A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

How Eldrian had been using magic was strange. In some areas, he thought and then he did, and then in other areas, he -for some strange reason- thought he needed to perfectly understand the science before attempting anything.

In more than one way, he had constrained himself in a manner similar to static mages. That he had to learn, or if that was not the case, that he had to understand the underlying principle when, in reality, he only needed to form a vague idea of what he wished.

This wasn't anything new. He always knew this. He just never realized he was constraining himself so much.

His control of mana and the strength of mageia were more than enough to force his ideas to become reality. This was, after all, precisely what he had done with the artifacts. Only, Eldrian had confined himself to items, thinking that it acts as a container for the 'idea'. But his ideas themselves were both the container and mold.

Granted, the better his understanding, the stronger the magic would be; but even if he understood nothing, he could still do something by simply envisioning the outcome and willing it as he pumped mana into its formation.

Eldrian lay on his own bed and thought through all the recent events. Trying to sort out his mind and what to do next. He didn't want to go to war with Miracle, there honestly were no upsides in doing so. Except venting his anger.

Hopefully, GAIA's scheme would work. He truly hoped it would. He hoped things could at least become a little more normal again.

As Eldrian's mind spiraled, he heard muffled crying. It took him a minute to realize what it was.

"Vivian, are you alright?" Eldrian asked, moving next to her bed but unsure what to do.

"I'm fine." She replied, her voice breaking.

"Is it because of your dad? I'm sorry we couldn't..." Eldrian failed to complete the sentence. They hadn't even tried.

If they had taken more time, prepared more, perhaps they could have saved her dad instead of simply ensuring his death. Eldrian could only pray that Old Sword's soul had not been too damaged.

"No, that isn't it..." Shaking her head while remaining curled up, Vivian continued, "It's just... the not knowing."

Rubbing her shoulder, Eldrian said that he had asked GAIA to help him confirm. "It will take some time, but they'll let me know if they could find them or not. Though, I wasn't sure which god your dad believed in."

"Uvdione." Came her replied, barely a whisper.

"That's one of the four GAIA said they'll ask. I'm sure we'll know by tomorrow whether he made it." Eldrian paused and repeated with certainty, "No, I'm sure tomorrow we'll receive confirmation that he did."

Grasping Eldrian's hand, Vivian formed a weak smile. Slowly drifting off to sleep.

Not wishing to leave her side, Eldrian stayed next to her. For a while, he simply watched her sleep and wished he had done more. He hated himself for what he had put her through. He might not have been the cause, but he hadn't helped her. Not while it would have mattered, at least.

Of course, back then he wouldn't have been able immediately. But as soon as he had reached Tier 5, he should have tried. But his fear of needing to rely on his auras had prevented him from doing so. Instead of offering his all, he wanted to prepare himself to ensure there was no risk.

As his emotions ran wild, Eldrian cast one rejuvenation spell after the other. Even though the latter ones would mean nothing, he hoped it helped her have a pleasant dream.

'Starting tomorrow, I'll start my training. I can't continue being too weak to help those I care for. I need to be able to use all my strength. At the very least, I cannot be afraid of my own powers... I cannot!'

The rest of the night Eldrian reflected on his conversation with GAIA, replayed some key moments, and went through all the knowledge he had collected. Organizing it and trying to simplify things.

Occasionally, his mind wandered as he relived memories he had no claim to. The aftereffects of absorbing another's soul.

These memories were fragmented and often made no sense. Eldrian simply went along with the memories, trying to gather information if possible and analyzing what the process was like. When a memory faded like a fragment of burnt coal turning to dust, he would continue with his reflection.

'An effective weapon might be a type of spell relay. Flying weapons are cool and strong, but this might be even stronger. I already have an idea of the design. Flying weapons... if I make more, I should prioritize deadliness over style. Needles would be far harder to see and far easier to pierce through armor than daggers.'

'Also, would it be possible to use an array of magical items to form a type of flying vehicle? The concept shouldn't be too difficult, but the mana consumption... First, I should finish mastering teleportation at least... besides, I haven't even looked at flight magic.'

Eldrian felt that he simply did not have enough time. 'Would it perhaps be possible for me to make a temporally locked room like that GAIA had made? It should be, considering my power is supposed to do with time. I just need to find a way to confine the time dilation affects to not cause instability and chaos...'

'Okay, I get it. I admit, my knowledge is way too lacking for this topic. Relying on feel instead of calculations is going to be dangerous... I guess that is what normal mages feel when thinking of entering the magic abyss. Hah, strange...'

Eldrian smiled, finally understand why it was such a big deal. He had no idea why he could alter things in his soul without problems, including his soul itself. Now he too had something which he couldn't just dive into without proper preparations.

'Also, seems I'm continually absorbing mana. Well, it will take a few days to recover my mana soul's spent mana. And the world I created, I guess the amount of mana in my soul is about to drastically change... Is there going to be a system notification or not? And does this have nothing to do with reaching the next Tier?'

As morning arrived, Eldrian formed a firepit and collected some wood. With his map, it was even easy to find some food, though most of the area had been devastated by the undead.

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