Chương 64: Harmony, Bro

Enzo turned his attention back to the work he needed to complete. Filtering the results so the list only showed Mana Absorption adaptations didn't really help. There were fewer than ten of them, and most of them were far too niche to be useful. Using the Increased Capacity adaptation for his heart reservoir made sense. It was the simple answer. And it wasn't wrong. More mana was probably never going to be an inherently bad choice. But he already had a second reservoir.

He had more mana than every other mage he knew. And while the Guide's bonus mana for killing Eaters was capped at his smallest reservoir, he would likely always have more mana than a normal mage around his level. Which meant that the best way to take advantage of his mutated Magus gene, and the fact that he could have a second adaptation for the same skill, was to solve a different problem. He tapped on 'Automatic Conversion.'

— Skill Adaptation: Mana Absorption - Automatic Conversion Creator: Meha Kulkarni Classification: Passive Conversion Class: Cultivator, Magus (Restricted) Purpose: This adaptation extends the Mana Absorption Skill by slowly converting arcane mana stored within the heart reservoir. Conversion is continuous and passive, allowing the mage to focus on maximizing absorption rate without the reduced efficiency that occurs during manual conversion.

Automatic conversion is limited to high-to-perfect grade mana affinities, occurs passively and without conscious direction, and continues until all stored arcane mana has been converted. Warning: This adaptation eliminates the long-term retention of arcane mana within the heart reservoir. Mages requiring regular or sustained access to arcane mana, or access to a broader range of typed mana and affinities should consider alternatives.

Concepts: Transmutation, Cycle, Attunement, Biological Limiter Creator Insights: - Mana affinities are derived through an unknown mechanism related to the mage, though whether that is the gene, the soul, or personal characteristics, I do not know. - Arcane mana is transmutative by nature, and many other mages were able to instinctively convert it into unknown types without specific intent, as required when creating a spell form or circulation technique.

- It is possible to convert typed mana through enchantments and infusion with the appropriate material mediums, even if the mage has no affinity to the type. - Biologically converted mana and magically converted mana are not the same. — Enzo froze. He read everything again. And again. The Guide was always highly precise in what it said, or as was often the case, what it didn't say.

But the description implied that it was capable of converting arcane into typed automatically as long as the mage had an affinity for it. It said nothing about knowing your affinities. If that were the case, then Meha Kulkarni was a genius. They might have created the single most valuable adaptation on Earth. The only downside was it being limited to cultivators. And Magi. He frowned. Meha Kulkarni might actually be another Magus.

Assuming the design was based on their personal needs, and the insights were drawn from the person directly, as they seemed to be, then there were two major clues.

'High-to-perfect grade' was the exact term used in the Guide's entry covering mutated genes and the Combined Affinity Problem. Then there was the reference to both Enchanting and Infusing. It wasn't impossible for it to be a coincidence. Sumi knew a lot about both primary crafting disciplines herself, because as a group they all shared information as they learned it. The idea of affinities with graded qualities wasn't a groundbreaking concept either. And yet… Enzo shook his head.

There might be an easier way to know. He pulled up the list of filters again and scanned the list. A few seconds later, he closed the search window with a sigh. There was no option to filter based on the creator. And personally scrolling through the lists would take too much time. He'd let the others know when he got back. It wasn't a priority right now. What was important right now was figuring out how to build the adaptation as it was described.

The insights were useful, but only as it explained Meha's thinking process that must have led to the adaptation's creation. The concepts were the real prize. Transmutation. Cycle. Attunement. Biological Limiter. Transmutation and cycle were simple enough. Transmute arcane into type. Cycle the process until all arcane mana was converted. The challenge was in how to actually direct the conversion, but Meha had attached two more concepts that were obviously related to solving that problem.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! Enzo minimized the Guide's display within his vision, and swept his gaze across the clearing, looking for Murph. He smiled when he found her, lying belly up in a pool of sunlight at the edge of the clearing. She'd decided to take a nap, having either bored or tired herself out enough after sprinting in circles smelling everything. The fact that she had six mana types was still deeply surprising.

It also implied that Beasts were more like Magi, rather than wizards or cultivators. Or vice versa, given that they'd apparently had magic first. And she'd also developed an ability all on her own. Without the Guide's help. Without brainstorming ideas with other mages. Then again, mana and magic had been intuitive to him from the beginning. If anything, it was the loners and leaders who'd had the easiest time developing their abilities.

Those who had tried by relying on another mage's understanding had all struggled. Kenzo was a perfect example. When Val had tried teaching him to do it her way, he'd hit a wall. Repeatedly. And Val had kept hammering his face into it, from the way he described it. But when he'd taken the ideas and tried developing it in a way that felt right to him, the magic had responded easily. They'd seen something similar at the hospital, too. A few people had developed spells and techniques.

The others had tried copying them, with varying degrees of success, but it had always been harder. Enzo read Meha's adaptation again. That had to be why the Guide outlined them the way it did. A general explanation of the purpose behind the adaptation, what concepts had been used, and some background insight into the design. But that was all. Adoption was personal. Derivative, perhaps, but still pieced together individually. Enzo grunted.

The way the Guide went about things might be more intentional and insightful than they gave it credit for, but it didn't make it any less hateful. They could have at least given them a mentor and magical technician helpline or something. He slipped the pen from his spellbook, flipped to a fresh page, and started working through what he wanted to achieve with the adaptation. Thoughts about the concepts Meha had used. What he knew about the cultivator adaptation creation process from Val and Kenzo.

The spellbook being spread across his knee did nothing for his already atrocious handwriting. Half an hour later, Enzo looked down at his own messy take on the idea with a frown. It wouldn't work. As far as concepts went, transmutation and cycle were two of the simplest to understand. Change arcane into something else and continuously cycle arcane mana through the adaptation until there is none left. Biological Limiter could be one of two things.

Either it was a way of ensuring the adaptation didn't attempt to convert mana that the mage didn't have an affinity for, or it was intended to protect the mage by not converting arcane that wasn't in the heart reservoir. It might even be both. There was nothing to suggest that a concept couldn't be used twice with different intentions. Attunement was the one that didn't make sense. If the concept had been Affinity, it would have fit into his own framework of understanding.

That would neatly align with the knowledge and terminology he and the others used. But there wasn't a single Guide entry that used the word attunement. There was no process involved in creating spells, techniques, enchantments, or infusions that involved attuning anything. Unless the meaning was more spiritual in nature. And that was not something he was good at. But fifteen thousand people had adopted it, which meant he had to be missing something. Or maybe just overthinking it.

Enzo closed the spellbook and placed it on the log. He twisted around, double-checking that Murph was still napping. She was. Then he pushed himself to his feet and walked slowly around the field, leaving the cane behind, and taking every other step carefully.

"What is attunement?" he muttered to himself. Claire would know. She'd glance up at him with her half-moon glasses, over the top of a book on psychology or languages or politics or business, then tell him word-for-word the dictionary definition. Hopefully she was okay out there. None of them knew exactly where she was or what she was up to, not even Signe. Last any of them knew, she was out New York way, about to start a new job.

But she'd been quite secretive about it at the time, then fallen off the radar as bad as he had. Worse, because at least he had a dumb reason for it. Not that he needed to worry. If any of them was born to wield magic, it was Claire. And she would without doubt be a wizard. Any other option was simply unbelievable, the big nerd that she was. He smiled. In fact, if she was here, she probably would have already figured out— His smile faded. Attunement. Enzo hobbled back toward the log.

"I'm an idiot." He and Sumi both had a skill they couldn't figure out. They had from the beginning of the journey to becoming mages. As did Signe and Mary and every other wizard out there, probably. Attunement. It was literally the same word. He snatched up his spellbook and grabbed the pen. They'd theorized that it might have something to do with a mage becoming more in tune with mana. Perhaps magic in general. Given that wizards were 'brain mages', they'd assumed it was to do with the mind.

Sumi even thought it might be linked to the nervous system and sensory organs. He paced back and forth. Then there was Cultivation. Robert's growth, along with Val and Kenzo's own experiences, indicated it might be directly related to the rest of the body. Heart. Blood. Probably flesh and muscle and tendon and bone, too. What if both skills were ultimately the same thing, just aspects of the human body linked to the different reservoirs? Then… What? He stopped.

"What does that have to do with an adaptation?" he growled. Started pacing again.

"Attunement. Uh. To attune with something. Which means… to align, maybe?"

"It means harmony, bro." Enzo turned to find Kenzo stepping out from between the trees and into the clearing. He had another half-eaten apple in his hand.

"What?"

"Attunement is to be or become attuned. And attuned means you're in harmony with something." Enzo stared at him.

"Two questions. Why do you know that and why are you saying it like it's stupidly obvious?" Kenzo took a bite of the apple and chewed slowly.

"Becosh is ish." Enzo glared at his best friend. Soon to be his second best friend.

"Why are you here anyway?" Kenzo swallowed.

"Matt's scouts are back. You said to come get you." He looked around the clearing.

"This brings back memories. Feels like we ain't been out here since a lifetime ago." Enzo followed his gaze to the tree fort. He offered a small smile.

"It kinda was." Then he turned back.

"What about Sin? And Pops?" Kenzo shook his head.

"No news, but they'll be fine." He glanced over at Murph.

"You heading back now?"

"No."

"Mind if I take Murph on a hunt?" Enzo glanced at the overgrown puppy. Her ears had perked up, and she'd partially rolled over to look at them, tail wagging. She barked.

"Go for it," Enzo said.

"Sure you'll be okay?" He nodded.

"I have a few more things to do, then I'll head back. Go get us some dinner." Kenzo tossed the apple core off to the side, then saluted with a grin.

"Sure thing, Master Magus, sir." Enzo didn't bother with a retort. His mind had already turned back to the adaptation. Attunement was the act of becoming attuned. To mana types that were harmonious with the gene which biologically limited a mage's ability to convert mana. Meha Kulkarni was definitely a genius.