Senseofbeing
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Chapter 34 - Forming the Mana Core
🕑 Added 2025-01-22 16:53:16 +0000 UTCAlaric noted that it was lunchtime by the time he exited the Tutorial Rift. He settled into a chair facing Rowan, picked a piece of bread from his plate, dipped it in meat stew, and put it into his mouth.
The rich taste of meat stew coupled with the chewy texture of the soft bread made him delighted. “Mmmm, so good." He closed his eyes and savored the taste for a while.
“Looks like you are pretty hungry,” Rowan said smiling. “How did the training go?”
“I am famished,” Alaric responded between bites. He spotted a servant and requested his lunch. “The final mana rune challenge was exhausting.”
“Did you manage to level up all the foundational skills as you wanted?” asked George. The big kid scrutinized him closely.
The servant delivered his lunch. It was pre-prepared. Alaric merely shrugged and continued eating. “Maybe I did…who knows,” he teased his friends.
“Really? My fists are itching to thump someone,” Rowan retorted irritably. “Would you care to guess who they’re itching to thump?”
Alaric coughed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He ate his food in large mouthfuls and was done with his lunch in only a few minutes.
“You’re no fun,” Alaric complained but quickly added when he noticed Rowan flexing his fists. “Yes, I did. I cleared the Mana Grove.”
“That’s the fastest I’ve heard of anyone completing the Mana Grove,” Gareth commented. “Now what? Will you attempt to form your mana core today?”
Alaric nodded. There was no reason to wait any longer. He planned to form his mana core after merging the three foundational mana skills to develop the basic [Mana Manipulation] Ability. That step would elevate him from Tier 0 to Tier 1.
“Do you need any pointers or tips on forming your mana core?” George inquired.
“He probably has it all figured out, doesn’t he?” Rowan interjected before Alaric could respond.
Alaric smiled and nodded. Forming a mana core was nothing too complex. He had already studied the process in a book covering that subject. The procedure wasn’t different from what he had accomplished in his previous world.
The real challenge lay in refining the core as much as possible before advancing to Tier 2. This would provide him with a significant edge.
Every bit of advantage he could gain in the earlier tiers would strengthen him compared to other cultivators at the same tier. Additionally, it would pave the way for him to climb through the higher tiers, which were much more difficult.
“I need to rest a bit before I attempt to form my mana core,” Alaric declared, rising from his chair. “See you guys this evening.” He winked at Gareth, who was the most eager to explore the city later, all under the pretense of visiting The Argent Flask.
Gareth went a little red in the face as all of them started laughing. He crossed his arms over his chest and said, “Don’t act like I’m the only one interested in visiting the gi…er…The Argent Flask.”
George patted him on the back to calm him down.
“Of course, not,” said George. “We just want to show Alaric all the fascinating spots in the city.”
They chatted for a few more moments before Alaric retired to his room to rest.
***
Alaric was back inside his Cultivation Sanctuary. It was time for him to forge his Mana Core.
He had explored each of the seven chakra islands and identified that the solar plexus chakra island possessed the richest concentration of ambient mana out of all the islands. And, the central meditation ground inside the pagoda helped the most in cycling the mana inside his body.
Thus, he determined it would be the perfect spot for forging his mana core. But first, he had to merge his three foundational mana skills into the mana manipulation ability.
As soon as he thought of it, a notification popped up in his mind.
Would you like to merge the skills [Mana Sense], [Mana Absorption], and [Mana Control]?
Alaric mentally assented. He sensed a part of himself reconfiguring itself deep inside his soul. A moment later, the process was complete. He didn’t experience any pain or pleasure.
Congratulations! You have created your first ability - [Mana Manipulation lvl 1] (Common).
Alaric smiled. He concentrated on sensing the dense mana around him with his new ability. Hmm…this is nice.
Just as he anticipated, he could sense mana better over longer distances. It was also easier to absorb and command the mana in his immediate surroundings.
However, the most important benefit he recognized was that he now wielded voluntary control over mana manipulation. The system didn’t assist him in any way unlike when he used the respective skills.
He appreciated the system, so far. It was helpful and provided him with many resources that aided him in his cultivation. However, he couldn’t fully trust it. Especially, considering it could control almost everything about a cultivator’s progress.
His reasoning was simple. If something could bestow extraordinary powers, it could also revoke them. So, Alaric’s goal was to escape the clutches of the system as much as he could.
Who knew, if he would someday inadvertently become an enemy of the system due to a grim twist of fate? If he depended solely on the system for his power, it could spell real trouble in such a case.
Alaric shook his mind to get rid of those thoughts. No use brooding over such depressing things at the moment.
He prepared himself to forge his mana core. Generally, at Tier 0, cultivators could sense and absorb the ambient mana and manipulate the mana in their bodies in a limited manner once they acquired their respective skills.
However, they couldn’t store the mana permanently in their body without a mana core.
As a result, mana continuously leaked from their body. In order to form a mana core, first a cultivator had to learn to detect their subtle body and locate the central energy center that resided within it. Then, they had to learn how to saturate this energy center with mana in order to create their mana core.
However, without the [Mana Manipulation] ability, it was not possible to suffuse this central energy center with mana. The process of making the ambient mana submit to one’s will and transform it into their individual mana required conscious control and much more effort.
This was not achievable with skills or the aid of the system. A cultivator had to learn how to do it on their own.
Alaric closed his eyes and sensed his subtle body. He didn’t have to delve deep through the layers of subtle body like when he had to visualize the chakras, no.
The central energy center was on the upper surface of the subtle body and felt like a depression or cavity that needed to be filled. He activated his [Mana Manipulation] ability and grasped the ambient mana, channeling it gradually through his body to fill this cavity.
At first, he encountered resistance when he attempted to fill it. There was a thin membrane of energy - a barrier - separating the inside of the cavity from the rest of his subtle body.
Alaric didn’t attempt to brute force the process or cram as much mana as he could. That was one way of handling the problem but it was a wasteful tactic. Instead, he enveloped this circular membrane with mana and infused his will into it.
The concentration of mana surrounding the outside of the barrier gradually intensified. And then, he waited. After a while, the mana surrounding the barrier began to seep inside the cavity just like water or milk seeps into a dried raisin.
Once the inside of this cavity was fully filled with mana, it ceased accepting any more mana. It took him almost an hour to saturate this small cavity that felt like a small marble to his senses.
Congratulations! You have formed your Mana Core (Early).
Ding! Your ability [Mana Manipulation] has leveled up. [Mana Manipulation lvl 1 -> Mana Manipulation lvl 2]
Alaric ignored the notifications. He was not done yet.
The mana inside his mana core resembled water vapor - it was dispersed and barely perceptible. Currently, accumulating mana inside his mana core was easy but it lacked potency.
When he activated his [Mana Manipulation] ability for the first time pulling the mana from his mana core, he instantly observed a significant difference. The activation time was noticeably faster.
Still, he was not completely satisfied. He directed the mana inside his mana core to cycle slowly. Initially, it was slightly challenging to initiate the cycling process but once the mana inside his core began cycling, the momentum sustained itself.
Over time, the cycling speed accelerated. The mana inside the core pressed against the membrane from the inside. And, Alaric attempted to infuse more mana outside his newly formed core.
The process strained his will and the boundary walls of his core. However, he started noticing the results of his effort fairly quickly. Slowly, the pressure from both sides of the mana boundary wall began condensing the dispersed mana near the wall inside his core and transformed it into a fine mist.
He maintained the cycling of the mana and progressively, converted all the mana inside his core from a water vapor-like consistency to a fine mist-like consistency.
The mana inside his core was more concentrated now but it was still insufficient to meet his standards.
Alaric concentrated on his Solar Plexus Chakra, filled with a yellow spiral of purified subtle energy deep within the layers of his subtle body. He linked his mana core to the Solar Plexus chakra with multiple strands of mana and began feeding mana into it.
The Solar Plexus Chakra started absorbing his mana greedily and Alaric felt the mana drain from his core at an alarming rate. As this process unfolded, he practiced Pranic breathing, inhaling deeply through his right nostril and exhaling deeply through his left nostril.
He visualized his vital breath coursing through the back of his spine and settling into his Solar Plexus Chakra, nurturing it and empowering it to surpass the threshold of the purification process.
Once all of the mana inside his body was depleted, he felt a resonance from his Solar Plexus Chakra. It began pulsating rhythmically to the beat of his heart. The subtle energy started rotating, accelerating with each second without any effort on his part.
Finally! Alaric inhaled deeply and exhaled a long sigh. I’ve managed to partially awaken my Solar Plexus Chakra. To fully awaken all his chakras, he needed to undergo training inside the Pagodas. However, this was sufficient for his purposes.
Alaric registered the familiar beep of the system in his mind, signaling his success, but opted to disregard it for now.
He severed the mana strands linking his mana core to his Solar Plexus Chakra. Then, he directed his Solar Plexus Chakra to connect with his mana core. Delicate, yellow threads of energy from his third chakra extended toward his mana core and linked to it.
Subsequently, it began nourishing his mana core with the purified subtle energy accumulated within his Solar Plexus Chakra.
Alaric resumed absorbing ambient mana inside his core but this time, the process felt significantly easier. He willed his Solar Plexus chakra to spin faster and his mana core mirrored the action.
With each rotation, his core gathered more mana and it was filled with a fine mist-like consistency within 10 minutes.
However, Alaric didn’t stop; he continued cycling mana inside it, striving to compress it further. Now, fueled by the subtle energy of the Solar Plexus chakra, all resistance dissipated and within a few minutes, he succeeded in reaching the next level of density inside his mana core - a thick fog-like consistency.
His mana became denser and more tangible. Apparently, it took new cultivators almost a year to attain this stage.
Alaric opened his eyes and inspected his status sheet.
Name - Alaric De Vermond.
Age - 12
Stats:
Strength - 20
Agility - 20
Vitality - 16
Mind - 23
Soul - 29
Skills:
Nil
Abilities:
Mana Manipulation lvl 2
Mana Core Stage:
Gaseous Core (Peak) - Thick Fog
Titles:
Ally of the System (Signature)
Progenitor of Chakra Cultivation (Unique)
Chakra Cultivation Progression:
Muladhara (Root Chakra): Purified (Partially Awakened)
Swadhisthana (Sacral Chakra): Purified (Dormant)
Manipura (Solar Plexus Chakra): Purified (Partially Awakened)
Anahata (Heart Chakra): Purified (Dormant)
Visuddha (Throat Chakra): Purified (Dormant)
Ajna (Third Eye Chakra): Purified (Dormant)
Sahasrara (Crown Chakra): Purified (Dormant)
Unused Experience Points: 0
System Rewards Granted:
Cultivation Sanctuary
A smile tugged at his lips. This is okay…for now.
Comments
Justin
Hmm seems to be an issue only with the app on this chapter. I see it in a web browser just fine.
Subhojit Chakraborty
Where exactly? There are no skills because they have been merged into the mana manipulation ability :) I've listed the other stuff under abilities and mana core stage section.
Justin
Some missing stat sheet stuff under Skills:Abilities:Mana Core Stage:
Subhojit Chakraborty
I have uploaded chapter 33 :) Please check again. Thank you
Stephen Pearson
Thanks for the chapters! :-)
Ink's Muse
This might be mislabelled as 34, the previous chapter is 32.
