「Your attribute 'Absorption' is deactivating」
Tch, I click my tongue out of self-annoyance, failing once again at to absorb the giant monster's mana core.
I roll my shoulders and place my hand on the red sphere once more.
「Your attribute 'Absorption' is activating」
My mind was fatigued and muddy from what felt like hours of trial and error, trying to absorb the residual mana in the Ogre's mana core. For some reason, it stayed intact and didn't leak any of it's contents, except for the red mana that was in the monster's mouth.
A sapphire-red substance swirled inside of the monster's core. Within it, a dark murky something was drifting about, neither mixed nor separate from the red. It was just there, coexisting and independent. I focus on that something, trying to separate it from the red that it clung to.
I take a deep breath.
My mind practically beats itself up trying to scrape together as much of my remaining energy possible, desperately trying to fulfill the arduous task I was trying to perform. The dark attribute mana reacted for a split-second, a wisp of it drifting towards my palm. It could have just been my imagination, but I refused to believe so.
I focus on that feeling once more, isolating the red mana and focusing on the black. It was extremely difficult. The ratio of how much mana was stored inside of the monster's core was really imbalanced, frustratingly from. Trying to separate it was similar to putting a thread through a needle, both annoying and frustrating.
Isolating the black mana from the red was hellacious. If I try to absorb only the black, some of the red would try to join with it, which, coincidentally enough, rejected me with a passion. This frustrating cycle continued on for a while until I had to take a five-minute break to plan my moves. Nothing else really came to mind in that short time frame I gave myself, but I wasn't about to back down and just take it. This was a challenge—one I was willing to face even if took days or weeks.
…
After ruminating for a while, I tried to just absorb the red mana and expend it at the same time, filtering it out and leaving only the black to absorb into my own core. The red mana still rejected me, making it difficult to absorb it, but after a minute or two of experimenting, I found that it was best to absorb it in small quantities, about a drop at a time. Still, even that was apparently too much. Even with such a small quantity, my aptitude in fire was so bad that it wouldn't even leave the core itself. This caused the previous click of the tongue.
Then, something changed.
…!! What was that?! Suddenly, the dark attribute mana started behaving differently. I focused on that unexpected phenomenon and tried to replicate it. Inspecting every single factor that I can think of: the red mana, the black, the core itself, even the atmospheric mana drifting in the air, I observe and analyze all of it. Nothing.
I click my tongue once again. What am I doing wrong?
Even with all my experiences, my understanding of mana is still sub-par at best. The sudden change in behavior of the mana was probably just a fluke, one that I did unconsciously.
That last word hung in my mind. Unconsciously..
I shift my focus from the core to myself. I check my mana circuits, observing the mana that continuously flowed inside of it. It was behaving normally, swirling and traveling up and down my circuits in a consistent rhythm, though, one part seemed to be acting differently. I focus deeper on my outstretched palm.
Huh…? Mana was leaking out of it in small amounts, too small, in fact, that I couldn't even notice it. The leaking mana reached for the dark attribute mana inside of the core, transforming into thin tendrils that separated the red from the black. The strange phenomenon had been replicated.
I did it… I—Wha..?! That brief sense of relief caused the mana tendrils to crumble and dissipate. Idiot!, I berated myself. You almost had it!
I tried to remake the tendrils once more. It was surprisingly easy, like I had always known about it. I very well could have and just forgot about it, or maybe it really was an act of instinct, like when you touch a hot surface and immediately reel back. It was like my body was automatically working itself to better it's chances of survival.
But enough of that, I focused on the mana core once more. With my newfound ability, I separate the two different kinds of mana from the core, isolating and absorbing the black and leaving the red untouched. It was exhilarating absorbing mana of such high purity. The monsters corpses also exuded purified residual mana, but it was watered-down by the atmospheric mana, and without it's wielder, it was no different than the dark attribute mana I could simply absorb from the atmosphere.
「Your attribute 'Assimilation' is activating」
I purify the mana I had absorbed even more inside of me, practically a second instinct at this point.
Hahhh~~~ God, that was exhausting. I lay on my back, tired as all hell. Then I noticed that I was still on the Ogre's back and got up once again.
I pluck the Ogre's core with my sword and leapt off the fallen monster's humongous torso. The core itself felt smooth in my hand— excluding the bits of flesh and dried blood.
…
I probe my mana inside of the core. Perhaps…
The core began to shine brighter, the mana inside of it going haywire. I quickly will my mana to dissipate, prompting the core to stabilize. So probing with the core any further will lead to an explosive outcome...noted.
I turn back to the winding hallways and took a step forward. Guess I'll try to find some more.