The white loops in the dungeon mind space tried to figure out how to ‘wiggle’ mana. Violet had provided multiple examples of mana movement, and the loops had detected mana flow information in the sensory rain, so they had solid evidence that intentional mana movement was possible. The loops struggled to identify the necessary mechanism to enact a similar change. A few loops attempted to direct the System to wiggle the mana with variations on “Desire: wiggle”, but that proved ineffective.
Beneath the dungeon mind vines, the cracked and uneven ground lay covered by mushroom network fibers. The foundational instincts had cracked and broken a long time ago, farther back than the memory vine could have recorded. While the loops discussed and researched mana, the mushroom fibers near a certain gap resonated with echoes of the loop’s communications. Sparks of mental energy drifted from one side of the gap to the other.
The oldest white loop, circled around the base of the white vine, monitored the information and sensations in the mushroom fiber network. While the majority of loops searched for memories related to mana and discussed their options, the oldest loop felt a void in the network. The loop accessed its own memories about similar sensations and remembered when the tick cut off information bundles from the network. The loop broadcast the location of the void and a message for the other loops: “Curiosity, void.”
Multiple loops quickly scanned the area and reported the empty gap in the ground. A group formed to discuss the findings and search for related memories. The oldest loop pointed out the memories relating to the tick, but otherwise remained uninvolved. Several loops drew a connection between the empty gap and the “gap” in their abilities regarding mana, but the idea didn’t gain much traction among the larger groups.
Eventually, the loops asked Violet for help. “Request: mana instruction.” They sent.
“You want me to teach you about mana?” Violet replied.
“Affirmative.” The loops said.
“Dungeons should have an instinctual understanding of mana. Why do you need me to instruct you?” Violet said.
“Mana instincts not found.” The loops replied.
—————
Violet leaned back and rubbed at his temples. ‘Mana instincts not found’ Why does the dungeon talk like that? He wondered. Fairies are born with an instinctual understanding of mana, so it isn’t like I’ve ever had to teach someone about it before. He thought. Violet sighed and spoke out loud. “You have creatures that cast spells, can you ask one of them to explain how they do it?” He asked.
There was a long pause before the response. “Unknown.” The dungeon said.
“Ok. Um.” Violet tried to think. How did humans learn to move mana? The System probably gives them something, right? Chaney could sense mana, did he unlock that skill for some reason? Violet summoned a few of his school textbooks, but ended up dismissing them without reading anything. “Do you know how to unlock a skill from the System?” He asked.
“No.” The dungeon said.
Violet nodded, mostly to himself. “Alright. I don’t know how to teach you how to move mana, but I think we can get the System to teach you a little. There is a mental process that sort of asks the System to unlock a skill for you. With practice, your abilities and knowledge increase.” Violet summoned a thin textbook that looked brand new. “The trick to unlocking a skill is to try and gain as much theoretical knowledge as you can before attempting to unlock the skill. I’ve got a book here about mana theory that might help.” Violet opened the textbook with a loud crack.
“Curiosity, book?” The dungeon asked.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Uh.” Violet considered the book he was holding. “A book is… an item that holds information. I can read the book to get the information for myself or I can… say the information in the book so you can get the information. Does that make sense?” Violet asked.
There was another long pause. “Query, book is like memory?” The dungeon asked.
“Oh, yes! That’s a really good analogy.” Violet said. “I’ll start reading now.” He said.
—————
After the second time Violet fell asleep trying to read from the thin textbook, he asked Yrryth to read the book instead. Yrryth quickly pointed out that the textbook was not written in the language she knew how to read, but was written in fairy text. Violet tried very hard to read the book without passing out, but didn’t manage it for more than a few minutes at a time.
The loops in the dungeon mind space learned about several interesting concepts, such as “sleep”, “boredom”, and “hunger”. The concepts from the “book” memory were very odd, but the loops meticulously transcribed the entire memory as relayed by the Violet voice. The language loops were extremely satisfied with the growth of the fairy language mapping.
After several dozen hours of off-and-on “reading”, Violet informed the loops that the book was finished. The loops anticipated instructions regarding “unlocking skills” to follow, but the first step was confusing.
“Clear your mind.” Violet said.
The loops discussed this instruction, but found no clear interpretation. “Curiosity, clear your mind?” They said.
“Try and silence your thoughts. Don’t focus on anything, just relax.” Violet said.
“Curiosity, relax?” The loops asked.
“Just stop talking for a minute, jeez. Lower the activity in your mind so you can concentrate on your desire to move and sense mana. Think about how you will try to use the skill and what the effects will be. Pull in the knowledge you got from the book I read to you.” Violet said. “You do this meditation for a while and the System should send you a message that says ‘Skill Unlocked’. Understand? No, never mind, just try it now.” The Violet voice stopped speaking.
The loops tried to ask about the contradiction between lowering mental activity and concentrating on the memories from the book, but Violet did not respond. A few loops attempted to follow the instructions, but they determined that they lacked sufficient understanding. Several groups formed to discuss possible interpretations of the instructions. It became clear that only two points in the instructions were actionable without additional clarity: ‘think about how you will use the skill’ and ‘pull in the knowledge from the book’.
Given that the only practical application the loops knew of for using mana was to “wiggle” the mana near violet, one group scanned through the memories from the book and analyzed them specifically for wiggle potential. After some time, a subgroup pointed out that there was an implied instruction that had been overlooked: ‘concentrate on your desire’. The loops found memories related to desire, and several tried to prompt the System in a similar way.
“Desire: use and sense mana.” They said.
_ Skill Unlocked: Wiggle Mana. Initial level: 0 _
_ Description: Wiggle mana in a small location. _
_ Upgrade Standard Skill to Official Skill? y/n _
The multiple parallel discussions halted as the System messages arrived. A group formed to analyze the differences between the actions taken by the loops and the instructions given by Violet. Another group began a discussion around the ‘description’ given. A third group discussed the ramifications of the concept for ‘upgrade’ and how that might interact with the ‘hide-and-seek’ game process. A subgroup pointed out that multiple memories held evidence that questions from the System came with a built-in time limit. A decision was quickly reached.
“Yes.” The loops decided.
_ Skill Lost: Wiggle Mana _
_Official Skill Unlocked: Unseen Energy Manifestation. Initial level: 0 _
_ Description: The endless void lacks both material and motion. Through your will, you can manifest motion. The manifestation of motion from the endless void takes the form of an invisible energy. The unseen energy has infinite applications and can affect most materials. Expand your knowledge through experimentation so you can more effectively hunt the enemy. _
the patreon and you can read ahead on one or more fictions and read chapters as I write them, instead of waiting.
Should I start one more fiction, and publish only on sundays, so I have a chapter a day somewhere? (this is a joke)
