As I felt the surrounding mana slowly flowing towards my palm. I began directing it downwards.

As I continued towards my objective, I started to feel a sense of fatigue. I had underestimated how difficult it would be to continuously drain and store mana. The core might also be at fault. It is my first creation after all. The efficiency could bottleneck the whole process if I had to use my own body as an buffer between the core and the surrounding mana. Storing the mana then releasing in comparison to just acting like a bridge should not be underestimated.

After making an mental note I quickly got back to working.

As the last few drops of mana in the creek were stored securely in the core. I slowly started close my fingers. Since I used the pebbles and the ground as the foundation to avoid using unnecessary mana. I had to dig the core up from just below the surface.

When my fingers came into contact I slowly tightened my grip as I gently removed it from the ground.

Lifting it up, I carefully held it in my hand as I looked it over.

The core looked uniform with sharp edges. The top and bottom of the core had ended in a sharp point. The size were just about the length of my forearm and felt light compared to its surprising size. The color was like gentle frosted glass which made it possible to glimps the insides. The mana contained in the core looked like a soft white cloud as it swirled around in response to my movements. The surface was like polished glass with a slight detectable warmth as I ran my finger across it. It was quite hard to see, but it seemed like it also radiated a faint light.

My first creation was an overall success if we ignore my issues when it came to pushing mana inside the core.

Walking out of the creek I looked towards the dense undergrowth from where the creek came from. It seemed like the vegetation was a little less dense in this area compared to the other sides. Looking back towards the clearing, I made a decision.

With the pebbles drained of mana. And nothing else of value. I wanted to start exploring my surroundings. Staying here to absorb the mana from the water seemed like an inefficient move. And as long as I followed the creek upstream I should be able to get some answers. There might even be a large amount of trapped mana somewhere...

I also wanted to get better at using my abilities. And one of my foremost issues is a stable income. The air was filled with common mana. But that's unlikely to be enough for me. I can't use common mana to create what I need. So I really had to go find some more. It would be stupid to get careless just because I managed to store a bit in my newly created core.

My own body actually lacks a core. I don't quite understand it myself. but I'm pretty sure that my body itself is able to store mana without any issues. I'm just not that comfortable using my own body as crafting materials just yet...

But back on track. Walking towards the edge of the clearing. I looked into the what looked like an underground organic cave. As the sun started to glide below the trees I thought that I might as well get going now. With dense vegetation and tall trees, daylight would not really matter anyways.

With that final thought, I began my journey.