Saturday, Day 64, Cafeteria, Lunchtime:
Zane put fillings on a thin slice of bread and ate it.
"What is it this time?" Tom Nguyen asked.
"It's called Chiktay, a Haitian dish."
"Chiktay?"
"I believe it's Smoked Herring Salad. Do you want some?"
"No, thank you. Your taste for food is too varied for my liking."
"You have such a variety of cuisine available at the touch of a button, but you only eat like 4-5 dishes, most of which are soups. You should expand your palate."
"I'm good."
"If it's a texture thing, you can easily find —"
"No, I just like these dishes and don't want to change."
Zane shrugged. "Suit yourself." After finishing his bread, he put the chiktay on his eggs and ate it. What a wonderful combination.
"Why do you eat so many eggs?"
"I do?"
"Yes. Three every morning, and every chance you get, you add them to your plate."
"Hmm, I never noticed. But now that you mention it, you're not the first person to make that comment." He suddenly remembered Isabella saying something similar.
"So?"
"I guess it's a cultural thing. I've been eating like this since I was a kid."
Tom Nguyen nodded. "I —"
Pluck! Evans walked over to them, sat down, and propped his head on the table. Zane and Tom looked at each other before focusing on Evans.
"What happened?"
"Did you know not everybody can sense the energy in other people's bodies?"
"What are you talking about?" Tom asked.
"Apparently, only people with S-Class talent can do that," Evans explained. "A-Class talents need weeks, maybe months, to master this ability. B-Class talents need months to years, and everyone else must wait until they condense their first ring to acquire it. Moreover, only A-Class and above talents can naturally reach the limit-sensing range of 30 meters. The others must train hard or use potions for assistance."
"Wait, wait, are you saying they can't sense the energy in other people's bodies? Like, at all?" Tom Nguyen asked.
"Nope, only theirs. And even that is quite blurry."
"No way, right?"
"I just experienced it myself with James and did some research. Only people with high energy affinity can naturally detect external energy. Others need to train or improve their mental energy. Some people can only sense mana, and no other energy; some can't even sense variations of mana."
"That doesn't make sense. I thought we all had extraordinary senses. Isn't that why we don't like people staring at us?" Tom Nguyen continued.
"That's because of mental energy," Zane explained. "However, it appears that mental energy is not the only factor that determines a mage's detection capabilities."
Evans nodded. "Zane is right. Soul and innate talent are the main contributors, followed by mental energy, and lastly, training and resources."
"That makes sense."
"I remember S-Class wasn't the highest level, right?" Zane asked.
"There are still SS and EX Class. The former can control the ambient mana in the air, while the latter can do the same while also being born with a Manifested Soul."
"Aren't those attributes of Grand Mages?" A Grand Mage can survive for a short period without their body because of their Manifested Soul.
"That's right," Evans replied, nodding. "Horrifying, isn't it? These people are born with a power we must spend our entire lives trying to acquire, with no guarantee of success."
Tom Nguyen suddenly became serious. "Does Earth have any SS-Class talents?"
"No."
"Why do you sound so sure?" Zane asked.
"Because only after a civilization has had magic for more than one generation will they give birth to such a level of talent. And EX-Class talents can only be born from one parent being an Archmage, God, or having a Legendary Bloodline."
Zane suddenly squinted. "Earth has had Shamans for countless generations, meaning —-"
'There are SS-Class Shamans," Tom Nguyen finished.
Zane remembered his cousin. According to his mother, Ziyad was extremely talented, which means he might have the highest level of talent. "Wait," he thought. "Do I have such a high level of talent for shamanism? More importantly, could I awaken it?" If he could control the ambient mana in the environment, his magical path would be so smooth. He wouldn't need the meditation rune to absorb mana or recuperate. And with such a high affinity, mastering magic skills would become simpler.
"Wait, SS-Class Shman's talent should be about natural energy, not mana, right? Can the ability apply to both?" Zane wasn't sure, but he decided to email the professor. Unfortunately, he received a negative reply.
According to Professor Burbank, if he had an SS-Class Shaman talent, there would have been signs during his awakening. More importantly, the tower would never have given him the chance to choose his extraordinary path; it would have assigned him as a shaman directly. A small part of Zane didn't want to accept this, so he contacted his cousin, finally sealing his fate.
Ziyad told him clearly that his awakening was accompanied by a halo of natural energy forming above his head, which caused a bit of chaos. Moreover, he was indeed capable of directing and manipulating natural energy, not mana. However, with Ziyad's current mental energy, the process could last only a few seconds to a minute. Regardless of the limitation, Zane was still envious, but he accepted his fate.
Sunday, Day 65:
As usual, he met with his cousin, followed by a visit to Myk, before heading to the Arcane Guild. Today's most accessible mission was to remove potion dregs. After a potion maker fails, they don't throw out the dregs or residual liquid. Instead, they store them for later use. Zane's job was to transport a bucket containing the dregs into the middle of a magic circle. Next, he put a bag of magic crystal provided by the task giver in the designated area — which was the only area of the circle that wasn't blurred. Finally, Zane placed his hand on the circle and injected his mana to activate it.
The magic circle lit up, releasing an array of lights that rushed inside the bucket. Three minutes later, Zane checked inside, and the dregs had separated into five layers: a murky black residue at the bottom, with four layers of liquid, each a different color and releasing a unique, wonderful odor.
"Is this the concept of Decomposition in Alchemy?" Zane pondered. Potions were made from valuable magical herbs, and even failed products still held some of their essence. Through alchemy, mages can decompose the dregs into the herbal essence and thus recuperate some of the materials lost.
"It's fascinating. More importantly, I finally understand how magic's production can supersede technology." No one working today knew alchemy, but as long as they followed instructions, they could do their job; the whole system reminded Zane of a factory and its workers, with the magic circles acting as the assembly lines and machines.
"Black shirt, why are you standing here for? Hurry up."
"Oh, sorry," Zane said. He hurried and carried the bucket away to the designated area to separate the herbal essence. At times like this, he wished he knew the spell Weak Telekinesis or the Arcane Spell Mage Hand to help him carry heavy loads. Complaining wouldn't help, so Zane put on his headphones and kept working.
Midway through his shift, he suddenly stopped. After a few weeks, he was already on the last journal; he had even already paid Leon for his help. However, until now, Zane hadn't found any inspiration on how to complete his [Flow State Skill] — until now. The Necromancer had a brilliant idea: implant an alchemical item in the brain to amplify its brainwaves; he thought the enhanced brainwaves would make the dead body easier to control. Moreover, through the device, the necromancer could solve the loyalty issue. As long as the undead revolted, the device would detonate.
"That's right," Zane said, slapping his legs. "I don't have to keep creating pathways to connect the five nodes — they are already connected. I can use Frequency Resonance to combine and amplify their effects."
Without wasting a moment, Zane tried this new idea: he condensed his mental energy, then divided it into five sections, or nodes, located in the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus, the brainstem, the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and much of the limbic system. Then, he built the pathway and the hidden layer connecting them. It's been more than a month since Zane created this flawed [Flow State], and he hasn't stopped trying to complete it. Although he failed, his efforts drastically improved his control over his mental energy. Now, it didn't even take him five seconds to build this mental network.
"Now, for the crucial step,' Zane thought. Fate works in mysterious ways. Professor Burbank had recently begun teaching him about Energy Frequency. Although it was focused more on mana, many ideas or concepts applied to mental energy as well. So, with a little bit of focus, he successfully controlled the nodes to fluctuate; the objective was for them to match their vibrational frequency.
The entire world disappeared from Zane's world, leaving only his brain and the mental energy. Thump! Thump! Thump! Like heartbeats, the nodes began to fluctuate rhythmically. At first, only two nodes matched, but over time Zane grew accustomed to the process, and all five fluctuated at the same frequency. He opened his eyes and immediately felt it. The world was bright. His thoughts were fast, peaceful, and resolute; his mind recalled all the decisions he had made in the past few days, felt more confident and reassured about most of them, and immediately realized the issue with a few.
"What a wonderful fee —-"
Zane fell to the ground, baffled.