A million questions ran through my mind but little of which I had any sort of answer to.
One line of questions currently was piquing my interest. Questions which I had asked many times throughout my entire life.
'What is the atlas system really? Why is it here? What more can it do?'
That last one was the only thing I might be able to answer. Pulling up the system I looked at it. I knew it would display more details of whatever I inquire into but this time instead of willing for more details I simply wished for the drain line to change its units to days instead of seconds.
Drain: 0.199/day
'So it does conform to my will.'
I willed both total mana and mana drain lines to give their proper units and they did as I wished.
Mana: 2.47 mana
Drain: 0.199 mana/day
Reading the line for my mana before I could even contemplate the fact that the unit for mana was mana I realised that an absolutely massive amount of my mana had been drained.
In just a few short moments I have lost nearly a twentieth of my mana which while it didn't seem like much, it was the equivalent of oh so many cursed insects.
'Its worth it for the information but still...'
I didn't like that much being taken without warning but in future to learn more I knew even tens to hundreds of mana weren't going to be enough. I next tried to focus on the unit mana to try see if I could get any information on mana.
Mana;
[Mana is a natural form of energy, existing in a state of between both matter and energy, having some of the properties of both. Measured by the in difference between current mana and equilibrium. 1 mana = weight/5
'Alright... That's definitely detailed fairly detailed at least.'
Mana is apparently natural but despite that there was no mana on earth since the beginning of time, until the decent of the atlas system that is. The memory of when I first received the atlas system played in my mind with perfect detail.
'This domain purges mana'
A domain... That probably meant the world or rather the universe we are in. The fact that the universe purges mana was interesting however it only raised the question as to why it purges mana.
Everything the atlas system said back then was incredibly interesting so much so I felt truly idiotic for not thinking about it before.
'Now I have so much to think about and knew knowledge to learn, things are beginning to be a bit more interesting'
-
Currently I was sat with my back against the cliff looking up into the sky, many thoughts played in my head throughout the past hour or so.
Mana and roh were two things which i immediately compared with each other. There were obvious differences between the two. Roh existing as some kind of pure form of energy while mana was something in between matter and energy.
The difference seemed to be how they were both used. Some cursed seemed to be able to manipulate the elements. Jebb was the only one I had so far seen to do so, he was able to manipulate the wind and sound but there were records of harrowing creatures with fantastical abilities all throughout the records I read back in the Bastian.
Then when it comes to mana itself it seemed a bit weird. Mainly what I found so weird is how it seemed to be measured. From what I could tell one fifth of the weight of whatever was being measured was supposed to be mana, this four to one ratio of matter to mana was supposedly the equilibrium point.
These were all things which were nice to know but hardly useful, especially because I couldn't even use mana but who knows when it might become useful. The more interesting thing I had learnt was when I tried to search for specific words.
Not everything worked of course, the atlas system didn't operate like a search box but a few things did get the atlas system to respond. Most notably was when I enquired about the great tree.
The Great Tree;
[The Great Tree, it is the light of grace which carries existence and it is the shadow of death which calls the end.
Astra looked to The Eclipse in horror and questioned.
"Why do you do this? You wish to see it all die as what, revenge?"
The Eclipse looked back at Astra but said nothing. The Great Tree was burning to cinders and along with it the walls of reality fell.
The Eclipse spoke.
"I will destroy it all and rebuilt it, anew."
The Great Tree fell, and so did The Eclipse.
From beyond the grave The Eclipse willed his shattered soul to become a sapling.]
After that revelation all the mana I had saved was gone but honestly I was surprised it even told me as much as it did.
'The Eclipse... A man capable of destroying all of existence.'
It seemed like I had learned something incredible but then again I couldn't exactly do much with the knowledge. I was more surprised I hadn't learnt about this before in any of the records I had read. Then again it seemed like what I had read barely told me anything.
There were many more things to learn. I was destined to learn really, I am a knowledge seeker after all.
While standing up I considered again what I should do, and after a few moments I came to a decision. I would prepare for that scouting squad to come back and hopefully be able to go with them. For that I need to make a spot where they can see.
That in itself is hardly an issue, the problem is the fact that Jebb probably won't like that very much. I also doubt that that group will come as close as they did last time. So what I need instead is some way to grab their attention from afar, hopefully without getting Jebb's attention along with it.
'It's going to be a bit tricky but I can figure it out.'
I couldn't stay out here forever, heck even with me using that ability to reduce hunger my food supplies were still dwindling. It would take a decent amount of time for that to happen but it was inevitable. Even beyond that I needed some way back to civilisation, the world is harsh after all. I could die at any moment. Jebb was actually the main reason I had been so safe, but one day I would be found and he was not something I stood a chance against.
I looked out towards where the MTV had come from. It was eastward into a fairly open plain which then cut into what was a maze of mountain paths. It shocked me that they had even come here.
I decided to climb back up past my makeshift camp site to the top of the hill to get a better vantage. I suddenly felt quite foolish for going all the way down the cliffside just to end up climbing it again without having done anything at the bottom.
Up at the peak I was able to see far, so far in fact that I could see past the nearby mountains to what lay beyond. I was able to see distant mountains and vast planes. I had been up here before of course, and due to my knowledgeable trait I was able to see the view in my head just as clearly as I could right now but that didn't mean I couldn't gleam any knew information right now. After all I could only remember what I actually looked at, while my senses were beyond what any regular human had even without using my blessing they weren't absolute. My vision had focus for example, I could only perfectly remember what I had actually focused on before. So this time instead of simply enjoying the view I would actually look.
Off in the distance I could see the tracks of the MTV, they were like two little pencil marks across the snow. They were barely visible even with my full focus on my sight, the thin lines stretched far enough I couldn't see where they ended over the horizon.
The sun was slowly setting in the west, internally I noted how days were getting shorter though only comparatively. They were still nearly eighteen hours long. Summer this high up made days eternal and winter made nights an endless expanse of darkness.
Making my way back down to my hammock I rested for a while reading my mind. I had decided I needed to start moving, this camp here was nice but I needed to get into a spot for when the MTV came back I would be able to grab their attention.
That is if they come back. They will right?