"Alright, I'm way past my bedtime right now, just so I can easily fall asleep after spawning my clone. Let's hope this actually works."
Come on, appear already.
"Hey, real me, you can go take a nap now—I'll take over," said the Clone.
I'm literally so talented at making clones.
"Alright, I'll go to sleep. You get to stabbing," Roland yawned.
About four hours later, Roland woke up drenched in sweat.
"What is this pain… I feel it spreading all through my left arm," he muttered, sitting up, clutching it. His voice cracked in shock.
"I-I think our first mana vein is f-forming," said the Clone, his voice wavering, almost panicked.
Roland's eyes widened. "Wait, what? Seriously?"
"Yeah… but I feel like I'm going to disappear now."
"Y-yeah, do that. I'll, uh… handle it."
"I think the pain is slowing down," Roland said to no one in particular, panting. "Ooh yeah, it's almost gone."
He flexed his fingers slowly, almost afraid. "But my arm feels different. More alive? No… just stronger. Better than before." His voice trembled in awe. "So this is a mana vein…"
His heart thudded. Wait. Can I control mana?
Quick, get me the book. Spawn clone.
"The book? Couldn't you have just gotten up?" asked the Clone, baffled.
"No. Now hurry before I run out of mana."
"Haaa… fine." The Clone sighed, handed him the book, and vanished.
"Shoo now," Roland waved with forced calm.
"Yeah, yeah…"
Now, any tips on how to control mana…
'The main step after forming a mana vein is to visualize mana going where you wish. Whether to strengthen your muscles, toughen your skin, or release it outward.'
"Seems doable. But first I've gotta waddle to the table for the knife," Roland groaned. "Alright, visualize mana spreading into my skin, toughening it."
He closed his eyes, shutting out distractions, focusing only on the mana flowing through his veins like blood—rotating from his heart, down his arm.
Come on. Make my skin like iron. Like steel.
Suddenly, his left arm shimmered faintly, light glinting in the darkness like a dream. Slowly, the glow hardened into something that looked like metallic skin.
"Huh? What is this… is this mine?" Roland muttered, poking it in disbelief. "It's soft, but my nail can't pierce it. I can still pinch it, move it… wow." He rotated his arm, his expression flipping between awe and suspicion. "But I have to test its durability."
Grabbing the knife with his right hand, he slammed it down.
Sparks flew. The blade sank into the table, the metallic arm unscathed.
"This is insane…" Roland exhaled shakily. "But why metal? Just because I thought of it? No way it's that simple." His eyes narrowed. "Could I have… a metal element? Is that even a thing? Where's the damn book?"
He turned, spotting it lying on the bed, stained with dried blood.
A small clone darted across the room, grabbed the book, and handed it over before vanishing.
"Thank you, Mr. Clone," Roland smirked, relieved he didn't have to move. "Now… how do I figure out my affinity?"
He flipped through the book until the right page appeared.
'To determine your element, you must first have a mana vein. Then recite the six basic incantations. If the spell manifests, you hold that affinity. Multiple affinities are possible, though extremely rare—around one in five hundred.'
For Flame: Ignis (a ball of fire).For Water: Aqua (a sphere of water).For Air: Ventus (a gust of wind).For Earth: Terra (a stone).For Dark: Umbra (a ball of shadow).For Light: Lux (a candle's glow).
"Well… considering that steel-like skin earlier, Earth sounds most fitting."
"Terra."
A rock appeared, rigid and unremarkable, tumbling to the ground with a dull crack. Nothing flashy, nothing special—yet Roland shouted in joy, his voice echoing so loudly it startled even himself.
The sound was enough to make Noah rush in, panicked.
"Young sir! Are you all right?"
"Yes! In fact, I'm great! Look what I can do!" Roland grinned like a child showing off a toy.
Okay, let's try this—make the rock fly at Noah. Just pump mana into it, right? Create the rock, give it speed.
"Terra!"
Another rock formed before Roland's arm, condensing from pure mana. This time, it shot forward like a bullet, aimed straight at Noah's head.
But in the blink of an eye, a sharp sound split the air. The rock was cleaved in two, fragments embedding into the wall. Noah's sword gleamed in his right hand—though a moment earlier, it had been sheathed.
Roland froze, his jaw dropping.
"Young sir… what was that? Have you learned magic?" Noah's eyes sparkled with shock and awe.
"Hold on—what did I do? No, what did you do?" Roland stammered, pointing at the bisected rock.
"I simply sensed my skull was about to be pierced, so I cut your projectile. But I doubt that was your intention. Surely, you only meant to demonstrate your progress?"
"Yes, exactly! I only wanted to show you. It was just my second time casting—and my first attempt adding speed. I didn't know it'd go that fast." Roland bowed his head apologetically, still reeling.
"Your first time adding speed?" Noah's voice trembled in disbelief. "That's incredible. Most mages can't manage such velocity within seconds of casting, yet you did it instantly. Young sir… you may truly be a prodigy."
Roland blinked, his lips twitching into a grin. Wait… am I actually a badass? Hehehe, I expected nothing less.
"Hey Noah… while I have tremendously increased my mana capacity since I got a mana vein, I think I'm about to pass out from mana overuse. C-could you catch me before I faaa—"
Before he finished, his body tilted. But Noah was already there. Inhumanly fast, he caught Roland upright, then gently laid him onto the bed before resheathing his blade and leaving to continue his duties.