@Stabby @ZerothFemus had moved quickly through that burst of training and a notable number of things had happened as a result. He took a moment afterward to gather his thoughts and examine his options. Gaining a level was good, the extra points were valuable as well. The shudder from the tree and the change in the surrounding area was not so good. It seemed that he had come closer to waking that powerful something than he had wished to. But, they had escaped that potential catastrophe for the moment.
The Bowhorn seemed like it would be very valuable prey, if they could craft the horns well enough and make use of more than a small bit of the carcass. Even then, it would be a difficult target to kill with the skills and spells that he had to work with. So long as the Bowhorn was caught off guard by a Static Bolt to the spine, there might be a chance to finish it off after any other creatures fled. But, it would be a risky gamble even with his knowledge of its likely vital points. There were two major reasons why he wouldn't take that gamble soon. First, the spell was incomplete and still took a large amount of mana to cast. Follow-up strikes would be difficult. Second, the spell's power couldn't be confirmed until it was complete.
The forest still felt wrong. Common creatures were out and about again, but the magic sensitive ones were still keeping their heads down, or taking the opportunity to get some rest. The latter seemed less plausible. That would be a rather odd coincidence... and too much of an oddity for Femus to believe.
He took a look at Nira and confirmed that her training was proceeding well. It looked like she might be approaching the problem of a lack of water from a more magical angle than he was. Though his expression was still too small to be easily read, Femus smiled a little before going back to his own training.
So close. He was so close to gaining an entire list of skills. So, he examined his skills one more time, looking for those with a '.4'. He found two that fit that single criteria perfectly. Static Bolt was at 0.4 and Shock Round was at 1.4. Spell Chant and Keen Sight also fit the criteria. But, while important, they were less vital to get to a functional level quickly.
Femus focused his will and mentally spoke to the system. "System, please place five points in Static Bolt and five points in Shock Round." That would bring the number of skills at a '.9' to a total of six. He had a short list of what to train next.
First, he carefully snagged another leaf to suck on. This method wouldn't really reduce his thirst much, if any, but it should keep it from getting worse so long as his training wasn't too physically demanding. If Nira succeeded, then they'd be far better prepared for travel.
The next step was finishing the leveling of these six skills. First, Femus focused his attention on his mana flow, directing it into his eyes. From that basis, he began to concentrate on it gathering in the inner lens of the eye as well as joining with the cones and rods. This combination should help him to sense mana through his vision as well as 'encoding' it into a structure that he could interpret with relative ease. Then, while maintaining this state, he sought to study the mana flow of the Great Kao Tree and discover some additional details about what was within it. He also tried to study the structure of both the Great Kao Tree and any traces of what lay within, regardless of what analysis skills may be necessary. Finally, before releasing the mana concentration from his eyes, Femus turned his gaze on the herb patch and tried to find plants that had one of these two mana types around or in them, healing and electric. Plants with those traits would be handy. At last, he released his control of his mana and meditated, focusing on slowly and carefully filling his mana pool with high density and high purity mana.
Once his mana was replenished, Femus again focused on that patch of ground. This time, he did something a little different. He focused additional mana into a Shock Round, trying to make it similar in mana density to his Mana Orb 2, before putting a spin on it and firing it at that spot. Then, even as the Shock Round impacted, he focused on the space and the arcing of electricity from him to the spot, trying to swiftly gather and concentrate enough mana for the jump. But, he also focused on having the jumping charge be the opposite charge from the one that the Shock Round had as he softly intoned. "Strike, Static Bolt." If the Shock Round left a residual charge after impact then it could help the speed and minimize the mana cost of the following Static Bolt by leaving a charged field at the point of impact. Femus knew that such a weak field wouldn't last long but if it lasted long enough then it might make for an effective 'combo' for more potent foes.
With these experiments finished, he studied their effects and attributes. Recalling every perceived detail of the experiences and seeking an even deeper understanding of his developing magic. This study was careful and zealous but not exhaustive. If he could commit the information to memory then he could study it later. For now, there was something that he wanted to do while the forest was quiet.
Femus suppressed his light and presence before letting himself slip off the branch and silently drop to the ground, only strengthening his Levitation when he was half-way down to prevent an unfortunately abrupt impact. Once down, within a couple inches of the plants, he moved to a spot where the Bowhorn had eaten the herbs close to the ground. There, he tore a small hole in the earth with his Lesser Force, trying to make it behave like a trowel and then like a claw. Once the hole was about two inches deep and an inch across, he took one of his Blue Yill flowers and carefully planted its stem a full inch in the soil before pushing the removed earth and sod back around it. The Blue Yill had been picked almost a full day ago. He was not delusional enough to think that it would be able to form seeds with just what it still held within it.
Now, the work begins. He focused his mana and rested his body so that he touched the soil and the base of the Blue Yill. Then, he began to whisper a chant over and over as he directed his mana to cause the Yill's stem to function as a cutting and grow roots into the soil. At the same time, he concentrated on refusing to absorb the mana in the Yill itself. He needed it alive.
"Root and feed, root and drink." He chanted.
"Root and feed, root and drink." And again.
If his mana seemed to be falling short of the demand, he would stop to meditate and also draw mana from the other surrounding plants. Once there was a firm sense that the Blue Yill was stable and rooted, he would focus his mana on strengthening the Blue Yill's vitality before seeking to cause it to go to seed. If everything went well, he would have a number of Blue Yill Seeds that he could cultivate later. If not, he would learn more about these skills and abilities.
Red Gypsy