Chapter 13 - The Advent of Magic

The message appeared in front of him the very moment he was going to check his stats.

[YOU HAVE BEEN AWARDED WITH 10 PRANA COINS! THE PLAYER CAN NOW ACCESS THE ITEM STORE FOR PURCHASE OF MAGICAL TOOLS!]

His eyes shone as he read the new info.

"So.... I can finally purchase something which doesn't belong to this world. But.... with just a measly 10 prana coins, my inventory is not going to filled with OP items... for now. Let me see what I can afford for now....

I need to choose wisely..."

Selecting the shop option on the top right corner of the screen, he opened the Item shop.

Just a singular glance at it could easily prove to anyone its vastness.

The screen had expanded significantly in size, covering almost the whole of the smallest wall in his shack. Though quite convenient it was, being able to see a greater number of items at the same time was also consuming a significant amount of his prana.

He just stumbled upon this fact as he accidentally activated prana presence while sneezing, effectively contracting his optic nerves.

Thin streams of prana particles were being seeped from his body and into the screen, where it homogenously spread throughout its entire surface area.

"Goddamn, this thing takes power for just increasing my screen size? 

I have to keep a ****** check on USING this thing for longer times!"

Nevertheless, forcing his mind back into the the item shop itself, Remirg started absorbing the whole thing like a scanner, taking in each and every item which was unlocked for him now.

He also noticed that though some items were unlocked, showing full, bright images of them, while the others were blurred out and grey, announcing that they were unpayable for his current balance, there also was a certain message written at the end.

It said "HIGHER LEVEL ITEMS ARE LOCKED IN LIEU OF THE PLAYER'S CURRENT STATUS. LEVEL UP TO UNLOCK MORE ITEMS."

"I see... there is a lot of scope in leveling up. Checking up my current stats, I'm still unspecified. Even the foes I fought in the shadow dungeon were Z-tier.

If I were to believe that I can level up to a maximum of A-tier, then that would take quite some time...."

Considering his thoughts, Remirg looked up at the first item which appeared on the screen and selected it. 

Upon selection, the screen produced a singular image of the item with a detailed description about it, with its current price, stats and class.

[ITEM NAME: RESONANCE CORE.

 CLASS: A-Z TIER

MAGICAL POWER RETENTION: VARIABLE.

POISON RETENTION: 0

THE ABOVE MAGICAL ITEM IS A NECESSARY FOR ANY INDUVIDUAL WHO WISHES TO PRACTICE MAGIC. THE RESONANCE CORE, ONCE PURCHASED, WILL CONNECT WITH THE PRANA CORE INSIDE THE INDUVIDUAL TO CONNECT THE PRANA WITH THE WORLD ENERGY, EFFECTIVELY ALLOWING THE PLAYER TO PERFORM METAPHYSICAL ACTIVITIES, ALBIET MAGIC.

COMPATIBILITY: THE PLAYER HAS SUCCESSFULLY OBTAINED THE PRANA CORE AND MERGED WITH IT! YOU ARE COMPLETELY COMPATIBLE TO BUY THE PRANA CORE.

CURRENT PRICE: 10 PRANA STONES]

Remirg goggled at the price of the item.

"Technically, I'm left with no other choice. For this time, I can only buy the Resonance core. 

Better have magic before buying anything else."

Clicking on the purchase button, Remirg finally bought the Resonance core.

It appeared in a way that he had already expected. It simply popped out of screen, spending a bit more of his prana in the process.

A nerve twitched in Remirg's temple as he felt the sudden jolt of prana leave his body.

But the one thing which dawned upon him just after it was something which made his face contract in a very prominent frown.

"Wait a minute..... When did I obtain the "prana core"?....

Was it the merger of the Prana locket and the prana stone which I managed to pull off somehow? Though I still don't remember the incidents which follow thereafter. 

I unfortunately fell unconscious at the very moment, curse my life!

I see... the resultant prana core which generated somehow merged with my body in the dungeon.... Lucky me, didn't have to figure out anything then...."

The Resonance core he just obtained was a perfect sphere, with a bright white hue, containing countless streams of prana particles running through it. The outer surface of the core was made up of a reinforced material about which Remirg didn't possess any knowledge.

But the main problem now was not its appearance, but how was he going to use it.

He sheepishly tried to force it into his body via his skin, resulting in a very expected failure.

Having no idea about the exotic item, he finally resorted to asking the Simulator, spending in a little more of his prana to activate the screen voluntarily.

Clearing his throat, he asked the Simulator in a clear voice,

"How am I supposed to fuse the Resonance core with me?"

The question of his was taken in by the Simulator. After what felt like literal minutes, when Remirg felt that he was going to get negligence for an answer, the Simulator finally popped its response.

Wheezing comically at the utter inconvenience it was causing in the most minute of tasks, Remirg started to read the response, which was quite short.

[IN ORDER TO MERGE THE BODY WITH THE RESONANCE CORE, THE PLAYER MUST OPEN THE 1ST INNER BARRIER. THE PLAYER CAN THEN SIMULATE THE RESONANCE CORE INTO THEIR TORSO, WHERE THE PRANA CORE LIES

NOTE: THE PLAYER HAS ALREADY ACTIVATED THE 1ST INNER BARRIER]

A silent minute followed as Remirg tried to comprehend what the Simulator wanted to say to him. The response he received was quite cryptic.

"I need to somehow simulate the Resonance core inside my chest..... How am I supposed to SIMULATE something into me. This idea is utterly absurd!"

Fidgeting with the solid Resonance core lying in his palms, Remirg felt a need to think.

Placing the item carefully onto the only table it possessed, though heavily infested with termites, Remirg started to deduce.

And it took not more than a minute for him to reach the answer.