Black Onyx - Forgotten Magic

Gerald spent the last few days training in solitude. And apart from a bit of hunting, he spent his time training Space magic.

Although the Mana consumption of gravity manipulation was still quite high, he was now able to control it much better than before.

He could increase or decrease the gravity around himself at will, which allowed him to float freely in the air.

He had a plan to make use of Space-bending magic and Wind magic to fly, but his dreams were quickly crushed by the enormous Mana requirements for that.

He could, of course, still do that if he desired, but flying for just one minute at a time was just not that useful. Especially if after the fact, he would be completely out of Mana and in his most vulnerable state.

"Hmm, I will have to increase my energy reserves even more... Hopefully, I can get my hands on some more God's Blood in the capital."

Gerald stroked his beard and said, "But I have to be careful, there are probably some people that know what God's Blood is supposedly used for. For the time being, I have to keep a low profile and secretly increase my strength."

He waved his hand in the air and the ground below shook, cracked apart, and swallowed the campsite whole. All evidence of recent human habitation disappeared just like that and only soft soil remained.

Gerald slowly climbed higher on the tree with one hand until he reached the top. There, he concentrated for a few seconds and then jumped.

Bam, bam!

Air pressure shockwaves formed at the soles of his boots and he was propelled forward at an incredible speed.

Being weightless made maneuvering around in the air quite easy and he traveled a few kilometers before the minute was up.

"Phew! It's still so taxing on my mind," Gerald rubbed his temples as he landed. "I'll have to use it more often so it becomes easier to use."

He was then on his way back to Geldern.

His order at the blacksmith was already done as well, so he went to collect it. The man handed him a nice, long wooden box in which his order lay, surrounded by hay.

It was a prosthetic metallic arm. He had to give compliments to the blacksmith, it was exactly like he designed it.

Gerald fastened it on his shoulder with leather belts and tested it out.

The arm was quite heavy as it was made of iron, even though it was hollow on the inside. It had joints just like a normal arm and even fingers had a full range of motion.

The only problem was that the arm was completely lifeless. It wasn't like those bionic limbs on earth, that were powered with electricity and could be used as a proper flesh appendage.

There was, of course, something else that could allow Gerald to do about the same thing. That was Telekinesis! With it, Gerald could control his metal arm directly with his mind!

Although he would expend some Mana by doing that, he had plentiful reserves so it shouldn't be too big a problem.

Besides, the metal arm was more just for the aesthetics than anything else. If he went to the Golden Pouch Auction House again, he couldn't show he was missing a hand, that would be too obvious a thing to discover.

If he was missing a hand and his other identity didn't, that would be a great way to keep bad people off his trail.

"But first, I need to make enough potions to last me a few weeks. I also need to make plenty of Swiftness Potions for the Golden Pouch… Hmm," Gerald went back to his room and spent the rest of the day brewing potions.

With the herbs he collected in his spare time, he made plenty of Greater Mana Potions, Healing Potions, and Swiftness Potions.

Although they worked well, Gerald was not quite satisfied with the Swiftness Potions. After using one you would get energy, but after it ran out, the body would have sustained much more internal muscle damage, because it would be working at a higher intensity than it was used to.

He spent a few hours researching how to combine multiple properties into a single potion. In the end, he didn't discover many new things, but he still figured out how to do it.

Potions had to be mixed slowly and at the same time, and Mana had to be injected inside to stabilize any adverse reactions that might occur. Of course, not every potion could be mixed this way, but for the most basic ones, it was enough.

And so he combined them all, Swiftness and Healing Potions. Gerald gave it a short test and discovered that indeed, it functioned much better now.

There was barely any muscle soreness after the potion ran out, even if he was exerting himself to the max.

"Good! That's how it should be in the first place! This is a great product, worth a few gold coins at least!" Gerald nodded with satisfaction, "I'll have to rename it to something more appropriate… Hmm, maybe Stamina Potion?"

And just like so, a new potion was brought into this world. A potion that would later change the fate of the entire continent! Or maybe not.

Early the next morning, Gerald left the city of Geldern without alerting anyone. He had a big box on his back that contained his metal arm, and around his waits, pouches were filled to the brim with small vials.

They contained all the potions he could possibly need on his journey, and maybe even some extra.

He took the shorter path to the capital Auralba.

It would usually take around a day and a half to travel that distance, but he went a bit faster this time since he was using flight for a few seconds every once in a while.

Each short flight allowed him to travel a few hundred meters, shortening his travel time. At the same time, it also served as extra training, which was needed anyway.

He traveled at a light jogging pace by drinking a few Stamina Potions, and as he predicted, the micro-tears in the muscles regenerated immediately, leaving him feeling fresh and full of energy.

He arrived at Auralba at sundown, and after more than twelve hours of running, he was quite exhausted even though he consumed plenty of potions.

He went to the closest Inn to order some food and get a room for the night.

The following morning he woke up late and went on with his plans without any hurry.

He found a hidden corner and then wore the disguise. Making himself look like an old man once more, he slowly made his way toward the Golden Pouch Auction House.

He entered the nice, cool, spacious lobby and went straight to the reception table.

"May I help you?" The receptionist respectfully asked, but his eyes showed disdain and annoyance. From his point of view, another poor, old, good-for-nothing came to bother him.

"Good day, young man! Go fetch me your boss, miss Emily. Tell her that mister G came to visit," Gerald said with his fake raspy voice, pretending to try sounding nice.

The receptionist stood there, stupefied. "Er, what?" he asked with uncertainty. He was wondering if his ears still worked correctly. 'This bum want's me to bring the boss to him? Who does he think he is?!'

"Are you deaf?! I said, go fetch miss Emily! Why are you just standing there like a useless donkey? Go!" Gerald roared at him and smashed his leather-gloved iron fist on the table.

The table shook and the receptionist jumped up in fright, "Hey! What are you doing? Guards! Arrest this man!" The receptionist quickly recovered and then called for reinforcements with a loud, shaky voice.