Draconic King of Shadows-Chapter 75: Mana

Nyx began to explain to Damion what Mana was, how it affected life, and how life affected it in turn.

He described it as a formless and sentient energy that could be used by almost anyone. It didn’t discriminate between races and helped all the same way.

Damion didn’t understand what this meant. How could it be used by ’almost’ everyone, but didn’t discriminate between races?

Damion could get an inkling of what Nyx was trying to say. Not everyone could use it, but every race could. He was born abilityless, but got Mana down the line after all.

"There are only a few races with the ability to harness Mana truly, and bring out their full potential," Nyx said. "I’ve met a few, fought some, and even killed some."

Nyx grinned evilly. "And that was all thanks to my understanding of Mana, helping me use strong spells and weak ones alike."

Damion paused. "Magic?’

"That’s what it’s called. Humans can’t use magic, not because they actually can’t, but because they don’t know how to."

"They’re stuck with their abilities and don’t know how to properly wield them."

"The Human race has the most potential to become versatile Mages, but due to a lack of knowledge, I don’t see that happening in the next century or two."

Damion grinned. "You can help me with that though, lucky me," he said.

"Of course I will, but it won’t be as easy as you think it is," Nyx warned.

"Doesn’t matter, as long as I get strong enough to save the Human Race."

"That’s quite Noble, I didn’t know you loved your Race so much,"

"Not really, I’m just doing it for myself," Damion said with an innocent smile. "I can’t imagine myself subordinating myself to another Race or risking my life just because a bunch of fools were too weak."

Nyx gasped, but the smile on his face widened. ’Just like Lord Vorgath.’

Time passed, and they discussed more about Mana, even bringing up the topic of Demons again.

Nyx talked about Mana variations, and what caused them. The Demon Race, for example, used a variant of Mana called Nether. It was very toxic to living beings and was extremely volatile when coming into contact with something pure.

He talked about another Race who wielded another variation of Mana called Aether. This variation was like the opposite of Nether, pure, clean and reacts violently to impure things.

All things considered, Nether and Aether were like evil and good respectively.

There were other variations like Astral and Quantum, and he mentioned two others which he said weren’t entirely related to Mana, but were in some way, Chi/Qi/Ki, and Gong.

Nyx didn’t know much about those energies, but he said a few things about them that intrigued Damion.

’Perhaps that’s what I need to create my own Martial Path,’ he pondered deeply. ’I’ve always felt that Mana wasn’t perfect for my sword skills, but this energies related exclusively to Martial Arts could help me.’

They reached the summit of the mountain, again, and Nyx decided to start teaching Damion more about Mana. "Let me show you a little something," he said and floated forward.

"Mana is very easy to manipulate when not tied to anything or anyone. Mana is everywhere, within every person... and the earth itself,"

"The Teleportation Crystal buried in the ground that teleports the individual —who doesn’t sense it— to another location, has its limits," 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"A person with overwhelming reserves of Mana wouldn’t be teleported, because the Teleportation Crystal’s Rank is low,"

"However, a person’s Mana reserves isn’t the only factor that can stop a Teleportation."

Nyx moved over to the spot the crystal’s range ended, and the teleportation activated. A bright white light enveloped Nyx’s body, but the light didn’t reach him.

A sphere of energy coated his body, blocking the effects of the surging Mana.

The energy pushed at the Mana Skin, trying to force its way in, but the Skin remained, and after what seemed like thirty seconds, the energy died down.

"That there, is the effect of a simple Mana Skin," Nyx claimed, his non-existent nose held up high. "It blocked the influence of the Teleportation Crystal."

"And how did you do that?" Damion asked with a straight face.

"Easy, I covered my skin with a sheen of Mana and infused it with my intent," he explained. "Think of it as an Electric Blanket protecting you from a cold."

"So how do I go about making one?" Damion asked again.

"You first have to learn to sense Mana, if you can’t, there’s no way you’ll be able to control it," Nyx moved close to Damion and landed on his head. "I’ll teach you that later, so let’s just pass this hurdle first."

Mana flowed out of Nyx and layered over Damion’s skin. His body felt warm and protected, but he didn’t let that linger in his head for long and moved forward.

He took a step, and the Teleportation Crystal activated again, its Mana having replenished from its last use.

There was a surge of energy that pulled at Damion from all sides, but it failed to do anything. He ignored the feeling after a word from Nyx and kept on moving. Soon, he was out of the Teleportation Crystal’s range, safe from the teleportation.

He bent down and plucked a few Wild Pink Roses, keeping them in his storage.

The Wild Pink Roses didn’t just grow in any place. It could be found in locations with high Mana density, and the Teleportation Crystal made for a good environment with its Mana saturated body.

As Damion placed the roses in his storage, he heard the crackle of lightning behind, and he turned to see Kaiden standing there, bloodied.

A smile spread across their faces, for different reasons, and Kaiden bolted forward, his speed blurring.

However, he flashed forward, and then flashed out, the Teleportation Crystal taking him away.

Damion felt the urge to laugh out loud, but the explosion that resounded in the distance a second later made him pause... before he eventually laughed heartily.

"That must be painful," he said, as he walked away.