[Chapter 3: Mana Core] 

Mana Cores were divided into nine stages, or layers–well there were actually ten in total. The first was simply having a core without any additional layers.

Your mana reserves grow with each layer, as does the purity of your mana. You can have up to nine layers on your core, but few people get to the fifth. 

Layers on your core are formed by gathering mana onto your core and forming it into a layer around your core; this process occurs naturally over a long period of time.

This is where I got the idea to create a core from. Why not make the core itself if you can make layers for it?

Making Core Layers aren't as simple as they appear; it takes years to form just one, and the more layers that are formed, the more difficult it becomes.

Cultivation isn't all about your ability. If someone is in a mana-rich area, their cultivation will progress much faster than that of others.

You can get stronger while having a low talent in magic as long as you have a core and resources. It's not very fair, but no one will ever admit it openly.

My body can not control mana because I lack a Mana Core. Without a core, it is impossible to shape mana to your liking. People can control their affinities by shaping and bending Mana. 

However, gathering mana into your body without a core is possible, which is exactly what I set out to do. First, I needed to try to sense the Mana in the air. That alone took several hours.

It took the form of small gold lights floating around. While I was at it, I tested the purity of the mana in the forest. It was actually quite good. Places that have not been touched by humans usually have purer mana.

Mana is said to be the "essence of life," so perhaps that has something to do with it.

I moved on to the next step after sensing mana in the air, which was to gather it into my abdomen, and my gods! It took a long time just to get them to move!

It's as simple as taking a breath for a mage to gather mana. I knew it would be more difficult for me because I wasn't a mage, but still! I gave up a couple of times before mana even began to accumulate.

My willingness to use magic, on the other hand, was strong. I desired–no, I needed–to learn magic. It was somehow imprinted on my mind. Maybe it's related to my past, but that doesn't make much sense.

Well, maybe it does. It would kinda explain why I have so much knowledge related to magic. 

If something happened to me that took away my ability to use magic, I'd still have a core; it'd just be shattered. When it came to this stuff, I doubt I was just a bookworm.

Regardless of how I appear, not knowing who I am was terrifying. Not knowing where you came from or whether you had family. For God's sake, even my name has been forgotten. I was eager to learn magic and learn about my past.

But, if I was in my early teens, why do I have some recollections of being on a battleground?

Many thoughts passed through my mind as I gathered all of this mana into my body. I never wavered in my concentration.

Collect mana, condense it, and then collect some more before condensing it again. The procedure appeared to be an endless loop. It did, however, become easier.

When it came to this process, I would never be able to outperform any mage—even the weakest of them. It was a simple and immutable fact.

Fortunately, my efforts paid off after what seemed like a few days.

•Fiona's POV•

This is taking so long, I groaned, rolling atop my master's head and nearly falling off. But I needed to be patient.

It's been almost a week since this jerk died. In that time not much was done on my end, mostly because there isn't much I can do to begin with.

I would take over his body every four or so hours and feed him some of the fruits, but I stopped after the first day because it was so inconvenient. Instead, I chose to feed him my Mana.

According to what I've seen, Mana has no bounds. I don't even have any affinities, but I can do a lot. For example, I can strengthen my body temporarily.

So I began to temper my body with Mana, channeling it through my Mana Channels and into my blood, bones, skin, flesh, and pretty much everything else. For God's sake, even my teeth. I've got to look after my purely whites.

So I conducted a small experiment, nothing too dangerous. All I did was send Mana into Austin's digestive tract, and it worked like a charm!

Unfortunately, this would not last indefinitely. He will need to eat at some point or his body will go into starvation mode. His muscle mass would plummet, which is something we don't want.

Nutrients are required by all living things. Magical Breasts, like myself, can go a few days without eating or sleeping, but we needed to eat at some point, and sleep would allow the mind to rest.

I need to keep his lovely face. He'll be such a heartbreaker in the coming years.

During the night, I would simply surround us with a cannon of Mana to keep us warm. That didn't work out so well! I wished I possessed Fire Magic.

I spread my Mana around us to see if there was anything edible nearby, but there wasn't much. There were only a few dozen wolves.

You know, nothing much. 

We did, however, survive. Perhaps the wolves had forgotten how to use their noses. To be honest, it was extremely traumatic. This idiot master of mine should pay for my therapist.

Nothing else happened besides a little cultivating. It was also tedious, but it was preferable to fleeing from wolves.

So I'm sitting on his head when an unfathomable amount of Mana erupts from his body, sending me flying a few meters.

"Shh-Shot! Did he fail?!" I was panicking because I had no idea what to do. Where did all of this Mana come from?

My gaze darted between Austin and the sky as clouds formed. Something is definitely wrong now. I understand that this has most likely never been done before, but still! I'm sure I'm going to strangle us or something.

When I took a closer look, I was perplexed by what I saw. He was in fact doing it! The shell of a core began to form gradually.

All of the Mana he had accumulated over the previous week was crystalizing and piecing itself together into a small golden orb. I can't believe what I'm seeing right now.

The excess Mana accumulated in the sky. Dark clouds hung over us. A shiver ran down my spine as it took all of my willpower—almost equal to Austin's—just to stay awake.

Some of it was even making its way to my core, but I didn't have time for that... Or they did it. Hehehehe. I laughed as I lay on the grass, my gaze fixed on Austin. I wanted to be present for everything that happened here.

I was also cultivating my own core while doing so. What? I'm not going to waste this opportunity. Nero has no idea where all this Mana came from, but I'm going to use it.

• • •

I treasured every second of those few minutes that felt like hours. I doubt I'll ever get another chance to see this. Is it possible for a human to create his own Mana Core? Ha! That is something I would never believe unless it was happening right in front of my eyes, which it was!

As the final piece of his core formed, all of the cracks began to disappear, revealing a fully fletched Mana Core—and a rather powerful one at that. The sky above cleared, and the ambient mana began to disperse throughout the forest.

I didn't finish my first layer, but I made a lot of progress in one week. As I approached him, I wondered what all the fuss was about.

Granted, we didn't have much information, so it's possible that's what was meant to happen. There are many unanswered questions, but for the time being, I'm going to look into his core and see what makes it so unique.