'Wow! I knew my strength had gone up but not that much!'

Thanks to the manacles I've been feeling weak lately, I didn't realize how much my strength has gone up. Just to test it I pick up a rock and give it a squeeze, it turns to powder without me even having to try hard. This is going to be a problem, if I even shake a human's hand I could crush every bone in it without meaning to.

That is a lot of strength to try and restrain all the time, maybe keeping the manacles was a good idea. If it wasn't for the chains I could just wear them all the time like training weights in an anime. Maybe I can get them modified at the mages guild in Illium when I get back there.

Or I could try to do it myself, after all I can still manipulate mana even if I can't use it. So I take the manacles out and lay them across my lap, then I drop into meditation and take a good look at them. The suppression enchantment is only in the manacles which is good, but there are other enchantments going through the chains.

If I disenchant the chains I need somewhere to get rid of the mana since I can't use it. Either that or I need to find something else to do with all that mana, maybe I can improve the other enchantments. The suppression being adjustable would definitely be a nice option to add.

Also being able to take them off without the key would be a good idea, that way I can lose them in a fight if I need to. After taking a good long look at the manacles I think they can handle the extra mana. It is a lot of mana though, if I lose control of it that is going to be a big explosion.

I am fairly sure I can survive it if it happens, but Vacker won't stand a chance. So I pick up the manacles, stand up and start walking away from the camp, I want to be far enough away that the explosion won't reach it. Once I find a good spot I sit back down and resume my meditation, I carefully plan out everything.

Then after taking a deep breath I start slowly moving mana around and changing the enchantments. I just hope I am guessing right in how the effects I want will look as spells. If not the entire thing might blow up in my face and I am not so sure that I can survive that.

The hardest part is I cannot hold the mana for long, so I have to pull some and use it immediately. Then I have to take more before the rest becomes unstable, it is very tricky and requires intense concentration. I should have set Bones to guard me to make sure I'm not interrupted, but it's too late now.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Disenchanting has progressed to level 6!

Disenchanting

Level 6

Int +12 Wis +12

You are skilled at removing an enchantment.

'So far so good, and the skill up will help!'

Working quickly but carefully I continue moving the mana and reshaping it. I had completely forgotten how intense and nerve wracking this kind of work can be. Being in a life or death situation that does not have a physical solution is a test of will all on its own.

Even though it has been a while and I haven't really practiced, I find myself making the changes quite easily. Everything I learned from altering the forge comes back to me and the mana flows exactly as I will it to. As I pull the mana out of the chains they disintegrate and as I put the mana into the new effects in the manacles they glow.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Enchanting has progressed to level 5!

Enchanting

Level 5

Int +10 Wis +5 Cha +5

You can enchant items.

By the time I finish several hours have passed, but I managed to do it. I now have a set of wrist and ankle weights that I can adjust and remove just by thinking about it. I put them on right away to test them out and try the modifications, they work as I had hoped but they are not perfect.

The weight can vary between one thousand and five thousand pounds in increments of five hundred pounds. After experimenting I find that the suppression they used on me in the castle was around two thousand pounds. Right now I can move normally at up to twenty-five hundred pounds, anything above that leaves me unable to move.

When I crank it all the way up I end up lying on the floor unable to so much as lift a finger and barely able to breath. If I couldn't adjust them by thought I would have been doomed right then and there. But the thought control works perfectly, they even drop off with just a thought.

I can even adjust the weight before I put them back on, which is important since I like breathing. After turning it down to fifteen hundred I put them back on and get back to my feet. At this weight I can move normally and it should help keep me from hurting anyone accidentally.

Again I pick up a rock and squeeze it, it takes a decent amount of effort to crush it into powder this time. Now the suppression can work for me instead of against me, and if I get in a serious fight I can ditch it with a thought. It now works just as I had hoped, and no explosions is a definite bonus.

With all that settled I head back to camp, it has been a few hours and the stew should be just about done. I am looking forward to seeing if the hydra meat is as good as the drake was. I hope it is at least as nutritious since that will help Vacker a lot, he needs to regain weight and muscle mass.