The countdown timer ticked by faster than the brothers expected, and when it reached 14 hours remaining, Tobs gave them the news they had waited five long years for.
-Your Mana Codex has been fully repaired.-
-Your Mana Circuits have been restructured and repaired.-
-Crippled Debuff has been removed on Hosts Codex and Circuits.-
Even though it was 2 AM, since neither brother needed much sleep, they had been nervously watching the countdown timer, which represented how much time was left on their debuff, tick down.
Tobs’s notifications put into effect the chain of events that would cause absolute mayhem during the Exams, which would be spoken about for years to come. But that is a story for another time.
Cynrik and Brance couldn’t wait any longer, as they had spent the last five years without being able to use Mana; each of them pulled up a coffee table and started unloading dozens and dozens of small gems that glowed in one of three different colors.
Moving as fast as they could, the brothers divided their piles by size, and minutes later, they each had four piles of gems on their tables. The piles were organized by size and color. These gems were, of course, Tier-0 and Tier-1 Mana Codexes. The Tier-0 Codexes were about half the size of a fingernail, while the Tier-1 Codexes were the size of an adult’s thumbnail.
Satisfied that their prep work was complete, Cynrik hollered for Benny and Gabby to wake up and join them. After five or six minutes, a groggy Gabby, wearing pink bunny pajamas and slippers, appeared first, dragging along a plushy pink rabbit that she had named Sir Hoppington the 8th.
Brance gave a small laugh as the sleepy little girl joined him on his couch, and it took a moment for her to realize what was on the table. Once she did, her mouth formed an O, and her eyes glittered.
Benny showed up not long after wearing plain blue flannel pajamas and sat next to Cynrik; his expression was equally as overexaggerated as his little sisters.
“OK, here’s the dealio; after using a particular skill during our big fight five years ago, Brance and I both earned a negative status on our Codex and Circuits. This negative status had a timer, which made us appear to be cripples, but in truth, all we did was damage our bodies temporarily. That damage has now officially healed, but, unfortunately, we lost all of our progress with our Affinities. SOOOO to balance things out, the two of us are going to blow through all of these Affinity-soaked Codexes to attempt to bring our elements back up to where they should be.”
In one movement, Cynrik peeled off his black t-shirt before leaning forward, plucking one of the Tier-0 Fire Codexes, pressing it softly against his chest where he knew his Codex was located, and giving the go-ahead to Tobs to start the absorption.
-Tier-0 Fire Codex has been detected, start absorption? (Y/N)-
-You have absorbed and integrated a Tier-0 Fire Codex.-
-You have gained 5% Fire Affinity Proficiency.-
The small gem emitted a bright reddish-orange glow before merging with Cynriks chest.
His torso shivered as he felt a small surge of Mana rush into his body. Waving his hand sharply, Cynrik brought up his stats and noticed he had gained not only 5% in his Fire Proficiency but also added five points to his empty Mana Pool.
Tossing a grin to Brance and informing him of the results, Cynrik grabbed another Codex and started charging up. Finally, after absorbing his fifth Codex, he had enough Mana to begin using his Mana Cycling. By the time he reached the 20th and last Tier-0 Fire Codex, his eyes flashed with Red Mana, signifying he had broken through to Tier-1 with his Fire Affinity, but he didn’t stop there, and he reached over for one of the Tier-1 Codexes.
-Your Fire Affinity has Evolved to Tier-1-
-Tier-1 Fire Codex has been detected, start absorption? (Y/N)-
-You have absorbed and integrated a Tier-1 Fire Codex.-
-You have gained 2% Fire Affinity Proficiency.-
Cynriks left eye started twitching when he saw that Tier-1 Codexes only gave 2% on absorption, and he took a moment to scroll through the skill notifications to double-check he had learned both of his Fire Skills.
-You have reached 25% Proficiency with the Fire Element.-
-You have learned the Tier-0 Fire Skill Fireball.-
-You have reached 50% Proficiency with the Fire Element.-
-You have learned the Tier-0 Fire Skill Burning Hands.-
Although he had never actively used his Burning Hands skill in battle, he abused the hell out of Fireball, so after seeing it show up in his expanded tab, Cynrik nodded and started absorbing Tier-1 Codexes.
Brance was experiencing the same thing as his brother. After reaching Tier-1 with his Earth Affinity, he brought up his expanded Affinities tab to ensure he gained his Earth Skin and Rock Formation. When he was sure he had both again, he moved on to the Tier-1 Codexes.
Gabby and Benny sat and watched in awe as Cynrik and Brance burned through Codex after Codex, power leveling themselves. They were aware of how expensive it was to buy Codexes from shops and in the RWTC, but the way the Jetlensr brothers were using them, they started second-guessing the price. Growing up with the two brothers, they knew the Jetlensrs weren’t rich. So they couldn’t understand where these resources had come from.
-Your Fire Affinity has reached 100% Proficiency of Tier-1-
-You have not met the requirements to evolve your Affinity.-
-You have learned the Tier-1 Fire Skill Fire Arrow.-
-You have learned the Tier-1 Fire Skill Continual Flame.-
Cynrik’s eyes flashed with a bright Red hue, and he exhaled a puff of smoke, not unlike a dragon would. Then, closing his eyes and activating Mana Sight, Cynrik focused on his Codex, where a powerful reddish-orange whirlpool was swirling viciously. Initially, he had gone to great lengths to balance all three of his Affinities, but currently, Fire was the only Mana type revolving in his entire body, so he had to start rebuilding his Mantra.
Standing up and extending his arms equidistant from his body, he began his chant. “My Flames bring about Destruction, with their blazing heat and searing power.” His words seemed to hang in the air as his open palms burst into flames that would burn anything except its user.
Across the room, Brance mimicked his older brother and said his Mantra for his Earth Affinity. “My Earth lays the stone-like foundation to support me in my efforts to protect those I love.” Brance’s skin changed its appearance, forming a stone-like shell that started at his fingertips before traveling up his arm and spreading to his entire body.
In unison, the brothers exhaled slowly and returned to their normal state, but the scene had already imbedded itself into Gabby and Benny’s hearts. When they had formed their Mantras, the effect wasn’t nearly as impressive or awe-inspiring as what they viewed.
Still moving in Sync, the brothers sat back down and started absorbing Tier-0 Wind Codexes.
This time around, neither Cynrik nor Brance stopped to check their Elemental Skills and chose to keep on absorbing Codexes until both their eyes flashed with green light, and a light gust of Wind flowed around their bodies, lifting their hair. At that moment, they both jumped up and continued rebuilding their Mantras.
” It surges forward swiftly, as it’s fueled by the gusts of my Wind, with unstoppable force and blinding accuracy.” While speaking, a powerful gust of Wind Mana blew through the room, startling the Sanford siblings, but it was soon strengthened by Brance’s Mantra.
“My foundation is guided by the steady bellows of my Wind, allowing it to soar to untold heights.” Upon finishing the second part of his Mantra, the gusts turned into violent gales, which slowly lifted Cynrik and Brance off their feet and caused them to hover several inches above the ground.
The gales calmed down with the exhales of the brothers, and shortly after, Cynrik and Brance were deposited back onto their feet, and the Wind Mana dispursed.
“Wow…” Gabby, who was hugging Sir Hoppington the 8th tightly, blurted out in surprise as the two brothers opened their eyes.
“Hehe, welp, looks like that’s all for our basic Affinities.” Cynrik snapped his fingers, manifested a tiny fireball just above his fingertips, and chuckled at Gabby’s reaction while Brance leaned over and patted the little girl’s head with affection.
[Tobs, show me the notifications about my Wind Affinity Skills.]
-Your Wind Affinity has reached 100% Proficiency of Tier-1-
-You have learned Tier-0 Wind Skill Featherfall.-
-You have learned Tier-0 Wind Skill Haste.-
-You have learned Tier-1 Wind Skill Gust.-
-You have learned Tier-1 Wind Skill Air Missle.-
-You have formed your Dual Element Mantra and have achieved a perfect balance between your Fire and Wind Affinities.-
“Whew, that took a lot longer than I thought it would; we’ve only got about 8 hours until the Physical Exam. Gabby, you and Benny should go and get some rest; Brance and I need to consolidate our Affinities to be sure nothing went wrong.” Tossing a charming smile at the little girl, she nodded vigorously and hopped up to her feet before bouncing back to her room like a bunny.
Benny sat in place for a moment, examining the two brothers he had known his whole life, and felt he never truly knew them to begin with. Throughout their entire training, they had never once used their Affinities, which in itself had caused him to not only respect Cynrik and Brance, but now, after reobtaining them, he even was a little afraid of them.
Seeing Benny off, the two brothers looked at each other and burst out laughing in their mind link.
[OK, hahaha, OK, ha, we gotta work on Light and Dark, hey Tobs, how long would it take to evolve to Tier-1?]
-The Evolution Process will take exactly two hours.-
[Alright, we can start with that first.] Grinning cockily and falling backward onto the couch, Cynrik designated their next course of action. It was finally time to step into Tier-1.