Tower

Leif examined the tattered dark red book in his hands carefully.

I should probably learn how to use this magic before I leave the safety of this room. If I can learn it, it would at least give me a chance at surviving this so-called Tower.

Leif opened the book again to study its contents.

The book contained diagrams, descriptions, and information related to the lightning spell. The diagrams seemed to show how the anima interacted with the body and where they originated. Everyone had a sort of anima center in their c.h.e.s.t where anima had to be circulated from. The anima center would refill itself after resting and would, like a muscle, the more it was used the bigger it got. A bigger anima center would mean more anima could be circulated and used. There were some other diagrams, but Leif couldn't figure out what they meant. The descriptions held the most importance to Leif, they described how to use the anima in one's body. First, one had to feel the anima coursing through their body and then somehow will them to the part of the body that they wanted to emit the anima through. After this was achieved he would have to release all of the gathered anima into the air in a consistent and concentrated stream. The key was visualizing how the anima would look shooting out of him.

Leif reread the book multiple times over, absorbing everything he could and committing it to memory. There were sections of the book he didn't understand, but he skipped over those parts hoping that he could figure them out with trial and error. After a few hours, he decided he'd learned enough from the tome and was going to give it a shot.

He closed his eyes and practiced feeling the anima in his body, which was a lot easier said than done. After giving it a few attempts Leif started to feel a slight warmth in his c.h.e.s.t that grew stronger and stronger the more he concentrated on it. As soon as he opened his eyes the feeling slowly got weaker until it vanished. Opening his eyes created more distractions for him which made it more difficult to sense the anima in his body. Leif spent another few hours learning the feeling of his anima and slowly was able to sense them even when his eyes were open.

Alright, I can at least feel the magic center in my body. That was the easy part. Now, I'm going to have to try moving around while still sensing my anima.

Leif concentrated on the anima and the warmth in his c.h.e.s.t grew. Slowly, Leif moved his arm and the strength of the warmth faded to almost nothing. He tried again. Same thing.

This is going to be a lot harder than I thought.

After practicing for a couple of hours Leif was able to walk around and make simple movements while still feeling his anima center. No matter how much he tried, if he made any complex moves, he would lose the feeling of warmth in his c.h.e.s.t.

I guess this will have to do for now.

Now comes the hard part. Somehow, I'm going to have to make that warm feeling move from my c.h.e.s.t across my body to a place I can visualize it spewing out from. My finger seems like the best bet because it'll be in a small concentrated area and is easier to visualize something shooting out from.

Leif closed his eyes and willed the warmth in his c.h.e.s.t to move toward his left arm, but it wouldn't budge.

I should take a short break and eat some of the rations in the satchel.

Leif opened the satchel and took out a small chunk of dried meat, which he immediately devoured. He then took out the gourd of water from the satchel and took a few gulps. Some of the water spilled from his mouth and flowed down his c.h.e.s.t. Leif watched as the water trickle down him and suddenly an idea popped into his mind.

What if I picture the anima as water and visualize it flowing through my body like a steady stream to its destination?

Leif cleared his mind and coerced the anima to flow inside his body like running water toward his finger. Slowly, the anima center started to drain and flow toward his fingertip. After a minute or two, his center had been completely drained and all of the anima swelled in his pointer finger. Leif pictured the anima blasting out of his finger in a jet stream.

ZAP!

A small flash of electricity shot from Leif's fingertip.

"Yes! I did i-..." Leif shouted out loud before his vision became blurry and he fell over.

After producing this tiny spark of light, he had become light headed and passed out.

Leif woke up in a daze not sure if a few seconds had gone by or a few hours. He sat up and looked around him. He saw the book lying on the ground next to him and remembered what had happened.

How much anima did that cost?

Leif held his hand to his c.h.e.s.t and called for his TowerCard.

Name: Leif Ryner

Level: 1

Age: 17

Weight: 170lbs

Height: 5'11"

Gender: Male

HP:10/10

AP:0/6

I used five anima just to shoot that pathetic flash of light? At least my anima max increased by one. I'm definitely going to have to keep increasing it for it to be useful.

Leif closed his eyes and tried to feel the anima inside of him again. Although it was faint, it was ever so slowly getting stronger and warmer. He called his TowerCard out once again.

Name: Leif Ryner

Level: 1

Age: 17

Weight: 170lbs

Height: 5'11"

Gender: Male

HP:10/10

AP:6/6

Leif practiced the lightning bolt spell for a couple more hours before he was somewhat satisfied with the results.

My anima has increased by quite a bit. I'm not able to shoot the lightning bolt described in the book because it requires too much anima, but I can manage a fairly bright flash of light, that can shock things if I'm touching them. I've also learned to circulate anima throughout my body, which makes me feel a lot stronger and faster. If I can keep it up while moving it could prove very useful.

Name: Leif Ryner

Level: 1

Age: 17

Weight: 170lbs

Height: 5'11"

Gender: Male

HP:10/10

AP:8/14

After looking over the rest of the stuff he had, Leif decided to sharpen his dull blade as best he could on the stone floor. After about thirty minutes of sharpening, the blade was as sharp as he could get it and that wasn't saying much.

Well, that's as good as this piece of shit is gonna get. I hope it helps at least a little bit against the so-called 'monsters' in here.

With that Leif gathered what little he had and began to prepare for whatever lies in front of him. He put the knapsack over his shoulder containing the two potions and the book. In his right hand was the dagger and in the left the cracked wooden shield. In front of him were the three different tunnels. He still didn't know what the mysterious liquid was, but he could figure it out some other time.

Alright! I'm ready to escape this damp hole! Which tunnel should I choose though?

Leif walked up to the middle tunnel entrance and saw that there was a weird carving that looked like a completely different language than from the inside of the book all around the door frame.

I wonder what all of this means...

Just then he experienced an extremely strong blast of cold air coming from the middle hallway.

I might freeze to death in here before I even get to see a monster. I think the middle entrance is the best choice because at least I can feel air. Maybe it leads to a more open area?

Leif clenched the dagger in his hand and took a step forward into the hall.