Jack had been able to use mana manipulation to empower some of his skills. He was getting more and more proficient in it. But for his spells, he was mostly still unable to. It was not a problem for basic spells such as Ice Bullet or Electric Bolts. But for advanced and elite spells, it was harder to incorporate mana manipulation into them. The degree of difficulty was higher than his melee skills.
Before this, he had been able to use mana manipulation to change his spell's trajectory. Now, he focused on training to increase the spell's power.
His mana affinity gave him better control over his mana and allowed this feat to be possible. He first tested it using Ice Bullet. The ice ball shot out was significantly larger. No dummy was available inside the Time-space Chamber, though, so he couldn't gauge how much damage his mana manipulation had increased. He would have to run to the Training Ground if he wanted to find out.
Empowering all the basic spells was easy with his new talent, but the big spells required more concentration. When he empowered his Arcane Turbulence. The chaotic torrents of energy swirling around the affected field seemed to be double than usual.
Different spells required different mana flow, which meant a different approach. If he wanted to get used to all his spells and empower them naturally during a battle, he would have to practice for a very long time. Hence, he decided to select a few spells and focus on training these spells.
The ones he chose to practice on were Perpetual Lightning Judgement, Time Realm, and Tracing Beams.
When he empowered the Perpetual Lightning Judgement, the lightning snakes were thicker. The number of lightning snakes was also more than usual, and they could travel significantly farther distances.
The first time he did this, he underestimated the empowerment. The lightning snakes spread everywhere and almost hit everyone in the chamber, even after he moved to the furthest corner in the chamber.
Murong sensed the danger and quickly put herself in front of Muilan and used Ki Shield. Her ki shield was powered by mana manipulation so it was thicker and sturdier than normal. But even then, the ki shield shattered after being hit by three lightning snakes.
Luckily, the lightning snakes were spread out everywhere, so she was not hit by more.
Leavemealone and Grace also sensed the incoming lightning. Leavemealone transformed into White Tiger Emperor form and used his fists to block the lightning. Grace activated Armor of Ego and relied on her defense and resistance to survive the punishment.
The lightning snakes even reached the fiery dome erected by Luna. The dome's defense was high enough that the damage caused by Jack's spell wasn't able to destroy it. Luna's image appeared above the dome afterward. The ghostly image of the fiery horse stared at Jack with a reproaching stare. The others in the chamber did the same.
Jack looked at all of them as sweat came down his forehead. "Sor… Sorry… It won't happen again," he said.
The next time he cast it, he made sure to redirect all the lightning snakes into an empty corner.
For the Time Realm, he noticed the barrier by its edges was thicker and more solid. Enemies who were trapped inside his time realm would find a harder time to escape. Not only that, but he sensed the mana inside the time realm was also much heavier. He believed the enemy's speed would be decreased even slower than usual.
When he empowered his Tracing Beams, the produced beams were thicker and moved much faster. They also traveled further and lasted longer. Additionally, he found he could easily control their flying directions. He could make the beams turn at a sharp angle, multiple times. This should allow him to perform feints with the beams, giving the enemy a harder time blocking those beams.
Jack continued alternating the practice between the Nine Yin Phantom Sword and the three spells. When the cooldown of the three spells was over, he cast these spells and practiced empowering them to get used to doing it naturally during a battle.
The last month slowly trickled by inside the chamber. During this past month, everyone was starting to see better results from their training.
Muilan had incorporated the sword's heart into her sword technique, even if it was still at the beginning stage. Her swordplay was much more fluid and accurate than before. She even requested Jack to spar with her once in a while.
Jack happily complied. He also enjoyed crossing swords with Muilan and took his mind off training for a brief period.
Leavemealone could already perform the Nine Yin Abyssal Finger. Murong praised Leavemealone's learning speed. He was also a very obedient and disciplined disciple. Murong repeatedly mentioned how lucky Domon was for getting him as a disciple.
Jack's learning speed was even faster, he could already summon the Nine Yin Phantom Sword as he wished. But he still couldn't do it often. He felt as if his mana reserve was depleted after the execution. His mana sense became numb and he couldn't do mana manipulation.
His mana sense returned rather fast. Around one minute after execution, he could sense mana again. It took longer for mana manipulation. He needed around ten minutes before he could properly manipulate mana again. Even then, he couldn't immediately execute another Nine Yin Phantom Sword. If he tried to, he would get the sensation as if he didn't have enough mana to do it. Only after half an hour had passed that he could unleash another Nine Yin Phantom Sword.
Because of this limitation, he couldn't use this martial art as he wished. He would be vulnerable for some time after using it. Murong consoled him that this limitation would reduce when his expertise in mana manipulation increased.
Murong also praised that Jack's current level of mana manipulation was already a feat never before seen at someone his age. Jack had to attribute that praise to his mana affinity talent.
As for Grace, she still couldn't execute the Nine Yin Devouring Palm. She was dejected. She felt left out and even thought of herself as not talented enough.
Jack and Murong consoled her. Murong said she also couldn't perform that art yet despite feeling close to learning it. She said this last art within the Nine Yin Scripture was the hardest one. But once Grace learned it, it would be worth it.
At the end of their third month inside the chamber. Domon entered the chamber with The Man and Bowler. Following behind them was a mass of players who had been dying to enter the chamber for some time.
"How does it go?" Domon asked.
"Do you mind if we use this chamber for a little while longer?" Murong asked back.
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