The Arena: A LitRPG, page 57
Jordan didn’t reply, but all three of the group quickly switched their focus – and that of their weapons – to cutting down branches an inch or so thick from the trees around them. After a good hour and by the time darkness had begun to interfere with their work, the friends had a small makeshift shelter that they could sleep inside and remain relatively well hidden from the forest around them. It was a small mercy that it wasn’t yet winter; otherwise, they’d’ve had the cold to deal with as well.
"I have to say," Petra said as the group sat inside their shelter, "this has to be one of our best ideas so far: run out into the wilderness beyond the walls, get lost in the woods, probably eaten by some monster or something. Really good work, you two."
"Hey, we’re not lost," Jordan said. "We’re in the forest."
Petra slapped her head. "Oh yes, silly me. That’s much better."
"Do either of you two know anyone that’s been outside the walls before?" Titus asked, attempting to change the subject.
"Yeah," Jordan started, but Petra interrupted him.
"Not the Hunters, idiot," she said.
"Oh… then no, not really," Jordan said. "It’s not really safe to leave the City."
"Why though?" Titus pressed. "It’s been pretty safe so far, hasn’t it? And the merchants seem to be able to do it, don’t they?"
"For all we know, the merchants travel inside their 'anywhere' boxes and have never even seen the outside of any City. Or maybe they pay Hunters to escort them so that they never get hurt?" Petra said.
"And nobody’s ever thought to ask these questions?" Titus asked.
"Nobody’s ever needed to," Petra said. "Why do we need to know how the merchants get about? Why would we need to know what makes the wilderness unsafe? It’s unsafe, you don’t go there, that’s it."
"I get that," Titus said. "But we’re here now, and being unsafe because of a lack of food and water is very different from being unsafe because of monsters."
"It’s the monsters," Jordan said with an air of finality. "Hunters live out here and if it was because of the environment, it wouldn’t matter how strong they were. So it’s the monsters."
"Right," Titus said. "So all we need to do is keep quiet for the night and carry on in the morning. We find Henderson and either sneak him away or fight the hobgoblins who were carrying him and get back home. Easy."
"Or we get killed in our sleep, killed on the way to find Henderson, get lost in the woods, killed by the group of hobgoblins holding Henderson captive, or killed on the way back home," Petra said.
"Hey, we aren’t lost," Jordan pressed. "And if you want to keep being so negative, you can sleep outside."
"No thanks," Petra said. "I’m hiding behind you if anything comes in the night; you’re a big juicy target."
Jordan snorted, but at least he’d stood up for himself.
"I’ll take the first watch then," Titus offered to swerve any awkward conversations that his two friends might’ve had about it and moved to the front of their shelter so the pair could rest. He actually didn’t mind taking the first watch as he was pretty sure he was too worried about what the darkness might bring to sleep yet.
Eventually though as hours passed and Titus stared into the darkness looking for something that simply wasn’t there, his mind began to wander.
If there had been howls or scratching in the darkness, perhaps he’d have remained a little more alert, but darkness and silence were actually almost maddening.
What Titus’ attention eventually fell upon was his Mana. More accurately it was his Mana pool and his Mana Resonance ability. He knew that he could see Mana as if flowed through others or surrounded them in some aura like it was steam, but beyond that, something told him that the skill had to be more useful.
He spent a long time watching the Mana within him, how it felt and how it moved. But eventually, he found that through willpower alone, he was able to make his Mana move, swirl, ebb and flow without any specific ability or spell to empower.
It was like something he’d known how to do all along. Something that was inherent to his very person; his Mana was a part of him and therefore it was his to control, but only if he so wished.
Over time, Titus found that he could move his Mana to every inch of his body. From the tips of his toes to the top of his head, he was able to make it flow and circulate, and it felt good.
But then he had something else in mind. Something that he didn’t know would be possible, but he had some time to try, and try he would.
After a long time had passed, Titus eventually heard a rustling behind him as he sat working on his new techniques. A rustling that betrayed the fact that either Jordan or Petra had finally awoken. It was still dark, so likely it was his turn to get some rest, but he knew he couldn’t wait to share just what he’d learned.
"Well, I’m awake, and my face hasn’t been eaten off," Petra’s voice came softly to Titus as she apparently felt like not waking Jordan from his rest. "Did you see any ooglie-booglies?"
Titus shook his head, but he couldn’t hide his smile.
"But something happened?"
Titus nodded, still smiling.
"Something good?"
Titus nodded again.
"This is something about your special Class, isn’t it? And it’s going to make me so mad, isn’t it?"
Titus nodded again.
"Alright then, show it to me," Petra said as she folded her arms across her chest.
Titus turned himself fully towards his friend, and then did what he’d been practising since he’d first had the notion: he pushed his Mana through his skin.
It wasn’t a spell that he was casting; rather, he was still containing his Mana, but instead of within his physical body, he was exuding it.
The Mana exited Titus’s body like neon blue smoke – at least that’s how he saw it anyway – and coalesced into a bright ball. The ball took shape as he fed it with more and more Mana from his pool, and eventually he’d given the ball everything he had. It floated by his head and then slowly began to orbit him like he was its sun.
"What…" Petra started to say and then her mouth hung open as she reached out to the ball.
"Can you see it?" Titus asked.
Petra shook her head, "it’s more like a feeling, an energy. I know it’s there, but I can’t see it. What is it?" She asked.
"It’s my Mana," Titus said. "All of it."
Petra stared at Titus for a long moment before she spoke again.
"What can you do with it? Is it like a fireball or something?"
That was something that Titus hadn’t thought about. The act of pushing his Mana outside of his body had just been something he wanted to try to do, not something functional.
"I… I don’t know," he replied honestly. "It wasn’t something I was trying to do so I could use it as an attack; it was more just like a feeling, really."
"Well, that’s a relief," Petra said. "I thought you were about to tell me you’d figured out a huge new attack that left me and Jordan in the dust. But if it doesn’t do anything, then I guess it’s OK with me."
"Doesn’t do anything?" Titus asked. "Have you ever heard of anyone being able to keep their Mana on the outside of their body before? Or have you ever heard of anyone being able to do this?"
Concentrating, Titus forced his Mana to separate momentarily, and then the one single blue glowing ball split into three, which continued orbiting his person.
"OK, so what, you split it down now? Yeah, you’re right, that’s far more impressive."
Titus frowned. He’d thought his breakthrough had been something monumental, but Petra had shot it right down like it was nothing. The worst part about it though was that she was right. Having such control over his Mana really did mean nothing if he couldn’t use it.
"I have complete control over it," Titus said. "That’s big, isn’t it?"
"It is, but still," Petra replied. "Does it mean you can do things other people can’t?"
"No, but…"
"Then is it really that special?"
Titus closed his eyes tightly, trying to think of anything that he’d missed. Something that made this skill useful.
"Can you control it to go into me?" Petra asked suddenly.
"What?" Titus asked.
"Can you make your Mana go into me, you know, to add to mine?"
"Is that a thing?" Titus asked.
"It might be if you make it a thing," Petra replied. "Go on, try it."
"What if it hurts you? Or kills you?" Titus asked.
"Then just use a tiny bit. See if you can increase my Mana by a single point."
Titus didn’t know what he should do. Honestly, he didn’t know if he would hurt Petra or even permanently damage her by forcing his Mana into her, even if it was only a tiny bit. But there was only one way to find out, and she was asking for it.
"Alright, I’m going to try it now," Titus said, though his uncertainty was evident in his tone.
Then, as expertly as he’d taught himself over the last few hours, Titus willed a tiny sliver of his Mana to break away from his orbiting spheres and touch Petra’s outstretched hand.
The tiny wisp of Mana did as it had been commanded, floating towards Titus’ friend without any hesitation, but when it reached her skin, it stopped. It sat there on the surface of her skin like a tiny soap bubble, refusing to move any further.
Titus watched it for a few seconds, and then willed more of his Mana to join the tiny wisp to see if that made a difference. He tried a few more times, but nothing helped; his Mana simply wouldn’t penetrate Petra’s skin.
"It’s not doing anything," he said eventually. "It’s like my Mana won’t go into you for some reason – like you’re full or something."
"Well, my Mana is at ten of ten," Petra said. "I don’t use any, so it’s always like that."
Titus smirked a little at hearing Petra only had ten Mana but kept any further thoughts to himself.
"Do you think if it went down, I could refill it?" he asked.
"No idea," Petra said. "And I have no spells and nothing that uses Mana, so we can’t even find out for ourselves."
"OK," Titus said. "Maybe we’re thinking about this from the wrong angle. What if I try to take some of your Mana and add it to mine?"
"OK, shoot, I’m not using it," Petra said.
Titus focused on the Mana he could see within his friend, the small glowing ball inside of her. He tried to will it as he did his own to move and swirl and to inevitably come to join his own, but from the very first moment he knew it wasn’t going to work. He knew that he wasn’t the kind to steal another person’s Mana from them.
"It feels wrong," he said eventually. "Like I’m not supposed to steal it."
"Then don’t steal it," Petra said. "I give you permission to have it…"
Something inside of Titus lit up at those words. It was again as though someone had just said something that he’d known all along but had somehow forgotten: He wasn’t stealing the Mana from his friend; he was being given it freely, like he was a storage device or something.
Titus recalled the wisp of Mana that he’d left touching Petra’s hand and as he did so, he felt a subtle movement from within Petra. Glancing up at her, he saw that the Mana that flowed within her was no longer fixed in place, but it was kind of swaying from side to side, much like his own had done.
"Something’s happening," Titus said. "Your Mana is moving like mine does… should I try?"
Petra nodded. "You can take as much Mana as you like; I honestly don’t need it."
Titus nodded and began to call upon Petra’s Mana like it was his own. He tried everything he’d tried before when he’d learned about his Mana, but after two minutes of trying, Petra’s Mana hadn’t budged, not even an inch.
"Nothing," Titus said, dropping his focus.
Petra stared at him for a long moment, and then stretched her hand out towards him. She met his gaze for just a second, and then Titus’ entire world shook.
The Mana within Petra began to seep out of her fingertips and joined with his own orbiting blue globes. Her Mana spread itself out across all of his own, and a second later when he looked at Petra, she had no trace of Mana left within her.
But he did.
His orbiting balls of Mana glowed ever so slightly brighter, and when he checked his status, his jaw dropped.
Titus: Level 4
Exp: 22/150
Class: Capacitor
Profession: Arena Contestant - Blue
Primary stats
Health: 59/59
Mana: 38/28
Stamina: 24/24
"I’ve… I’ve got your Mana," he said almost breathlessly. "It’s combined with mine, and now my stats say I have more than my maximum."
Petra gave a cocky grin. "I knew it. I knew this would be something huge. You remember your promise, though, right?"
"Promise?" He asked.
"You promised not to forget us when you’re a God."
Chapter 69 – Fireballs & Flora
Titus didn't exactly know what it meant to take Petra's Mana from her but after a few minutes, something became apparent: if he didn't use it, the Mana slowly returned to his friend as if he were holding a leaky bucket. It was just like his Mana regeneration rate, but in reverse.
What this meant, he understood immediately, was that he couldn't just keep getting fed Mana by his friends until he had an infinite amount. But it didn't mean there weren't some great uses for this new ability. For example, Petra could give Titus all of her Mana, and Titus could feed that into a fireball that was then imbued with a total of thirty-eight Mana – speaking in maximums – and that would no doubt mean some serious stopping power.
His mind raced with the possibilities, and he knew that when morning came and all three of them had had the chance to rest, he needed to see if he could firstly do the same with Jordan, and then both his friends at the same time.
But all the effort he'd expended meant that Titus needed to rest. He already felt his eyes heavy, and the last thing he needed was to make another huge breakthrough while he was too tired to understand it.
But before he went to sleep, he made sure he could do one last thing: he willed his Mana to return to Petra – and this time it obeyed his command. It did not touch her skin and stop; rather, this time it refilled Petra's Mana pool to the maximum – though Titus knew he could've put less in if he wanted – and when she was back up to ten of ten again, he bade her goodnight and found a small spot near Jordan to curl up and drift off to sleep.
When the morning light awoke Titus, it took him a minute to remember where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. He found Jordan and Petra sat outside their makeshift shelter, speaking softly, and as he approached them from behind, he recognised the fact that they were talking about him, specifically what he could now do.
Inevitably, neither Jordan nor Petra would let the group continue along their hunt until they'd carried out some experiments, and although Titus really wanted to get on and rescue Henderson, he couldn't help but admit he was curious too.
An hour was spent with Titus figuring out exactly what he could and couldn't do, and after a breakfast of sweet red berries that Jordan had supplied, he felt a lot better about what they had planned for the day.
"So, I can take your Mana and let it orbit me," Titus said. "But I can't forcibly take it. I can take both of your Mana at the same time, but it depletes twice as fast as both of you maintain your regen rates," Titus summarised. "So with Petra's ten and Jordan's ten as well, I can use a grand total of forty-eight. But I can't store it all within myself, and I can't keep hold of it all for very long."
"But you can use it all at once to cast the mother of all fireballs," Jordan said.
"Hey, how much Mana do you think Torres was putting into the ones he was firing off at the behemoths?" Petra asked.
"Seven," Titus said. "Remember, other Spellcasters can't increase the power of their spells with Mana alone – they have to use equipment that does it for them."
"I bet he's got something good," Jordan said. "I mean, you saw him back there, right?"
Titus nodded.
"How do you think they're getting on back there?" He asked quietly.
It was the first time that any of them had acknowledged the battle they'd left. A battle that had no doubt concluded by now, but they had no way of knowing which way the victory had fallen.
"The City always wins; we're the good guys," Jordan said with a reassuring smile. "Besides, I know what you're thinking – even if we'd stayed, we wouldn't have made much of a difference to the outcome. Eventually, either those Ironjaw Behemoths would've won, or the Instructors and Black-Ranked. Do you really think we'd be anything more to either of those than annoying insects?"
Titus shook his head slowly. Jordan was right, but it didn't make him feel any better. He had thought to help a fellow Contestant as he was carried away into the wilderness, but he thought they'd have been in and out in minutes. Now, with this taking so long, he felt like more of a deserter than someone on a mission of mercy.
Steeling himself, Titus spoke. "You're right, Jordan," he said. "We have to keep moving. I'll use my Mana to its fullest extent when we need it most, but right now, let's focus on finding Henderson. We have no idea what kind of danger he might be in."
"Plus when we do find some monsters to kill… that Mana of yours combined with your Fireball spell… it's a good thing that neither Petra nor I use our Mana because that's going to be something to watch."
Titus smiled at that. He thought as much too, with having double the available Mana to throw into his spell; it could only be something amazing. He worried a little about casting such a spell while inside a remarkably flammable forest, but he pushed that to one side knowing that it was a problem to deal with later, and only if he really needed to.
With a renewed sense of purpose and knowing they really had no other choice, the three friends gathered their belongings and set out once more, leaving their makeshift shelter behind.
As they navigated the dense woods, they all kept a sharp lookout for any signs of Henderson or the hobgoblins that had captured him. The forest was eerie and quiet though with the constant rustling of leaves, and now there was something new to add to the mix: the distant calls of unknown creatures, which added to their unease. But as they moved, they still saw nothing that would suggest monsters were nearby.
