Apocalypse: Starting With Three Unique Blessings-Chapter 61: Conceptual Manipulation.

Magnus stood at the bustling corner of a Lancaster street, his gaze sweeping across the throng of people. A closer look revealed a subtle anomaly in his irises – a faint purplish circle at the center of each. This was the mark of his new abilities, the [Empyrean Codex].

Activating the skill, Magnus’s perception of reality shifted dramatically. It was as if he’d stepped behind the scenes, viewing the world through the eyes of a developer. The finest details became strikingly apparent: the delicate currents of air, the subtle vibrations of sound, the intricate interplay of forces. The laws governing the universe, normally invisible, now lay bare before him, comprehensible and manipulable.

He extended a hand, reaching towards the seemingly empty space in front of him. A tugging sensation followed, accompanied by a rapid drain on his mana reserves. Though the effort cost him, he managed to subtly alter the flow of the wind, a barely perceptible shift in the air currents. Focusing his will again, he repeated the process, guiding the air in a different direction.

Lowering his hand with a sigh, Magnus muttered to himself, ’My mana is still far too limited, and I lack the necessary understanding of these laws to truly control them.’

The universe operated according to a complex set of rules, governing everything from the smallest microorganism to the grandest celestial bodies. These laws were akin to lines of source code, and Magnus, through his newfound abilities, was like a coder capable of reading, tweaking, manipulating, and even rewriting this code to achieve his desired outcomes. This was the immense power, and the inherent danger, of Conceptual Manipulation magic.

A self-deprecating smile touched Magnus’s lips as he returned his attention to the crowd. ’The gods really went all out with this curse,’ he thought.

Three days had passed since his awakening, and in that time, he’d begun to grasp the full extent of the divine curse placed upon him. His initial suspicions had been confirmed: he could not enter the Trial Tower. Attempts to do so were met with an invisible barrier, denying him entry. While disappointing, this wasn’t entirely devastating. He could still cultivate and increase his level through other means. However, a far more serious impediment soon revealed itself: his mana core had crystallized.

Crystallization of the mana core was an exceptionally rare condition. It occurred when the mana core reached a fragile state, forcing it to reinforce itself with the surrounding mana, creating a hardened, crystalline shell. This process, while preventing the core from shattering, also rendered the individual’s cultivation stagnant. The hardened core could only hold a limited amount of mana, preventing it from reaching full saturation. This meant that the affected individual could not advance beyond their current level, trapping them in a state of perpetual stasis.

The realization weighed heavily on Magnus. Every attempt to absorb mana brought him to a point where his core felt on the verge of shattering, forcing him to cease. This left him with a dangerously low mana reserve, a significant disadvantage given his magic affinity’s insatiable hunger. Conceptual Manipulation was a mana-intensive art, devouring it at an alarming rate. The simple act of slightly altering airflow, a trivial application of his power, consumed twenty percent of his total mana.

The true strength of Conceptual Manipulation lay not in these minor adjustments, but in the ability to rewrite the fundamental laws of reality. If a mere shift in airflow cost so much, what would it take to alter the very nature of air itself?

What if he made it denser to slow down enemies in combat, or even more dense to deflect attacks? What if he fundamentally change the way air functioned? These were the possibilities, and the terrifying mana costs, that loomed over him. He wasn’t even certain if his entire mana reserve, even at full capacity, would be sufficient for such feats.

Magnus sighed, contemplating the third and most peculiar effect of the curse. This one was less straightforward, more of an unsettling anomaly: he no longer seemed to be governed by the concept of luck. The laws of probability no longer applied to him. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

This was a double-edged sword. On one hand, he was immune to bad luck, no longer subject to misfortune’s whims. He now operated in a realm of pure probability, a world of cause and effect. This was, however, not entirely positive. His luck had been exceptionally high before the curse, a boon he now lacked.

On the other hand, this absence of personal luck left him vulnerable to the luck of others, both good and bad.

Everyone possessed an aura of luck, visible to Magnus through his newfound ability, [Empyrean Codex]. It manifested as an ethereal string of energy connected to each individual. The brighter and more golden the string, the greater the person’s good fortune. Conversely, a darker, murkier string signified misfortune. These strands of luck interacted with each other constantly, with good fortune repelling bad fortune and amplifying other instances of good fortune. Magnus, now devoid of his own luck, had no such shield, leaving him exposed to the ill fortune of others.

This interplay of luck was evident in a nearby scene unfolding at the marketplace. A mother and daughter, both enveloped in a gentle string of golden aura, strolled through the bustling stalls. Approaching them was a man shrouded in a dark, ominous aura of misfortune. As the man neared, his dark aura brushed against the mother and daughter’s golden one, but their good fortune effectively deflected the negative energy.

Just then, the little girl stopped abruptly, her attention captured by a display of carved wooden toys. This sudden halt also stopped her mother. At that precise moment, the man with the dark aura slipped on a discarded piece of rotten fruit, crashing heavily to the ground. Had the mother and daughter not stopped, they would have been directly in the man’s path, likely resulting in injury. This, Magnus observed, was the essence of good fortune: an unseen guardian angel, subtly deflecting misfortune.

"Are you alright?" concerned voices called out as people rushed to the fallen man’s aid. Blood trickled from a gash on his forehead where he had struck the ground.

The stall owner, whose carelessly discarded fruit had caused the accident, rushed forward, guilt etched on her face. She fussed over the injured man, apologizing profusely as he bled.

Magnus, still observing from his concealed vantage point, witnessed a fascinating phenomenon. The stall owner’s luck, which had previously held a golden shimmer, rapidly darkened, losing its luster. Magnus understood immediately. The woman’s carelessness had caused harm, damaging her reputation and likely leading to a loss of customers. He sighed. He knew that luck wasn’t absolute. Even before the curse, when his own luck was at its peak, he had occasionally experienced minor misfortunes. It was ironic, even comical, how quickly fortune could change.

The stall owner’s luck, unlike that of the mother and daughter, had failed to ward off the man’s misfortune, ultimately costing her more than she could have imagined. And, given the fickle nature of luck, there was no telling how long it would take her to recover her good fortune.

Shifting his gaze, Magnus noticed a large rat scurrying away from a nearby fish stall, a prize of fresh fish clutched in its jaws. The fishmonger’s cat was in hot pursuit, but judging by the vibrant golden shimmer of the rat’s luck, Magnus knew it was destined to escape.

Suddenly, an idea sparked in Magnus’s mind. He had been pondering the possibility of manipulating the luck of others, but the complex auras surrounding the humans in the marketplace proved too intricate, even with the aid of the [Empyrean Codex]. Deciphering, let alone manipulating, their luck seemed beyond his current abilities. This was to be expected. Humans, as complex beings, were governed by intricate laws, including those of fortune. However, simpler life forms, like the rat, operated under less complex laws. With a quick glance, Magnus was able to decipher the rat’s luck.

’Why not use the rat as a test subject?’ he thought.

Focusing his attention on the fleeing rodent and its shimmering golden aura, Magnus began to manipulate its luck, feeling his own energy drain rapidly. He cautiously reached out with his will, attempting to dim the rat’s golden aura, to subtly nudge its fortune. The drain on his mana was significant, but the rat’s luck, so bright and vibrant just moments before, began to flicker and fade.

It wasn’t until Magnus had expended fifty percent of his mana that he finally achieved the desired result. The rat’s once vibrant golden aura had dulled to a murky grey. At that exact moment, the rat, which had been executing its escape with the practiced ease of a seasoned thief, made a critical error. Attempting to squeeze through a small opening in a discarded wooden box within the trash-filled alley, it slipped, losing its footing. This momentary lapse allowed the pursuing cat to pounce, pinning the rat beneath its paw.