[@Stabby][@Zeroth] Femus bobbed briefly in acknowledgement. Nira had practical goals entwined with some fairly normal dreams. There was nothing shocking or profound, but that was interesting in itself. Even in this strange and difficult to define situation she was able to stay grounded and ultimately seek something like a normal life. Femus wasn't entirely sure that he could do that. He had a feeling that the level of power that he desired would force him to take a more extraordinary path in the end. But, for now... [color=598527]"Alright. Let's get going."[/color] He said decisively as he levitated higher and led the way to his tree hole. He lingered outside the hole for a moment, checking for unfamiliar scents or signs that a slime or some other creature might have slipped in during his absence. If he found none then he proceeded inside, inadvertently lighting the dark space with his glow. There wasn't anything of note inside but the hole was deep enough to mostly hide them from the outside. Even Femus's glow was difficult to see after he went around the small bend in the hole. Here was a fairly safe nook where they could recover and meditate. It wouldn't do to linger here too long, but it might do until they were ready to make a move toward escaping the goblins. It wouldn't be easy to get out of this encirclement, even if they grew more powerful. From what Femus had noticed about his power, it was likely that he couldn't be confident of his odds of breaking out alone before he made level 15. And, even then, he would need the right set of skills. With Nira beside him, the two of them might be able to do it by level 10. Still, the two of them were both dependent on magic. They lacked the physical ability to simply keep fighting. [color=598527]"We need to increase the amount of time that we can stay in combat. We can't bet everything on a single high power skill or lucky blow. I have no intention of throwing this life away for nothing, either yours or mine."[/color] He said seriously as he settled onto a ridge where a long rotted knot deformed the side of the hollow space. [color=598527]"I need to be able to attack repeatedly, beyond the expectations of any opponent. I've been training to increase my maximum magic capacity to achieve this. The results have been notable but limited. I managed to increase my maximum capacity by 50%, allowing me to cast three mana orbs before being exhausted. The training that I used was based on meditation but with certain changes."[/color] Femus paused for a moment, giving Nira time to consider the implications of what he was going to teach her. Even if she didn't decide to use this particular modified form of meditation, he was still teaching her one of his secrets. It was a potent gesture of trust. He hoped it was the right move. [color=598527]"Meditation is simple."[/color] He continued. [color=598527]"Block out the world around you, sensation, planning, worry, everything. Then regulate your breathing and focus inward and intensify your awareness of your body and the flow of magic that moves through you, using that flow to draw in the magic from the environment around you and replenish your supply."[/color] He paused again, though only for a moment. [color=598527]"However, to increase your capacity the way I did, you must intensify the flow. Make it faster and denser. Think of the pathways it follows as being like your veins and encourage those veins to grow larger and stronger, to hold more and more. Also, do not stop meditating when you have reached your maximum magic capacity. Stretch those mana veins by overfilling them and giving them time to adjust to being overfull. But, do not push too hard or you may invite unpleasant side effects."[/color] He paused again. This time he remained silent for nearly a full minute before he spoke again. [color=598527]"Do you have any questions before we begin meditating?"[/color] If Nira had no questions then he would simply begin meditating, following the very method that he had just described. However, he did add one element to his own meditation that he did not tell Nira to attempt. He sought to extend his aura and draw more mana into the surrounding area than he could absorb with his body. He was seeking to saturate the area around the two of them with ambient mana to speed their recovery. He was also hoping to be able to create a space where those lovely blue flowers would grow easily. He still hadn't given up hope of cultivating them but he knew that for the plant to give mana, it would need to gather it from the environment. Thus, he had to develop a way of increasing the environmental mana in an area. Even if the effect wasn't enough to cultivate the flowers, it could still be of use helping any allies he had recover their mana faster. It might even help their meditation skills improve to a point where it could be used while on the move.