"So you just happened to build your own core here?" I asked, hoping to get some more information out of him.
„I learned about Mana 2 months after the impact. My village had started seeing Mana particles shortly after the impact, but we thought they were radioactive material. Only after envoys of the royal family visited our village, were we able to learn about the existence of Mana and Salan abilities. They told us in detail, how we were able to obtain a Mana-Core, by simply consuming a gem, but our village had no such riches. We had to build our own cores without relying on the government, if we did ask for gems, we would have had to sign a contract that made us into expandable soldiers. We decided to build our own cores, at least those who desired foreign power did. With the knowledge of the royal envoys, we chose to build our cores with methods that suited our self the most. I am a rock climber. I climbed this mountain countless of time, and over the years, I developed a resistance and a liking for the cold. I became a Bearer with the Salan ability that bases around coldness, most likely ice. I need to try it out before I can be sure." He explained.
„Instinctive knowledge." I added.
„Exactly."
He had given me more information than I expected, this kindness meant that I needed to act accordingly, seeing how selflessly he explained his and his village's situation without knowing who I was and whether I was friendly or not, I decided to treat him the same way.
„I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Niam, I'm on a journey to old Lebanon. I want to visit my family."
„I'm Nikolas, chief of Great Mountain Village. Sit down, let's talk a bit more."
„I would like to take you up on that offer, but I'm not alone, my companion is not far from here and she is freezing."
„Oh, surely. There is a steep stairway that leads right to my village. Get your companion and follow me."
I nodded and headed back to Tsuki. She looked like she adapted to the temperature, but she was still cold.
„Tsuki, I've met the chief of the village that is nearby. He invited us, he will lead us downstairs to the village."
„Thank god. I thought I would freeze all the way down this mountain."
We went back to the place where Nikolas was. He had created a chunk of ice on his palm, he was clearly curious about his new powers."
„This is Bailey, my companion." I introduced Tsuki with a fake name.
„It's nice to meet you. I'm Nikolas. Follow me if you don't want to freeze to death here."
***
No matter how close we got to the village, coldness still lingered around Tsuki and I. After observing our surroundings in detail, one thing stood out to me. Nikolas' core leaked Mana, and it was his Mana that lowered the temperature around us.
"You are leaking, Nikolas." I warned.
"What do you mean?" He asked, not sure what was happening.
"Your Mana-Core, you're unconsciously leaking your Mana, lowering the temperature around you as a result."
"Well, I'm quite sorry. Even though I know how a Mana-Core works in theory, the practical use is pretty weird."
"Take your time. Concentrate. The Mana inside your core only belongs to you, don't let foreign Bearers feel it when you leak no intent." I warned again.
After I had spent almost 2 weeks with Tsuki, I slowly discovered different things. One being, someone's nature can be easily read through their pure Mana form. What makes Mana impure is feelings like blood-lust, anger, fear and so on. Letting your pure Mana form be read by other Bearers meant that they could discover your individuality and later on know a lot more about your Salan ability, which is never good.
"Right there. You got it. It feels a lot warmer than before." I reassured him.
"I didn't feel the temperature change at all. Must be a side-effect to this Salan ability." He added.
I considered Nikolas' behavior to only be a mask which hid his true intentions. I was ready for whatever ambush, trick or trap awaited me and Tsuki, but when nothing alike appeared, I was confused.
Having lived in Central Superio my whole life, I was used to all kind of human trash roaming around, spouting their nonsense and spreading their poison all over the places. I was aware that people in other places may be different.
The village looked like the average slum in Central Superio. Broken roads, houses built with simple bricks and the usual kids that played in the alleys. The only difference to the slums, the seemingly healthy people that didn't seem malnourished. The village sustained itself through their own agricultural growth, and that is what made it become independent.
At the end of the village's main-street, Nikolas stopped in front of a house that was bigger than the rest. I predicted it to be Nikolas' house.
"I'm pretty sure you don't trust me enough to come inside, wait here, I'll get some chairs and a bit of food."
Nikolas went inside the house without waiting for a response. I took this opportunity to use Galaxy-Sight and check if anything unusual was going on around me and Tsuki.
I saw shadowy figures inside the 3D map in my mind. That told me, we were being watched by people of this village, who had already built their cores.
Nikolas returned and offered us some dry meat, but before I even sat down, I spoke.
„You are a bit too careless, Nikolas. Too much kindness becomes suspicious, you know?"
Nikolas sighed in defeat. The bald guy realized his mistake.
„Honestly, Niam, the people here are afraid. The talented ones in our village left us, and the remaining Mana-Wielders and Bearers are as old as I am. We simply do not stand a chance against people like you. You have 3 swords, god damn it. You also carry yourself with dignity and confidence. Also adding the fact that you climbed up the steepest and most isolated place on the mountain, tells me how strong you are. You didn't look exhausted, nor did you seem cold. What else could I, a newly awakened Bearer do, other then offer the utmost hospitality?" Nikolas said coldly.
Nikolas probably cursed at his luck. Meeting me and Tsuki right after building his core, put him in a tough spot. And even though he had a cold personality, he cared very much about his village. Probably because he was proud of it.
„So, what do you intend to do?" Nikolas asked.
„I'm not looking for conflict. Maybe this meeting was fated to happen. I didn't even know you and this village existed. I intend to just pass through, and you will act like you never saw me. But we could also exchange more information."
Nikolas considered the offer, exchanging information was an exchange on equal terms. I knew that he withheld some information, so I wanted to know what exactly this information was.
„Will you leave without doing anything, if we exchange information?"
„We will."
Nikolas gestured us to sit down. We sat and Nikolas began the exchange.
"What do you want to know? I will answer your question to the best of my abilities."
"How many Bearers does your village have?"
Nikolas was visibly dissatisfied. The amount of Bearers this village had, was the only real ace up his sleeve that could potentially harm me.
"Including me, there are 11 Bearers."
"And their Salan abilities?"
Nikolas' expression changed drastically, he knew he had to answer for the sake of his village. He also realized that this exchange of information was a trap in which he blindly walked into.
'Your personality can be as cold and heartless as you want, you still fell into a trap because you weren't smart enough.'
"Most Bearers have the ability that has an earthly nature. The rest, mostly temperature-based. We are no fighters, as I said. The young and strong ones left us."