03 - The Awakening of the Mana Core
[Congratulations, User! You have successfully completed the hidden quest "Novice Bandit", receive your rewards as soon as possible.]
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Quest: [Novice Bandit]
Type: [Hidden]
-[To start your training, be accepted as an official member of the Iron Black Gang, obtaining permission from both the leader and vice-leader.]
-[Enter as early as possible, if the user enters after turning 14 years old, the necessary requirements to complete the quest will not be fulfilled.]
Rewards:
-[+5 AP]
-[Inventory Unlock]
-[1 Random Artifact Token]
-[1 Random Skill Token]
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"Hmmmm, so that's what the notification was about that the System gave me after I joined the gang as an official member..."
Lying on his bed, while delving deeper into the System since he came to discover that it holds things that he doesn't even know how they work, Ariel Levka, now an official member of the Iron Black Gang, decides that the best way to learn about the System is by asking directly instead of wasting time trying to figure everything out on his own.
"...System, tell me, how do quests work?"
[Explaining in a simple way, so that a mere mortal like you can understand, quests are divided into three types: Hidden, Secondary, and Main; hidden quests are quests whose existence is hidden from the user, only revealed after they have completed the necessary requirements to finish the quest...]
"So, what you're telling me is that I may miss out on a really good hidden quest without even knowing of its existence because I exceeded the time limit to fulfill its requirements?"
[Yes, User... Now moving on to secondary quests, they are quests that appear to the user according to their current situation, and give them a mission to complete something in exchange for a reward, and if the user does not want to complete the quest, they can refuse it, and in case of failure, they will receive a non-lethal punishment; main quests, on the other hand, are quests that act similarly to secondary quests, but besides not being able to be refused, in case of failure, the user will be automatically killed in a slow and painful way.]
"Seeing how threatening the main quest type is, I imagine it must be very rare, and if I manage to complete it, I may receive better rewards than the other types, right?"
[Correct, user!]
Ariel then looks again at the rewards of the quest, to see what he has received, and comes across something he had never seen before, but he already imagines what it might be for.
"System, what are these tokens for? Do you have a roulette or casino system installed in you?"
[Impressive, user, who would have thought someone like you would figure out what they're for, well, at least in part.]
"Someone like me?"
[Anyway, you will use these tokens in the Roulette Window/Screen, where you will find a small hole in the middle of the roulette, in the perfect slot to place the token inside, and when you insert the token, according to its type, the roulette will spin and give you a random reward that fits the type of token you inserted. Do you want to try it out?]
"Well, yes, but before that, I'd like to get my rewards from the hidden quest."
[Congratulations, User! You have received 5 Attribute Points.]
[Congratulations, User! You have successfully unlocked a new System screen, the "Inventory".]
[Congratulations, User! You have received an Artifact Token.]
[Congratulations, User! You have received a Skill Token.]
"Well, it says I unlocked the inventory, if it works the way I'm thinking, then this should work."
While holding the Star Ring in his hand, Ariel begins to visualize his desire to open his inventory and store the ring inside it, which ends up working, with the inventory appearing in front of him and the ring suddenly disappearing from his hand.
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-Star Ring (x1)
-Crimson Fist (x2)
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"Excellent."
Now that he had received his rewards, Ariel could finally test the System's roulette system, but before that, he decides to open his status screen again to distribute his attribute points.
"Status Window."
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User: [Ariel Levka]
Age: [05]
Race: [Human]
Position: [Heir to the Iron Black Gang] [Member of the Iron Black Gang]
Attributes:
-Strength: [05] Endurance: [05]
-Agility: [06] Intelligence: [15]
-Resistance: [04] Charisma: [10]
AP: [05]
Skills:
-[Status Analysis]
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After some time thinking about where to allocate his attribute points, Ariel finally comes up with an answer.
"I'll spend one point on strength."
[+1 Strength.]
"One point on endurance."
[+1 Endurance.]
"And three points on intelligence."
[+3 Intelligence.]
"I hope it works the way I think, and that intelligence directly influences the amount of mana I'll have after awakening."
Ariel then closes the status screen and finally decides to go to the main point of his rewards, to use the Roulette Window and see what rewards he will win with it.
"I'm getting a little excited about this."
.
.
.
Following his plan from the previous night, the next day, specifically in the afternoon shift while the gang members are out collecting from merchants, and guards are simply watching the entrance and some of the surroundings of the camp, Ariel heads towards the secret location where he frequently goes when he wants to be alone, a place he found after venturing a bit into the forest, finding a relatively flat area but with some trees still around.
"That's it, I'm going to take advantage of the time when most of the members are out, to try to awaken the mana core without raising anyone's suspicion."
Ariel then begins to climb the tree that seems to be the largest when compared to the trees around it, with the intention of not only giving him a better view of anyone who approaches, but also helping him create an environment of greater concentration to start the process of creating the mana core.
"Alright, now that I've climbed to the top of the tree, I'm no longer at risk of being caught off guard by a monster or being easily seen by anyone passing by without me knowing."
Sitting atop the tree, Ariel crosses his legs and begins the process, entering a state similar to common meditation, with his eyes closed and his mind calm and controlled.
"In my past life, it was relatively difficult to awaken the mana core, since humans weren't born with mana, so we either needed a mage's help to put their mana into our bodies, or we used mana crystals to absorb the mana within and begin the process. But now, in this world, all beings are born with mana, so it's a different story."
The young Ariel clears all unnecessary thoughts from his mind and, while breathing slowly and steadily, begins the necessary steps to awaken his mana core.
"The process of awakening the mana core is divided into three stages; first, I will have to start trying to feel the mana flowing through my body, passing through my veins, accumulating in my heart, trapped in my bones, and spread throughout other parts; secondly, I will have to start trying to control the flow of mana through my body, something that despite seeming quite difficult, varies from person to person, functioning similarly to a person trying to learn how to draw, in the beginning, it will be complicated for them to not only feel but also express their emotions in the form of art, but depending on the person, in a matter of days they will be able to do it decently, in the case of mana, instead of knowing how to express, one has to know how to control it; and the third and final step, while maintaining control over all the mana in their body, the person will have to gather and accumulate as much mana as they can in their heart, for long enough until the mana begins to crystallize, and finally transform into a mana core."
Thus, over the next few days, for about 2-5 hours, without exception, Ariel began to take advantage of every free moment he had to find a peaceful and quiet place and start meditating, something that was relatively difficult at first, as any little thing disturbed his mind and prevented him from concentrating the mana in his heart, however, as the days passed, it became easier and easier to concentrate even with some noise around him.
------4 Days Later------
"Almost there."
On top of the tree, Ariel was just one step away from awakening his mana core, something incredibly rare to happen, considering that, at least in his old world, it took months to awaken the mana core, and in some rare cases of great geniuses, it took weeks to awaken.
Suddenly, a strong amount of mana started leaking from Ariel's body, through all of his pores.
"Don't even think about it!"
One of the reasons why a mage is needed when someone wants to awaken their mana core is due to the phenomenon known as "Mana Leakage," a phenomenon that can occur when a person is about to finally get a mana core, with the body itself forcing the mana to come out because it feels threatened that something strange and not previously there, which is the case of the mana core, is forming within the heart.
Using all his mental strength and control over his own mana, Ariel begins to exert himself as much as he can to keep the accumulated mana within the mana core that is forming.
"Damn it! This is harder than I thought!"
After a few seconds, the mana gradually stops leaking from Ariel's body, thanks to the fact that the mana core is finally completed, giving the young man total control over the flow of mana.
With the mana under control, Ariel finally manages to breathe a sigh of relief, also wiping the sweat from his forehead due to his effort to prevent the mana leak from occurring.
"In the end, everything worked out, I just hope no one nearby felt or saw all this mana that came out of my body."
Taking Ariel by surprise, a System screen suddenly appears in front of her, thanks to the fact that she did something that few, if anyone, has done so far, awakening a mana core at only 5 years old.
[Congratulations, User! You have successfully awakened your mana core, so it is only fair to reward you with a hidden quest.]
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Quest: [The Birth of a Prodigy Mage]
Type: [Hidden]
-[In order to recover your magic and become even stronger, awaken your mana core as soon as possible without any external help.]
-[The user has only until the age of 10 to complete the quest. After that, they will no longer be considered a prodigy mage and will not receive the rewards of the quest.]
Rewards:
-[+5 Intelligence]
-[Immortal Demon Grimoire] or [Divine Saint Grimoire]
-[Magic Control Glove]
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[Unlocked "Stage"]
[Unlocked "Mana"]
"Although it caught me by surprise, I expected there would be a hidden quest related to this accomplishment."
Ariel finally stands up, leaving his meditation position, and stretching lightly due to the pain he feels in his back and legs from sitting for so long without moving.
Ariel: Ah, it feels so good to finally stand up.
[Do you wish to collect your rewards for completing the hidden quest?]
[Yes] [No]
Ariel: Well, not now, System. I want to rest my mind for a bit, and when I get to the tent, I'll think about what to do.
[Very well, user, as you wish.]
Ariel: Instead, show me my Status window. I want to see what it was that I unlocked.
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User: [Ariel Levka]
Age: [05]
Race: [Human]
Position: [Heir to the Black Iron Gang] [Member of the Iron Black Gang]
Stage*: [1st Circle]
Mana*: [78/200]
Attributes:
-Strength: [08] Endurance: [06]
-Agility: [07] Intelligence: [20]
-Resistance: [08] Charisma: [10]
AP: [00]
Skills:
-[Status Analysis]
-[Divine Vision]
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"Hmmmm, so the method of ranking a mage is the same as on Earth, where the higher the mage's mana circle, or in other words, the more mana cores they have, the higher their rank will be. If it works the same way, then when I move on to the next circles, I will be able to create some other small mana cores that will orbit my main mana core, thus increasing my strength, mana capacity, and other advantages."
Ariel: Huh, why is my mana showing up less than usual?
[Thanks to the mana leak, more than half of your mana was spent.]
Ariel: And why are my attributes slightly higher than before?
[Thanks to the awakening of the mana core, not only your mana but also your physique has undergone a slight improvement.]
Ariel: Hmmm, well, now that I've finished what I had to do, I'll just head back to the camp.
Ariel then begins to climb down the tree, branch by branch, until he finally reaches the ground, and as he turns around, he startles, widening his eyes, realizing that he wasn't alone as he thought.
???: What were you doing up there?