The morning mist clung to the forest floor like a ghostly blanket, creating a perfect backdrop for Kaiser's experimental playground. His chosen testing ground was a small clearing where ancient trees had fallen, creating a natural obstacle course of moss-covered logs and scattered stones.
The telekinetic ability felt like discovering a new limb - awkward, unpredictable, but brimming with potential. Kaiser's thought process on measurement was typically pragmatic. Mana strands became his fundamental unit - like scientists using atoms or physicists using quantum particles. Each strand represented a discrete unit of energy, measurable and quantifiable.
Kaiser standardized it, thus giving a way to understand mana more simply,
Two rocks - one granite, one slate - became his first test subjects. The granite rock lifted first, wobbling like a first-time tightrope walker. The slate followed, marginally more stable but still displaying the coordination of a drunk penguin.
He started doing 2 things at once, parallel thinking. It seems to be possible due to his high intelligence stat, dexterity somewhere around coming into play.
The rocks began an intricate dance - one clockwise, one counter-clockwise. Mental muscles stretched, pushed beyond their previous limitations. A fine mist of eagle sweat formed along his feathers, evidence of the intense concentration.
His beast core fascinated him - a liquid substance, silvery-white and viscous, currently filled to three-tenths of its potential. Thirty mana points total: twenty from previous evolution, ten recently added. Maximum capacity being one hundred points, it was just speculation though.
As the ten-minute mark approached, the rocks began to tremble. Gravity reasserted its dominance. Exhaustion hit like a physical tsunami. He wasn't physically tired but mentally spent.
He then went to his nest. He then looked inside his beast core, no liquid substance at all. it seems that liquid substance was mana, which was used by his skill.
His limit was 10 minutes, He had 30 mana points. So he used 3 mana points for every minute. In real battles, the battles would not last 10 minutes. so if he got a sharp object, for his power he could make use of his power to his fullest potential.
He then start meditating, for he knew meditation would increase the rate of mana recovery. He wanted to observe how long it would take natural recovery.
Long story short, it took 3 hours to recover his mana. So a rate of 10 mana per hour.
***
Hunting became the next experiment. A rabbit - small, unsuspecting - grazed near a fallen log. Kaiser positioned one rock to block its primary escape route, another to create strategic noise. The rabbit's ears twitched - first sign of awareness, as it looked to the side the noise was produced, a distraction.
That Kaiser took full oppurtunity of moving swiftly.
The hunt was swift. Brutal. Precise. One moment the rabbit existed, the next it became a meal. Kaiser's talons tore through flesh with surgical efficiency, consuming every morsel. No waste in the predator's world.
***
The silver magical plant looked deceptively ordinary to people who coudn't see mana. One gulp transformed everything.
Imagine ice cream crafted by culinary gods - not just any ice cream, but a flavor that transcended dimensional boundaries. Mint chocolate chip reimagined as a spiritual experience. Cold yet warm, sweet yet complex. Hints of magic danced across his taste buds.
Mana started entering into him from the plant inside his body, as he ate it.
He started absorbing the mana.
Mana absorption became a meticulous process. Kaiser imagined energy pathways like intricate river systems, guiding each particle with precision. Each minute a battle of will against the chaotic energy.
He absorbed the mana much like his meditation, but using a different force his mana from the beast core acting, he let the mana circle around itself, forming a small gravitational pull, attracting other mana particles. the smaller particles went there easily, the bigger particles were a bit difficult, but he eventually worn them down.
His core responded, absorbing the new energy.
The silvery fluid in the mana core expanding rapidly, as it covered half of his beast core. He had 50 units of Mana, an increase of 20 units, truly exceptional.
"More," he thought. Definitely not because of the taste. Absolutely not because it was the most incredible flavor he'd ever experienced.
Totally about getting stronger.
***
The research team assembled with military-like precision. Jake Reynolds - wolf encounter survivor - stood center stage, equal parts excitement and nervous energy.
Dr. Elena Rodriguez, University of Cape Town's lead researcher, embodied scientific intensity. Mid-40s, with eyes that suggested she'd wrestle a kraken for research data. Dr. Sarah Chen from Stanford University - early 50s, perpetually dressed in khaki that had seen more adventures than most Indiana Jones films.
Dr Dimitri Volkov from Moscow Zoology institute and lead of operation sky guardian, and Professor Zhang Wei from Beijing Advanced Biology Center and lead of Operation Sky Giant teamed up, to get the Eagle.
They all first decided to not cause harm to the Eagle all 4 of them, they all had an alliance for first successfully capturing the Eagle, then talk about the rights and such.
Funding sources read like a scientific dream team: government grants, private institutions, technological consortiums. The massive eagle encounter had created a research feeding frenzy.
Jake's agreement came with academic gold: full recording rights, potential publication, recommendations to top-tier programs. The researchers agreed faster than a sophomore accepts free pizza.
***
Kaiser's training became a brutal ballet of survival and skill enhancement.
Telekinesis required precision. He began with progressively challenging objects - first pebbles, then small branches, eventually entire fallen logs. Each session pushed his limits, expanding mental muscles like a relentless gym routine.
Hunting became an art form. He practiced silent approaches, using telekinesis to create distractions, to move branches silently, to understand prey movement patterns. Small creatures became unwitting participants in his training regimen.
Wind currents became his playground. He learned to sense air movement, to use telekinesis to subtly manipulate his flight path. Millimeter adjustments that transformed flight from basic movement to an intricate dance.
He also learned that he can move mana outside from his beast core. He started using mana to cover himself, it made him more stronger, faster and durable.
By sunset, the forest bore witness to his transformation - fallen logs strategically moved, prey carefully selected and studied, flight patterns evolving.