NOVEL NEXT Chap 171: The Guiding Law
"Damn, I shouldn't have done that…" After talking with Matt and his group for a few hours, I finally had some time for myself. When I check my cube, I see that small cracks have formed again; part of my work went down the drain because I used my magic at that moment.
"At least I was able to check my cube's state thanks to that." My mind is in a dilemma; I feel a bit stupid for using mana knowing the state of my cube, yet it was a good way to test the consequences of using magic. The pain of using different types of mana is bearable and only small cracks will appear until I'm fully recovered, like last time. That means, if I'm forced to fight for my life, I can do it without major problems.
With almost three-quarters of the day already gone, I decide to go back home and dedicate these hours to healing my cube. On the way, I buy a hamburger that looks delicious—trying street food in new places is still one of my favorite hobbies.
Luckily, on the way I only came across a single grade-1 rabbit monster. I didn't need to use magic to kill it. My Imra alone was enough to catch it, choke it, and kill it. I feel relieved at the good security in our territory; in a trip of a little more than an hour, only seeing one obviously lost wild monster can be considered a safe place.
Back in the training room, sitting down, I can relax and focus on healing my cube. Sitting in a lotus position with my eyes closed, I only concentrate on repairing each crack or fissure, losing track of time while doing so. The feeling of healing is somewhat addictive and gratifying; it's something I can't quite describe—it's simply similar to eating something you like.
A few hours later, I remember something important… My reward! Is it time to use it? I don't know if activating it will consume mana. I doubt it, since it's only related to the affinity and Law of Space. "Should I risk it?" I can't help but ask myself. My family knows nothing about this kind of reward; I'll have to make the decision myself.
"Do it, you have me to fix any problem," says Glia, who was sleeping among several cushions a few meters away, giving me her opinion.
"Do you think it's safe?" It surprises me because she's supporting me to do it—she's always the first one against me hurting myself.
"I'm not completely sure… when I'm inside your cube in an 'incorporeal' form I can feel some sensations, and I haven't felt anything indicating that this object could affect your mana or force you to use it." She stays silent for a few seconds before continuing. "In any case, I'll help you heal your cube a bit if something happens." That's true, she can heal me slowly—very slowly—that's why I've never asked for her help; it's a waste of her time on something I can do myself with little effort.
"Wish me luck." She comes closer to rub herself against my arm before wishing me the best of luck. I dive into my consciousness and see the guide for a Law of Space activating when I try to extract the information inside it.
"Guide of the Law of Space… An existing Law of Space has been detected… calculating conditions." I wait for what comes next; I don't know how to react to this situation.
"You have two available paths: Slightly improve the understanding of the Celestial Domain Law or apply the Space Guide to a skill. You have one minute to choose; if no answer is given, the selection will be made randomly." Only one minute to think? How annoying.
I organize all my thoughts as fast as I can. Only two options: improve my comprehension of the Law of Space or have a guide on how to use my Law on a specific skill. Ideally, I'd choose to improve my Law in general—that way I could apply it directly to other skills, not just movement.
The problem is, I'm not planning to obtain any space-related skill at the moment. My Personal World and one movement skill are enough for now; I already have too much on my hands. My idea is also to adapt my movement skill to my Personal World; I hope I can manage it.
Time is running fast, and not wanting to waste the opportunity, I go for the second option. "I choose the second option, I want to apply the Space Law Guide to my movement skill called Electrifying Charged Steps." As soon as I finish speaking, my eyes turn black for a few seconds and I begin to feel something strange in my movement skill.
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This sensation is something I've never experienced before, as if they're configuring a part of my body. My skills are part of me; they're engraved in my cube, which is as important as my heart or brain. Feeling them change or be altered is indescribable—like changing a part of your skin to another color or material.
The sensation isn't entirely unpleasant, thanks to my cube's adaptation. Not only does the wall where my skill is being changed adapt, but every part of my body adapts in the same way, although much more slowly, incredibly more slowly. I feel the need to scratch my cube; an incredible itch comes from inside. How can I scratch a part of my body that I can't touch?
I endure the sensation as best as I can; without my mental skill that would be impossible. The itching increases more and more each second; now it's not just my cube but every part of my body, itching as if thousands or millions of ants were walking over every centimeter of me.
I roll on the floor because of the horrible sensation increasing with every second; little by little it starts to decrease and I manage to calm myself. A few minutes later all that horrible itching disappears and I can finally keep my composure for a moment. The itching is completely gone, but I still feel that stupid sensation throughout my body.
I immediately check my cube to see what has changed. I let out a sigh of relief when I don't notice more cracks on the walls or columns. I don't want to waste more time healing myself; without being able to fully use magic and with my Imra limited for fear of causing more cracks, I can only dedicate myself to training swordsmanship or manipulating Imra carefully.
Not finding anything strange anywhere, I finally decide to look at the skills on my cube's wall. They all look exactly the same as always, except one—my movement skill: Electrifying Charged Steps. What is this difference? It feels like the skill is in conflict with itself, as if something isn't entirely comfortable.
Did that damn reward not work? Before lamenting over being a fool for choosing that reward, I decide to do some tests.
I activate my Personal World first to check for any differences; this is the only skill where I use my Space affinity and where I'm slowly adding my Celestial Domain Law. What's that? Something has seriously changed. The distance is still the same—about 160 meters in diameter—the "other diameter" has changed; it has grown.
In the first 80 meters of diameter, things feel more alive. I still don't fully understand how something can feel more alive or dead inside my Personal World; I can simply detect objects, people, or monsters inside my skill with greater clarity. It surprises me how this "other radius" has increased every 30 meters.
"Are you okay? You were rolling like a roller for several minutes." Glia almost makes me jump when she speaks. I can hear some worry in her words and a hint of teasing in her last comment.
"Yes, this happened…" I avoid answering the last part while I tell her everything that happened since I accepted altering the skill. "Do you have any idea what happened?" I doubt anyone knows about this kind of situation. Maybe only Ho could give me an answer, but I don't know where he is and he's not exactly the most talkative person in the world.
"No, no idea." She shakes her head side to side. "There's only one way to find out… just try not to hurt yourself too much, I don't like seeing you injured." I move closer to hug the jaguar with fox-like fur; I'm surprised at how much she's grown—her head is now about 130 cm.
"I understand, I'll only test the minimum until I'm fully healed." I try to reassure Glia as much as possible; I can feel her worry in every one of her words. She clearly understands the only way to test these kinds of situations: doing the same thing I've always done whenever I see a closed door—open it by force through training and practice.
I put on the bracelets, which I had stored in my storage bracelet. "I didn't want to use them until I was completely healed…" I don't know how the continuous use of a skill I haven't been able to control for weeks might affect my cube—I always end up injured using it. With no other choice to test the change, I block my emotions and prepare to take the risk.
I inject a bit of mana into each bracelet as I try to jump about five meters forward. I follow the same process, positioning each part of my body with the right amount of mana and strengthening it equally with my Imra as I've done thousands of times.
I feel the fabric of space breaking to move me by force. No—this time it's different; it's not moving me by force—my body is flowing through the very fabric of space like a fish in water. That brief discomfort of milliseconds when moving from one point to another has almost completely disappeared; now it feels natural.
I appear exactly where I wanted to appear; the distance is perfect. I look at my legs; I haven't lost any, and I've only lost a third of my left arm, my right one is still intact. "The difference is huge!" I can't contain the joy in my body and shout. Before, the sensation was a struggle with space to move from one place to another; now it lets me move as if I were part of space itself.
As if I had control of the space around me… could that be it? I feel everything slowly connecting. Finally, my movement skill is adjusting to my Personal World—that's why it feels so natural to use the bracelets. Not only that, the skill is close to mutating with my Space affinity. Before jumping again, I look at my cube… "Damn."