Chapter 20 – Mana Sensitivity

Я​εаԁ ȯη ＫаțＲｅ​аđı​ոģḈаϝｅ

“Um… If I’m already using the Mana Thread skill to handle mana, is it really necessary to do this…?”

I raised my hand and asked in a timid voice.

The way I control dolls is fundamentally by connecting the Mana Thread to the core inside the doll and infusing it with mana to manipulate it.

So, the idea of having to “feel” mana now didn’t make much sense to me.

But Hosanna nodded as if he had expected me to ask that and said,

“You’re right. You’ve been using the Mana Thread skill to handle mana. If that weren’t possible, you wouldn’t have been able to use doll manipulation in the first place.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s true…”

“But what about when you’re not using the Mana Thread skill?”

“Huh? Not using the Mana Thread skill…”

I had never really thought about such a situation.

Aside from when I needed to control dolls, there was no reason for me to use mana, so it was only natural.

I hadn’t even considered it. Seeing my confused expression, Hosanna smiled and said,

“Right. You probably haven’t thought about it. You’ve never really considered anything outside of doll manipulation.”

“Yeah… I guess…”

“Then let’s try it now. Focus on trying to draw out mana while consciously avoiding the use of the Mana Thread skill.”

“Can I really do that…?”

Not using the Mana Thread skill? I asked with a lack of confidence, and Hosanna shrugged.

“It’s fine if you don’t succeed. That’s why we’re here, after all. But if you do succeed, it’ll be a different story.”

“A different story…?”

“If you can draw out mana without using a skill, while starting from a state of knowing nothing, then, to exaggerate a bit, it would mean you’re a genius.”

“A genius…!”

The unfamiliar yet thrilling word made my eyes sparkle. Seeing my reaction, Hosanna chuckled and gestured for me to give it a try.

I calmed my excited heart just a little, closed my eyes, and immediately tried to draw out mana.

What if I actually succeed on the first try? What if I discover some unexpected talent here? A genius? I’ve never been called that before, not even when I was in the track and field club in middle school…!

But contrary to my high expectations, drawing out mana without using a skill wasn’t easy.

Even though I kept telling myself not to use the Mana Thread skill, as soon as I tried to move the mana, the Mana Thread appeared at my fingertips.

“Ah!”

“It’s okay. You’ve only ever handled mana that way, so it’s not strange for the skill to activate. Deactivate the skill and try focusing again.”

“Okay…”

Encouraged by Hosanna, I tried to focus more calmly this time. But again, the Mana Thread was drawn out.

Why isn’t this working? I’ve handled mana with the Mana Thread before, so why can’t I draw out mana separately?

After a moment of frustration, I became stubborn and repeated the process over and over.

“Huff, huff…”

But that didn’t last long either. After about six more attempts, I slumped down, completely drained.

As I lay there, barely able to move, Hosanna continued without showing any surprise.

“You activated the skill eight times before reaching the brink of mana exhaustion. But the mana you feel from the Mana Thread isn’t that large, so I guess it’s cost-effective.”

“Huff, what, huff, are you talking about…?”

“Ah, I was just estimating your mana capacity. I can’t be sure, but I can make a rough guess based on the mana I felt when you used the skill.”

‘Mana capacity… Like MP?’ I asked while panting.

“So, huff, how much, huff, mana do I have?”

“Hmm… Enough for one Blaze… No, maybe not even one? If you’re willing to risk complete exhaustion, you could definitely use it once.”

“Blaze… Isn’t that the spell you used to save me?”

I remembered it clearly because of its flashy impact. It was the spell that wiped out dozens of rabbits in one go, so it would be strange not to remember.

Anyway, since Blaze was considered an excessive spell for the first floor, having enough mana to use it once seemed pretty decent.

Seeing my hopeful expression, Hosanna awkwardly said,

“Right. But Blaze isn’t that great of a spell. It doesn’t require an enormous amount of mana compared to other spells, and it’s one of the spells I could use right after being summoned. Although back then, two uses were my limit.”

“Huh…?”

I couldn’t believe what Hosanna was saying.

He could use that spell twice right after being summoned? And it wasn’t even that great of a spell?

At that moment, the memory of dozens of rabbits being obliterated by Hosanna’s spell and the memory of being mercilessly toyed with by rabbits in the past came to mind simultaneously.

The world is disgustingly unfair. Overwhelmed by a sense of emptiness, I stared blankly, and Hosanna quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway! Why is it that you can use the Mana Thread skill but can’t draw out mana without it?”

“…Good question. Why is that…?”

“Cheer up… Anyway, to put it simply, the reason you can use the Mana Thread skill is because it’s a skill registered in your status window.”

I responded in a dejected voice, and Hosanna continued with an awkward expression.

“Think of it in terms of the game system we’re so familiar with. When you use a spell, you generally press a skill button to activate it, right?”

“Right…”

“The skills we’re using now are the same. We lived in a world where magic and mana didn’t exist, but here, we’re using them naturally. It’s all thanks to the skills registered in our status windows.”

“…So, the reason I can’t draw out mana without using the Mana Thread skill is because I haven’t learned the related skill?”

“Half right, half wrong.”

Half right, half wrong?

“First, let me ask you. Do you have any skills other than the general skills you started with?”

“Uh… Stealth and Backstab.”

“Both are skills that don’t really suit a mage.”

“I’m not a mage, though…”

I wished I had skills that suited a Doll Master.

Pouting, I responded, and Hosanna laughed and said,

“Can you tell me how you got those two skills?”

“Well… After my core broke, I spent some time thinking about how to hunt.”

I hadn’t always used ambush tactics for hunting.

Thanks to Ulrika, I had gained some confidence in hunting and was ready to fight rabbits head-on whenever I wanted.

However, unlike me, who was ready for a fair fight, the rabbits would gang up on me if they felt at a disadvantage (of course, that was the trauma of that day), so I had to come up with a different approach, which turned out to be ambush tactics.

After repeatedly ambushing them from behind, the skills Stealth and Backstab eventually appeared in my status window.

After hearing my explanation, Hosanna raised a finger and asked,

“Now, here’s the question. Before those two skills were registered in your status window, were you unable to perform those actions?”

“It’s a bit different, right? I did those actions, which is why the skills appeared… Huh?”

As I answered Hosanna’s question, I realized something and blurted out.

Hosanna immediately flicked his finger as if to say that was it.

“What you just realized is correct. Those two skills were registered because you performed those actions, not because they became possible after you got the skills.”

“So that’s why you said I was half right and half wrong.”

The reason I couldn’t move mana without using a skill was simple.

It wasn’t because I didn’t have the skill, but because I didn’t know any method other than using the skill.

“That’s why you said to start by feeling mana through meditation…”

“Right. If you can feel mana, you’ll naturally learn how to handle it.”

Hosanna shrugged as he said this.

“Of course, strictly speaking, you already know how to handle mana. When you showed me your doll manipulation in the forest, I guided you a bit, but you properly infused the doll with mana. If you become aware of mana, you’ll probably be able to reproduce the power you showed back then without my help. And much more stably.”

“Really?!”

I couldn’t hide my excitement at his words. Even though it was destroyed, being able to reproduce the power of Doll 505 (5th Generation), which had been my greatest achievement among the dolls I’d made so far…!

Seeing my eyes sparkle with enthusiasm, Hosanna smiled and said,

“You look much better now than before. Alright, let’s wrap up the miscellaneous talk and get started.”

“Okay…!”

I straightened up from my slumped position and took a more proactive stance.

Seeing this, Hosanna took out his wand from his pocket and muttered quietly.

“Ignition.”

A startup sound rang out, and the tip of the wand lit up.

But Hosanna didn’t give any further commands and simply maintained that state.

“Um, what are you doing right now?”

“I told you about my unique skill, Memorize, last time, right?”

“Yes. It’s a skill that lets you store spells and use them anytime.”

“Right. Memorize consumes a lot of mana. The convenience comes at a high cost. Maintaining this preparation state is essentially wasting mana into the air.”

“Huh…? Then isn’t that bad?”

“Normally, yes. But right now, it’s necessary.”

Necessary? I looked at him with a questioning gaze, and Hosanna continued.

“The skill you need to acquire is Mana Sensitivity, a general skill. Most people in the mage class have it, and its effect is very simple. It allows you to sense mana inside and outside your body.”

Hosanna added that this was a preliminary step for that.

By then, even someone as clueless as me could understand Hosanna’s intention.

‘He’s planning to fill this room with mana so I can feel it.’

If that happens, the Mana Sensitivity skill will naturally be registered, and from then on, I’ll be able to handle mana naturally without this kind of setup.

Understanding Hosanna’s intention, I immediately closed my eyes and began to focus as much as I could.

To feel the mana as quickly as possible.

–

A week later, I finally acquired the Mana Sensitivity skill.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
It was too late to upload yesterday, sorry!!!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
First hand carry at magic basics, seems fair enough.

No girlfailure moments yet, impressive!