But why did they develop such a habit? Well, I don't know for sure, but it must be because of their life in the orphanage.
Food was limited, and hoarding food for later wasn't uncommon despite how much Amelia groaned about how it stunk up the place.
Oh, and don't even get me started about the bugs.
"Alright? Did you get that? No need to start working out now, but just try to gain some weight. You all are deathly thin, even after how much food we get from the cafeteria… and don't tell me you're on a diet," I said as the trio in front of me all hung their jaws open.
It was obvious as to what their excuse was going to be.
We waited for a few hours as the trio all had to regain their own mana, and the good thing about having such a skill is that it doesn't even use up mana.
『Status』
[Name: Cyrus]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Water Magician]
[Level: 16/25] (47/100) XP Needed
[HP: 35/35 MP: 10/10 SP: 12/15] - Normal Human
[Strength: 5] - Normal Human
[Defense: 3] - Normal Human
[Magic: 13] - Normal Human
[Speed: 3] - Normal Human
[Aether: 5] - Non Human
[Skills: [Tidal Strike] [Water Magic] [Water Ring] [Poison Murky Water] [Mana Control]
[Aetheric Infusion]
[Runic Skill: [Fingers: Water Strings]
[Passive Skills: [Water Body] [Trait: Lightning]
…
"Hmmm… If only my other stats were higher, though," I muttered, though all of a sudden, an idea hit me like a truck, pressing itself into the forefront of my mind.
I gestured for the trio to step back while I flexed my fingers, causing the strings of water to rise from the ground, and with a bit of a high-tier attention splitting, I activated a single skill.
[Aetheric Infusion]
Mana was immediately drawn out of my body, but then a golden-white light shimmered from my nails and injected itself into my strings of water.
It was like another liquid had entered it, forming a cloud of golden mist that slowly traveled down the strings, making them illuminate the entire dark underground cavern we were in.
"Pretty," I heard Petra mutter from behind me, and when I turned around, she lightly blushed, embarrassed as to how she let her words slip out.
"Hmmm… Let's see if it made any difference," I muttered to myself and then flicked my fingers upwards, creating a web that formed around each and every individual rat present.
And with a flick downwards, every single animal was cut into fleshy bits, the putrid smell of their blood permeating through the cavern once more.
"Alright… the numbers are dwindling, so you all should be able to handle the rest, right?" I asked before checking my mana once more.
[HP: 35/35 MP: 2/10 SP: 10/15] - Normal Human
Yep, that one skill drained me of almost all my mana, and if I hadn't cut it off, I would've been wrung dry and collapsed of mana exhaustion.
Getting mana sickness due to my own fault would've been utterly embarrassing… though I doubt any of these three even knew what it was.
As the trio began to fight off the smaller army of rats, Asger stepped up as the new tank and held back the rats with impressive skill.
Petra and Mari were doing a good job at holding all of the other rats back while Asger slowly began to struggle at the front.
And eventually, just like that, this first floor was cleared.
"Alright, all of you, take a break and make sure to recover your mana once more," I muttered before plopping onto the ground and taking out a few snacks that I had brought for this trip.
They weren't the best-tasting food, but they were enough to have something in our stomachs so we didn't drop dead from starvation.
"Hmmm… what is this… feeling…?" I muttered as my mana core suddenly began to ripple and rise up from my diaphragm.
Everybody else looked at me as a string of notifications appeared before my very eyes, announcing me as some kind of genius being.
[The gods have recognized your advancements]
[You are the third being of this world to ever recognize the existence of a mana core]
[The gods are pleased]
.
[Your mana core has been shattered]
My pupils dilated as I read this message, but just as I had a mini-heart attack from reading such a frightening panel, a new one appeared, and this must've been the reason as to why so much adrenaline was pumping through my veins.
[Reward has been granted]
[Your mana core has been fused with your heart]
[Strings of Aether have weaved the stitches to this new organ]
[Mana Heart has been created]
I cocked my head to the side every so slightly, confused as to everything that was happening, but there was one thing I did know… this was good news.
"This… must be because I used the [Aetheric Infusion], right?" I muttered to myself, and as Asger came over to me for some seconds of dry-ass beef jerky, I ripped the packaging away from him and stuffed it back into my sack.
"Why?" He groaned. "I'm still hungry… my stomach is yelling at me,"
"You're gonna get a cramp and complain to me later, so just drink some more water and get up. In fact, everybody get up! We're heading off now!"
Checking my status once more, I noticed nothing had changed… but one section of zero skills had been added to this amazing system of mine.
『Status』
[Name: Cyrus]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Water Magician]
[Level: 16/25] (91/100) XP Needed
[HP: 35/35 MP: 10/10 SP: 15/15] - Normal Human
[Strength: 5] - Normal Human
[Defense: 3] - Normal Human
[Magic: 13] - Normal Human
[Speed: 3] - Normal Human
[Aether: 5] - Non Human
[Skills: [Tidal Strike] [Water Magic] [Water Ring] [Poison Murky Water] [Mana Control]
[Aetheric Infusion]
[Runic Skills: [Fingers: Water Strings]
[Passive Skills: [Water Body] [Trait: Lightning]
[Master of Mana: [None]
…
"This is great and all... but I'm kind of confused,"