n

n

nNature, wind, and earth were trickier to master. For earth, he couldn't do much other than try and control more or less of it. Both of which didn't do much. For nature, he would lose control of it when the spell was around a third of its size. For wind, the wind even on a windless day would destroy his spell.

nIn the end, Eldrian had to bench them. Finally, he returned to the ice disk. Forming the mana beforehand near his right hand, Eldrian slowly let it flow from him to the air above his hand.

nAltering the amount of darkness to the smallest decree to ensure the ice stayed a consistent heat. Fighting the natural heat transfer from the surrounding in this cure way.

nSlowly, from a spec of ice, a disk became formed. Yet, this was just the first step.. 'Good, now I have to learn how to change the form after the fact.' Eldrian mumbled, doing this a few more times before moving on.

nCasting Frost Needle, and then removing mana and adding it back to alter the form while keeping it stable. It took him around two hours to succeed, and when he did it took an entire 5 minutes for the icicle to become a disk. But he was happy nonetheless.

nSmiling, Eldrian felt like it was time for a break and something to eat. So, he headed over to the spring and found a nice spot of shade.

n...

n

"What now?

" Eldrian asked to who was knocking on his door. Having just logged out after continuing to improve his control of the ice element and dearly wishing to fall asleep to recover.

nControlling mana as he was training was draining, and the normal tricks didn't help to keep his mind relaxed. He needed a few hours of sleep every day, luckily two to four seemed to be enough.

nControlling ice was also far harder than just water or darkness alone, but he wasn't going to complain. He realized he had come onto something far more thanks to it. He wasn't even sure if Zamia meant for him to go with the path he had gone, but she hadn't stopped by during the past two days so he assumed she was happy with what he was doing.

n

"Sorry for the disturbance,

" Constantin said, jumping through the door before Eldrian could close it.

n

"No, it is quite alright,

" Eldrian said, confused why Constantin seemed to be in such a rush.

"What's up?

"

n

"I-I, I think I felt it!

"

n

"Felt what?

"

n

"Mana!

" Constantin shouted with gusto.

n

"Oh!

" Eldrian's eyes flew wide open as he waited for Constantin to explain.

n

"It was like this spark. Deep in my stomach, heating up my entire body as I called out Floga. I thought I was mad for keeping at it, heck, everyone thought I had lost it. But I felt it!

"

n

"Alright, calm down,

" Eldrian said, placing a hand on Constantin's shoulder to stop him from pacing around nervously.

n

"You say it was like a spark, did you manage to connect to it?

"

n

"No, no-no-no. Not at all. It comes and goes so quickly that I am never able to even realize it before it is gone. But!

"

n

"But it is there.

" Eldrian finished his sentence,

"That's good. Now you just need to keep trying until you can connect with it.

"

n

"Of course!

" Constantin finally calmed down, having been afraid it was just his imagination playing with him. Focusing on a spell module and shouting its word of power for days on end, even he had started to think he was going mad.

nConstantin suddenly realized how he had acted, straightening up, he quickly coughed to clear his throat.

"Sorry about that, I was a little...

"

n

"It's fine, I get how you feel.

" Eldrian said, his enthusiasm when making a discovery was often just as lively.

n

"Right, enough about that. Are you ready?

"

n

"Ready? For what?

"

n

"Your cabin, of course!

"

n

"It's today?

" Eldrian's eyes flew open in surprise.

n

"Yes, we managed to do the final stress tests yesterday. They should be coming to install it in a few hours. I recommend you go for a walk or something, it is going to become quite dusty in here.

"

n

"Sure,

" Eldrian replied, deciding to go take a nap under his favorite tree. For synchronization reasoned, the seasons in-game were the same as that IRL. To keep the day-night cycle of the game and real-world as close as possible to one another.

nThe season however was far more clear in the real world. Half the trees have started to turn to the color of autumn. With a number of them having even shed a few brightly colored leaves.

nThis however didn't change his plan, so after leaving his room and fighting his fatigue. Eldrian got himself something to eat while talking a bit with Flavia and the others. She had finally been promoted, getting to participate in actual coding.

nWhile Eldrian was happy for her, he didn't have the mental energy to show it. So after eating, he quickly jogged to his tree and fell asleep under it within seconds.

n...

nReturning to his room, Eldrian looked at the massive cabin installed in the corner with confusion.

"Why is it so big?

" He asked, the cabin's height was from floor to roof, while its width was that of a queen-sized bed.

n

"That is because we suspect you will do some crazy things. The standard module we are working on for commercial sales is half the height and only as wide as a twin-sized bed.' Joren replied.

n

"And what is the extra size supposed to do?

" Eldrian asked, unable to think of anything it might be used for.

n

"There are a few things, the most important is that it comes with its own designated system to watch over you.

" Seeing Eldrian's confused look Joren quickly cleared up that it wasn't The System.

n

"This system isn't a full AI. Its functions are simple, to monitor you like all other devices. But unlike those devices, it will start treatment if deemed necessary. For example, if you stay in the game for longer than a day, it will automatically insert IV drips to sustain your body.

"

nJoren naturally didn't want to go into detail about all the functions, as that would take hours.

"Naturally, that is just one of the things it can do. And the smaller versions will also be capable of doing this. Another part of Miracle is also working on enhanced nutrient fluids, which once certified as safe, we are also going to start selling.

"

n

"Again, why is it so much bigger then?

" Eldrian asked after Joren's admission that the IV part wasn't the reason.

n

"Ah, right... It is mostly more stacked for emergencies compared to those we are going to sell. Commercially, we plan to have the limit be three days of gaming. And this will naturally only be allowed once a week and with good reason. Like a pressing quest.

"

n

"Yours instead can sustain you for an entire week without human interference. However, that will be truly bad for your physical wellbeing.

" Joren paused to make sure Eldrian understood.

"But, we know that you truly care for those on Gaia and hopefully this will allow you to stay inside longer if you need.

"

nEldrian took a moment before thanking Joren, simply trying to digest the news.

"Is that all the reasons why it is double the size?

"

n{AN: A big thanks to everyone who continues to support this novel on WN. Let's see if we can break the top 100!}

n