A lot of things happened that night, even as Theo was starting to grow sleepier and sleepier. His Mana-drawing, or whatever it was really called, had started to deteriorate with every waking moment. The adrenaline keeping him alert was starting to drag him down as he no longer had a massive influx of it to his system.

  As he got both slower and less precise, it started taking longer between experiments as he sometimes just fumbled the ball enough for the symbol to reject the locking sequence, furiously abandoning Theo as it hissed away. If this was the second symbol he drew, the reaction was even worse, though not too harmful, luckily. A ball of heat threatened to burn him if he'd just been a little closer, which was when he decided to get some rest after all.

  That didn't mean he hadn't discovered several things before that, however. The most important thing to happen, though he wasn't quite sure when it had happened, he got a message through his system, one that really affirmed his intentions and diligence as he was trying out new things.

  Congratulations! You have earned the Level One skill Sigil Weaving.

  Sigil Weaving (Level One): A skill no mortal should possess, Sigil Weaving is the language of the World. Impressive and improbable circumstances must've allowed this skill to be learned. All stats +5. Sigil Weaving has requirements not all mortals possess. You somehow do. Blessing gained: Requirement Permanence.

  This is your first Level One skill. Would you like to know more about skills and how they affect stats?

  Requirement Permanence (Instant): Requirement Permanence alters a possibly temporary effect to become a permanent one.

  Requirement Permanence (Instant) Success! See calculation?

  Requirement Permanence has granted you a Trait!

  Trait gained: Eyes of the Veil

  Eyes of the Veil (Trait): You have the ability to glance at the inner workings of world-shaping. Be careful, as seeing behind the scenes can cause extreme discomfort and philosophical changes.

  "At least it's not a permanent chance of blowing up," the man sighed in relief after his fists had remained clenched for as long as he'd read the message, his hands wet with sweat.

  While Theo was excited to finally get some real guidance out of the system, he was already too tired at that point and only attempted a few more sigils after that. At least he had a name for them now.

  The more he experimented with the third-page sigils, the more sure he became that the first one was 'Conjure'. Each sigil on the third page was some kind of element, the two first from earlier being 'Fire' and 'Water', while the remaining four were 'Wind', 'Earth', 'Light' and 'Dark'. Whether this world had other names for them, he wasn't sure, but that's what he decided to name them.

  The 'Conjure' 'Wind' sigil combination only made a tiny gust of wind exploding outward in all directions from the symbols. 'Conjure' 'Earth' magicked out a ball-sized mound of compacted dirt that fell toward the ground, which Theo both expected and was prepared for at that point. He caught the packet of earth, finding it exceptionally normal. It was just... dirt.

  A flash of light was the result of the next combination, while 'Dark' had the opposite effect, making the immediate area in front of Theo hard to see through, like a hovering, three-dimensional shadow hung in the air for a short while.

  Next, he attempted the second sigil from the primer along with the third-page sigils. He was almost surprised when the two activated, just as he was nearly surprised when, after a moment, the campfire was slowly being snuffed out whilst the two sigils hummed harmonically.

  Usually, they each had a different tone, but it seemed they were actively working on something in unison. Previously, with the 'Conjure' sigil, they just flashed and vanished, being replaced by the element they combined to create. This was different, like a lasting effect. It only took a few, brief seconds before the firelight had given up entirely despite the brick having not shown a single sign of burning up.

  'Remove', he thought to himself as he scribbled the same word down on his note-sheet along with the second symbol of the book.

  The real surprise was when he gawked at his remaining mana after that. It had gone down to 631 after using the 'Conjure' sigil on each of the elements, but now it had dropped to a stunningly low 611, a whole 20 points lower. Ten points, sure, it was as expected, but a doubling of that? Why?

  He was getting real tired at that point and he was unsure about whether to continue the 'Remove' path that night. What would happen if he 'Removed' 'Earth'? would the ground just crumble away beneath him? Would he choke without 'Wind'? It was too risky.

  Instead, he combined 'Conjure' and 'Fire' just above the camping brick. It ignited along with the sigils and once more gave off light and warmth to the small campsite.

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  Theo realised that he'd just done his first ever practical application with these sigils. He congratulated himself, forgetting about the two attempts he had to try to get the sigils to activate. He still had to pay a cost of five points for the failed ones, leaving him with 591 to go. Nearly half in just a single day!

  He decided to try the third sigil of the book once or twice before going to sleep, his mind still as anxiously excited as it could be, it was just also beaten and broken down for lack of sleep.

  He drew it up, then he drew 'Fire'. Both locked in tandem with each other and then the wait was on. Relief washed over him as he knew that each of the three symbols on the first page could pair with the elemental sigils of the third. It assured him that the book was structured, at least, though in exactly which way was yet to be determined.

  If the first was 'Conjure' and the second was 'Remove', what was the third? What had he just written in the supposed 'language of the World' was about to happen?

  Like last time, the dissonant hums turned to harmonious chants as the sigils activated. It had a lasting effect, at least... A pale light crept forward from the sigils, a sphere stretching out in every direction. The light enveloped Theo without him feeling much of anything, then it wrapped around the campfire.

  A thin and tall pillar of bluish light rose toward the heavens as the ring carried forth. It progressed past Chaste and into the darkened treeline, though soon after the sigils burned out and the ring dimmed into darkness. The pillar above the fire remained for about a minute or so after that before it, too, disappeared.

  "Interesting," Theo whispered to himself. "'Search', maybe?"

  The symbol had combined with 'Fire' and it certainly did mark the only source of fire around. A whopping 25 points had been spent, however. An added cost of 15 after the usual 10 mana... He hadn't paid too much attention to when the costs were subtracted, but he could always do that another day. He was dead tired and ached to sleep.

  Morning came too soon and Theo was roused by the sound of Chaste packing his things together.

  "Good morning, Theo," Chaste said with a warm morning smile. "Don't mind about the paper, there's more where that came from."

  Theo's groggy eyes and tired brain was at first utterly and completely confused, first wondering where the hell he was, then what the hell Chaste was talking about. The memories of yesterday hit him like a train, meaning fast, then the night's experimental escapades sneaked in on him like a mouse, meaning quiet.

  "Good morning," he answered a bit later. "And thanks. I didn't want to wake you. And I got the glyph wet," he continued.

  "No trouble. Did it rain?"

  "Hm? Uh, no..." Theo said, remembering how he got it wet. He wasn't quite sure how to explain it, just as he wasn't quite sure how much he should reveal about the sigils. Though, there was a way to find out...

  "Can you do that thing again? That 'Inspection'?"

  Chaste looked at him, taking a short break from packing up his stuff. "Rarely does someone willingly ask that," he teased, though the message of Theo's system warned that he initiated it. A few seconds ticked by before Chaste beamed in Theo's direction.

  "Congratulations! The Boon seems a bit weaker now and you've even gained a Level One skill! Weaving is a pretty good skill."

  "Just... Weaving?" Theo asked, trying not to sound as conspicuous.

  "Most mages have it," the man added.

  "Great, thanks!"

  "Say, you must've really been at it last night, huh? I guess with all that extra pew-pew surging through you, you got to keep up quite the pace, right?"

  "I guess... How much mana are people supposed to have?" Theo asked.

  "Sheesh, you go right ahead and ask the big questions, why don't you! Lucky for you, I'm rather well-versed, you might say. Start weaving and I'll quantify it for you," the man suggested with a grin. He seemed impressed with Theo's questioning attitude towards magic. Maybe he'd found himself a protégé?

  Theo did, releasing the slight trickle that proved enough for his sigils but not enough for the entire glyph the previous evening. To Theo's surprise, Chaste's eyes, usually a cool green, flashed purple for an instant and left behind the barest of blue hues in his irises for a short while longer.

  "You can't turn it down a little more, right?" the man asked.

  Theo shook his head. Nothing had really changed in that regard.

  "That's about 1 QM each minute," Chaste then said. "It's a bit high for simple Weaving, but seeing as you only have the one skill, I guess that's par for the course."

  "QM?"

  "Quantifiable Mana. It's just an academic expression, I guess. With this output, and if we ignore the regeneration, I could keep that up for several hours."

  Theo did the math. He would have to weave for more than nine hours to get rid of the pew-pew remaining in the Boon. Depending on how long 'several hours' were, Chaste could weave and cast spells for maybe more than half that amount himself? Now Theo was really excited to know how much mana he had for himself, Boon excluded. But how to find that out? He could always see after getting rid of the Boon, but... Didn't it feel like something the system should include?

  "Anyway, are you ready to move on?"

  Chaste seemed all but ready to move, holding his horse and brushing it with his hands.

  "Sure," Theo said, only having his book and paper to pack up.

  They soon left the temple behind as they started wandering through the forest. Theo barely remembered the section of wood they started through, but when he went through there last, he was being chased by a vicious death machine. He wasn't exactly sightseeing. There wasn't much to look at, anyway.

  They were soon back to the fork in which Theo made the fateful decision to go right. Whether that was the right decision or not would reveal itself in due time, but he'd be much more certain after knowing he wouldn't blow up one of these days.

  He had to groan when Chaste led them the other direction and the treeline where colourful trees met vibrant, green meadows was just a short minute's walk away. 'Again... If I don't blow up,' he thought to himself, gritting his teeth as he did.