. I only know of three other cases like that and all of us mana testers are trained in the Imperial Capital at guild headquarters. Just wanted you both to know my qualifications before I explain my thoughts on your mana.” He paused for a second before saying “I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning”

Stolen novel; please report.

He paused to take a drink of his tea before continuing, “There are standard mana types that everyone knows. Earth, water, wind, fire, light and darkness. Then there are variant types, such as ice, lightening, force, wood, metal and a handful of others. Now we get into sub aspects, that’s where it gets complicated. A sub aspect is normally something someone either born with or it takes decades of training to develop. For example, an earth mana user may learn how to manipulate a type of metal to a small degree. It’s never to the point where it’s equivalent to their actual mana type but they would still be able to do things with it. That’s considered a sub aspect because as its name implies it’s an aspect to their mana type.”

Leo looked between Thomas and Abigail to make sure they were following. Seeing that they were he continued to explain. “When it comes to a new mana type that hasn’t happened in a very long time, variant mana types are rare as it is, but they are normally already known types. They have been cataloged and studied since the Unification of the races. You, however, have something new. That has only happened three times since we collected all the known data. It’s related to force I know this because you have a sub aspect of the standard force mana type. Meaning you will have an easier time to use basic force applications since it’s an innate sub aspect.”

Taking another drink of his tea he continued. “Now before I continue can I ask you to do something for me?”

Thomas who’s earlier irritation was replaced by intrigue by the explanation about mana. That was more of an explanation than anything he had ever learned. It’s the first time he had even heard of a sub aspect. He was almost caught off guard at being asked a direct question.

Speaking up he said, “Sure what do you need?”

“I will need you to push some mana out of your palm, please don’t be alarmed at what I will do.” Leo said.

“That doesn’t sound ominous at all but sure whenever you’re ready.” Thomas said with a glance at Abigail who just gave him a nod but was looking at Leo with an unreadable look.

When Leo nodded at him, he pulled mana out of his core, through his mana channels and out his up turned palm. Keeping control of the lose silvery mana so it didn’t run rampant he held it there. Looking at Leo who was leaning forward to get a closer view of it, Leo nodded and said, “Don’t be alarmed.”

Before Thomas could even nod a pressure came, weighing him down. It felt gentle but also felt like he was a mouse in front of a lion. One wrong move and he would be killed instantly. The man sitting across from his wasn’t a person but a beast in human skin. His breathing became uncontrolled, but before he could even register that he was panicking the pressure was gone.

He was to scared of Leo to even look at him. Nine Hells he could barely control his body from shaking. Instead, he turned his head to look at Abigail to see if she was alright. She didn’t look bothered at all. She looked angry if not downright furious. Still, she managed to speak in a controlled tone saying “You know it’s against guild rules to use your Will on a lower ranked guild member without cause. Why shouldn’t I report you right now?”

Closing his eyes Thomas focused inward to get his breathing under control. He didn’t know what was going on or what just happened but whatever it was, scared him. He still listened to Leo’s response as the man said “That is true, but I wasn’t using directly on him, you could tell. Either way I do have cause, I was getting a deeper understanding of his mana type. There is a clause for mana examiners like myself, we are allowed to do more invasive testing if we believe it can be of help.” He turned and looked at Thomas who finally got some control over himself and bowed slightly while sitting and said “I am sorry for any distress I caused you. I know it is overwhelming when someone uses their Will near or on someone who doesn’t have proper training to resist it. I do apologize for it but it was necessary step so I could get a deeper understanding of your mana.”

Thomas let out a long sigh finally getting control of himself and just asked “What was that?”

Leo seemed slightly uncomfortable, but Abigail answered him saying “Simple terms, it’s the difference between a B-ranked and A-ranked. It’s using your Will to affect the physical world around you. It’s something you will start getting training on after you get a decent understanding of mana.”

Thomas had a feeling that was information that wasn’t supposed to be readily shared based off the look on Leo’s face. Leo’s voice came out in a hiss saying “That is classified information that only a trainer can release when deemed necessary. I am taking this to the branch director immediate.” He started to stand but froze when Abigail pulled out her High Inquisitor badge and said “Sit back down. He’s not on the normal path and is privy to information that normal adventures wouldn’t get. Anyways it’s only classified to prevent people from hurting the general populace and he isn’t going to do that.”

Leo seemed to wilt away from Abigail as if she was a poisonous snake. Either way he nodded and said “Yes ma’am, my deepest apologies for acting in the way I have. I shouldn’t have used my Will as freely as I did.” He accompanied the words by standing and giving them a proper deep bow towards her. Thomas caught the annoyed look on Abigails face before she got full control of herself. Thomas could tell that she slipped back into her professional demeanor that she uses when she is in official settings she said “I recognize you are doing your job properly and within the boundaries of the rules and regulations. No need to apologize, please we have gotten off topic let us continue. Please at your convenience explain what your findings were regarding Thomas’s mana type.”

Thomas was focused on how quickly Leo’s and Abigails personalities changed after finding out who she is. He had blatant fear etched on his wrinkled face; it honestly confused him why someone would act this way towards an official office of the Adventures Guild. Were Inquisitors that feared? Why? If they were strictly just investigators why would someone who he now knew was equivalent to an A-ranked adventure be so scared of her. He would have to question Abigail about it after they left.

Leo rose from his bow and hesitantly sat down; it took the man a few seconds to reorganized his thoughts before he started speaking. Leo cleared his throat and said “From the start of the test it was clear you had a mana type related to force. The second test revealed it was a sub aspect not your actual mana type as I stated before. Your primary aspect seems to be related to sharpness, like cutting or severing. It’s hard to explain how I came to that conclusion based off of the second test, but I will try. How your mana interacted with and used the runes all made them react in a way.” He paused like he was looking for a proper word for it but ended up sighing and slumping as he continued. “Like it wanted to cut everything. For example, fire would react like a normal flame would when it comes into contact with the runes. A rune that’s purpose is to create a gust of air would instead create a scorching breeze. That’s a very simplified explanation but using that rune on your mana instead of making a breeze it would sever the air itself. It took dozens of the rune test before I had an odd thought that it acted in a way that I would expect a blade cutting would act. When I looked at all the test as a whole, cutting or severing actually started to fit.” He paused to look at Thomas with a wide smile.

Any of the fear or hesitation he had from earlier was long gone as he started to get animated talking about his findings. It was clear to Thomas that Leo was a researcher through and through, he actually reminded him of Tessa when she would go on a tangent about new alchemy findings.

He continued as he said “That’s when I used my will to get as close of a look as I could. My official answer to what your mana type is you have blade, sword, or maybe cutting mana. It excels at cutting, piercing and severing. It’s nothing we have seen before, so you are in uncharted territory. Truly it will be up to you to explore what it is. You are not obligated to give the guild information regarding your new mana type, but it would be greatly appreciated if you did when you find out more about it.”

Thomas didn’t know how to feel, it had been over a year since he had awakened his core. Blade or sword mana, that actually made sense to him on some fundamental level. Whenever he coated his sword in mana it felt so easy and natural to do. Pulling more mana into his hand he watched hit swirl and move under his control as he watched it. Slowly he nodded to himself, his mana was a part of him and as he took in the words of Leo, he knew the man was right. Speaking up he said “Sword mana or maybe blade or possibly sharpness? Let’s go with sword mana for now.”

Abigail chuckled and said to Leo “You heard the man, it’s sword mana and that’s the official name when you catalog it. Unless he decides to change it later that is.”

Leo nodded and said to both of them “Obviously we don’t have any techniques or spells related to this, so you have to discover it on your own. It is your mana and you will start getting a better intrinsic understand of it as you use it. I can write up a small pamphlet on force since you do have a sub aspect for it.”

Abigail held up her hand and said “No need I have a book or two on force manipulation. We appreciate your time Leo, but we will get going.”

Thomas wasn’t listening to the two, he was focused inward, in his mind’s eye he saw his core. The slivery grey mana slowly rotating in his core. He finally knew what his mana was, a part of him already knew what it was and just needed confirmation that he was right. He had thousands of ideas on how to use it. He never wanted to risk doing something dangerous with his mana before since he didn’t know what could have happened. Now though, he knew what he could do about it. He was a swordsman, and he would use his mana like the sword it was.

He was only broken out of his internal contemplations when Abigail gently shook him. Opening his eyes he saw Abigail peering at him with a slight look of concern. He gave her a small nod and said “Sorry I was just thinking about everything. I have been waiting for an answer since my core awaken to know what my mana type was.” He looked at Leo and gave the man a bow and said, “Thank you for giving me the answer I have been looking for.”

The smile Leo gave Thomas, he would almost call grandfatherly, but he still vividly remember the pressure he felt from the old man. Still, he was grateful, Leo spoke saying “All I ask is when you learn more about your mana please report it to a mana tester at a guild. We all stay in contact with each other, and I would love to know more about what you find.”

They exchanged a few more words of small talk before they left. Thomas was almost vibrating with excitement to go test his mana out. Sadly, Abigail dashed his hope by saying “Let’s go ask a receptionist if they know of anyone who is selling mounts.”

He turned to her with a look that she easily read and cut him off by saying “I promise we will start practicing magic when we travel. My training plan hasn’t changed, now isn’t the time to start.”

He knew she was right, but he still wanted to start now. Letting his shoulders slump, he just followed her to the guild counter.