Chapter 108 - One Unit
"Finally, I can use the wind element now." Re'Kha was overjoyed. She then closed the book after seeing that she had obtained everything that had been imbued on the second page.
Re'Kha placed the book in the bag and kept it in the storage space. She noticed through her Wood Qi perception how the storage ring absorbed all the Wood Qi floating around her after it opened the entrance to the storage space twice.
'I see; this is a good method to erase all traces of Wood Qi in the future.' Re'Kha made a mental note of it as she got up, stretching her limbs as she relaxed. She basically understood what her Pranic Art entailed now.
"Wind Blade; it shoots a blade of wind the size of my arm. Its range is twice my height, lasts for a breath in time, and consumes only one unit of Wind Qi." Re'Kha iterated the information, expressing her thoughts, "This is more lethal than a wind attribute palm projection. And, there should be a reason master placed this as the first Pranic Art I would learn."
She anticipated the content on the third page. But since she only possessed two units of Wood Qi now, she couldn't access the contents on the third page. At present, she had one unit of Wind Qi circulating in her meridians while 11 units were within her Pranic Heart.
Therefore, using a Pranic Art that consumed one unit of Wind Qi was her limit. Still, she was able to unleash 12 Wind Blades when needed. So, Re'Kha was fine with it.
When she switched to the wood element, she had two units of Wood Qi circulating in her meridians while another 10 units were in her Pranic Heart. So, the maximum consumption Pranic Art she could use now would be one that consumed two units of Wood Qi to activate.
Re'Kha sighed, "If I wish to have 13 units of Elemental Qi in me, I need to comprehend 13 units worth of all the three elements. Only then can I increase the Qi from 12 units to 13 units by consuming a Prana Stone."
'Until then, I have no requirement to return to my Clan. Thankfully, grandma Mu'Tua has already informed father. So I can rest assured.'
Re'Kha took in a deep breath, raising her right hand before her chest. She slightly crouched and widened the distance between her feet to give herself better balance. As the Pranic Art only had a range of two men, she distanced herself accordingly to prevent hitting any object.
Whenever the range of a Pranic Art was said, it was stated in terms of men. After all, the height specified in a Pranic Art varied according to the user. The range of the Wind Blade was two men, so it meant it could travel to a distance twice the height of Re'Kha.
If the same Pranic Art was used by someone taller than her, then the range of action of his Pranic Art would be greater than Re'Kha. And, the increase in range would be twice the height difference between the two individuals.
There were only three variations in the range of a Pranic Art, no more, no less. It was a range of two men, four men, and six men. And, depending on the range, it was valued Copper, Silver, and Gold respectively.
If determined in the metric system, the height of Re'Kha would be 160 centimetres. So, when she unleashed the Wind Blade, its range would be 320 centimetres.
The second variation in a Pranic Art was the duration it could last before dispersing. This too only had three variations: one breath, two breaths, and three breaths in time. The breath used here was subjective and lasted for how long the Harmoniser held his/her breath in.
That's why all the Harmonisers trained their lung capacity rigorously. For, the greater they could hold their breaths, the longer their Pranic Art projections lasted.
And, depending on the breaths the Pranic Arts lasted, one, two, and three breaths, they were rated as Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 respectively.
The Elemental Qi consumed by a Pranic Art to activate was determined based on its range and duration of existence. At the very bottom was a Copper Tier 1 Pranic Art. With a range of two men and a duration of one breath in time, all Pranic Arts in this domain only consumed three Elemental Qi to activate.
And, for every increase in the Tier, the consumed Elemental Qi increased by one unit. Similarly, for every increase in its value—Copper, Silver, and Gold—the consumed Elemental Qi increased by another unit.
For example, the Hand Projection used by Re'Kha had a range of four men and lasted for three breaths in time. So, it cost five plus one unit of Elemental Qi to consolidate the projection, altogether six units of Water Qi.
The maximum a Pranic Art could consume was seven units of Elemental Qi, which was at the height of a Harmoniser's Elemental Qi consumption.
But, there was an exception that fell below them—the Palm Projections. A Palm Projection only consumed one Elemental Qi to activate. Its range was two men and it lasted for one breath in time. But, that was only theoretical.
Any Pranic Art, irrespective of its value or Tier, lasted until its duration was up. Until then, it could be manipulated by the Harmoniser freely. That's why Re'Kha could use her Hand Projection to climb up and down the house before. Depending on the Pranic Art, it could dance in the air and do a variety of effects.
But, a palm projection wasn't like that. The moment it was unleashed, it left the Harmoniser's control and went straight. And, the moment it crossed the range of two men, it straight up disappeared.
And, the moment it slammed into any obstacle, its effect was done. It transmitted all the force it was carrying into the obstacle and disappeared. So, Palm Projections were the easiest to use because they had zero aspect of individual control in them.
But, the only reason they were popular in use was that they only needed one Elemental Qi to activate. After all, any other Pranic Art needed a minimum of three Elemental Qi to activate.
And now, in the same place of the palm projections was the Wind Blade, something her master had probably created. She hadn't ever come across a Pranic Art other than the Palm Projection that consumed just one Elemental Qi.