Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

in comparison to my sword or the yarn, the lock was much more complex. Initially, imparting energy into it had gone faster than expected. As I was so familiar with channeling through metal, it only took a few small adjustments for the different elemental makeup. However, I found that as soon as my mana reached an unknown mechanism within the lock, I couldn’t correctly visualize the structure and the energy immediately receded back into my fingers.

With a large amount of patience and at least an hour’s worth of meditation, I had built a relatively accurate mental map of the internal mechanisms of the lock. Every time I reached a new twist or curvature I would have to start over again, but with a slightly clearer picture in mind. At the current moment, I was taking a quick break to wipe sweat from my brow. I’ve never had to channel energy for this long before, and certainly not through a new material. I guess there’s always new avenues to improve...I’ll add “New Channeling Materials” and “Continuous Channeling” to my practice routines.

With a heavy sigh, I placed my hands on the face of the lock and closed my eyes again. Reaching out once more the energy moved quickly through the surface, but I dialed it back as it pushed into the more complicated sections. Alright, gently now. Keyway...tumbler, tumbler, little crack in the shaft, tumbler, bolt…

My fingers abruptly warmed with a buzzing energy as the mana encompassed the entire structure of the lock. “Finally!” I threw my hands up over my head in triumph. I was sweating and out of breath, but it was the most satisfied I had felt in a long time. Lia turned around to face me from her position on the floor, having finally agreed that physical exercise would be of some benefit.

“What did you do?” she asked, smiling up at me. Her face was flushed from the exertion of her latest set of push-ups, a strand of hair stuck to her damp forehead.

“I mapped the internal structure of the mechanisms in my cell’s lock!”

Lia tilted her head, staring for a moment, and then laughed. “I don’t really know what that means, but...great job!” She laughed and clapped her hands.

I chuckled, rubbing my face. “I think I should be able to get my door open in an emergency, should the need arise.” There were still things to test, but the groundwork was finally set. I took a moment to stretch my neck and arms, after being in the same meditation positions for so long. “How is your workout going? It’s nice, right?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Lux, it’s actually pretty nice. And it’s something to do, which is also nice.”

“Well, I won’t distract you from it any longer than I already have. I should probably finish up my testing before I forget everything I just learned.” I knelt in front of the door and pressed my hands against the back of the lock again. Now that I had a decent mental map of the mechanisms, I attempted to channel a small amount of energy into the lock without using the added support of meditation.

Surprisingly, the process worked much more easily than I had expected. It took about thirty seconds, by my estimation, to fully surround the lock with mana. It certainly wasn’t the almost instantaneous suffusion I could achieve with my sword, but it was minutes better than I had achieved earlier. I need to get this down to single digits if it’s to be of any real use. With a clear goal in mind, I set to work on constantly suffusing the lock with energy as fast as possible, withdrawing the mana, and repeating the process.

Though the work was tedious, I found a certain joy in it. It had become my passion over my previous lives to work on discovering new ways to use mana and reveal new insights never before found in the field. Based on what Lia had said of the world, I found it hard to believe that anybody capable of using magic would be using a pillow or a jail cell lock as their catalyst, and that thought excited me. Plus, the idea that I had made dramatic progress on my magic research two days in a row continually reinvigorated me in my task.

By the end of my experimentation, I was able to completely suffuse the lock with magic in just under seven seconds. I could even carry a simple conversation with Lia while doing so, though it dramatically increased the amount of time the process took due to the distraction. Finally satisfied with my performance, I slumped down against the bars to take a rest. Now, on to the next hurdle: actually doing something with the mana. The thought created a small knot in my stomach; even though there was no definitive proof anybody would be coming down to harm Lia, the idea continued to drive me harder and harder as time went on.

I let out a hearty sigh, relieved to have even a small moment to rest. From behind me, I heard Lia call out to me. “Lux? What is it you’re doing, exactly? I thought you already did the...internal...map thing.”

Turning to face her, I tried to think of a simple explanation. There is no concept of internal energy or mana here. And unless I want to try and disprove an entire religion, I don’t think there’s an easy way to explain it. “Well, it’s sort of hard to explain. Basically, I’m trying to cast magic through the lock, but I don’t know what magic to do, so I’m just practicing. Does that make sense?”

Lia considered for a moment. “Yeah! Well, kind of!” she laughed. “I wouldn’t mind learning more about it, though. I still don’t really understand how you’re doing magic without saying anything.”

“Of course!” The idea of teaching somebody else about magic in the same way that I had learned it was exciting. “When we’re out of here, I’ll