Lionel, a merchant experienced in dealing with people, clarified Valthar's doubts one by one.
It had been two days since the night of the ambush and the situation was not the best.
The horses had been killed, some of the waggons destroyed and all their cargo of meat had been looted by the shadow foxes.
Worse yet the closest city would take days to travel by foot, a horrible option with the foxes still abound.
After a discussion they caravan had sent out Kassia to get help, as she was the scout of the team she was both the fastest and the most adept at traveling through forest paths.
After that the others dug down in haste, a work of a few hours thanks to the metal and wood mage they formed a bunker deep underground.
"...If things go right Kassia we'll be here in a week, if the adventurers guild is too busy to help she might need to go to Deep Bonfire to call the city boss… in that case we'll be stuck here for a while."
Doubt crossed Valthar's mind for a moment
What if she doesn't come back at all?
But Lionel's tone overflowed with confidence, as if he already knew Kassia would both survive the journey and bring help.
Already tied to this boat and with a captain so certain of success, Valthar could only brush away his worries and let the waves take him.
As he listened in silence his heart had more than once wondered if the old Manaborn Ancestor had cursed him somehow.
Not even a month had passed since he stepped onto the Outlands and he had already encountered a situation Lionel called a 'one in ten thousand accident'.
As Lionel kept talking Valthar felt a subtle shift, the merchant's tone that started deadly serious suddenly grew soft and vulnerable.
"The food we brought down is scarce and cooking more underground consumes mana, which we are already using to generate breathable air, in the coming days it might be inevitable that we go to the surface." Lionel let out a troubled sigh before putting his cards on the table.
"Look, I won't ask how you knew about the shadow foxes or why you hid your skill before, and I promise I'll pay you handsomely once we're out of this hole, just… Please tell me you can track those beasts."
Lionel let the silence hang for a moment before adding one last phrase.
"The team needs your help right now… I need your help right now."
Valthar felt his words hit like a shot.
Not even while he was a Manaborn had he heard something like that said to him.
Though the situation wasn't the best this might be the warmest his heart ever felt.
Lionel wasn't a nobody either.
Throughout the whole journey he had watched as the merchant coordinated things flawlessly and the respect every caravan member had towards him.
A respect he understood a lot more at this moment.
Not everyone would willingly beg for the help of a banished mage they barely knew.
Doubly so in front of his whole caravan.
"Give me a moment." Valthar said softly as he closed his eyes.
Not that he thought for even a second of refusing, but he needed to make sure he was capable of the task before making any promises.
As he cut off his vision his energy sense heightened, deep underground only the caravan members and a few earth critters could be felt.
In seconds the range expands and he feels the forest around the clearing, filled with dense plant life but surprisingly scarce in animal ones.
No doubt a consequence from the gigantic fox pack that had been living around the region.
From the multitude of energies that echoed back he first pushed away the trees, then smaller plants and then small animals.
A task that he found impossible during the ambush night was now executed unconsciously, his body already fully adapted after two days of deep sleep.
Finally he locks his attention on a dozen or so shadow foxes spread around the forest.
The larger pack however seemed to be outside his range.
"This ability is new to me as well Lionel… but I will do my best."
"Thank you Valthar, for now it is night outside, but once daylight comes we will go to the surface." Lionel said while he glanced at an hourglass carved with mana runes.
"You have a lot of magical devices huh." Valthar diverted the topic, his cheeks a bit red from the earnest thank you.
Lionel chuckles and pat a pouch on his hip.
"Traveling through the Outlands you should be ready for every environment or it's a matter of time till you meet your end." Then he points at the mage in the center of the room.
"The air bubble stone for example, at the time I bought it for water exploration, who knew it could be used in such a way."
"Quite a creative solution." Valthar praised honestly.
In Manaborn teachings there was no trash element, only trash mages, talents and bloodlines…
'Not like it matters now that I'm affinityless…' Valthar thought in self reproach before he stopped in his tracks.
Pulled by Lionel's earnest request for help he had completely skipped a very important question.
Why was he able to sense this green energy from others?
If it was his elemental affinity it made no sense.
The crystal of truth was one of the foundations of the Manaborns, if he had an affinity to any element it would be revealed for sure.
But he had no elemental affinity.
And yet the energy sense itself felt extremely similar to the descriptions of how high affinity mages could feel their elements from a distance…
"Are you okay Valthar?" A voice cuts through his thoughts.
"Yeah, sorry Lionel but a lot has happened and I need to think for some time." Valthar cuts the conversation short, his brows furrowed in deep thought. "Call me when it's time for us to go out."
In the corner of the room he turns his attention inward and feels the energy ring around his heart.
It's still forming itself slowly, much slower than when he fell into deep sleep.
Aside from that the ring itself felt both familiar and uncanny.
The shape itself was exactly as the family teachers had described a mana ring, but its movements were completely different.
While a mana ring pulsed uniformly in patterns determined by its element, the energy ring pulsed erratically.
Like a snake biting its own tail it shifted and squirmed in mesmerizing motions.
Dazed by the movement Valthar feels the energy ring connect with his soul, like an extra heartbeat faintly thumping in his chest.
After he watched for a while he understood why the ring formation had slowed down.
His body lacks the energy necessary.
Even though he feels himself convert mana into this green energy, the unconscious process is very slow.
For a moment he hesitates whether to interfere or not, his broad base of magical knowledge had a very large hole just where he needed it the most.
Still he felt blessed.
Valthar remembered clearly how days ago he feared he would never have a mana ring at all.
That this one wasn't made of mana is only a minor complication in the grand scheme of things.
So with a deep breath Valthar pushes air and mana down to his lungs, being underground the mana feels denser thanks to the close proximity to mana veins,
To his happy surprise his body absorbs the mana like never before.
In seconds he feels his body convert the mana into the green energy, once done he sees the energy ring double its speed.
From his estimations it should take around a month for his first energy ring to fully crystallize.