{Chirp!Chirp!}
...
{Chirp!Chirp!Chirp!}
...
{Chirp!Chirp!Chirp!Chirp!Chirp!Chirp!Chirp!Chirp!}
Ugh...
{Chirp!}
Ugh...Huh?
What...happened?
Gasp~!
Oh right, the fight with the monster. Did I fall unconscious? What happened after the fight? Where am I?
Slowly opening my eyes, I found myself...in a cave, somehow. It was very bright outside of the cave, so it seemed like I hadn't slept for long.
How did I end up in a cave? Oh, right, he would know.
Mai?
'...'
Mai? Where are you?
'...'
Mai???
'Cough...Cough...'
Mai, what happened?
'You...fell...unconscious'
Then how did I end up in this cave?
'I...had...to drag your....ass in here'
Oh. Sorry, I promised that you wouldn't have to do that, but...it seems I broke that promise very early on. It was just today that I made that promise yet it's already broken.
'Today? But you made that...promise yesterday.'
Huh? Wait, no way...
-Status
[Name:####]
[Age:####]
[Body Age:4 days]
[Rank 1]
[HP:15/17]
[MP:11/11]
[Left Eye(Mai####):Awakened, 40%]
[Right Eye(####):Dormant, 100%]
...How long has it been since I fell unconscious?
'Cough...About 20 hours.'
...Fuck. Wait, what happened to the core?
'Look to...the right'
I followed Mai's advice and looked right, and just as he said, it was there. The mana core was small, it was a ball with about 3 cm radius, and I could pretty comfortably hold it in one hand. It looked as if made out of blue glass.
So that's a mana core. That's the thing I risked my life to obtain. To be honest it looks...kind of underwhelming. I don't know what I expected, but I expected it to look at least a bit more grand than this.
So...how do I absorb this thing?
'It...isn't really...that hard.'
'First...of course, pick it up. Then sit comfortably...start meditating... raise the mana core to where...your own mana core resides...and just have the strong intent...to absorb it. The rest...should be automatic.'
Well, here goes nothing.
I picked up the core, sat cross-legged, closed my eyes, cleared my mind of any thoughts, and put the mana core next to my own mana core, i.e., I put it next to where my heart is.
Then...I just thought really really hard about absorbing it, the only thought preoccupying my mind was simply about getting the mana out of this core and making it mine.
The feeling I felt was unlike anything I had felt before, it was...magical.
I felt how my heart started beating faster and faster, something deep within it started rotating, and I felt my own mana core slowly absorbing the mana.
This process went on for about 10 minutes, when I started feeling bloated. I wondered for a second what this feeling meant, and then once I remembered and I was just about to start panicking, my heart rate started normalizing and the spinning stopped. I felt the mana core I had in my hands dissipate into nothing.
I waited for a few seconds and once I was sure the process was complete, I opened my eyes excitedly and I immediately checked it out.
-Status
[Name:####]
[Age:####]
[Body Age:4 days]
[Rank 1]
[HP:15/17]
[MP:11/11(->13)]
[Left Eye(Mai####):Awakened, 50%]
[Right Eye(####):Dormant, 100%]
...Huh? What does this mean?
'Cough...Cough... What do you mean?'
Why is my max MP still 11? And what's that thing next to it? Going to 13? Why is it only 13?
Shouldn't it be like at least 21 or something? That was a core with 20 MP after all, why did it only give me 2 bonus MP?
'Huh...seems like I forgot to tell you this. You do know that mana circulates within the blood right?'
Yes, you told me that.
'Well, the thing is. Cough, Cough...The mana that circulates, it's mana you can't absorb.'
What?
'Due to the fact...that that mana touches all of the cells of the being that uses it, those cells also touch and contaminate the mana, making it only usable by that specific being. When...you absorb a mana core, you absorb the core itself, that is made up of only pure uncontaminated mana. The core is made up of 10% of the max MP. That's why the core of a monster that could hold 20 MP only gave you 2 MP. As a byproduct of this, it doesn't matter if you get a mana core from a being that has, let's say, 0 current MP but has 20 max MP, or if it has 20 current MP and 20 max MP. Max MP is all that matters.'
Huh. Sure, that explains why it only gave me 2. But why didn't my max MP increase, but instead I got those weird symbols next to my max MP in Status?
'It has to do with what I just told you. Those symbols show how much mana your mana core can support. The mana core is made up of 10% of the max MP. When you absorb mana into yourself, it takes a bit of time for the mana core to upgrade itself. In your case, it took about 10 minutes. But just because the mana core can support more MP in your body, it doesn't mean your body can. Your mana core can already support 13 MP in your body, but your body is only used to 11 MP. Once some time passes, your body will, for example, get used to 12 MP, while your core can still support 13 MP. Then, your max MP will become 12, while your mana core can still support up to 13 MP.'
Okay, then why did I feel bloated when I only got 2 more MP?
'Cough, Cough... You're looking at it from the wrong perspective. Rather than only taking 2 more MP, you got 18% more MP. The max MP you can get at once without imploding is 20%. While right now you could only take 2.2, when you have, let's say, 100 MP, you will be able to take at max 20 more MP.'
So, how can I make it so my body adapts to the mana faster?
'There is one way that I know of that you can speed up the process, and that's through fighting. Exhausting and injuring your body, and then letting it recover, makes your body adapt faster.'
Hmm, now that I'm thinking about my status, I remember something didn't feel right when I checked it before the fight with the monster...Oh right, I remember!
'Cough...Remember what?'
Why is my max HP 17? I remember my base HP was 10, and I should be getting an increase of between 5 and 6 from my MP, but why is it not 15 or 16 but 17?
'It's simple, your body itself grew stronger. your current base HP without the enhancements of mana is around 11. It's because you fought all day and ate a lot. The current benefit that gives is very small, but if you train your body enough, it might add up in the long run. Cough, Cough, Cough...Though you should worry about training your body later on, it isn't that important right now. Worry more about raising your MP.'
Alright. So, what should I do now?
'Hmm. For today, just backtrack a bit and fight some beasts. No point in fighting a monster right now... Cough..., as you can't absorb any more mana cores for a bit. Also, you have injuries you need...to treat and I need to recover my energy. Try...fighting either very strong beasts or a lot of them, that way your...body will adapt faster, and you can...absorb another mana core sooner.'
That sounds like a good plan. Hmm, and when should I leave this forest? Ok, I got it. I will wait until I reach 99 MP and then I will leave this forest. I guess the foreseeable future will be me fighting a monster, consuming its mana core, fighting some beasts until my body adapts, and then repeat.
{Growllllll~~~!!}
...Ooops. I forgot. I have not eaten anything for the past 24 hours. Oh well, I was just in the mood for some meat. Time to hunt some beasts!