( Leo's POV )
Mastering the [Shadowbind] technique turned out to be far more challenging than Leo had anticipated, as despite practicing for several hours each day over the past four days, he still struggled to grasp its underlying concept.
Without having Ben to guide him through the basics of understanding the technique, Leo realized that building the foundation by himself was a tall order.
Thankfully, with his improved brain capacity and immaculate focus, he was able to grasp some clues on how the technique worked, as without a clear mind and excellent comprehension, it was impossible for a common player to learn this move.
As its name implied, 'Shadowbind' was a technique centered around the manipulation of shadows.
According to the diagrams in the manual, once activated, the technique could conjure chains of darkness to restrain an enemy's movements. However, the challenge lay in figuring out how to transform a shadow—an intangible entity—into something physical and solid.
It wasn't as though one could simply will something two-dimensional, like a shadow, into a physical form. There was a specific process required to convert it from 2D to 3D, but Leo found himself unable to fully grasp that process on his own.
He understood that the first step to mastering 'Shadowbind' was the movement of the two dimensional shadows, and using his existing knowledge from using [Mirror World] and [Vanish], Leo could already figure this part out easily.
Manipulating the mana in the air, he could block out light from specific areas to create a shadow underneath and with a bit of concentration, he could create as many mana chains as he wanted.
Of-course, moving these shadows all at once was harder and required more concentration and although Leo could create almost an endless amount of shadow ropes, he could only control four of them precisely at once.
For the first few days of trying to learn 'Shadowbind' all Leo did was to practice with these shadow ropes, as he practiced how to form them faster and how to move them precisely to his will.
He did so until summoning the ropes and moving them became almost second nature to him, without needing too much conscious thought, and it was at this point that he tried to figure out the next part of his training.
The next step of his training was of-course to convert these two-dimensional shadows into tangible, three-dimensional objects and this was no simple task, as it involved taking something inherently insubstantial and giving it form and substance—a feat that required not just precise control over Mana, but also a deep understanding of how to manipulate the fundamental properties of shadows.
For one month, Leo experimented on how to master this technique? As he figured out the right path slowly using his own comprehension, the skill manuals insights and a trial and error approach.
The first thing Leo realized was that shadows, while intangible, were still bound to the surface they existed on, and to lift them from this flat plane and give them depth, he would need to infuse the shadows with Mana in a way that altered their very nature.
The key, Leo determined, was in the infusion of Mana directly into the shadow itself, as normally, while shadows merely existed in the absence of light, by infusing them with Mana, he could give them a presence, a weight, and a potential to be manipulated beyond the flat surfaces they were cast upon.
This infusion was different from just creating a shadow— as this required focusing Mana in such a way that it would bind to the shadow, making it more than just a dark outline.
It was like preparing the shadow to become a vessel, ready to be shaped.
Step 2:-
Once the Mana was infused, the next challenge was reshaping the shadow from a 2D form into something three-dimensional.
Here, Leo drew upon his previous experience with [Mirror World] and [Vanish]. Both techniques involved bending the nature of reality to create illusions or hide from sight, and in many ways, this was a similar concept. By manipulating the Mana-infused shadow, he would begin to "pull" the shadow away from the surface, forcing it to take on a three-dimensional shape.
This was no easy task, and as soon as he attempted to pull the shadow away from the ground, it resisted, as if the very nature of the shadow was fighting against being transformed.
It was at this point that Leo realized that it wasn't enough to just infuse Mana into the shadow, and that to pull the shadow away from the surface, he needed a framework to support its new shape, a framework that could provide it with some actual tensile strength.
Step 3:-
To overcome this resistance, Leo needed to create a Mana framework within the shadow. This framework would act like an internal skeleton, giving the shadow ropes structure and allowing them to maintain their shape in three dimensions.
By carefully weaving threads of concentrated Mana through the infused shadow, Leo could create this framework, ensuring that the shadow wouldn't collapse back into its two-dimensional form.
This process required extreme concentration and Leo had to balance the amount of Mana he infused, ensuring it was strong enough to hold the shadow's new shape, but not so overwhelming that it shattered the delicate balance of the shadow's existence.
Step 4:-
Finally, once everything was in place, the last step was to stabilize the shadow.
Even with the framework in place, the newly formed 3D shadow object was unstable.
It flickered, threatening to dissolve back into a flat shadow at any moment, and Leo realized that to maintain its form, the Mana within the shadow needed to be continuously circulated, much like blood flowing through veins. This circulation would keep the Mana active, preventing the shadow from reverting to its original state.
Leo practiced this circulation, visualizing the Mana moving in a loop through the shadow's framework. At first, it was difficult—he could only keep the circulation going for a few seconds before it would falter and the shadow would collapse. But with time and practice, he learned to maintain the circulation effortlessly, stabilizing the 3D form for longer periods.
With the process finally understood, Leo began to see the results of his efforts. The shadow ropes, once two-dimensional, now stood before him as solid, three-dimensional chains. They were dark, almost ethereal, yet there was a weight to them—a tangible presence that Leo could feel.
He had done it. Through careful infusion, reshaping, the creation of a Mana framework, and continuous stabilization, he had taken something as fleeting as a shadow and given it a solid form.
Although it took him over a month to make the 2D shadow into a 3D object, he managed to learn a legendary grade technique in under a month, with no-one to guide him, which was a massive achievement on its own.
The last and final step of the process was to of-course make this 3D shadow strong enough to actually bind objects and restrict the movement of powerful opponents, however, Leo still had some trial and error to do, before he realized what exactly created the strongest shadow chains and gain basic mastery over this move.