A portal opened up in the middle of the forest, and stepping out of it was Raze, who had managed to return safely. He turned his head to look behind him, making sure that the portal closed, because the last thing he wanted was for any of those creatures to come after him.
"That wasn't what I was expecting for my first outing," Raze thought. "Anyway, it's clear now. The formation I knew for opening portals back at Alterian works differently here.
"If I'm not careful and start journeying into different dimensions, I could put myself in a dangerous position, especially if I come across some powerful creatures."
A slight tingle around his chest, where the sword had hit him, was felt.
"Alright, an even more dangerous position, but it wasn't all bad."
Raze was still wearing the clothing of the temple kids. It was a simple, dirty brown cloth material with a band around his waist. The handy thing was that inside there were pockets. It was designed this way to prevent items from falling out easily, though it did look a bit strange when one would retrieve something. One might fear pulling out something inappropriate, which in his world, could lead to a long imprisonment.
In his hands were the small crystals he had obtained.
"Finally, with these, I can increase the strength of my mana core. It won't be enough for me to reach the second stage, even if I absorb all nine."
Raze started to think about the best use for the crystals. Considering how dangerous it was entering the portal the first time, he wasn't eager to return immediately.
"I'll need to keep one crystal to open the portal again just in case. It would be good to create a mana potion with one of these as well, so I don't end up in the same situation again. And I suppose I'll need ones in case I want to create more items."
"Right now, I only have the dark attribute. These are just regular crystals, so they won't help me gain affinity with other attributes. I might have to rely on enhancing items for a while and deal with them being cursed."
The night sky lingered, but Raze thought it was best to absorb the crystals right there. He sat down, placed the crystals in front of him, and closed his eyes. Energy swirled in the air, and dark energy escaped from his body.
It swirled around the five crystals, causing them to levitate. They were lifted by the controlled energy in the air. As the dark energy enveloped each crystal, it started to glow, establishing a connection with the core in Raze's heart.
The outside of the mana core was swirling rapidly, and the energy began to break down the crystals. They transformed into dust particles that resembled glitter.
The particles gravitated towards Raze, and a gentle glow radiated from his body. He could feel his mana increasing with the absorption of each crystal, strengthening his core and enabling him to harness more of the world's energy.
It felt almost as if he had been restricted from breathing before, but now he could take in and expel a much larger breath.
The glow around his body faded, and upon opening his eyes, the five crystals had vanished. The remaining four were safely stored in his pocket for future use.
"As I thought, it's not enough for me to become a 2-star mage, but I now have enough Mana to cast about 7 dark pulses. Those beast dogs won't stand a chance."
Eventually, Raze returned to the temple and to his room. The sliding of the door seemed to wake his sister, who rubbed her eyes. With a gesture, Raze signaled her to go back to sleep, for there was one more task at hand.
"I can't just keep the crystals in my pocket. We change our clothes daily, and the material of these garments is fragile. Half the trousers I receive have holes where a crystal would fall right through."
As if on cue, a crystal sliced a hole in his pocket, sliding down his leg and clattering to the floor, rousing his sister again. Now, she merely stared at Raze, who was bent down, retrieving the crystals.
Frozen in place, he hoped the sound might lull her back to sleep. Instead, their eyes locked in a mutual gaze.
'Hey... maybe she won't even recognize these crystals? Perhaps it's not something the average person would know about?' Raze mused with a hopeful smile.
However, Safa pointed directly at the scattered crystals, her mouth and eyes wide in astonishment. It was as if someone had dropped a pot of treasure in their room.
The only silver lining was her silence; otherwise, others might have come rushing in.
Raze quickly collected the crystals and moved to the bed, approaching her.
"Look here," Raze whispered, his tone aggressive. "I've been really, really nice to you, far nicer than I ever imagined. So, you need to do me a favor and not tell anyone about this, okay?"
Safa immediately nodded, quite frantically at that. Ever since the incident, she found her brother's stare menacing, even though he had been a weak boy growing up. She had never seen this look on his face before.
"Alright," Raze said, lifting part of the mattress and placing the crystals underneath before setting the mattress back down. "No one is to find out about these, no matter what. And if they go missing, I'll know it was you, understand?"
Safa frantically nodded her head once again.
With that done, Raze brushed off his hands and settled on the floor for a good night's rest. The only person who had discovered his crystals was a mute—his sister. So, in a way, he was lucky. But judging by Safa's reaction, those crystals were a big deal in the world of Pagna as well.
For Safa, she turned to face the wall, pulling the blanket tight around her. She was conflicted. Sometimes he seemed distant and cruel, but there were moments she felt love radiating from him.
For instance, Safa was sleeping on the bed while Raze rested on the floor, and his words of advice before leaving in the night left an impact.
'What a strange brother,' Safa thought, smiling slightly. Despite his threatening looks and harsh words, why did she feel safe around him?
---
Waking up was a struggle for Raze; he had spent half the night in another dimension, so he had gotten only a few hours of sleep.
It was time for their chores, but Raze was in a deep sleep. Safa, unable to call out his name, pondered how to wake her brother up, especially since she wasn't allowed to touch him.
In the end, she decided to leave him be. However, this didn't sit well with the others. A few minutes later, the door slid open. A young man in a red uniform, Sonny, entered for another visit.
"So this is the lazy boy, huh? Look, Safa, if you can't shout his name, then all you need to do is shake him a bit," Sonny suggested. As he moved forward, Safa grabbed his hand, shaking her head.
"What's wrong? Come on, he won't bite," Sonny reassured, gently moving his hand away and approaching Raze.
"Hey, wake up lazy head," Sonny said, touching Raze's side and giving him a shake.
Instantly, Raze's eyes snapped open, and he sprung up. "Don't touch me!" Raze shouted loudly enough that the other kids in the neighboring rooms would've heard.
"Hey, take it easy, Raze. It's me," Sonny said, hands raised in a non-threatening manner. "Sorry, I should've known better after what happened to you."
Raze's hands were behind his back. He had gathered dark magic, ready to use it if someone got too close, but he quickly dispelled it before anyone noticed.
'Crap… What would've happened if I had attacked him? That would've been bad news.'
"I'm sorry," Raze apologized, touching his head. "It hasn't been long since…"
Sonny observed Raze. He remembered the state of him when they first found him. It was normal for someone his age to react this way, but Sonny's assumption was off; it had nothing to do with that incident.
"I don't know if this is a good time or not, but our Clan master wants to speak to you. I think it's about your parents' death."