Chapter 53: 50. Spirit Sensations

Energy reading is an extension of energy sense. Using my energy sense, I should be able to examine mana-invested objects, beasts, and beings, gaining a basic knowledge of the subject. It is a delicate and invasive practice. The more intrusive, the less soft you are with your perception control. Through constant effort, I finally get a handle on the skill.

Epic Shadow Shade is all the information my energy readings give when I focus on Shade. It is more than nothing, and I am elated with the new skill at my disposal. Things might not have gotten so out of hand if I knew how to read energy before entering the Greater Shadow Realm.

Even though I can successfully get a reading on Shade, it takes more practice before I can get a reading on Gene. Genevieve, Shadow Shaman, Queen Mage. "Well done!" Gene says as soon as I read her. "Your touch isn't as delicate as I want it to be, and we will spend much more time honing the skill. However, getting a reading on a ruler-ranked spirit walker is especially impressive."

We train some more in perception. Not only am I learning to read energy, but Gene is also teaching me how to mask what others can read about me. On a whim, I try to read my own energy. Drifter, Mage. As it was with Gene, my information is there, but it doesn't have much meaning. With more questions in mind, I turn to my guide.

"Hey Gene, what information am I getting when I read into our energy?"

"Depending on your perception skill and the skill of your target, what you are seeing is the information you can pull from your target's soul," Gene responds. "What do you see when you read my energy?"

Even though I already read her energy, I do so again. Genevieve Shadow Claw, Shadow Shaman, Queen Mage, Lycan, Spirit Walker. "I am getting a lot more information this time."

"What you see is the information I am allowing my soul to display."

"I can see your name, that you are a shaman, a rank, your race, and that you are a spirit walker."

"Usually, unless your target is skilled in perception, you will be able to read at least the class and rank of your target. Any other information you gather depends on you and your target's perception skill."

"Can we talk more about the classes and rankings? Rankings are just stages of awakened, right?" I ask, hoping to make more sense of the information I'm reading. 

"Remember our talk previously about training essences to improve the soul. Do you recall what the first stage in awakened is called?"

"Page, right? And the second is rook?"

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Gene fills in more gaps in my knowledge. "After rook is squire rank. Then knight finishes off the lancer ranking. This is the lowest tier of awakening. Lancers can manipulate the energy within themselves. The higher the ranking, the stronger their internal mana manipulation will be."

"So, in terms of my soul and mana binding, I am a lancer? Even though my reading says mage, I can still only control internal mana." 

"In your case Liam, when I initially read your energy, I was given the barest of information, your class, and the rank of your mana-bound soul. It wasn't until I pushed my perception that I learned of your prime core, and you're actually mage ranked. Essentially, you are at the lancer stage. More precisely, you are considered a squire because of your shadow mana bound to your core's third layer. The caveat is that you are an exceptionally powerful lancer."

"Nice." I give a small fist pump. "Squire is so much cooler than a page." This is probably one of those times I should have kept my mouth shut. That's not even what I wanted to say.

Smiling, Gene gives my excessive celebration little attention and continues her instruction. "The next stage in awakening is that of templar. Unlike lancers, templars have five ranks: disciple, priest, bishop, cardinal, and apostle. Templars not only can wield internal mana, but they can also wield external mana."

Making another appearance is Adam. His soul appears to be at the rank of bishop. Standing in the middle of a graveyard, he casually lifts his hands. As his hands rise, the ground around him starts to break. His hands are at the height of his shoulders when skeletons begin crawling out of the cracked earth. When his hand reaches the height of his head, Adam has a skeletal army standing in front of him.

"That being said," Gene pulls my attention back to her. "I am curious when you bind mana at the templar rank if you can influence the mana internally and externally."

I am nodding my head along as if I am also curious about the complexities of my soul. The reality is that I can't stop comparing my status as a squire to that of disciple. Squire sounds cooler. Apostle, on the other hand, now that is just intimidating. You won't find the average scorpion trying to poke an apostle stumbling in the desert, that is for sure.

"Sage is the next rank, and following that is mage. We can cover their ranks at another time, though. My only suggestion is if you come across a sage or mage, consider running."

"Live to run another day. I can get behind that. Or what if I feign death? I am pretty good at dying." Stagnating inside the cave for so long is starting to get to me, and I can feel my focus waning. Luckily Gene is patient and puts up with my shenanigans. "Sorry." I tack on hopefully adding fuel to her dwindling patients.

"As for classes, there are established pathways that many people follow when training their essences. These pathways are considered classes. In my case," Gene's corporeal hand motions towards her chest, "I trained primarily in mind and spirit leading to the sorcerer class. Eventually, I specialized in my class, becoming a shaman. 

"In your case," her open hand points back at me, "your past self, for whatever reason, focused on all three pathways equally. This isn't done often. Generally, you would be considered classless or a wanderer. It appears you have been assigned the classless upgrade name of drifter."

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