Earthling in Uncharted Dimensions

Chapter 140: of 'Encyclopaedia To Greatness'

Lee stared at the Affinity panel while regularly glancing at the Essence count. Math disappointed him as he found out that he needed 252061696 Essence to reach Absolute grade in Lightning affinity. The realisation that the journey of flawless cultivation is like scaling Mount Everest naked, made him let out a deep sigh. Fero sensed his mental hopelessness and let out a consoling noise. Lee smiled at the hyena and patted its head.

'D, dictate the chapter 2 of Encyclopaedia to Greatness'.

[Why don't you practice a few moves while I narrate it? I won't recommend sitting idle, as your companions are also training.]

'That is correct.'

Lee removed Perrafin's head from his lap and Fero jumped up in excitement. The hyena thought that he was going to play in the warm daylight, but Lee conveyed his desire to practice. Fero sat near Perrafin and found coziness in its fur.

'I have not done an upgrade in years. D, increase my physical attributes and mental attributes to 400.'

[Physical attributes will consume 16800 Essence and mental attributes will take 9300 Essence. Do you wish to spend a total of 26100 Essence?]

'Yes.'

[Reminding that after reaching 600, the conversion will again be multiplied six times.]

'Oh, then upgrade all attributes to 600. Use 66000 Essence.'

Lee walked out of the shade and took out Black. As he slowly began to move according to his memories from Earth, D in his mind opened the book and started narrating in a soft tone. The pleasantness in his voice had a comforting effect.

[Mana is the basic of magic. It is less condensed than Qi, because Qi fills all sentient beings and thus forms a stable and rich foundation. While Qi cannot be corrupted, Mana can be, as it is the breeze that circulates through nature. Thus Mana gives more prominence to outward boosting, rather than inward growth. Unlike Qi, Mana can augment objects and peoples.]

'D, you are reading chapter one.'

Lee displayed an upward slash, and the breeze produced as it's aftereffect caught Gauthama's attention. Mia also sensed the wind passing her by. An and Tera did not notice it, because they were sparring each other.

[Okay. Chapter two, Mastery. Mastery is the core of operating Mana. It is defined as the systematic and efficient handling of Mana. Everyone born with a Mana pool in their body cannot exercise Mastery at the same rate. It is dependent on focus, intent and manipulation. The surroundings play a major role in the rate and efficiency of Mastery.

Mana is the component that lays the foundation for Mastery, while the user/host is the second half which develops the mastery to the pinnacle. With enough Mana, Rookie level mastery is easily attainable. But the rest of the progression needs to be carefully executed, or the user will experience Mana deviation and can lead to unpredictable disasters.

After Rookie level is attained, the user must introduce Mana to all of his/her internal and external organs and make it familiar with the whole being. The saturation limit of each organ differs from individual to individual. The maximum Mana that a body part can demand to saturate completely, will be the same amount of Mana used to reach the current mastery level.]

Lee unconsciously stored Black in his Inventory as he turned around swiftly, and in style. He was sure that he did not hear wrong, but this criteria was a little too much.

'D, I hope you are not messing with me.'

[No, I am not. This is how the Mana Mastery has been developed.]

'Okay, please continue.'

Lee took out Black and balanced it by its pommel on his right hand's index finger. As he attained balance, his body stayed unflinching and unyielding. Whenever a breeze tries to topple down Black, Lee would adjust his posture or take necessary steps to restore the balance. His footworks were quick and gentle.

[Complete saturation of all the organs with Mana is essential as any unevenness in the process can greatly shunt the benefits of Mastery. Uneven saturation can also lead to Mana deviation at unpredictable times and can explode a body part or the whole being unanticipatedly.

The user must be very cautious not to oversaturate, as Mana, when clustered together above the limit, can create vitality collapse and disintegrate the body part instantly. Thus the user must have an in-depth understanding of his/her own body before commencing such actions.

An important information regarding saturation is that condensed Mana should not be used to saturate body parts, but must only be used to level up in Mastery. The uncondensed Mana soaked throughout the body will act as a catalyst in smoothening up the painful process of upgradation. This soaking up is also the trigger in expanding the Mana pool inside the person.]

Lee jumped up, did a flip and twirl simultaneously in the mid-air, before landing with Black in fool's guard stance, only an inch away from the ground. He kept his pose intact as he was eagerly waiting for more narration.

[Lee, looks like you have found trouble.]

Hearing this, he instantly swept his senses across the place. No visual, auditory or olfactory senses were picked up, and Lee became at ease.

[Not that trouble, you fool. I meant trouble in Mana Mastery. I was talking about elemental affinities.]

'What about it?'

[Those with innate elemental affinity need to oversaturate their affinities with uncondensed Mana. This is to nurture the affinity identity, commonly known as Ego. Through oversaturation, the affinity becomes drunk with Mana, and cleanses itself. After each cleansing, the Ego will become more alive and conscious. When using skills above level 4, the Ego can directly manifest and provide explosive empowerment to the user.]

'Where is the saturation limit?'

[That is the problem. There is no fixed saturation limit for affinities. It varies on individual Mana capacity, purity of affinity and extent of possible growth. So, I am afraid that Mana consumption will skyrocket for sure.]

'The book says to oversaturate. It is a good thing, to be honest. We will know the limit when the affinity cleanses itself. But I am not confident in discussing the amount of Mana that will be expended in the process.'

[What I finished saying is the summary of the second chapter. It is also written that the upgrading in Mastery level will slightly increase the saturation limit of body parts.]

'Make a list of the body parts. The lesser the numbers are, the better.'

[On it.]

Lee raised his sword and rested it over his right shoulder. At once, his keen senses picked up something whistling towards him from the right. Black flashed with a record breaking swiftness and the arrow made out of Iron Wood got sliced to two. As he turned to his right, around 8 adventurers and 12 cultivators walked out of the vegetation. The sparring duo, Mia and Gauthama picked up their presence, but realised that their intent was towards Lee.

One of the cultivators stepped forward and took out a roll of paper from the inside of his robe. He unrolled it and showed it to Lee. Without wasting a second, a new quest had been generated!