"Wh-Wha...what just happened...?" Ariella gasped, before tentatively rolling over and laying down, going limp as she slumped against the floor, "I-It...hurts to move..."
"Shit...u-uh, you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't think that'd have that much of an impact," I remarked as I jogged over and knelt beside her, a sense of guilt welling up inside me.
I mean, I knew it'd hurt since I used it on myself, but this is way beyond what I experienced. I figured since the solar plexus is where the flow of Mana starts, it might be more effective if I use this technique on that spot.
Still, I didn't expect this much of difference. I didn't try it on myself because it hurt like crazy when I used it on my arm, but to think it'd be this effective.
My new technique, Mana Pulse.
It's simply just a burst of pure Mana from my fingertips, but there's a lot more to it than just that. When unleashed at close-contact, the Mana injects itself into the target's body.
It doesn't directly inflict physical damage, what it does is violently disrupt the target's Mana flow, which then causes physical damage and damage to their Mana circuits.
When I used it on my arm, I damaged a few muscles and nerves, which healed up in about a day and a half.
It probably won't work too well on targets with thick or heavy armor, but Ariella was wearing a thinly armored tank top, the same material that my gear is made of...it's suppose to have a slight resistance to Magic, which means this would've been even worse if she'd just been wearing normal clothes.
It's a good thing this technique is still new, who knows how much damage it would've done if I'd mastered it more and was able to unleash it more powerfully?
"W-Wait, I...I think the pain's starting to recede a bit. O-Oh, wow, I've never felt anything that painful before, holy shit...," She muttered as she sat up with a slight wince of pain.
"I really am sorry. I've tested it out on myself, and it did hurt, but it wasn't all that serious, I definitely didn't bleed or anything. So, I figured it would be even less effective on you since you've got a much stronger body. Sorry, that sounds like I'm making excuses, I-..."
"H-Hey, it's okay. That did hurt like hell, but I saw right away that you were surprised at how effective it was against me, so I know it wasn't intentional. And, well, even if it was, since we're sparring, I wouldn't have complained either way. More importantly, what exactly was that?" She inquired curiously, as she wiped the blood off the lower half of her face.
Huh. She doesn't seem mad, like, at all.
In fact, she seems genuinely fascinated.
And while I do prefer to keep my cards close to my chest, I feel like giving her an explanation is the least I can do after inflicting what looked like quite a bit of pain.
"It's a new technique I came up with, last Saturday after I went home. I call it Mana Pulse, it simply fired out a burst of Mana from my fingertips. The Mana injects itself into a target if I unleash it close enough, and disrupts the flow of their Mana. At least, that's how I think it works, based on how it felt when I used it on myself."
"I see...a burst of Mana from your fingertips, huh? I wonder, is that something anyone can do, or is it something only you can do?" She mused with an intrigued look on her face.
"No clue, but I don't mind telling you how it works. The flow of Mana starts in the solar plexus, then swirls around the torso, before flowing straight through the limbs and neck.
The flow is super complex through the head, it's really tough to control, especially since there's a heavy concentration of Mana around the brain, second only to the concentration around the solar plexus.
Anyway, for this technique, channel your Mana through your arm and into your fingertips, and when you feel pressure building up, release it. That's about it," I explained, before adding, "Oh, and you need to channel the flow from start to finish, beginning with the solar plexus and then through to your fingertips."
"Okay, I think I get it...oh, maybe that's why it was so much more effective on me. If the solar plexus is where the flow of Mana starts, maybe it's especially sensitive to this technique? Which part of your body did you test it out on?" She asked me.
"Oh, I think you might be right...I used it on my left forearm. And the pain was mostly through my forearm, hand and a little bit past my elbow. My upper bicep and my fingers were fine, though."
"You said the concentration of Mana is pretty strong in the head too, right? A strike to the head with this technique could actually be even more effective than a strike to the solar plexus.
Think about it...maybe a strike to the solar plexus results in more widespread damage across your entire body, but a strike to the head could cause some serious brain damage. Not to mention damage to the eyes and ears," She pointed out thoughtfully.
Good point...she really is sharp, her perspective is proving to be pretty valuable.
"Wait, so, the way Mana flows isn't documented or whatever? I figured it out pretty much right after I started trying to channel my Mana manually," I informed her.
I never actually thought to look it up, might have made things easier if I had.
"Uh, let me check...how does...Mana flow," She muttered as she typed it into her I-Watch, before adding as she turned the display visible to me after a few seconds of scrolling, "Oh, here we go! Yeah, looks like it was studied and documented a few decades ago. You were spot-on about the flow, it starts at the solar plexus and then spreads out in the exact patterns you described. I guess it's not all that well-known since maybe most Hunters don't think it's all that relevant?"
"Yeah, certainly could be."
Ai mentioned that it's likely that Hunters with higher Potential are able to manually channel their Mana more easily than those with lower Potential, that could be a part of why this isn't common knowledge.
"Mhm...by the way, um, could I see your other Skills? I'm sore all over, so I can't fight anymore, but since I didn't get to see those Devour and Drain Skills you told me about...could I get a little peek?" She requested with a sheepish smile.
Well, I had been planning on using Drain at some point, so I see no reason to refuse.
"Sure, that's fine.