Chapter 55 - Strange Gifts

As the strange power began to flow into my every orifice, a brilliant golden flash came over me, as a choice set of words flew through my mouth before even I could process them.

"

In the next moment, something incredibly strange occurs.

Opening my eyes, I was now holding Flare's sword, and I could feel something akin to a thick viscous liquid around my body.

Flare was equally unable to react and change her directory, slamming into me without any weapons, armor, or the magical protection I had just robbed from her.

As he pointed hand jammed into my chest, instead of tearing through it, it was as if her hand broke on impact.

Not allowing her any breathing room, I slam down with her sword as fast as possible, the swing coming out with such a degree of speed that it surprised even me.

Needless to say, the arm with which she tried to block me was cut clean through.

As a look of shock and horror came over Flare's face, she attempted to jump backward, only to land flat on her back.

"You can steal cloak?!" Flare yelled, yet it was too late.

Pouring mana into my staff, I simply pointed it at her head.

"The hell is cloak?" I let my true thoughts flow out, as an Eisdamon flies directly into Flare's chest, ending the fight.

The glittering cage began to dissipate, as I could feel all of my wounds from the fight rapidly healing to peak condition. It doesn't appear to rejuvenate my mana, but I have plenty to spare still.

Yet, looking over to Flare, I realize something pretty crucial.

Although her wounds are healed, she is still well, disrobed. Covered by only her undershirt and undergarments, both of which were torn to shreds by Eisdamon, she does not seem happy at all, as not only is she glaring, I can tell someone from the sidelines is staring daggers into my skull.

Also, nice.

"Uhhh, sorry," I say, quickly taking off her leather breastplate and padded leather pants.

With another expectant glare, I cover her in an earthen dome.

"Finally! Thanks for taking so long," Flare yelled, as the icy glares multiplied from the onlookers.

"Yeah, remind me to never fight you again. I'd rather not die nude." Ivy joked, walking over and laughing at Flare's dome. "I told you not to fight him. Now you're embarrassed and burned through a good amount of mana. The only ones you made happy are me and Ice Freak." She continued, laughing at the now groaning Flare.

"Why do you have a spell that strips your opponent," Teresa said, as my brain immediately switched to damage control.

"It's not what it looks like," I say putting my hands up in defense, getting a chuckle from Ivy and a scoff from Teresa.

"What it looks like is a spell that strips your opponent, the only advantage I can think of is embarrassing them," Teresa said with a dejected sigh.

"NO no no no, it's a spell meant to disarm an opponent by stealing their weapons and armor. Still fine-tuning the exact effects, but you have to admit that idea has promise right?" I ask as Flare yells to come in with the save.

"Drop the dome I'm done putting my back-ups on. Also, it doesn't

Nearly being the keyword here. Impressive self-control.

I think I'm missing more basic knowledge here.

"I think I'm lacking a bit more knowledge here. What the hell is 'cloak' and why haven't I heard about it?" I ask, getting a look of surprise from every member of the party.

"How do you not know what cloak is?" Teresa said, a genuine tone of surprise coming from her.

"How old are you? Three? Everyone knows what cloak is!" Remarks Flare with indifference.

"You don't know what it is? I thought you just didn't use it out of cockiness." Ivy said, matching Teresa's genuine confusion.

"Why would I do something as dumb as that?" I ask Ivy directly, getting a shrug from her and Flare.

"Arrogance," Ivy said with a confident nod, with Teresa and Flare both giving nods of agreement.

I really need to work on my public image. Especially with my own party members.

"Okay, we've lost the plot a little. What exactly is cloak?" I ask, as Teresa gives her trademark small sigh and dives right into teaching mode.

"Cloak is a very very basic technique using mana, that most people with any sizeable amount of mana is taught during childhood. To use a cloak, simply try to spread the warm feeling of your mana throughout your entire body. Once every part of your body is filled with mana, it should naturally start to seep out of your skin. That is known as a cloak, with your physical abilities and resistance increasing proportionally to the amount of mana you decide to spend on the endeavor. A cloak fades once a certain amount of time passes, but can be extended if you feed it mana again." Teresa explained, as this answered almost no questions and created about ten extra.

"What kind of mana do I need to spread through my body? Do I have to mind the mana nodes or skip them? Also, if it's like that, why can't everyone silently cast? I've been cycling mana throughout my body this whole time yet I've seen none of this cloak, any explanation on that one?" As I rapid-fire asked Teresa different questions, it looked as if her face processed every stage of grief in a three-second interval.

"What do you mean what kind of mana? What do you mean by 'cycling mana'? What do you mean mana nodes? Antonio what the fuck are you talking about." Teresa asked as I got more of the same from the rest of the party.

"Ya know, the types of mana? To cast different spells, you use different types of mana." I say, as Teresa and Ivy nod.

"Of course, anyone who casts magic knows that there's a difference in the magic used, otherwise Fields would be useless," Teresa said, obviously missing my point.

"Yeah, so what type of mana do I need to fill my body with in order to achieve a cloak? Also, if everyone can sense their mana and move it freely, why do people still chant spells or use invocation circles?" I ask, getting more looks of confusion.

"What do you mean by 'what type of mana'?" Teresa asks as a look of shock comes over Ivy.

"Ice Freak, are you telling me you can tell the

"Yeah? Like, say I'm fighting and my arm is wounded, I'll flood that part of my body with healing magic to heal it, whilst flooding my staff with water magic to form a spell, and my legs with magic to form either another spell or prepare to kick off the ground with air magic." I say, as Ivy falls to the ground and just gives a deep sigh.

"What's the big deal?" I ask as Teresa's face sinks to one of resignation.

"Antonio, normal people can barely tell how much mana they use for any given spell, let alone micromanage it down to where the exact type of mana is going where. Normal mages can't use gestured casting, since a normal person's mana perception isn't honed to the point of being able to differentiate every type of mana. Even I can only tell the difference between light mana and the rest, let alone every type." Teresa says whilst shaking her head.

Have I said too much?

I've said too much.