Chapter 50: Day Three of Training 6
Adam left the Merchants’ Guild with the feeling that he had received far more than just an economics lesson.
Stocks.
Dividends.
Bonds.
Licenses.
Primary and secondary markets.
All these concepts had existed for a long time in his old world, but here, they could become weapons almost as powerful as magic.
And in Shiora’s hands...
Adam had no doubt.
They would likely become weapons.
He took a deep breath and continued on his way to the Mage Tower.
The Progressive Charge Bracelets still weighed heavily on his wrists and ankles.
After several hours, his body was beginning to adjust to their presence.
Each step remained more difficult than usual.
Every movement required more effort.
But the initial discomfort was slowly diminishing.
Adaptation was already at work.
Adam could feel it.
His body gradually adjusted its posture.
His muscles distributed the effort more evenly.
His breathing naturally synchronized with his walking rhythm.
Even Mana Body seemed to adjust the flow of his energy to compensate for the added load.
"Selene will probably increase their power as soon as she notices I’m getting used to it..."
This thought was anything but reassuring.
When he arrived at the Tower of Mages, a small explosion rang out somewhere on the upper floors.
A pale blue smoke briefly escaped from a window before being absorbed by the tower’s protective barriers.
Adam looked up.
"Only one explosion today... It’s rather quiet."
He entered the main hall.
As always, the place seemed to disregard the normal rules of architecture.
Books floated between the floors.
Several staircases slowly changed direction.
A sphere filled with liquid crossed the room, chasing a mage apprentice covered in purple foam.
Adam decided not to ask.
He headed toward the reception desk.
The receptionist recognized him immediately.
"Good morning, Mr. Adam."
"Good morning. Is Vespera in her office?"
The young woman nodded.
"Yes. She’s waiting for you on the top floor."
Then her gaze drifted down to the metal bracelets on his wrists.
She studied them for a few seconds before looking up.
"New equipment?"
Adam sighed.
"A torture device officially called training equipment."
The receptionist maintained a perfectly professional expression.
But Adam noticed the slight movement at the corner of her lips.
"I see."
"You can laugh. Selene already did that to everyone."
The young woman turned her head slightly away.
"I wouldn’t dare."
Adam wasn’t convinced at all.
He waved to her one last time before heading toward the space elevator.
A few moments later, space warped around him.
His stomach felt like it was several floors below.
Then he appeared in the corridor of the top floor.
Even after using it several times, he still hated the feeling.
"One day, I’ll find a way to make this system more comfortable."
He walked silently down the corridor to Vespera’s office.
The door was ajar.
Adam knocked softly.
No answer.
He knocked a second time.
Still nothing.
But he clearly sensed a presence inside.
So he slowly pushed the door open.
Vespera’s desk had almost entirely disappeared beneath a pile of scrolls, crystals, and glowing diagrams.
Several plans floated above a massive table.
In the center was a partial reproduction of the Memory Crystal Plan.
The new runes discovered within it had been isolated.
Each floated within its own individual magic circle.
Some glowed with a blue light.
Others pulsed slowly with a violet glow.
Vespera stood before the table, completely absorbed in her work.
Her long black hair cascaded down her back as her red eyes darted from one symbol to the next.
She moved an unknown rune to an older circuit.
The magic lines connected.
A faint image appeared above the table.
It depicted a cup.
The projection trembled.
Then it distorted until it became an incomprehensible mass of light.
The next moment...
POP!
The circuit exploded in a small shower of sparks.
A barrier automatically appeared around Vespera and absorbed the explosion.
The dragon barely reacted.
She simply jotted something down on a piece of parchment.
Adam remained near the door.
"Incompatibility?"
Vespera finally looked up.
For a second, she seemed surprised to see him.
Then her expression returned to its usual calm.
"Adam."
"Hello."
"Hello. Come in."
He closed the door behind him and approached the table.
Vespera pointed to the glowing symbols.
"I’m studying the new runes discovered in the plans for the Memory Crystal and the Projection Box."
Adam observed the circuits.
"Are you already trying to integrate them with known runes?"
"Yes."
She revealed two more diagrams.
"This one seems linked to the storage of visual information. That one appears to ensure a form of temporal continuity between several images."
Adam frowned slightly.
"Like a succession of images recorded very quickly?"
Vespera nodded.
"That’s my hypothesis as well. But their operation depends on a structure I don’t yet fully understand."
She indicated the circuit that had just exploded.
"I tried connecting the continuity rune to a classic illusion rune." The image appeared, but the structure failed to maintain the order of the information.
Adam examined the remnants of the circuit.
"The data got jumbled up."
Vespera turned her eyes toward him.
"Data?"
"The information contained in the recording."
She thought for a few seconds.
Then she jotted the word down in the margin of her notes.
"Data. The term is appropriate."
Adam smiled slightly.
Even after only a few days, some words from her old world were already beginning to enter Valoria’s vocabulary.
Vespera was about to continue her explanation when she finally noticed the metal bracelets around his wrists.
Her gaze then drifted down to his ankles.
Her red eyes narrowed.
"What are you wearing?"
Adam looked down.
"The Progressive Charge Bracelets created by Elaria."
Vespera approached immediately.
She gently grasped his wrist and examined the runes engraved on the metal.
A thin filament of red mana flowed through the bracelets.
"Physical charge set to seventy percent of your current strength. Gradual adjustment. Partial synchronization with your mana..."
She looked up.
"Selene gave them to you today?"
"Yes. She noticed something during training."
"What?"
Adam hesitated for a second.
But Vespera was already among those who knew most of his public abilities.
And this skill was now listed on his status panel.
"I gained a new skill last night. Adaptation."
The filament of mana around the bracelet stopped abruptly.
Vespera remained perfectly still.
"Repeat."
"Adaptation. Level one." "
A silence fell.
Adam was beginning to recognize this reaction.
Selene froze.
Elaria stopped writing.
And now, even Vespera seemed genuinely surprised.
"I’m starting to understand that this isn’t an ordinary skill."
The dragon released her wrist.
"No."
She took a few steps toward the table, her hands clasped behind her back.
"Adaptation is one of the most dangerous growth skills ever recorded."
"Elaria told me about the two known previous wielders."
"Then she probably explained the gist of it."
Vespera turned her head slightly toward him.
"But she may have focused on the physical and historical consequences. In the realm of magic, this ability can become even more exceptional."
Adam immediately felt his interest grow.
"Why?"
"Because most mages are limited by their affinity, their mental structure, their mana flow, and the habits acquired during their training."
She raised a hand.
Several small magical circles appeared around her fingers.
"The more a mage practices a method, the more natural that method becomes. But this also means that different methods become harder to learn."
The circles changed shape.
Some used elemental runes.
Others used strengthening structures.
"Adaptation can gradually reduce these incompatibilities." Your body, your mana, and your mind can learn to withstand constraints they would normally reject."
Adam looked at the circles.
"So I could more easily use several different magical systems?"
"Potentially."
Vespera made the symbols disappear.
"But that will depend on your training. Adaptation doesn’t give you mastery immediately. It only transforms repeated difficulties into future foundations."
Adam nodded.
This explanation perfectly matched how he felt about the bracelets.
They weren’t actually getting lighter.
His body was simply learning to function under their strain.
Vespera remained silent for a few seconds.
Then she returned to her desk and picked up another scroll.
She drew several lines.
Erased part of the program.
Then she rewrote the entire planned session.
Adam watched her move.
"You just changed my training?" "
"Yes."
"I suppose you’re going to make it harder."
"Obviously."
Adam closed his eyes briefly.
"Why did I ask?"
Vespera didn’t even acknowledge the remark.
"The original program called for thirty minutes of mana compression, followed by separate spellcasting and rune-building exercises."
She placed the scroll in front of him.
"That program is no longer suitable."
Adam quickly scanned the new instructions.
"Ten minutes of compression..."
"To reach a stable state."
"Then I have to maintain the compression for the entire session?"
"Exactly."
He slowly looked up at her.
"While casting spells and drawing runes?"
"Yes."
"So I have to constantly concentrate my mana while using it for something else."
"You catch on quickly."
Adam looked at the scroll again.
"It’s like trying to maintain pressure in a tank while controlling several different outlets."
"A fair comparison."
Vespera gestured to the center of the room.
"Begin."
Adam stood in the middle of the training circle.
He closed his eyes.
Then he inhaled slowly.
Thanks to Mana Body, he could clearly feel the energy flowing through his body.
It emanated from his center.
Passed through his torso.
Divided into his arms, legs, and head.
Until now, he had learned to compress this energy into a specific area.
To reduce its volume.
To increase its density.
He began slowly.
The mana gathered.
The flows tightened.
A pressure appeared in his body.
Not painful.
But demanding.
As if he were trying to hold an invisible force in his hands.
A minute passed.
Then two.
The compression fluctuated slightly.
Adam adjusted.
The mana stabilized.
Vespera walked around him, observing each change.
"Don’t force it with your mind alone. Use your breath."
Adam changed his rhythm.
With each inhale, mana flowed toward his center.
With each exhale, the structure tightened.
The pressure became more even.
Five minutes.
His muscles were already beginning to feel the fatigue of the bracelets.
Maintaining a still posture under this weight required more effort than he had anticipated.
But Adaptation was responding.
His body slightly adjusted the position of his feet.
His breathing synchronized with the flow of mana.
Unnecessary tension gradually disappeared.
Ten minutes later, Vespera raised a hand.
"Enough. Maintain this state."
Adam opened his eyes.
"And now?"
A small target appeared a few meters in front of him.
"Use Heal."
Adam raised his hand.
He circulated some of the compressed mana toward his fingers.
A green light appeared.
But as soon as the energy left its center, the internal compression fluctuated violently.
The spell wavered.
The green light suddenly swelled.
Then it went out.
Adam frowned.
"I lost my balance the moment I powered the spell."
"Again."