I’ve followed the sound very discreetly in order to not get noticed. If there’s one thing I’m relieved of is that this is definitely not a ghost; there’s no way a ghost needs to open doors and walk in the hallway using a candle, at one point they even bumped the wall because of the candle’s light flickering. But because they’re human, then this could be an even more dangerous encounter. A human that could infiltrate the empress’s castle would be someone of noteworthy notoriety.

So, why am I — someone who would yell at the screen during a horror movie because the protagonist is dumb enough to follow the ghost and get scared or killed during the process — following the most cliche trope of all horror fiction? Instincts, of course. Also, if I became one of the main contributors in catching the scoundrel who dared to creep into the empress’s castle uninvited, then I could be spared from being burned alive by the head butler. Then, I can finally exact my revenge on him by putting my c*ck in his drink.

After the creaking noise of the kitchen door could be heard, the sound of the footsteps stopped and was replaced with the soft clanking of metal. I sneaked to the front of the kitchen door and peered inside. The slit was too small to see anything, but I can make out a shadowy figure prancing around, looking for something. This may appear to be the perfect time to scream and call the knights, but there are too many variables that I don’t know of. If it ended up being a false alarm, I could end up being untrustworthy; so,  if an actual infiltration is happening, I might become the boy who cried wolf. Hence why I’ve decided to do the waiting game and observe their movement for a while.

For an infiltrator, they are being really noisy in the kitchen. All the clanking and rummaging through the cabinet makes it seem like they’re an amateur or an up-and-coming thief. This went on for a while until I decided I needed to learn more and widen the slit just a tiny bit. Of course, the creaking sound in a semi-quiet room would reverberate loudly inside the said room. So, as I peeked once more through the slit,  they were nowhere to be found. What’s left is only the candlelight-

The door swung open inwards, and before I could scream out of fright and bolt away from there, a small hand could be felt around my mouth. Turns out, the one who’s been rummaging for the past couple of minutes was just a little girl. I remembered the general was talking about a new maid in training, Elena was her name if I recall; that doesn’t matter though because I don’t think a maid in training is supposed to sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night.

“You’re… Elena, right?” I said as I pushed her arm away from my mouth.

“Elena? …Right, I’m Elena. How do you know my name?”

“The knight’s general told me there was a new maid in training; though, I didn’t know they were also training you for thievery.”

“What a stupid accusation. I was just hungry and craving some midnight snacks.”

“Taking food without permission is thievery.”

“Even if it is, who would you think they put the blame on? A new maid in training, or the trouble maker Mr. Mold.”

“H- How do you-”

“Did you think you’re the only one who’s got information? Anyways, it’s either you help me make a midnight snack, or your nickname will change into ‘Mr. Moldy Thief’.”

I’m pretty sure this is her first day in the castle, and she’s already blackmailing her colleague into helping her commit thievery. Cunning, I like it. If I can make her into an ally, my revenge on the head butler will surely work.

“Fine. I can’t make anything fancy though.”

"It's fine, I just need to chew on something right now."

I'm planning to make some devilled eggs, easy enough to cook and don't use that many ingredients. First, I have to get the eggs and boil them; three should be enough for a child like her. After getting the eggs, I boiled them as a normal person would. But seemingly out of nowhere, something almost made me screech like a scared goat after being left behind by his mother; it was the sound of an egg exploding.

"Hmmm… I've never heard of a food that uses exploding eggs, interesting."

"It's because there's no such thing. The egg probably exploded due to the air pressure inside."

"Air pressure?"

"Yeah, sometimes an egg has an air pocket inside of it. So, when you heat up the egg, the air expands and it'll… THAT'S IT!"

"Keep your voice down!" Said Elena, slightly panicked,  before continuing in a hushed voice. "Do you want to wake everyone up?! And continue your cooking, the eggs are not-"

"The eggs don't matter! This is my eureka moment, and I need to get back to my room." I exclaimed excitedly, but to my dismay, just like any other time I was excited, it got cut short by the force of nature. This time, I was tripped by Elena's foot and held down from the back by her.

"You're not going anywhere until I get my munchies!"

"B- b- but this is my eureka moment…"

"I don't know what this 'eureka moment' of yours is, but as I said, either make me a midnight snack, or you will be known for a bruised face instead of mold."

What a violent girl! I thought making her my friend and planning my revenge against the head butler would be a great thing, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be the one who’s putting my c*ck in his drink, she’s going to put her c*ck in mine.

I reluctantly continued to make her devilled eggs while whispering some curse spells I learned during the isekai camp witchcraft class under my breath. They don't work but they sure make a good stress relief. She may have ruined my eureka moment, yet my spirit will stay strong; since I've finally found a way to extract the mana geodes!

+++++

Standing in front of the water pillar, with a mana geode that's glowing red in my right hand, and a knight’s general to my right. Due to Arthur not being here, I then borrowed the closest one to him so I could do my experiment without the fear of my face being blown apart. Julian Foley, one of the 10 knight’s generals in the Crenada Empire. The most striking feature of his face is that his face has no striking features. Unlike Arthur who looked like the ol’ gift-giving old man, Julian looked like any other old man with wrinkles on his forehead, short dark hair, and a warm smile. But if light novels and anime have anything to teach me, it’s that people like Julian will either be a guide for the protagonist or a backstabber.

Also, even though it’s very convenient for me, the fact that many of the higher-ups of the empire are so lenient and seem like they don’t have an actual job to do is very concerning. It’s a problem for another time though.

“So, what are we doing again?”

“We are going to make a scientific breakthrough, General. I will change the world that you’re standing on.”

“And this horn is a part of it?” I recalled there was a horn stuck on one of the knight’s quarters. So, I asked him to bring it with him. “What am I being a part of exactly?”

“We are here to fulfill the empress’ wishes. I will try to tame that water pillar… later. Because we need to do something small first before doing something big.”

“Right…”

"You need to poke a hole in this stone using that horn.”

Here’s my hypothesis: The mana geodes are like an egg. 

Mana is almost equivalent to air; it is all around us even though you can’t see it. Inside the mana geodes, there is a whole lot of mana that’s been sitting there for thousands- or even millions of years. And although it has condensed into a solid material in the form of crystals, geodes are hollow. There’s a gap inside there that houses condensed mana in the form of a gas. Therefore, if we burst a geode open, like how Arthur and I have been doing for the past month, the gaseous mana will spread out and ‘explode’. Or in our case, it will ‘activate’, presumably, according to its element from where it was found. So, if we poke a hole and let out the volatile mana very slowly, there’s a chance when we cut it open, the only thing left is the mana crystal and it will not ‘explode’.

“Oh! I get what this is. This is about our discussion and you being punished if you are not able to fix this, right?”

“Correct.”

“Hahahaha! You don’t need to worry about that, the empress was just kidding, she does that with everyone. Why do you think we were okay with an innocent 10 year old being burned alive?”

“She was joking… sure.” She’s most definitely not joking, and these guys are cold-blooded enough to kill a 10 year old boy, my original body’s owner, Alton Crenada. “Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Okay, then, I should just poke a hole in this stone right?”

“Yes. Do it hard enough so it could get to the center cleanly, and don’t pierce the stone.”

“Easy enough. I’ll do a countdown, 3… 2… 1…”

“Oh! Also, be ready for an explosion.”

With a swift in and out, Julian made a hole right to the center of the mana geode. I was already taking cover behind a rock when he stabbed that rock, expecting there to be an explosion, but there was none. In turn, the rock that usually glows a dim color of red now glows into a bright orange as bright as a lamp from my past world. It is nothing short of astonishing.

“This… what is this?”

That, General, is what will change this world forever. The first-ever invented mana tool, a mana lamp.”