Zane immediately realized the problem: his legs had stopped working. No, even worse, they began to twitch as if he had a neurological problem. "Wait, that might be it." He checked his life energy and indeed found some vague clue. The mental energy resonance successfully activated the flow state, but it also caused neurological problems in the brain's motor control system. Without wasting a moment, he stopped the mental channeling and used his mana to relieve the muscles in his legs, and the issue stopped.
As a man of science, Zane wasn't about to give up so easily, so he calmed himself for a few seconds before trying a second time. This time, his right arm went numb. "Based on this preliminary observation, the state can only last 22 seconds before my body begins to face all kinds of neurological problems. And it seems I need to find the perfect frequency that only activates the [Flow State] and nothing else." That wasn't going to be easy, since Zane couldn't calculate the answer and needed the slow, dangerous approach of trial and error. However, he was committed.
Unlike a normal trial, the effects of mental channeling are rarely permanent. As long as he stops in time and assists with mana channeling, he can reverse whatever condition he's in. Zane didn't want to give up such an advantage. Although it would take time and persistent effort to master this skill, he still had 10 months of training left at the school—plenty of time.
"Hey, black shirt, this is your second warning. Get back to work."
"Sorry." For the rest of the day, Zane had a smile on his face. The feeling of research, breakthrough, and progress was better than most drugs. Well, although that's something someone who hasn't done much drugs would say, the sentiment still conveys Zane's feelings perfectly.
Monday, Day 66:
As soon as Zane walked into class, he got a notification that he'd been granted 2000 academy points. Moreover, the more than five hundred leads he had in class had widened. Many people were shocked and skeptical until they checked the class's website and learned Zane had made another improvement to his mental channeling research.
"Can you give me a chance?" Tom Nguyen said, resisting the urge to cry. He could count on one hand the number of times he was not the best in school, and each time, it was by a small margin. But in this academy, Zane was too far ahead of him.
Zane said nothing as his mind focused on how to use these points. He could buy a new spell, or focus on raising his mental energy. His mana had already reached 0.62, but his mental energy remained at 0.65. Although he knew it was a challenge to surpass the 0.7 threshold, he didn't expect it to be this challenging.
Today's class covered ceremonial, or ritual, magic. The world has many unknown forces: spirits, nature itself, the Plane Will, Astral Creatures, Eldritch Beings, and other extradimensional entities or even concepts. Shamans have developed ways to communicate, exchange, and use their powers, and even after mages appeared, they preserved and modified these rituals; some became extremely common, such as the Familiar Bonding Ritual.
After class, Zane briefly discussed with the professor how best to use his resources, and the professor immediately advised him to stick with the previous plan. His current spell arsenal was enough, and with his talent skewed toward the soul, it was only a matter of time before he reached 0.7. However, Professor Burbank also advised him to get his life energy to 0.1. Although his flow-state training wasn't too detrimental to his body, it would be to his advantage to push past his body's limit and become a knight prospect.
After the discussion, Zane left the classroom. A few people walked over to him to talk, invite him to their study group, or flirt; he was used to it. His handsome face and the fact that he was at the top of the class garnered him a lot of attention from the opposite sex. If he were not in a "hermit" state because of the upcoming analyst test, he might have long been tempted. Zane had a system for dealing with thse people, so he quickly got rid of them and joined Tom and Evans.
"What kind of familiar do you want?" Tom Nguyen asked.
"A raven or a cat," Zane said.
"Those two seem random," Evans commented.
"Ravens are mysterious, majestic, and highly intelligent — they're my favorite animals. And cats are just cute and fluffy."
"You don't seem like the cat person type." Evans agreed with that statement.
"Maybe." Zane wasn't much of an animal person for most of his life. Alisha is allergic to dogs, so even before she moved in with them, he didn't associate with most animals. The only reason he found cats cute was that he used to feed this starving cat he met after moving to his studio apartment. The creature's skinny body and distrustful eyes reminded Zane of himself, so he fed it every night for two weeks, building trust before he could bring it home. Unfortunately, the cat disappeared one day, and Zane feared for its fate.
"What about you guys?"
"I don't care for its appearance as long as it has a defensive ability," Tom Nguyen replied. A summoner has a lot of say in their non-bonded familiar's appearance and, to some extent, their abilities. They can even capture regular magical beasts and use a magic ritual to turn it into a non-bonded familiar, but this approach has a risk of failure and can even result in the magic beast attacking its owner. Meanwhile, bonded familiars are all about luck. Using the right material for the ritual might increase the probability of acquiring a rare familiar; success isn't always guaranteed.
"I want a spangled cotinga."
"A what?" Zane asked.
"Is that the bird with the turquoise plume?"
Evans nodded. "Yes, and a wine-colored throat. It's a truly magnificent creature." One of Evans' best paintings was of a spangled cotinga. He loved it and cherished it, even though it wasn't worth much compared to his extensive art collection.
"Do you want any particular abilities?"
"I haven't thought about it."
"Zane?"
"Same, but I'm also leaning toward any defensive abilities or high-speed movements."
"Understandable."
The rest of the day was uneventful until the knight-mage training. Myk was released from the hospital, and Zane brought him to training.
"You should already know Khadijah, and this is — wait, are you also in the Paladin Order?"
"Yes."
"Then, you should know Devonte and Ahmed." Myk nodded before waving at those two.
"Those two are Evans and Tom — they are my roommates. And those two ladies are Keesha and Evelyn; we're in the same practical and elite class. Guys, this is my best friend, Myk."
"Hello."
"Hello, handsome," Keesha said, holding Myk's hand gently while caressing it with her thumb. The tall warrior turned as bright as a tomato. Luckily for him, Evelyn came to the rescue by prying Keesha away from him.
"How long have you two known each other?" Keesha asked.
Myk cleared his throat to regain his composure. He then looked at Zane. "Since we were 4, or was it 5?"
"I remember your 5th birthday was after we met, so probably 4."
"That's right," Myk said, nodding.
After a brief introduction and chat, the group immediately started training. Everyone had just finished with their Elite Class training, and their blood was still pumping. So, instead of resting or chatting, they kept the momentum and started right away. With Myk's presence, the team size can now be two knights and two mages.
For the first round, Zane, Keesha, Myk, and Khadijah fought against Tom, Evelyn, Ahmed, and Devonte, with Evans as the referee. Zane's team won, and easily at that, and that's despite the fact that Devonte put on another masterful performance. Unfortunately, Khadijah wasn't lying when she proclaimed that Myk was the only one in her class who could give her a challenge using the shield; the combination of those two was like the ultimate iron wall. Khadijah used only the shield, and she was a master; meanwhile, Myk used a shield and a spear, but only defensively. With the range the weapon provided him, he made up for a lot of the flaws in Khadijah's defensive measures, resulting in the two of them completely shutting down Devonte.
Meanwhile, Devonte's teammate did not fare any better. Tom Nguyen has become increasingly masterful at controlling his undead, which has been manifested by the fact that he joined the rank of fighting the Stage 3 Orc only one day after Evelyn and the Sergeant, and his result in the last tournament. Sadly for him, he met his nemesis: Zane, the control master. Using the Multiple Mana Rope Spell, Zane rendered Tom's number advantage useless.
Finally, Keesha also played a crucial role, as she successfully faced two opponents. Ahmed was the greatest threat, but his weakness was obvious. Keesha used a basic mind illusion to make him believe he resembled Khadijah, and he immediately began to hesitate, his attacks no longer as intense or sharp as they could be. Lastly, Evelyn — who was a physical threat because of her defense, speed, and weapons — also had a flaw to psychic spells; her rock armor could not defend against Keesha's extremely potent Mind Shock, and she was defeated relatively quickly. With her defeat, Zane's team now had the number advantage, which they used to bully the others.
Devonte couldn't accept this defeat and wanted to go for the next round. Zane agreed, and Evans replaced Tom. Zane's team lost. Unfortunately, Ahmed did not fall for the same tactic twice. Even with the mind illusion, he went all out and suppressed Keesha. Zane was soon surrounded and lasted a decent amount of time, but eventually he was dealt with too.