After the initial absorption, I let them get familiar with the skill while I created a simple crusher and mana container setup that would allow them to practice alone.
While staying with them to guide every step was tempting, it was also not possible with everything I needed to do. I prepared to explain to them exactly how I had acquired the skill —
Something rebelled inside me.
It was a deep, visceral feeling, hating the idea of giving up such a valuable piece of information for free, in a way that I couldn't control its further dissemination, which would cost me a valuable chip. I could use it to raise an army, bargain with any city lord that might show interest, or even —
"No," I suddenly growled. I didn't know where that line of thought had come from. Maybe it was the System, maybe it was just plain old corruption from power humanity had dealt with since eternity. It didn't matter, even if it had some really important, valuable points. I was not a general, a warrior, or a politician for any reason other than pure necessity.
I was an academician.
Treating knowledge as something to be hoarded and hidden away was a reprehensible thought. Yes, I had been hoarding the information I had unearthed desperately, but that was because I was afraid of being silenced when I showed my hand. That was not a concern anymore … too bad it was because I had made enemies that were willing to sink a lot of resources to kill me even without it.
Was it still a risk? Yes. But, in a world where death had become a constant companion, I would rather die sticking to my true ideals than trying to build another tiny city-state where I had to hoard every little bit of knowledge…
Speaking of it, I might need to find a way to spread my discoveries widely in case my life ends in tragedy—
"Sir," Terry spoke, interrupting my sudden spiral. "What exactly did you mean by … no?"
"I was thinking out loud about the best way to teach," I said, seeing no reason to explain the sudden epiphany I had experienced. But, once the decision was made, I could feel myself getting lighter, yet more determined.
I had chosen my path.
"And, what exactly is that path," Jessica intervened, her tone chippy once more. I smiled, appreciating it.
"First, I'm going to tell you how I achieved my own development," I said. "It all started with my Repair skill, and Analyze perk…"
With that, I gave them a short summary lecture on how I used material science knowledge to create a primitive replication method to forge mana alloys, and how it allowed me to upgrade my skill to its mana variant.
At the same time, I was multitasking by filling a small tome with my insights on mana, doing my best to digest it down to a beginner's perspective, and only adding a few open-ended questions. I encased it with enhanced silver to prevent the dungeon corrosion from affecting it.
"Do we need to learn all that stuff as well?" Ryan asked, looking intimidated at the prospect.
"No, that's only really valid for blacksmiths. So, no," I replied, then paused. "At least, I don't think so. Even if you want to replicate the same method, it should require a knowledge of botany or biology rather than material science, which we don't have access to at the moment."
I could probably cobble up something thanks to the enhanced memory given to me by Wisdom, allowing me to remember a lot of classes from back then, but it wasn't exactly simple. I could transcribe and summarize the lessons easily, but actually comprehending them enough to teach others — particularly people with no background — was a significant time investment, probably measured in weeks if not months.
Instead, I decided to give them a different approach. "Now that all of you have access to basic meditation, let me tell you the two distinct methods of using the mana," I said, thinking of the best way to frame it. "The form, and the shape," I decided.
All seven listened to me intensely. "Once again, a disclaimer. My understanding of how both methods work is extremely limited." That earned another set of nods. "The easiest way to explain the difference is to explain the difference between Wisdom and Intelligence. Intelligence allows the mage to create very complicated patterns through mana, which in turn has certain effects."
"Like a computer," Spencer commented calmly.
"A good analogy. While mana works in more chaotic patterns than electricity, the general idea is the same. Certain patterns interact with mana uniquely. And, just like how putting millions of zeros and ones together on a chip made computers work, these patterns make spells work."
To display, I raised my hand, and cast a firebolt, though I made sure to slow down the casting so that they could watch it come together.
"So it's possible to change spells," Spencer commented.
"Presumably," I said, happy with the glint of interest he was showing. The realization on his face was clear, and so was the enthusiasm. Not bad for an accountant. "I didn't have much time to focus on that line of research, but it sounds viable. I already had some promising intermediary results."
"What's the other version," Terry asked.
I raised my hand, once again summoning a ball of mana, which then turned into a sickly brown color, showing concentrated decay. "That's the form, changing the nature of the mana by imposing a certain idea."
"And, that's what you picked," Jessica commented in shock.
"Corrosion. It was an easy concept to understand," I said, gesturing at the area that surrounded us.
"Fair," she commented.
"Does it mean we can change mana to anything we want," Ryan asked enthusiastically.
I was curious about it as well, as my experience with experimenting directly was limited. I summoned another ball of mana, and focused on the next easiest concept. Fire. A few concentrated seconds later, the mana ball turned into fire, bubbling in my palm.
It was smoother than I had expected, though the reason was not hard to guess. My first instinct was it was the fire skill to give me some kind of advantage, but I was quick enough to dismiss that. While replicating the Quake effect, I felt the skill resonating somewhat. Here, there was no such interaction, likely due to the Intelligence-based nature of the skill.
It was the familiarity of the flame that clued me in regarding the ease of my success, which felt like the attack of the lizards. Not a surprise, I decided. Since the dungeon break, the number of claws I had absorbed was well into six digits. Feeling their flame nature destroyed by the Decay every time had given me a good understanding of it.
"Cool," Soren said, his tone excited. I could sense that his excitement was not a lie, though the silly expression he wore certainly was. I was curious as to why he acted that way, but the lack of malice was a good reason to hold back.
Even if it was a spy, I wasn't concerned, not when I was already planning ways to disperse the same explanation across the region the moment I was convinced it wasn't a deadly process.
"Feel free to ask me more questions," I said.
"Do you think we can speed up the growth of the trees with mana the same way, professor," Terry asked.
"Maybe," I said. "I don't have any relevant sample that could guide us, but I don't see a reason for it to be impossible," I said. "With your Nurture at Epic level, you should already have enough control over your Health to create the same type of pattern that can hold mana. Maybe it will work."
My answer triggered a set of questions, which I answered while I continued to write the small book, glad that Dexterity was allowing me to write at inhuman speeds.
"That's it for the moment," I said. "You seven will stay here for the moment, isolated. Feel free to read the booklet I have prepared. I did my best to differentiate between facts I had directly observed, my theories, and the possible explanations," I said, going through my notation. I also thought of bringing the book on how to quickly improve the skills, but after a momentary thought, I decided against it.
It would only overwhelm them.
"That matters?" Logan asked.
"It does," I said. "In the scientific method, it's always a good idea to distinguish them. Even more importantly, it's important to remember no experimentation is perfect…" I paused upon realizing their confused expressions. They were getting too overwhelmed. "A seminar on scientific methods, while useful, can wait until we're not dealing with an army of fire lizards. For now, focus on finding a way to integrate mana with Nurture."
That earned half a dozen nods, followed by Soren's slightly delayed one. Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn't help but smirk, feeling strangely giddy as I opened a portal to the first floor.
For the first time in a while, I felt like a true academician once more.