Chapter 53: Getting His Results

Instead of aura training, Julius decided to do work on his mana for now. He knew that he still hadn’t chosen an evolved path for it, but he hadn’t had the skill for years and wasn’t worried about not being able to receive levels on it.

He went back to his roots. He remembered some of the fun little exercises he came up with in the past and tried to replicate them. He carefully created a dozen little orbs of fire mana and gently shaped them into human-like figurines. He recalled how they used to look like demented stick figures, but this was a different Julius. This Julius had improved a lot.

He wasn’t quite able to make them life-like. He had better control, but that still didn’t turn him into an artist overnight. There were big improvements though. The faces and limbs were all the right proportions and they actually looked like people now. Then he tried to create a “dragon”. He had a feeling that was going to be much more difficult even with his improvements.

He created another orb of mana, this one a little bit larger to accommodate the larger construct, and began to mold it. He was able to get the proportions down but the hardest bit was the wings and scales. For some reason, it was annoyingly difficult to create multiple layers of texture.

It was then that an epiphany hit him. Layers. Just like how [Mana Layering] worked, he could apply the same concept to his figurines. The scales were like layers, each one didn’t need to cover the entire body, but he could create many smaller ones that he could intertwine together, leaving just enough space to link them together.

Renewed with excitement he began his testing. It was very delicate work, each scale had to be crafted individually, and on something around the size of his hand, it was a lot of scales. However, he learned a lot, he learned that he could use mana layering much like how the scales interacted with each other. He had been trying to create layers with the same shapes, but that wasn’t how it worked. Each scale might look the same, but they differed minutely depending on where on the body they were placed.

Each layer had a purpose and he had to create each layer with that in mind. It was wonderful once he realized that. He almost chose [Mana Layering] the second he realized it. The dragon construct may not have looked the prettiest, but the scales gave it a substance and stability that his construct have been missing. It wasn’t even created with compressed mana, but it was one of the tougher constructs he had built so far.

He got so into it that several hours passed by without him realizing it. He was so focused on improving his layering techniques, making each one better than the last.

He even got a notification for his discovery.

[Arcane Construct lvl 11 -> lvl 13]

[Arcane Construct] had managed to level up twice because of his revelation. He created one of his spikes using the method he used for creating the scales. Layering many small plates of mana, each one feeding off another, using each other for support. It took a long time, much too long for combat, even with [Mana Manipulation] making things faster.

What made this method particularly effective was that if one scale was to collapse then the others would equally take on a larger load to compensate. Before, a single crack in a construct destabilized and collapsed the entire thing. Now, it felt like a spike made out of real steel, swirling with red iridescent colors, he was curious how much more powerful this would be.

There were so many more possibilities but he felt like he was on the right track now. Who knows, he might create himself a set of scale armor in the future.

The next couple of days went like that. He had integrated [Pure Compression] along with this layering technique. It made it significantly more challenging but it also had much more amazing results.

[Arcane Construct lvl 13 -> lvl 14]

[Pure Compression lvl 12 -> lvl 13]

[Swordsmanship lvl 7 -> lvl 8]

He mainly focused on his mana exercises but he also changed things frequently, sometimes sparring with Orus and Declan, or taking some time to train his aura.

However, today was the day when he would find out if he was accepted or not. He wouldn’t lie and say that he wasn’t anxious, because he was. Declan tried to assure him that he was almost certain to get in, but doubt has a funny way of working its way into you.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Declan walked through the door holding an envelope in his hands. It was unopened, but had a gold “G” embossed on the seal. It didn’t take a genius to guess what might be in that letter. Julius rushed over to Declan and snatched the thing out of his hands before he could even say anything.

Declan laughed at Julius’s actions, understanding his impatience. Orus and Rae took a break from their work to see the result and laughed along with Declan. Julius carefully removed the seal from the envelope and took out the sheet of paper from it. He diligently read the text printed onto its surface, before dropping it to the floor.

The other three spotted the sad look on Julius’s face and immediately began consoling him. Telling him that it was okay. That there was always another school and other things that would cheer him up.

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It wasn’t until Orus picked up the dropped letter and read it for himself that he wrestled Julius to the ground and gave him a good smack for good measure.

“Orus! Stop that this instant! You should be comforting Julius at this time, not beating him up.” Rae admonished Orus.

Orus let Julius go but didn’t say anything and handed the letter over to Declan who was looking on confused. Declan read the letter and looked at Julius before also giving him a quick smack on the head.