preparing the (actual) spell circle(chapter 31)

Back in the familiar park, Adam could be seen seated beneath his favorite tree, surrounded by the gentle rustle of leaves and the soft chirping of birds. The atmosphere was tranquil, perfect for meditation. His goal was clear: to reach a spirtual force of 13, and he was halfway there. It had been two days since he changed the state of his mana, and after a good rest, Adam, unable to contain his excitement, decided to forgo his planned day off.

Instead, he delved into his nature mana, eager to reach the milestone of 100,000 nature mana particles. To his delight, he discovered that now, every time he amassed 10,000 of either mana type, they automatically coalesced into a single cloud unit without the need for manual condensation. Though this brought a sense of joy, it also came with its drawbacks. Adam could no longer gauge the number of mana particles he could control. 

Nonetheless, the overall outlook was positive as he remained singularly focused on enhancing his spiritual force. Since 6 in the morning, he had been diligently cultivating his spiritual force by either practising a spell or just meditation and absorbing ambient mana. His decision to meditate in the park was strategic, aimed at absorbing as much nature mana as possible. With a change in plans, Adam had decided to prioritize a new spell circle over his original star construct idea.

Originally, he intended to create a formation of stars connected by strings, which would then allow him to chance the formation of the stats, a spell with defensive and offensive capabilities. However, his curiosity about experimenting with spell circles using the weave as a steering mechanism led him to postpone the star spell. Instead, he focused on developing the "Omni-Directional Vine Waves" spell, designed for high damage output and creating distance between Adam and any potential adversaries.

Reflecting on the lack of monster activity the previous day, Adam couldn't help but wonder if they were planning something. Despite the brief respite, he remained vigilant, knowing that danger could lurk just around the corner.

-scene change-

A calm and collected Adam strolled back to his boat home, the sun casting a warm golden hue over the landscape. He carried different books, each one a tome of knowledge he had gathered. His steps were measured, purposeful, after a nice long meditation session. "Well, that was some progress in spiritual force," he thought to himself. "All that is left is .21 before reaching 13 points in spiritual force, and I can finally make my own spell circles."

As he recovered his spiritual force, he cast the mana string spell. Practice, after all, was his top priority no matter where he found himself. Adam had become adept at multitasking, a skill honed from casting multiple spells simultaneously. Now, he could even pickpocket people while maintaining a constant speed and without unnecessary movements. The ease with which he performed these actions was due to his familiarity with juggling spells that demanded his attention.

Upon arriving back at his boat home, Adam settled onto the dock in a rocking chair, a comfortable fixture of his living space. The gentle swaying of the boat beneath him was a familiar sensation. He spent the next couple of hours studying his new acquisitions. Meanwhile, the magic hand spell he had cast got to work repairing the boat, as apparently some holes had appeared in it. This routine of study, spell practice, and boat maintenance had become Adam's daily rhythm.

In the following days, Adam's routine continued. He meditated, exercised, and practiced his spells diligently. Of course, he also encountered monsters, such as a giant bat and a massive 55-foot-tall gorilla with imposing tusks. The gorilla was a foe he disliked fighting due to its intelligence, always proving to be a challenging opponent, but at the end of the day, he was alive, and they were not, the same could be said for any of his opponents.

-scene change-

Within his sea of consciousness, Adam observed as more mana flowed in, immediately joining a forming cluster that had yet to become a complete unit. He focused on the mana absorption, feeling his spiritual force replenish. Once the absorption was complete and his spiritual force had fully recovered, Adam summoned his floating screen. A smile lit up his face as he observed his status screen.

"Finally, finally, 13 spiritual points," he exclaimed in a mixture of relief and excitement. This was a monumental achievement for him, a milestone in his journey as a mage and a pathfinder mage at that. The thirteen minutes of waiting for his spiritual force to fully recover felt like an eternity to Adam, anticipation building within him.

When the moment arrived, Adam couldn't activate his spiritual force quickly enough. He controlled a single cloud unit of nature mana, shaping and warping it into the form of a circle. But that single cloud unit held more potential as Adam directed the rest of the mana to spell out a text in the weave alphabet around the outer part of the circle. The text read:

[ Omni-directional Vine-Wave: a spell that sprouts out a multitude of strong and durable waves of spiked vine roots that impales and swims through everything outwards ]

With the remaining cloud cluster, Adam encased the initial circle and the weave text in another circle. Within the initial circle, he visualized the image of a small vine, the core of his newly created spell. The intricate design shimmered with mana energy, the circles overlapping and weaving together seamlessly in the air before him.

Adam stared in awe at the completed spell circle, his eyes tracing the intricate weave of mana that formed the structure. The text in the weave alphabet read:

[ Omni-directional Vine-Wave: a spell that sprouts out a multitude of strong and durable waves of spiked vine roots that impales and swims through everything outwards ]

Using his spiritual force to maintain the spell, Adam felt each tick of his spiritual force causing his heart to palpitate with anticipation. "Come on, work, please work," he muttered under his breath, his focus unwavering as he concentrated on maintaining the structural integrity of the spell circle. The minutes stretched on, feeling like an eternity, until finally, the last of his spiritual force trickled down.

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A/N. Another chapter, and I just realized something. In every RPG game I have ever played, I always chose the sorcerer or wizard class, focusing on crafting or gathering materials with little emphasis on fighting. With that information, guess what the theme for my upcoming Witcher fanfic will be. If you guess correctly, I will give you Grandma's delicious cookies.