On selecting the skill soul sight, the Vonn twins had the sensation of falling out of their own bodies. They could still see, feel, and hear like normal. And they could move. But everything was sluggish. Like they were only partially present in their bodies. The rest of them was, somewhere else.

  They could see, but not with their eyes. And what they saw was not light. They recognized it immediately. They were looking at their souls.

  It was like a burning cloud filled the entirety of their being. They had felt this before. Margie had taught them the basics of what the soul was like by casting a spell on them. Kennon noticed the thread of soul fire that connected him to his twin. It was with this first spell years ago that they realized that they were different. It was impossible to comprehend. But apparently a soul bond like this was rare.

  Through that thread Kennon could see his sister's soul as well. In this state, they could communicate far easier. Not that they had been in this state often.

  As they got used to this fugue state a stream of information flooded their minds. They knew it was the instructions for the soul sight skill. They instinctively knew that once they had this skill they would be able to see their souls just as well when fully awake as they could right now. All they had to do was build the skill.

  It was a small thing. A simple gathering of soul fire into a magic array bound with intent. It wouldn’t take a tenth of their soul to build it. But despite being simpler than most common spells it was magnitudes more complicated than anything they had done before.

  Thankfully the array was seared into their mind so firmly it would take effort not to understand its form. And they had done soul control exercises before.

  Bev realized at that moment that Margie probably taught them that in preparation for this very moment.

  As one they started to grab at the soul fire with their will. It struggled to be free, and was as slippery as an eel. But it was their own souls. It could not fight against them for long.

  Holding the required power they started to weave. Slowly at first. It was like trying to thread a needle when your arm was numb. Thankfully they knew that the tolerances on this array were large. They didn’t have to get it perfect for it to work.

  Their goal was to weave an elegant embroidery of complex geometry. Eventually they were able to put together something that looked more like the drawings of a child. But the ever present guiding voice of the growth system said it would do the job. Even if it took twice the soulfire needed.

  With the job done well enough they sealed the array with their will. Binding it in intent so that it would remain for as long as they wished. At the same moment they returned to their bodies. Their soul once again hidden from them.

  Although not entirely. Normally seeing even a glimpse of the soul took extraordinary effort. But now it was as easy as shifting their focus to their hearing.

  Bev looked at Kennon and said, “that was unexpected."

  Kennon chuckled at the understatement.

  Taking a second look at the skill list he pulled up the description of soul sight.

  Soul sight

  The foundation of growth. You can not change what you can not see.

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  With soul sight you can see the state of your soul easily. Does not provide direct aid in soul shaping. But is a requirement nonetheless.

  Size: 1

  Size efficiency: 50%

  Effectiveness: 100%

  Nothing new there. Out of curiosity Kennon checked the other suggested skills.

  Mana sight

  Mana is the fuel of the world. Without the ability to see it, using it is impossible. Gain the ability to see mana. With greater effectiveness gain enhanced clarity. Above 50% effectiveness gain the ability to see mana with more than your eyes.

  Size: 1

  Mana manipulation

  Mana is the fuel of the world. Bend it to your will. With this skill gain the ability to control your personal mana both inside and outside the body. Vital for spell casting. Can be boosted by mental stats.

  Size: 3

  Physical empowerment T1

  The growth system does not provide fixed stats via leveling. Instead giving you the power to direct your soul to power your body on your own.

  Physical empowerment is a basic skill all should learn. It provides a broad improvement to all body functions. Including longevity and mental processing.

  At tier 1 it has a base efficiency of 10% maximum.

  Size: Variable. Minimum 1

  Mana sight and manipulation looked almost exactly as they had been told aside from replacing “levels” with “effectiveness”. But physical empowerment. That was a whole different animal. Forgetting what it did on its own for a moment. Its description explicitly said that the growth system would not be providing stats. At all. That was one of the main reasons to level up!

  The system provided skills, and stats when you leveled up. It also aided in casting any known spells, as well as inscribing them in your core. That was its whole point!

  The growth system required you to build the skills yourself. And didn’t give you stats. Kennon dreaded what they would find in the spells menu.

  There were also mentions of size efficiency, and effectiveness. Apparently soul sight required 1 soul point, but Kennon’s imperfect work meant it took up two. At that rate he wouldn’t be able to get physical empowerment at all after mana sight and manipulation. At least the effectiveness was at 100%

  Feeling a bit of a headache from the soul manipulation Kennon went to the next menu. Spells.

  Spell access is limited by casting ability. Increase proficiency in spell categories to unlock new spells.

  One spell can be inscribed on your core per level. Inscription can be done automatically or manually with assistance. The latter is suggested.

  Spells

  Fire magic- level 1

  Torch.

  Wind magic- level 1

  Gust.

  Water magic- level 1

  Splash.

  Earth magic- level 1

  Rock toss.

  Divination magic - level 1

  Identify.

  This was, confusing. Categories, proficiency requirements? He never heard of that. He knew that bad form when spell casting weakened spells and slowed their casting. But he had never heard of spells being gatekept behind anything other than class.

  At least the spells were all normal. Kennon had actually cast all of them before. That was a tortuous training session. Without skills mana does not want to leave the body. And really doesn’t want to be controlled after leaving the body.

  Torch would make a small ball of fire. More for making light, or lighting a real fire than anything else. Gust and splash sent a small blast of wind and water respectively. And rock toss created and threw a rock. You could save a ton of mana by using it to simply throw a rock that already existed.

  None of them were better than basic tools unless you empowered them. But they were also easy to empower. Most people only used them to get used to casting.

  Identify was a system based divination spell. You used it on a person, animal, or object and got the basic system description. Pretty much everyone used it. The only ones that didn’t used something that did the same but better.

  But after the training he had already received Kennon wasn’t interested in casting without the skills for it. And his headache had gotten better. It was time to get the other skills.