As he tried to pick up the metal piece, August felt all the mana in his core vanish in an instant. His strength left his body, causing him to collapse to the floor, hitting his face hard against the ground. He cursed in pain, "Fuck, ouch!"
Lying there as if paralyzed, his face pressed to the floor, he saw the system prompt appear before his eyes.
[ Your activation period of Overdrive has ended. ]
[ Sigh... What am I supposed to do with this host now? ]
'System? I thought I only couldn't use mana. Why don't I have any strength in my body?'
[ It's because awakened bodies create mana veins all over when they form a mana core. The mana veins help mana travel through the body more quickly and strengthen it. So when all the mana is instantly drained, they feel like they have no strength at all. ]
'Hm, so that's how it is.'
"Ugh," August groaned, gathering his strength and slowly getting up with the help of his hands. His muscles screamed in protest, but he forced himself upright.
'I shouldn't use Overdrive for simple things or easy fights. I need to save it for life-and-death situations where I need that strength to win or escape.'
'Or I might end up like this every time,' he chuckled at himself.
Sitting on the floor, he leaned against the bed and opened the system screen.
'I have 4,500 SP left. Should I save it to upgrade the ability extraction feature, which takes 5,000 SP, or should I buy something from the shop and upgrade my inventory?'
'Let's save it for the ability extract. I only need 500 SP more. With the upgrade, I can reduce the reset time to activate it and save one ability in it.'
'Let's buy some beast cores tomorrow,' he thought as he got into bed, the mattress creaking under his weight.
*****
The next day, August headed to the task center to buy beast cores. The bustling center was filled with adventurers, their conversations a low hum in the background. After waiting in line, he finally reached the counter. The receptionist looked up with a professional smile.
"Adventurer, how can I help you?" she asked, her fingers poised over the keyboard.
"I want to buy rank 1 beast cores," August replied, leaning on the counter.
"How many do you need?" she inquired, glancing at her screen.
"I want to buy as many rank 1 cores as I can get for 20,000 C," he said, straightening up.
The receptionist's smile faltered. "Uh, sir adventurer, I apologize, but our stock of beast cores was sent to Earth yesterday, so we only have a small amount left," she said, her tone genuinely apologetic.
'What bad luck,' August thought. He sighed, then asked, "How many rank 1 and rank 2 beast cores do you have left?"
The receptionist tapped a few keys and studied the screen. "We have 100 rank 1 beast cores and 10 rank 2 beast cores left," she said, looking back at him. "Do you want to buy them?"
"Yes, I want all the rank 1 cores. How much are they?" August asked, pulling out his smartwatch.
"For a total of 100 rank 1 cores with different qualities and minor stages, it is 2,000 C," she replied, her fingers ready to process the transaction.
"And the rank 2 beast cores?" he continued, curious about the pricing.
"For a rank 2 initial stage core, it ranges from 500C, and for a peak stage, it's 1,000C," she explained. "If you want a specific element, you can tell me, and I can check if we have it in stock," she added, her eyes meeting his with a helpful expression.
"No, I don't need any specific element cores. I want all 10 of them. How much is it?" he asked.
"We have 5 initial, 3 middle, and 2 upper stage ones, for a total price of 6,050 C," the receptionist replied, tapping on her screen.
"Any rank 3 beast cores?" he inquired, hoping for better quality.
"No, sir, adventurer. Around the shelter area, rank 3 beasts are hard to find, and adventurers with the capabilities to hunt them are scarce here. So it's harder to get them," she explained, shaking her head.
August sighed, thinking about his options. "Thanks, then. That's all I want," he said.
"That will be a total of 8,050C," the receptionist confirmed, processing the payment.
'I can't rely on the task center to buy beast cores. I need to go back to the city to get more,' August thought as he left the task center.
Ting!*
He received a notification on his smartwatch. Opening it, he saw that Harry had sent him the location to meet at the entrance of the alchemist guild.
'Let's head there to meet them,' he decided, adjusting his gear and setting off towards the guild.
*****
After some time, August arrived at the alchemist guild where he spotted Harry and his team near the entrance, deep in discussion.
"If we can get those potions, we might be able to reach rank 2 quickly," Carl said enthusiastically.
'What potion are they talking about?' August wondered. He approached them and asked curiously, "Hey, what are you all discussing?"
"Oh, we were talking about the new potion that's been popular lately. It can boost the cultivation of rank 1 by 2x," Harry explained.
"Yeah, and I heard some unknown alchemist made them," Dina added, then whispered, "I heard a rumor that the alchemist is so young that some say he's from a well-known alchemist family."
'Are they talking about the Frozen Breeze Mana Potion?' August thought and chuckled. 'And they think I'm from an alchemist family?'
Hearing August chuckle, everyone looked at him in confusion.
Then Dina thought for a second and shouted in shock, "Are you the one who created that potion?"
Hearing Dina, everyone had an astonished expression.
"Don't shout, Dina, others might hear you," Harry instructed, then asked August, "And August, is it true?"
"Yes," August confirmed, smiling at them.
"REALLY!?" Dina shouted again but, seeing Harry's stern look, she whispered, "really?"
"How many surprises are you going to give us?" Harry chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Haha," August laughed. 'If you knew I have a system that lets me buy knowledge and extract abilities of beasts, you might have a heart attack.'
"That aside, we came with the ingredients you asked us to gather. It was difficult to get them for some of us, but Denver and Dina's ingredients were easier to find," Harry said, handing August a pouch.
"Let's go inside. I'll rent a room and make the potions there. You can wait in the waiting area," August said, grabbing the pouch and heading inside the alchemist guild building with everyone following him.
After renting a basic alchemist room, he got to work.
*****
After working for two and a half hours...
"Huff! Finally completed all five of the advancement booster elixirs," August said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He relaxed, looking at the five flasks of different colors set neatly in front of him.
'Let's see what its specs are,' he thought, grabbing a flask with a light green color.
[ Advancement Booster Elixir (Wind) ]
Rank: Common
Grade: Medium
Effects: It can boost the chance of a wind element beast of rank 1 ranking up to rank 2 by 50%, and rank 2 ranking up to 3 by 10%. It also has a 1% chance to awaken its hidden bloodlines. ]