Chapter 8 : Let The Grind Begin

The sun started over the horizon. From that horizon, one could clearly see a glistening castle in the distance. Adorned with many differing metals. All making the castle reflect in a powerful wave. On the very front of the castle, the metals on the castle clearly depicted that of a raven with a crown on its head. This was the castle of Ravenstorm. Within one of its rooms was a lone boy. Currently pushing his body to his current limit. What was he pushing exactly? Well if someone unable to sense mana were to look at his sweaty body standing in one position would think he was an idiot. Those who can sense mana though would call the boy a fool. The idea Kaleb was trying to push? Well, that was to do something so dumb and the very idea would go against the very theories and ideas of the highest level mages of Lostifa.

Currently, Kaleb was trying to create a second mana ball.

=Im telling you Kaleb. Not one mage has managed to accomplish what you are trying to do. Many have tried before. Yet all of them ended up crippled.=

<Thats... because...none...of...them...was...me...> Kaleb struggled to internally respond to Cathy.

Currently, the idea Kaleb was trying to accomplish was putting so much strain on Kaleb's mind that his very brain wanted to split in two from the pain. The pain was adored to lose your arm, feeling every muscle fiber regrow, then to just get burned off in the middle of its regrowth.

Although Kaleb was enduring the pain, his thought process was a mess. Although Cathy was bound to Kaleb by his soul, she couldn't hear everything Kaleb thought. However, even she wouldn't want to hear what he was thinking.

<FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU******************KKKKKKKKKKKKK>

Yup, he was screaming his mind away.

Kaleb was currently on the third step of his new Mana ball. Taking in the external mana from the air to fill the new mana ball. Yet each and every time Kaleb tried to receive the mana from the air and put it within the second mana ball, it would just go to Kaleb's original mana ball. Thus in turn forced his Mana ball to exceed its limit, then breaking. Kaleb would then need to split his mind keeping 2 images of his original Mana ball, and the second mana ball from disappearing. Although Kaleb would like to say this was like getting 2 birds with one stone, The pain he was enduring was not worth it.

<Cathy... gonna... try... something... new...>

=Kaleb I really don't like the sound of that. Although you are doing something most mages try to do in their lifetime. All of them give up past the 10-second mark. Yet you've been doing this for the past hour now! Whatever you are about to do might mentally cripple you!=

<NO...PAIN....NO...GAIN!>

With that Kaleb divided his full attention on the visualization of his 2 mana balls. Kaleb currently stopped his none stop mana absorption to give his brain a breather. After taking a 10-second break, Kaleb committed to his haphazard plan of combining his 2 mana balls. The idea was simplistic. Kaleb thought about creating a connection between his original Mana ball, with the same string-type connection. Although Kaleb already felt the second Mana ball and its connection to him, he felt that by severing the connection, and giving that connection to the original mana ball that the original mana ball would then start filling the second Mana ball up with mana.

This idea was only risky because of 2 things that would happen. If the connection started to happen and his original mana ball started seeping its mana into the second, if all the mana from his original went to the second then Kaleb would fall to the ground, which in turn would most likely stop his concentration. Where the second problem would come If Kaleb loses the visualization of the second Mana ball before Kaleb reaches the connection. Kaleb would have created the equivalent of a mana parasite to him. Since he wouldn't be able to use the second mana ball with no connection, it would constantly take mana from his original mana ball, breaking its self, and releasing the excess mana all throughout his mind. This in turn would most likely kill him.

Cathy had originally told Kaleb the story of a mage who tried to create a second Mana ball. His idea was that of a mad man. He thought that if he connected his second Mana ball to the external mana, that he would be able to fight indefinitely with the constant intake of mana from the world. Upon his completion of creating a connection to the external mana of the world, as each second that mana rushed into his Mana ball, it would break. The mage would then shape its regrowth. He spent days on end reshaping and repairing his constantly breaking mana Ball, that the pain it caused him would akin to burning alive. With the Mana ball's constant growth it continued to get bigger and bigger. Yet when the mage failed to reshape and repair his second mana ball, the mana forced itself out. With the size of 10 football fields of mana surging around within the mage's mind, his head exploded. The mana released from his mind went out with such force and velocity, that a small city 20 miles away was wiped off the face of Lostifa.

What Kaleb was trying to do, was not as crazy as that of the foolish mage but was still on par with that of crazy mages.

Kaleb started to try and replicate the string-type connection he had with both of his Mana balls. Kaleb started to criss-cross the idea of it, between both his original Mana ball and the secondary one. Eventually, a string-type connection was starting to emerge from the original Mana ball, making its way over to the other Mana ball. After 6 minutes of the sting meandering its way to the second Mana ball, a connection was made. Instantly after the Mana ball's connection between eachother was made, Kaleb severed his connection to the second Mana ball. When Kaleb severed his connection to the second mana ball, his original mana ball started seeping its mana into the second Mana ball. Seeing that happen Kaleb started taking the mana from around him back into his body, then into his Original mana ball.

The connection from his original to the second Mana ball may have been as close as possible to one another but the time in which the transfer happened of mana was, to say the least very slow. Kaleb endured though, as the strength of his original mana ball had been forced to break and repair 7 times now.

20 minutes flew by as Kaleb continued to maintain his original Mana ball at maximum mana, to make sure no accidents happened. His second mana Ball was about 30 seconds away from reaching the maximum amount of mana it could hold. As Kaleb saw the Mana ball almost reaching its peak, he started the connection with it once again.

10 seconds away, the string stayed less than that of a 1/64 of an inch from the Second mana ball. Kaleb had to perfectly time the cut of the connection from his original to the second mana ball, and create his connection once again with that of the second Mana ball.

The seconds felt like minutes. Then like hours. Kaleb closely observed both Mana balls in case anything happened.

<3 seconds... 2... 1... NOW!>

Cutting the connection from Kaleb's original Mana ball, he attached the string from him to the second mana ball.

{Ting}

The ting of the string being connect to Kaleb and his new Mana ball was formed.

=Holy. Shit. What the hell did he just do...=

<Completly outshine any genius in the world of Magic that's what.>

{Plop}

As Kaleb lost consensus from finally releasing the stress that ravaged his brain for then 1 hour and 30 mintues. His body flopped forward. Falling face-first onto the hard floor.

=He figured out his ambition for the world less than 12 hours ago and has nearly crippled himself. All because he didn't want to go to the bathroom in an iron pot. What kinda freak is this guy?=