A pain-filled screech resounded throughout the castle.
"T-this is painful, now I gotta take it ooout," said Roland.
Slowly, the knife started to rise, blood splurging everywhere.
"Why hasn't my healing begun already? This was a b-bad idea," said Roland, gritting his teeth.
Almost on cue, warm mana began to flood his palm to heal his wound, but it was slower than usual. Once the knife was pulled out, it quickened, but only slightly. The pain wasn't fading.
"This hurts so muuuuch!"
After thirty seconds of more pain, it finally healed, and the pain faded.
"Ah shit, I'm losing consciousness. This can't be good," he said, barely getting his words out.
"Well, I s-should make sure I don't faaa—"
Roland's vision tunneled, the edges going dark. His legs wobbled, and the knife clattered to the ground. He reached out as if to grab the air—
Thud.
***
"Y-young master, are you alright?" The voice sounded muffled, as if coming through a pillow.
"Someone call Camilla or the queen!" said a voice belonging to the guard at the door.
"So noisy," said the boy laying on the ground.
"Are you alright, Sir Roland?" asked the guard.
"Yeah, I'm alright. What is it, Noah?" said Roland, sitting on the floor and wiping his eye with the back of his fist.
"I apologize for waking you. I was knocking on the door so I could ask what you wished to eat, but you weren't answering, so I came in. I truly apologize. But Sir, if I may ask… why were you lying on the floor?"
"It's quite alright. As for why I was lying on the floor—I was very sleepy and found it comforting to sleep on the cold floor. Any further questions, Noah?" said Roland, acting irritated.
"No, Sir. My apologies."
"Well, either way, you said you had come in to check what I wished to eat, yes? I'll just have some chicken, if that's possible."
"Well, I'll be sure to let Camilla know."
Weirdly enough, all of the farm animals are the same here. Except, very rarely, some have either a curse or an elemental affinity. Those animals are usually either kept as pets or killed, depending on how aggressive they are.
Before the door closed fully and Noah had left, Roland called out to him.
"Do not let anyone in for a while. I want to study in peace."
"Understood."
Well, let me just get to studying, and maybe this time I won't get sidetracked.
'Once you have figured out how to manually control mana, one thing you must know is that mana quantity is very difficult to increase—at least for humans, elves, dwarves, and giants. The other races are usually considered more powerful when it comes to elemental ability due to this.'
"So… humans are just kinda screwed compared to everyone else?" Roland thought out loud.
'Elves are born with a larger quantity of mana than humans, but have the same growth rate. However, since they live longer, in the end they do end up having more mana. They also have some special elements, such as plant and tree. Their blessings are just as rare as for humans, since they are only with descendants of the royals.'
"Plant and tree magic? What, like gardening powers?"
'Dwarves, while not having any special elements, have a strong affinity for earth and fire… They mostly rely on blessings, as their first king had the ability to pass on blessings to his chosen people. Their blessings are usually tied to creation.'
"That… actually sounds kinda cool. Like building magic weapons and stuff."
'Giants have nearly no elemental ability, but their physical might is nothing to make fun of. They are all very proficient with weapons, and their blessings, which are also widespread, are physical-based.
Most demons have nearly no physical might to speak of, but their elemental prowess is off the charts. They have access to all the elements. Their blessings further amplify their elemental powers.
Phoenixes have the ability to control fire from their own bodies, which doesn't take mana. They have massive amounts of mana even without training, and their growth rate is very quick. They are also capable of rebirth and regeneration. They also have access to light and dark elemental affinities. Their blessings are usually focused on trickery or mimicking.
Dragons are an unknown race. There are very few of them; however, they live very long. The one thing we do know is that they are powerful—powerful enough that they had equal footing during the Great War of Races.'
"Well, that's interesting and all, but when's the part on how to learn? And also, I wonder if I am more Phoenix or more human."
'After sensing your mana and forming mana veins, which usually takes around three months, the next thing most people do is figure out if and what element they possess.'
"Huh, so it's possible to control mana but not have an elemental affinity. Also, three months is a lot. But I'll quit reading here and get back to stabbing."
After seven days of stabbing, spawning, and fainting, Roland had thought of something new.
"So, after talking with Camilla, I've figured out that sleeping regenerates mana three times as quickly as when I'm awake. So if I spawn a clone, go to sleep, and it stabs itself a couple of times, would I gain more experience? But do I even gain experience from my clones? Like in that one anime I used to watch."
OK, so focus on the task. I want him to stab himself once and heal up, and then I'll get the memories of him doing it.
Then there were two.
"OK, before you do anything, I will exit the room so I know it's your memories. Do something random first, and then stab yourself."
"Got it, boss."
Roland then waddled out of the room and closed the door shut.
The clone, being ordered to do something random, went up to the mirror and—
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot." He played rock.
"Great, dumb stuff over with. Now to stab my left palm." He grabbed the kitchen knife, placed his left arm on the table, and slammed the knife down straight in the middle.
There was no scream, just gritted teeth. Pain had become nothing but a daily inconvenience. After slowly taking the knife out of his hand, the wound healed almost instantly. But now there was no clone. Just a joyful yell:
"IT WORKED!"