Bonded Summoner

Book 5. Chapter 2: Advanced Energy Manipulation

Tanda growled in frustration, scratching her claws through heir feathery hair. “This is just too hard! Pushing my will to control the energy, I keep activating my manifestation!”

Jake scratched between her ears atop her head, her whole body freezing at his touch. She sighed in contentment as she leaned against him, her frustrated expression shifting into bliss.

It had been a few days since the World Tree Seed was planted, Jake’s party facing Rifts and saving refugees on the East Coast. Using [Reverse Summon], they managed to increase the number of larger Rifts they took on to over ten per day.

Ophelia and Ira would head to one Rift, while Fhesiah would head to another. Their mobility was absurd, and it seemed Tartarus was already starting to shift its strategy.

The enemy now appeared to be focusing on smaller Rifts and all over the continent. It had been using them before, but now the sheer number and distance apart made it less worth their efforts. Jake’s party couldn’t split up too much, as they suspected the enemy Champions were biding their time and waiting to pounce on them.

However, this had a positive effect in Jake’s mind: it gave Hearthtribe excellent opportunities to advance. The smaller Rifts were absolutely perfect for their lower-leveled and Adventurer team members to team up and assault them. Parties like Brock’s were roaming the wilderness in medium-sized groups of around ten to fifteen, safely clearing them out.

Jake was focused on trying to master [Advanced Energy Manipulation] along with Tanda. He scratched her ears mindlessly as he focused on trying to control the Qi inside the crystal in his hand.

He was in his Runebound: Sage state, doing his best to synchronize with his kitsune wife to aid in his pursuit of the truth.

Fhesiah was in her kitsune form, her expression filled with fondness and patience. Her voice called out soothingly to Tanda. “You are on the right track, but I think your instincts are getting in the way. Just take a deep breath, and try to separate yourself from using the life energy.”

Tanda had a mana crystal instead, but she was having difficulties. Jake thought he was close. From the skill manual, the idea was somewhat simple.

The gist of it was, that to manipulate energies that they had no connection to–either through a special organ or Origin–they would use their strength of soul to force it to do their bidding. The Origin component was often related to the universe within the multiverse, how the race or species was borne.

The default Origin for a human from Earth joining the Framework was that of Mana. Activating that connection to the soul, it was as if it would baptize a human in it, causing them to generate and draw it from the void.

He thought what he needed to do was actually quite similar to how he over-rode Bree’s will. By pushing his [Presence], desires, and his will into the energy, it should be similar to shoving with the soul.

However, he had done the shoving through his bond–not on an object in his hands, let alone the energy contained within. Jake too was starting to get a little frustrated, but he knew he wanted this skill.

He had control over the energy as it was in his Hearth, but auril in particular was not overly useful–at least not yet. As soon as it left his Hearth, the energy would just disburse. Having a level of control would help, even if it was an entire Tier behind.

Jake decided he would give this another shot after viewing it some more. “Can you do it again for me, Fhesiah?”

“Of course, husband.”

Following his bond, he did his best to resonate with Fhesiah as she willed the mana in the air in front of her to move and coalesce, by mere force of soul. She made runes, spell forms, and even a handful of scripts.

Jake ignored most of that, instead focusing on sensing Fhesiah through his bond. He was trying to ride her senses, to feel and understand what she was doing as she manipulated the mana.

Nodding, Jake leaned as heavily he could into his covenant. The runes on him lit up, as he pushed his will into the Qi crystal. Watching it with his [Arcane Eye], he shifted through reproducing the feelings Fhesiah gave off, and mentally shoving what was within the crystal.

At some point Fhesiah chuckled and he knew she had a fond smile, but then she gasped just as he saw what he was doing appear in his Arcane Eye–and move the energy. Doing his best to hold onto the feeling, he tried it again, managing to have his will show up in his Arcane Eye.

It was like he was pushing a muscle he didn’t know he had, grasping onto the energy. He received a notification that he had received the skill, and he sighed in satisfaction.josei

Jake asked, “What was funny?”

“Hmm? Nothing at all, dear husband. Perhaps, you might have made a cute expression–your face scrunched up all cutely, almost like my dear sister Berri does when she morphs her armor.”

Tanda’s eyes snapped open, and she laughed. “Awww, I missed it! Now I want to see it!”

Fhesiah smiled. “Hmmm, well I just might have transcribed the image of it on this crystal, preserving it for all time. You have to master that skill, and then I just might create an illusion of it for you.”

Jake and Tanda both groaned, but for different reasons. Tanda looked at Jake with her big golden eyes. “Can you help me now, you think, Jake? Or maybe just make the face again?”

Despite it being against his best interests for her current desire, he knew he should help her with the skill. He motioned for her to sit on his lap, and they synchronized their breathing like they did during their date.

Finding resonance again, he shifted his Runebound state to that of the Avenger. Maximizing his resonance with her, he pushed the feelings he had for her over their bond. They enjoyed their closeness for a moment, before they shifted their focus on the task at hand.

Jake repeated his success with manipulating the Qi inside his crystal, and Tanda followed along with the steps. It still took her several tries, her wolf bite attack being manifested and crystals being destroyed, but eventually, it clicked into place. She shifted the mana slightly, and was awarded with the skill.

Her tail was buzzing as she spun around, to look at Jake. “I did it! Thank you so much, my mate!” She bowled him over, kissing Jake all over his face and neck, causing Jake to chuckle and grab onto her.

Tanda nuzzled into him, hugging him back tightly as she shared her happiness and excitement with Jake.

Fhesiah just looked on fondly. “Good job. Advancing the skill be challenging for you two, but it may pay dividends. I’ve read that there are sections of the Tartarus dungeon where there are harmful environments, and this skill can be useful for protecting ourselves. We may find ourselves in a location where regenerating our resources may be somewhat limited, so being able to use others is paramount.”

The second Tier was going to present all sorts of unique challenges, both on the worlds they might visit, and from Tartarus proper. Jake’s party would be ahead of the curve, able to access each other’s energies and use such a wide variety of them.

Of course, the Alliance had various methods to counteract these problems as well. From items like the [Mana Font], to carrying around additional energy storage like the mana crystals.

The three spent a few more hours working on the skill, and he knew that repeating the process he did with Tanda, he was likely to be able to teach Ophelia, Blood, and Berri how to use the skill properly.

Jake found the skill interesting, because it was like it could add onto his current capabilities. He compared it to how he had used the spell forms before. Intent was part of how he manipulated the mana and used it, and that went for runes as well.

Shaping the mana and grabbing onto it with a thought, he would then direct where it went. But with [Advanced Energy Manipulation], he could more forcefully grab onto the runes or spell forms with his force of will, rather than just his intent. This appeared to solidify the spell, controlling how the mana coalesced without falling apart.

This had a consequence or side effect, however: his mind became sluggish, almost as if some kind of mental energy was expended. He could only maintain using the skill for a short period.

Fhesiah nodded at his thoughts. “That is a good way of putting it, and this same mental energy is my limitation for manifesting my Dao. As your soul and mind becomes stronger, you should be able to do it for longer or more often. This was an extremely valuable skill for you to obtain on many levels. Most likely, if your mental attributes weren’t as amazing as they were, you still wouldn’t have been able to obtain it until the second Tier.”

Ophelia entered the room, smiling at Tanda nuzzling Jake. “It looks like Amara is ready for you, Jake.”

Jake raised his brow, as he continued lavishing attention on his almost-wolf girl. “It’s good to see you, but she could have sent a message?”

“I wanted to see you, and I was already heading back after working with the Eternum smith–there’s a lot to learn from an unliving armor about…how to make armor.”

Tanda bounded into Ophelia with a hug, then turned to Fhesiah. “Oh yeah! I learned the skill. Can I see it now?”

Fhesiah smirked, then generated the image of Jake making quite an unflattering face. How she would find that cute he would never understand, but all three girls giggled as they each looked at him with a smile.

It would bother him, but the fondness he felt over their bond made him feel like it was a special moment for them, for whatever reason.

Fhesiah chuckled. “Well, that was fun, and good work, husband. Tanda, would you help me with the herbs in my lab? Those spriggons have gotten quite industrious, and I now have much to work with.”

“Okay! Love ya, Jake, Lia!”

He spent a few minutes with Ophelia, recharging her Jake energies. The two enjoyed holding hands, kissing, and talking about their recent activities and plans, before he headed out to meet with Amara.

Ophelia would work on learning the skill together with Jake soon enough, but for now she was working on her next major project, a potent shield for him. She would also focus on making one for Tanda and Bloodberri, as a sort of emergency measure for them. Still, she would expend the most expensive materials on Jake’s, as those two were not likely to get much use out of them.

***

Jake arrived outside the Cascadia HQ through his Refuge portal. Despite having taken over Life’s Haven, the population at this location was simply the highest.

This curved how many Rifts would spawn in the surrounding area, and really, it was a top choice among beastkin.

The cascading waterfalls were a beautiful sight, and the plateau was one of the largest and most expansive. This was especially the case if you included the section across the land bridge, which included Wildheart City.

He entered the training facilities, finding Bloodberri play-practicing with Rhia and the various Eternum, and even spriggons, fauns, Adventurers, and dryads. A handful of Satyrs were present as well, practicing along with the rest their forestry magic or various others.

As far as Jake understood, forestry magics were a lot like elemental manipulation. At this Tier elemental manipulation was extremely challenging and could only be accomplished by those using attuned mana, or with high elemental affinities.

Humans were a race that it would take a rare genius to accomplish this. The trade-off appeared to be that aside from a handful of rare affinities, humans were average, or could be above average in nearly all of them. Combining that with attuning their mana, they could compete with even rare races–with enough hard work, talent, and a bit of luck.

In contrast, the Elysium races were almost entirely locked-in to one or two affinities at birth, their mana already attuned to nature or water. A Naiad could never learn or be able to use a fire spell. They would be stuck with water, nature, and then have minor affinities in things like faith-based magics, light and dark.

The fauns and dryads were similar in their limitations, some excelling in the elemental magics associated with nature–lightning, water, and wind, like Nadessa.

Those that had attuned mana were often stuck with that one school or class of magic, only able to sometimes use adjacent ones. Faith-based magic was typically the only other option for them.

Amara and the caster Eternum were present and helping the various casters. A few dryads were learning script magic, though Jake knew it would take a bit of effort before their work bore fruit.

But Blood and Berri were both working on spells they could cast as a two-person group. Jake watched as the runes from the two girls floated together, and as they solidified, they fizzled out.

Berri groaned. “Oh, come on! I thought I had it right that time.”

Amara’s flame flickered, her eyes having observed their attempt. “It was a good try, but you had them in the wrong order.” She seemed to ponder for a moment, but as she did, Rhia completed her spell.

Rhia was using Nordic runes too, and she completed a form of strength buff of Jake’s creation. Her body was filled with magical might, and she punched out several times, her fist displacing the surrounding air.

Berri looked on in envy as Amara praised Rhia. “Great work, Rhia! You’re a natural.”

Amara cleared her nonexistent throat as she noticed Berri’s expression. “You aren’t great at remembering the order of the runes, but so what? Enough practice and you’ll get it. But how about this?”

She continued, “Kaunan's flame dances high, on Ansuz's whispers, it will fly. Thurisaz's power, fierce and bright, ignites Fehu's spark in the night.”

Blood hummed. “A mnemonic? That might work for her.”

Berri tapped her lips. “Fehu is the fork, right? Then Thurisaz…that’s the arrow one–?”

Blood groaned. “No, that’s Tiwaz. It’s the one that–”

“Oh yeah, the boob!” Berri nodded sagely as she began forming up the spell again, causing Blood to have to rush and catch up. They coalesced into two spells, a white and black lance of flame, before spiraling at the training dummy.

Rhia clapped, and Jake joined along with her. Berri spotted him and blitzed toward Jake.

“Jake! Did you see?” She hugged Jake, lifting him into the air. “I did it! Er, we did it.”

He chuckled. “Good job, you two. Each of those you learn should give us more options.“

Berri returned to her practice, Blood doing her best to work in mnemonics to remember the rune orders and shapes. Jake followed Amara into a side room with enchantments on the walls to contain the damage from spells.

It was time for Jake to use his enchantments once more to help his friends.