'A white colored heads up display. Health bar always displayed, stamina bar always displayed, and formless energy bar always displayed. Radar grid in the top right corner, feedback loop every twenty-five seconds, within twenty-five meters. Attributes menu, shows intelligence, strength and constitution, all under my definitions...' As Amaranthus created his concept of a HUD, he paid attention to energy consumption.
Because every cell had a vortex, his regeneration of Formless energy was top tier, except his reserves could only be considered so-so.
'My current rate of regeneration is about one-hundred units per second. But my reserves are only about four-hundred units.' Amaranthus scratched his chin while pondering.
Increasing the reserves was his biggest priority.
To put into perspective what four hundred units of F.E could do, The Cold Jetstream that saved Amaranthus's life took just about four hundred units to conjure up.
That's why he passed out immediately after conjuring, said Jetstream. It siphoned his biological energy reserves and even tapped into his Life Energy.
Amaranthus sat still, almost frozen as he lost track of time and space. He added many features to his HUD; as a result, its rate of consumption increased.
Without such a HUD, his recovery would be closer to three hundred. A bug indeed.
[Construct Unit Measurements]
'I need to understand how much certain things cost after constructing, thus. I shall experiment with general categories.'
[Daily Necessities]
Amaranthus proceeded to construct Utensils, Cups, Glassware, etc.
Some variables were not yet understood, but the general trend is one pound of weight for every two units of Formless energy.
'Why do some materials increase the amount of energy needed? The mass is the same... The only thing that could change...'
Amaranthus immediately conjured a metal fork, then a fork made of glass.
The amount of energy needed for the fork was exactly three times more than the glass fork.
'In that case, besides mass, volume can also dictate the amount of energy needed?
To conduct a more thorough understanding of the different factors in manifesting things with his mind, Amaranthus conjured a liter of water in its three states.
The gaseous matter is only a third of that of liquids, and liquids is half of solids.
'The density is the primary factor in determining the energy cost needed for said objects? This is so cool..'
'No wonder the flame sapped so little in comparison to my reserve of energy.' His pulse quickened as he came to a conclusion on his own.
One of the many exciting features of curiosity is the fulfillment in finding answers and even more questions.
For the next few hours, Amaranthus continued to enlarge the vortexes of his cells and their spinning speed...
A dull throbbing pain echoed throughout his body a few hours later.
At the same time, his HUD displayed an orange-colored message.
[Warning: Saturation level at 101.6% capacity]
[120% impedes, 150% is Fatal]
'I'm glad it's working properly.' Amaranthus smiled lightly. His most significant anxiety was creating something that failed in the end.
After reaching the max saturation point, he started a new category to test.
[Natural Elements]
He started with small examples. A drop of water, a small flame, a spark of lightning, a rock, an air gust. Etc.
Each still followed the rule of the previous examples. The density dictated the amount of energy needed to create.
Amaranthus stood up slowly. He slowly started leaving the center of the bush, carefully looking around.
After spotting zero predators nearby he walked out.
[Specificed Body Enhancement]
'Alright, let's start with strength.'
He walked over to a thick tree, roughly seven feet in diameter.
His fist whistled slightly as it pierced into the air, slamming against the tree. A light fist mark was left as he stepped back.
'Just about a centimeter? Sheesh, am I that weak?'
Then he concentrated and thought about strengthening his body, the type that includes his constitution. Otherwise, what's the use of strength if your bones would snap at the slightest contraction.
*Boom*!
Amaranthus's fist was embedded into the tree, up to his elbow. His eyes bulged as his mouth hung agape.
'How much did that consume?'
[69 Energy Units]
'Was it for that one action, or is it continuous?'
He proceeded to punch a couple more times, and his stamina was also affected.
[20 Energy Units consumed]
'What?' Amaranthus was confused.
'Is the 69 points at the beginning just the cost of the initial manifestation?
After beating the poor tree and several experiments later, he concluded that:
A. All manifestations have an initial cost, with continuous manifestations being the only exception to this rule.
B. After the initial cost, there is a repetitive cost. Which is a fourth of the initial cost.
C. Density dictated the amount needed in any use involving Formless Energy.
After, Amaranthus slowly pondered about the subsequent experiments. The surrounding forest slowly began to darken at an imperceptible pace. Many of the fauna and the ambient sounds receded.
Amaranthus remained oblivious to the changes.
'For my next experiments, I'll do the speed enhancement test and then the constitution test. Other types can be explored after I understand more.'
As he snapped out of his thoughts, he realized how muffled his vision had turned.
"Hehe.. hehe.."
An eerie multi-tonal chuckle echoed within the empty space, and even his mind felt like it had been enraptured within the tonal complexities.
A cold chill ran down his spine, causing his hairs to stand on end.