Chapter 116: Arcana (3)
He couldn't quite understand what was causing the pain in his body, or rather the pain around his heart.
The fact that another magic circle was not forming around his heart seemed to indicate that the energy of this arcana was working differently. On the contrary, the circle was not forming and the three circles around his heart were becoming of better quality.
It was as if the circles were becoming smoother, and thinner, but containing a greater amount of magical energy.
James didn't know what to say about the perfection of the sight, he could almost feel and indeed see, with his eyes closed, the circles around his own heart getting thinner and thinner.
It was as if he had somehow managed to shrink down and enter his own body and was watching his heart, strange but marvellous.
However, he noticed that the arcana energy around him was beginning to diminish slightly, of course, there was still a huge amount of arcana energy entering his body, but there didn't seem to be much left to energise it.
After a short time, he realised that his body was once again connected to the ground, which meant that he could now cut off the mana, or magical energy.
When the energy was disconnected, he opened his eyes and began to breathe deeply.
He took out at least ten bottles of water from his inventory and drank each of them one after the other, most of the fluids in his body seemed to be officially gone, such a great fatigue had descended on him that there was no explanation for it.
[Beginner Arcana Energy (Normal) gained.]
James smiled as he read the window that had suddenly appeared in front of him, happy that he had succeeded. Then his eyes fell on Miracle, who was right next to him.
"You're really doing great, little lady," James said and lay down on the floor, he was really tired.
Still, he wanted to move on to the next floor, so he closed his eyes and focussed on his own body to feel the energy he had gained just before.
The magical energy was provided by the circles around the heart, the aura was imprinted and manifested in the veins themselves, and the arcana energy resided in the mind.
James was actually aware that his brain and surroundings were surrounded by an enormous amount of energy, I think the arcana energy that had been gathered in his chest had settled in his skull as soon as it was disconnected from the magic. Despite this, James could feel the slight connection between them.
Arcana energy was, after all, a sub-grade, or rather another branch, of magical energy, the mana around the heart in the body. This meant that even if he cut the bond, it would continue to exist in an incredibly small way.
With that, James clicked on the ability he had gained and began to read what was written in the description:
[Beginner Level Arcana Energy (Normal)
The user gains the ability to use rune arts.
The casting time of rune arts is accelerated by 5%.
Rune arts functioning time increases by 5%].
James paused for a few seconds, looking confused as he read the ability's specs, and then asked, "Lady Nyx, aren't the lowest level abilities supposed to only run in-ability functions?"
[Exactly, I don't quite understand what you're trying to say.]
"Why does a beginner-level ability strengthen the ability?" he suddenly asked and was surprised by the message he saw:
[It's because the arcana energy entering your body is higher thanks to Miracle. You felt pain in your body, didn't you? That's because the arcana energy you gained increased, in short, you gained a beginner-level ability at the lowest level, the so-called 'Broken Level'. Remember, when it comes to magic, when the elements are not in play, you can only know the basics of what we call 'Broken Level'].
James sat up and scratched his head, happy to have learnt something else that might help him, but even more confused about something else.
"My lady...how do I use the rune arts exactly?" James suddenly asked.
[For that, you need to enter one of the magic shops on the 20th floor. If you're lucky you'll need to buy a runic arts book, not all of the ones in Olympus are at a level you can use, sorry.]
James shook his head after these words and grumbled, "The Tower is making fun of me again, giving me a power I can't even use yet. Very funny."
However, there was nothing else he could do on the 11th floor, he embraced Miracle stood up and said, "Emma, next floor please."
The usual white passageway opened up in front of him again and James stepped into it, looking around. They were in a strange place, it looked like a maze.
Turning to Miracle, James said, "Never leave my side, do you understand?" he paused for a few seconds as he saw the little girl nod and then said, "Even change into your dragon form and sit in my hair, I need to keep you safe."
Miracle paused as she heard those words and then her eyes lit up, the little girl was overjoyed as she transformed into her dragon form as small as a kitten and sat on James' head.
James began to move forward slowly, making sure to check the surroundings carefully every second. He knew very clearly that he was in a dark place, it seemed as if they were under some kind of spell.
Or rather, it was as if the spell was trying to get into his head, Mind Palace saving him as usual.
Nevertheless, James knew very clearly where this magical energy was coming from. Slowly and as carefully as he could, he began to make his way towards where the energy was coming from. He could hear some ugly noises in the distance as if something was screaming.
He didn't know exactly what they were, but he could hear words like 'Kiek' in between the screams, and he suspected they were goblins.
He wanted to find out what was going on as if that was the floor's mission.