Alaric downed another bottle of mana-gathering potion, throwing the empty vail into a corner where several others were already piled up.
His hands trembled with anticipation as he closed his eyes and focused on his core. The energy swirled within him, a tempest waiting to be unleashed, but the minor mana ring remained stubbornly closed. Frustration mounted as he felt his control wavering, the mana slipping through his grasps like every other time he had attempted to open the minor mana ring that night.
Just as he was about to lose hope and give up meditating for the night, the system voice rang out in his mind: "Do not despair, young cultivator. "Opening the minor mana ring is no easy feat; it is said to be more difficult than opening the major ring, but with patience and guidance, you
