A mortal cannot see their Mana Veins, not due to lack of talent but because they are more like a gas at this stage. After reaching Apprentice rank, people could get a better feel, but even then, they would lack proper vision until Rank 4.
Despite this, Eric could now clearly sense how the elixir moved through his Mana Veins. The sensation was illusory yet vividly tangible.
Once the elixir had coursed through his entire Mana Vein system like a wave, it surged straight toward his forehead's central vein.
'Bang.'
No sound was heard, but for Eric, it was as if the universe was exploding into creation—stars and galaxies being born, space expanding, time and rules forming. It was more of a sensation, and that was how Eric felt.
Eric didn't know what was happening or what he needed to do, but he felt two 'somethings' vividly. He couldn't understand, but with his remaining sense, he realized they were two Elements.
He had always wanted to become Mystical Knight, so he didn't hesitate to send this 'wish' to his physical and incomplete Mana Body—to take 'all' and 'everything'.
Eric went into a strange trance and lost track of time.
He was like an observer of the creation of the universe—always silent, always conscious, making no judgments or opinions, just a pure, indifferent witness.
After the 'creation' had stabilized enough, Eric came back to his senses and slowly opened his eyes.
Immediately, he noticed a clear difference.
The world no longer felt the same. His senses had improved drastically—noticeably so.
He might not have noticed if the difference were slight, but now, it was as if his senses had jumped from 0 to 10 in a second.
He even had a strange feeling that he could now see countless times better than mortals in darkness. It was weird, and at the same time, he sensed it wasn't due to his vision improving from becoming a Mana Wielder—but something else.
Eric shook his head and turned to admire his fair hand, which seemed cleaner and prettier somehow. All previous scratches, cuts, and marks had vanished, as if his body had undergone a thorough cleansing and rebuild.
At least he hadn't changed his gender out of nowhere.
He focused on his right palm, and soon he had a strange sensation, as if something was leaking from his pores. It was transparent, nearly undetectable and invisible. It felt sticky yet not, liquid yet gaseous at the same time.
It was Mana.
Eric was certain of it. It no longer felt foreign but like an intimate energy coexisting with him always.
He tried to give the invisible gas form and control it to cover his fists. After failing for a few seconds, he gave up. He couldn't do it as easily as he'd imagined. It was like a toddler trying to walk but keeping falling on its butt.
He felt he needed a little more time—just an hour perhaps would be enough. He didn't even need to practice, and he would have better control over his Mana by then.
In terms of physical improvements—his 'stats'—Eric was certain he had now become a monster, the destroyer of the world, ahem.
Previously, when he was a Mortal, his stats were fairly high, but after becoming a Mana Wielder, he could clearly feel a subtle yet major difference.
In the past, even though his physical capabilities weren't bad, they somehow weren't smooth—compared to now, it was almost like they hadn't been well-oiled or lubricated before. Back then, he hadn't really noticed this, but after becoming a Mana Wielder, it felt obvious. It wasn't just about having higher stats now but how smoothly he could use them.
Eric even felt he was now qualified to lift the Tho...ahem, that hammer, but it was only a feeling. Whether he could or not needed to be checked later.
Eric suddenly noticed a major difference: it was weirdly too quiet!
After a while, he recalled there was a wild girl living rent-free inside him! So, he called out, "Riya, what's wrong? You've been awfully quiet. Did you fail?"
Suddenly, there was a burst of laughter followed by sobbing.
"I-I can see now! I can see..." Riya spoke between whimpers.
"See?" Eric was confused. Wasn't Riya always able to see through his eyes?
"Yes! Previously, I couldn't see if you closed your eyes, but now, through your Mana, I can perceive—at least the immediate surroundings. Not too far, but I can even see from the back of your head."
Eric was surprised. Wasn't that Spiritual Sense?
"No, it's not. I don't know how Spiritual Sense works, but my range is very short—almost like your Mana is my eye. Anyway, I have to do some experiments and calculations, so I'll be temporarily out for an hour."
Eric was fine with that.
"So, how was it?" He wanted to know if Riya would be crying from depression or jumping with joy.
"Haha, of course, success! Now I can use your Mana as long as you don't interrupt me. Currently, you can't feel the Mana I'm using, but later you will when you're more used to it. Either way, I should be able to help you with what I promised in the past, but wait an hour—I need to recheck some things."
"Right, before I forget—go grab some food, and don't hesitate to eat more the moment you feel out of energy. Alright, see you in a bit." Riya's voice was filled with impatience and enthusiasm.
Eric had full faith in Riya's capability. She was the type to always try to be as accurate as possible before speaking. So, the moment she said she had a chance, it was almost above a 90% chance of success.
Eric was happy for Riya—and himself—though he still didn't know how it would go.
He kept the yellow Elixir back on the table and inspected the Rings.
All he had to do was send his Mana inside the Ring, and now he could feel there were a bunch of minuscule switches—a hundred in total. It was like feeling a hundred doors or windows; if he pushed one open, whatever was inside would come out.
This had the advantage of storing things but the disadvantage of not being able to see what was inside each 'door' unless he pulled them out by opening or pressing the switch.
He would experiment further later, but he now understood how to move objects inside. To do that, he would first need to cover an object entirely with his Mana.
In other words, he needed more time to even put the Elixir bottles inside, but he could now easily pull things out, as it only required pushing the 'switch.'
He focused and soon noticed one 'door' felt heavy—almost like something was in there. It was strange, but it was clear which 'room' was empty or had 'something.'
After pressing the switch, five books popped out from the Ring. This showed that multiple objects could be kept inside one door—not bad!
Eric glanced at the books and noticed they were the 'Spell books' Lysandra had mentioned.
The books were large, bound in dark brown leather with ornate designs. The central area of each of the five books had different color patterns and symbols. Overall, they looked ancient but also refreshing, as if they hadn't been touched for a long time.
After skimming through, Eric understood they contained a few Spells from Tier 1 to 3 for the five basic Elements, and—
'Oh shit, I forgot to check my Elements!'
Eric quickly closed his eyes and focused.
After a while, he felt 'darkness' and something else that also felt like darkness but had a weird sensation to it—as if distance no longer mattered.
Even without prior experience or knowledge, he immediately understood: Darkness and Space Element!
Fuck!
He'd missed his Fireball, Thunderbolt, and even Wind! How cruel.
Was he no longer the Final Boss?
What happened to all the Element packages villains obtained from the start?
Eric was depressed. He felt his Evilness had pushed everything pure aside and granted him the most 'innocent' Evil powers—like Darkness.
He sighed with deep melancholy. This was the price of being extremely Evil.
Darkness aside, which was too 'pure', 'Space' Element could be considered badass. Sadly, he had no Space Element Spell book, so it could only be ignored for now.
But nonetheless, it seemed his Dark Evil Heart had finally taken outward form—he could no longer hide it. His Evilness would be on full display, so he needed to be more cautious from now on and hide his Darkness Element.
Eric stood up.
He was starting to feel hungry, so he decided to check the kitchen for food—otherwise, whatever Riya was doing, he would probably starve before enjoying anything.
Eric wore the Ring he'd been inspecting on his left index finger.
All three Rings were of the same design. A quick check confirmed the other two were completely empty.
Eric walked into the kitchen, grabbed a Space pouch, and pulled everything out.
The mechanism was similar to the Space Rings, but there were only ten 'doors' in these Space Pouches, unlike a hundred in the Rings.
Eric saw quite a few tasty-looking fruits and Elven Cuisine. His eyes lit up, and he started gulping down the food.
He checked another pouch while eating and found it had various dishes. He paused—he couldn't put them back inside right now due to lack of proper Mana Control
According to Lysandra, inside these 'Space Storage' items, all objects were frozen within a unique space or dimension, so even hot-cooked food remained hot long after.
After stuffing himself, Eric walked outside the cave to check his physical improvements. He decided to climb the hill as a test.
He started climbing and reached the top in 10 minutes!
Eric was amazed—previously, it had taken nearly 30 minutes, and now only 10. What was the difference?
In truth, it wasn't just agility—it was due to the large distances he covered in leaps, jumping from tree to tree, so strength played its part too.
Eric also confirmed his previous doubts. Since the colorful orbs only covered half the hill's height, the upper half was completely dark—it was past 8 PM. But despite the darkness within the foliage, he could see everything clearly, almost as if it were afternoon.
His eyesight had naturally improved with higher Constitution, but this wasn't just that. Eric was certain it was an effect of his Darkness Element.
Not all elements had visible benefits. For example, Eric's Space Element didn't provide any advantages other than confusing him about distances between objects. It wasn't overly bothersome, but it wasn't helpful either.
But Darkness Element came with this inbuilt benefit!
As expected of an Evil Element!
It seemed the Villain Association still hadn't abandoned him!