***Present time: Small cave in Anbriot's forest

Proudly presenting my masterpiece I looked towards mother deity with sparkling eyes. Perfect smooth curves and a good inner structure. Both the visual presentation and the inner performance were top notch compared to all my previous creations. I felt confident in this one. Currently it was completely drained of mana. So I presented it without worry as mother deity wouldn't take my things if they had no mana.

Expecting great things. I was happy when she looked intently at the core in my hands. After a short while she looked up at me and slightly licked my face before lying back down once more.

Now extremely happy with the praise I began to walk outside with light steps. But before I exited the cave I suddenly stopped abruptly. Wait a second. What's with that reaction? Did she praise me for my magnificent creation or for something else?... Slowly forming a sinister plot in my mind I picked up an completely ordinary rock from the water as I turned back towards mother deity.

Acting out the scene again I stood in front of mother deity and presented the rock with sparkling eyes.

She slowly looked up once more and looked at my hands. When she licked my face once more I was stupefied. Even after mother deity laid back down to sleep, I still stood frozen on the spot.

No one understands the value. I cried out in my mind, as I slowly turned around and sat besides one of the children. Softly pulling its ear I got its attention as it looked at me with an annoyed expression.

Once more I took my stance and proudly presented it. The child slowly moved its head forward and sniffed it slightly from a few centimeters away. After a short while it looked at me with a knowing expression. It staggered over in a corner as it started digging through the soil.

When the child came back it dropped a black core in my palm as it turned around and started sleeping again...

Without knowing what to say I just stood up and mindlessly walked out of the cave.

Having nothing better to do I walked over to my practice spot and started slowly filling the core with mana in silence as I appreciated the... beautiful curves and the great inner performance...