Unlimited Power - The Arcane Path

Leon was pretty sure that it was a waste of time, but he decided to check the dungeon shop for an item or tome that could have similar effects to the magic that could cancel magic... As expected, he found nothing. Although many used that feature since it was very convenient, the only thing convenient for Leon was the fact that he could buy infinity mana potions.

"Now what?" Leon massaged his eyebrows.

A magic item that could seal the mana within a radius couldn't be bought on the dungeon shop, but Leon was pretty sure that thing actually exists… somewhere in the universe. Anyway, since it was a magic item, it would use mana to stop mana from working the way it was supposed to be.

"I guess using mana; I will have to create a space which cut off the connection between everything around me and the outside world."

That was easier said than done, but luckily, Leon knew the perfect way to test if he was trying the right methods… he just had to dissipate the poison mist and the increased gravity using his mana alone. Since it was too dangerous to practice that kind of magic near a dungeon, Leon returned to the surroundings of Eadmund's village.

Sitting on the ground while doing nothing but staring at the poison mist, Leon received someone dubious stares coming from the warriors who patrolled the surroundings. Still, they didn't waste their time asking Leon what he was doing, and he did the same ignoring them.

"… I guess the magic to cancel the mana of an area is a variation of Mana Dominion. Using Mana Dominion, I can feel the energy of the ambient and of anyone who tries to approach… so, do I have to use the boundaries of the barrier thicker to obtain that effect?"

That wasn't probably the case. If Leon does that, his mana would only become easily noticeable. It looked like just creating a dense barrier wasn't the answer… but what about it the inverse? Monsters could notice Leon's Mana Dominion, and that meant his mana was too thick… even though that skill barely consumes mana.

"…Me and my habit of thinking in grand scales from the very beginning… I have to start with baby steps."

Leon discovered that he had to learn two things, create a barrier to stop anyone inside from using mana, and at the same time, the said barrier can't be noticed by anyone nearby… easier said than done. Anyway, there was no point in complaining, so Leon started to test a variety of things.

Maybe it was because Leon was getting more used and skilled using mana, or perhaps it was because the dragon hearts increase his intelligence a lot. Either way, Leon soon made some progress. Mana Shield and Mana Armor couldn't stop the poison mist from little by little damaging Leon's body, but after practicing and strengthening his Mana Shield, Leon obtained the stronger version of the same spell.

Congratulations! You have learned the skill: Mana Barrier.

Cost: 10 mana per second.

You obtained 01 status points.

"… It can stop the poison from approaching me, but since it can stop a poisonous mist, it also prevents that oxygen enters…"

Leon sighed, it was a skill that could stop some strong poison air from approaching him, but for several reasons, it could only be used for a short time. Mana Armor and Mana Shield can't be seen, but they can be felt. But Mana Barrier showed a semi-transparent wall around Leon… it wouldn't be useful to infiltrate the magical research center…

The next thing Leon tried was to make his mana dissipate the mana inside the poison mist. Unfortunately, just using his mana offensively wasn't enough to do that. So, he tried to focus his mana inside the Mana Shield to do that… However, he only made the mist move, not to dissipate. He couldn't control gaseous substances like that…

"What about using gravity? Hammath said that gravity was made to keep the people down here from going to the city above, but Gurr's warriors managed to go there… Did the guys above underestimated their physical growth?"

Either way, it didn't matter. Leon noticed that perhaps the gravity was used to keep the poison down below to weaken the survivors and kill any monster here, but it doesn't work on golems and mechanical spiders…

Leon was getting sidetracked, he shook those thoughts out of his head and tried to use gravity to control the mist. That was even harder then he thought it would be because the mist wasn't a single object… it took Leon several days before he could control gravity and telekinesis to make the mist stay in a single place. Fortunately, he affirmed the theory that he could control the mist to some extent without affecting his body. However, it wasn't an efficient method since his rings consumed a lot of mana.

Using his mana, Leon tried to emulate that effect. However, it wasn't easy to control the flow of things inside Mana Shield. However, after a few more tries, Leon discovered a way to do that. Instead of controlling the mana of a single area, he focused his senses to control all the mana of Mana Shield. That was even more difficult, but Leon found a trick to do that… he just has to make the mana on the boundaries of the Mana Shield move to the epicenter of the skill… where Leon was. That was a success. Little by little, the poison mist began to reunite in a single space… that made Leon feel sick since the poison was concentrated around him. But since that was just the first stage of his next skill, he endured that. He needed to keep practicing that until he manages to control his mana and make the mist stay where he wants.