Mana Core

Kael drove the pickup truck deeper into the forest, moving further away from the city he once called home.

The trees grew thicker as they traveled further, making Thalia realize they were heading far from urban areas. She turned to Kael, confused as to why they were going into the forest instead of a safer location.

"Why are we going here?" she asked.

"The forest is better for shelter than the ruins. Besides, we won't stay in one place for too long. That would be dangerous," Kael replied without taking his eyes off the road.

Thalia stayed quiet, still processing his words.

After a long drive, Kael stopped in front of a small wooden cabin that was still intact. It was on flat ground, surrounded by trees standing close together.

Thalia looked around, quickly understanding why Kael had chosen this place. The dense trees would make it difficult for monsters to get through.

As soon as she stepped out, she asked what had been on her mind. "Do you know why everything was destroyed? What are those monsters, and where did they come from?"

Kael didn't answer right away. He scanned their surroundings, checking for any signs of danger. Not from wild animals, though, he already knew from his past life that they had all disappeared when the monsters arrived.

Once he felt certain they were safe, he grabbed his backpack and headed toward the cabin. He finally responded, "No one knows what they are or where they came from."

Thalia followed him. "But you survived them and made it all the way here?"

Kael opened the cabin door and placed his backpack on the table. "You should focus on making more arrows. Monsters with claws can only be killed if your weapon can pierce the weak spot in their chest."

She frowned and chased after him when he stepped back outside to gather supplies from the truck.

"See? You know how to kill the second type of monster," she said, pressing him for more answers.

Kael simply grabbed some food supplies and shoved them into Thalia's arms. She barely managed to hold onto them as he walked back into the cabin without another word.

Thalia stood there, frustrated for a moment, watching him disappear inside. With a sigh, she followed him in.

***

Kael asked Thalia to handle the cooking while he stepped out to the smaller cabin next to the main one. He opened the door, knowing exactly where to find the items he needed. He had been here before during his university days, as the cabin belonged to one of his friends.

Inside, Kael found a large roll of barbed wire, an axe, and a shovel. He carried them outside and began setting up traps around the cabin.

He dug holes and placed wooden stakes he had quickly crafted. He didn't stop there, he also set up bells in areas farther from the cabin to act as alarms.

Meanwhile, Thalia started to understand Kael's intentions. She prepared food and later joined him outside, helping him gather firewood.

That evening, they sat by the fireplace. Thalia worked on crafting arrows while Kael helped sharpen the arrowheads using metal and other materials they had found around the cabin.

Kael then remembered the two mana shards he had collected earlier. He took one out and sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace, taking a deep breath. He held the shard in his hand and crushed it effortlessly.

A soft blue light emerged from the broken shard, and Kael felt a strange, warm energy radiating in his lower abdomen. He focused intensely, and within minutes, he successfully formed his mana core.

"Yes, it worked quickly. But I need to become stronger, much stronger than I was before I came back to this timeline," he thought, clenching his fist.

"I need to be strong enough to destroy all those omnipotent outer gods."

Kael sat still for a moment, lost in thought, until he noticed Thalia watching him curiously.

Realizing she had caught his attention, Thalia quickly approached him and crouched down to examine the shard lying on the floor.

"What is this?" she asked, her curiosity evident.

Kael, who had intentionally saved one shard for Thalia, handed it to her.

"Break it like I did," he said, holding it out to her.

Thalia took the bright blue shard and turned it over in her hands, inspecting it closely.

"What is this?" she asked again.

"Just do it," Kael replied, offering no explanation.

Thalia frowned slightly but decided to follow his instructions. She crushed the shard easily, and a soft, bright blue light emerged, entering her body.

"Now focus on your lower abdomen, just below your navel. Imagine the blue light gathering there and forming a sphere," Kael instructed with a serious expression.

Thalia looked at him, wanting to ask more questions, but instead nodded. "Okay."

She followed his instructions, imagining the blue light forming a sphere in her lower abdomen. She felt the strange energy swirling through her body before it slowly settled into a pale gray sphere.

Sweat dripped from her forehead as she struggled to form her mana core. It took her nearly half an hour, but she finally succeeded.

Kael watched her with satisfaction. He could clearly see the mana within her body, as he had already learned how to focus mana into his eyes.

"Good. From now on, whenever you get these shards from second-type monsters, you need to break them."

She opened her eyes and looked at Kael, confused.

"What was that?" she asked, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.

Kael kept his gaze on her and asked, "Have you ever read a novel? A comic?"

Thalia looked at him, confused, and replied, "Yeah, your little sister once showed me your favorite light novel and the comics you like."

Her ears turned slightly red as she answered Kael's question.

"Tsk," Kael clicked his tongue in annoyance. It was the first time he had learned that her sister had given something he liked to someone outside the family.

Kael replied, "That was a mana shard. You would understand the meaning of mana if you had read the novels or comics I like."