Synexus sat on a canoe in the middle of the beautiful magical lake attempting to forge his will once again. His first time had led to the creation of his Progress Garden but had taken him years. For this skill, he only had a day, and he wasn’t sure if it would be enough.

  Mapping a brain already seemed like an impossibly daunting task and he was planning to shape his will to make mana do it for him. So far in his planning he was able to look at the foundation for his other two collection skills to see how exactly the will pathways told his soul to record the information into a database of some kind since this would technically be another collection skill. From there he looked at the will pathways that Mhlanir possessed to understand how the mana was able to self-navigate through the pathways of another’s brain. Unfortunately, that’s where the outside help ended and his own creative solutions began.

  In order for the skill to work, his mana didn’t need to just traverse every single pathway in the brain but also record the connections so that he could gain an understanding into how that brain processed information. Ultimately, that was the more important part. Figuring out how to replicate those connections. Every synapse. Every neuron.

  Gene sat perched on the side of the canoe watching over their friend and admiring the glow of the serene lake. Through mana perception both of them could see the vibrancy of the water. Somehow the wonders of the soul had become undeniably merged with the water to create a spectacular new substance all together.

  Soul Water (Unique): Water produced through a soul fountain. Touching this water will amplify your natural healing. Drinking this water will heal you completely, body and soul. Enough exposure could potentially strengthen one’s soul. Overexposure could be detrimental.

  The owl had been mesmerized before Synexus had used his sensors to store the information in his skills and was even more impressed when they both read the description. They had never heard of a soul fountain, but it was clearly a powerful artifact that is hidden somewhere within the mountain. For centuries the Mind Maidens had protected the properties of the lake by using their skills to create the illusion of regular water. The snakes scared off anyone snooping around the upper part of the waterfall and it was now clear why they fought so hard for their territory. Those beasts had somehow gained benefits from drinking the water and they weren’t the only ones.

  According to Mhlanir, the lake and town got their name from the incredible silk that the silkworms in the area created after being born in the lake itself. Every year around the end of Spring, the silkworms made their way out of the forests to the edge of the lake. From there they give birth into the water before drinking it themselves. Several days later, hundreds of baby worms crawl out and head back into the forests. The people of Silk Lake throw a festival around the event and even watch the birth of the next generation.

  Upon earning their class, they are awarded with their first silk robes. From there each class advancement is awarded with a nicer set. According to Mhlanir, her and her mother are the only two that possess silk from the eldest silkworm the town had observed. Every party member had found it fascinating that they had never heard of such an occurrence, but that just went to prove how powerful the Mind Maidens truly were.

  After understanding why the mana was so intense around the lake, Synexus got permission to utilize the wonder to push his ability to mana weave to new heights. Gathering mana had never gone so fast for him and he was able to manipulate it with ease. Even breathing in brought in water vapor completely saturated in potent mana. If he had to get his skill done in a day, then he would need all the help he could get.

  Gene watched as more and more mana swirled around their friend. Different colors started to appear and the owl recognized several different kinds of mana working themselves into the weave of the complex skill. Mind mana, intelligence mana, memory mana, and so many more. Blues, purples, and whites combining, working their way towards a perfect unity. They could even see the shape that Synexus’ will was forming for the skill appear within the flowing mana. Soon their friend would absorb it and mark the first attempt. Somehow Synexus had truly mastered Mana Weaving to a ridiculous degree. For most mana weavers, it would still take months to even begin forging a shape with their will.

  ***

  Within his mind, Synexus was in the Progress Garden. A powerful stream of mana was being pulled into his soul and his garden sky looked like the Aurora Borealis. Above him was the outline of a brain and the wave of mana was slowly filling in the image through the addition of tediously small lines. He knew that he would only be able to get a couple of tries before the time limit was reached.

  Every line was a thread of mana woven from several different kinds of mana. Each kind of mana was drenched with whatever the last soul had imbued on it. The brain was his tapestry, and he was weaving together a masterpiece with the patience and precision it deserved. Even though he had a day as his time limit, he didn’t rush. That was the quickest way to lose the shape of one’s will. His shape was sturdy and unyielding to the wild energies of the mana flowing into it. A strong basin that the waterfall couldn’t attempt to even crack. Almost like Silk Lake and the Soul Water pouring from the Soul Fountain.

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  Occasionally his senses would pick up the undivided attention of Splash watching every single movement of the mana and how it was stitching together with the will of Synexus alone to guide it. The fish had been on a pursuit of knowledge about mana and how it existed. This demonstration would no doubt lead him to a breakthrough.

  Line by line the brain became more reality than concept. Synexus could feel the mana inside weaving together into the shape of the will pathway the final skill would take. Instead of the usual circuitry look of the will pathways they were more chaotic and, in a way, more natural. If Synexus had to give the fractals a shape, then he would say it looked exactly like the synapses of a brain. A complex jumble of pathways that flowed with each other perfectly. Unbelievable order from remarkable chaos. Even the foundations from his other collection skills and Mhlanir’s mind skills had altered themselves to fit the shape of his will better.

  More mana whipped around in the sky above before twisting into the new yarn for the brain mapping skill and it became harder to control. Without looking up, Synexus could tell the brain was nearly full. It was, of course, a perfect copy of his brain even if it wasn’t something he had intended at first. Somehow, he knew instinctually that it was what he was creating, but seeing it through his mana perception was entirely different from knowing.

  ***

  Gene watched sweat form on Synexus’ forehead and drip down to splash against the wooden canoe. Of course, he had gone so deep into meditation that he didn’t even realize that the day the party had agreed to leave was actually a week prior. Kumo had walked through the air on clouds several times showing increasing worry. Nothing the owl or the tempest could say or do would reach the Progress Architect building his newest creation. All they could do was ensure his safety while he once again performed an impossible task.

  Mhlanir had rowed over in her own canoe every day to observe Synexus. She was incredibly curious about his methods and what was taking place. Too anyone other than Gene, however, it simply looked like he was just sitting there. No one else could see the whirlpool of mana that had been a constant since Synexus began the process. One could certainly feel it if they opened themselves to the fascinating occurrence, but no one had said anything about it yet.

  The rest of the party except for Shell had pretty much left him alone. They had known about how deep Synexus could get when working on a project and Vorin had already planned on them staying a few extra days. Fortunately, their host was generous enough to offer them the rooms for the entire week and in exchange they helped around the village as much as they could. Prith helped cut the silk. Shell helped wash it. Kumo and Yu helped dry it. Zuls was on protected duty while the skilled Mind Maidens collected the silk from the worms. Vorin set up a little medical tent to cure any illnesses the winter cold had caused. It was still early spring, and the weather hadn’t quite warmed up yet.

  Mind Maidens and the party alike dropped what they were doing on the ninth day to run to the lake when they felt a huge surge of mana be released through the whole town. When they arrived, they found Synexus sitting with his eyes open in the middle of the lake in his canoe. Gene was flapping their wings in excitement.

  “It’s been more than a day, hasn’t it?”

  ***

  Synexus knew the skill was solidifying as his will could barely contain the vast amount of mana he had pulled in. It was by far his most complex skill with thousands of different pathways for the mana to flow through. As the last line of mana flowed into the brain above a wave of relief washed over him and his will compressed it all. The pressure was so immense that Synexus could feel the strain of spatial mana around the brain itself. A diamond was being created out of the mana he collected.

  When his will had compressed it down into the clean, finished skill he felt his soul change. What the pressure was in reality was the skill being etched within himself and it seemed that his soul had resonated with the skill meaning his picture that was formed by his will was clear enough for System to recognize his intentions. In clearer words, it meant that he succeeded and on his first try.

  Splash started splashing the water in celebration and Synexus smiled at his friend before clapping for himself. He checked on his plants, the Hychicken, and talked with Splash for a few minutes before reawaking in the real world. Gene was super close to his face staring at him with their wide owl eyes. Their canoe slightly moved in the water of Silk Lake. His eyes left Gene’s and looked around to see the bank of the lake filled with people staring at him. He instantly knew why.

  “It’s been more than a day, hasn’t it?”

  He shamelessly shrugged. After all you couldn’t rush through everything in life. His creations were important to him and this skill ended up being complex. What’s more is that it could prove to be an incredibly helpful skill for countless people. Speaking of the skill, he pulled up System’s interface to read how it was interpreted.

  Mind Modeling (unique): Using your mana, a perfect three-dimensional map of one’s brain will be recorded. Every synapse, every neuron, and even the activity of the brain will be shown. Using your model, you can uncover all the secrets of someone’s brain. The mana used and time taken to map the brain is dependent on the age of the person and the complexity of the brain.