Mika became excited when she thought about the bonus reward. Everything she received besides the voidling information was amazing and well worth the effort she put into surviving the invasion.

Therefore, it went without saying that the reward she should get for putting her life on the line to kill the invaders should be more than the normal quest reward.

[For the achievement of killing 28 voidlings, the System has rewarded you with a hint of how you should create your own Mana Cultivation Technique as your bonus reward for completing the bonus objective.]

Mika’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull upon hearing her reward! This was worth more than the previous rewards combined, multiplied by ten!

She’s been simulating this in her [Mind Space Lv. 1] for hours, nearly every day, she’s been in this new world!

However, despite spending so much time on it, she hasn’t caught a glimpse of how she should move forward in her Mana Cultivation.

“Really?! You’re going to give me that as a reward?! How generous of you, System! Hahaha!” Mika laughed merrily, as she had been stressing over this issue for a while.

Progressing her Body Cultivation is rather straightforward; she just needs to train and fight, but her Mana Cultivation is different.

She hadn’t the foggiest idea how she should progress in that.

[That’s right, Host, but the System will only give you a hint on how to move forward. With enough time and practice, this hint should be enough for you to understand your path in the Black Core Realm.]

Mika’s excitement died down as she nodded seriously. Although the System still had the same cold mechanical voice, she could feel the weight of its words.

After steadying her mind, Mika replied earnestly, “I’m ready. Please tell me how to move forward in the Black Core Realm.”

[Mana is omnipresent, yet cannot be seen. The core’s duty is to conceive the unseen. The core is the nucleus, while the pathways are the roots—the more substantial the foundation, the more room for pursuit.]

“...”

Mika went quiet for a while as if her mind had gone blank.

Mika said nothing for a full five minutes; she was too speechless.

“What… WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!” Mika screamed while yanking her hair.

“What kind of bullshit hint is that?! I thought you were going to share some secret technique with me, not give me some fucking riddle!! What am I even supposed to take from that?!” Mika kept screaming, feeling like the System cheated her out of her bonus reward.

Her reward was supposed to help push her forward in her Mana Cultivation, but what was this? This was just shit she already knew!!

‘Is this really what I worked my ass off for?’ Mika thought, feeling both enraged and disappointed.

The System’s reply didn’t make her feel any better.

[Host, there is nothing wrong with the hint. If you meditate over it, eventually, you’ll find the answer to your problem. Every word in every sentence has meaning. It’s your job to understand that meaning. Once you comprehend that hint, your foreseeable future will be guaranteed.]

The System was still cryptic with its words, and when Mika thought about it, the System had never said anything useless. Everything it has ever said to Mika has helped her‌.

‘I guess I still can’t bring myself to trust the System, but is that really necessary? At this point, it’s a waste of time to keep on doubting the System. It’s not like I can control it, anyway. Whether I like it or not, I need its help.’ Mika thought, vexed.

Deep down, she knew her distrust of the System was just an excuse to cover up her disappointment and anger toward herself for needing to rely on another.

It might sound childish, naïve, and arrogant, but Mika has always relied on herself. During her past life, even as a kid, she knew how to survive without her parents. She then taught herself swordsmanship and even became the best swordswoman in the world!

Everything she accomplished was because of her own efforts! She didn’t allow her mind and body to be sullied by other people’s thoughts and expectations!

However, none of the power she has was earned because of her efforts.

The Absolute Sword Body? That was the System’s doing!

Her perfect Mana Core and Pathways? She could only accomplish that thanks to the System!

Her ability to understand this new world’s language so quickly? That was also only possible because of her having the System!

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The reason she survived the Spatial Disturbances when the voidlings invaded? The System, again!

Unbeknownst to Mika, even the world she’s living in and her wonderful new family were all thanks to the System.

Literally, everything she’s accomplished or obtained since she reincarnated was because of the System, not her own strength.

How could she not feel frustrated, disappointed, and angry with herself?

Because of this mindset, Mika failed to understand that she could only get these things because she worked hard for them.

Yes, the System helped, but that was primarily because of Mika’s ignorance, which nobody can blame her for.

It took a few minutes to stabilize her thoughts and conclude that she would trust the System more, regardless of her feelings.

With a heavy nod, she responded, “Very well. I will do my best to understand the meaning behind your hint.”

‘And this time, I will achieve results with my own power!’ She added inwardly.

[As you should, Host.]

After Mika finished dealing with the quest rewards, she turned her attention back to the panther, only to realize that bugs had swarmed it!

She dashed over to the corpse and began smacking off all the bugs!

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! I forgot that since I couldn’t hang the corpse to drain its blood, it’s more accessible to insects!” Mika cursed.

It also wasn’t just any bugs, but oversized nasty bugs! There were ants the size of an adult’s thumb, beetles bigger than her hands, giant mosquitos, and more! There were hundreds of these little buggers!

Worst of all, her sword isn’t that useful in this situation, and she still hasn’t replenished much of her mana. So, she couldn’t just roast them all.

The only thing she could do in this situation was to wipe off all the bugs off with her hands.

“Ouch! Ouch! You damn bugs, get off my prey!!”

“Ouch…”

“Ack!”

…They stung her a few times. More than she’d like to admit.

After a few minutes, she removed most of the bugs, but now she had even bigger worries.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the small bushes, grass, and dirt part ways. Her head quickly shot in that direction, and upon closer inspection, she realized a snake was making its way toward her!

It annoyed her she couldn’t drain the panther’s blood in peace, but she was also excited about another fight!

Unfortunately, she can’t drag on the fight too long, or the panther's corpse will be covered in bugs again.

Wielding her sword, Mika dropped the panther and charged at the snake.

She’s fought enough snakes in her past life that she was confident in killing this one quickly. She could clearly tell that the snake in front of her was a viper, so she had to wait for it to strike, then swiftly behead it.

At least, that was the plan.

Before she could even get close, the snake opened up its mouth and shot out a ball of purple liquid.

Mika’s danger sense exploded, causing her to dodge it instinctively. She barely had enough time to react to the sudden surprise attack!

“What… What the hell was that?! Can snakes shoot venom now? This sure is one fucked up world…” Mika muttered, now wary of any more surprise attacks from the snake.

She carefully circled around the snake, trying to get in its blind spot, but it kept its eyes on her at all times.

After around 30 seconds of this, Mika made a move! She closed in on the snake, just like she was originally going to do. The snake, as if reading her movements, opened its mouth and shot another ball of venom.

However, Mika was ready for it this time and dodged the attack. She didn’t want to waste more mana stones on healing serums, so she was extremely careful during this fight.

The two kept circling each other for another minute before Mika went in again, except this time she was committed. She had learned that it needed about 5 seconds after it shot a venom ball before it could shoot another one.

Thus, she took advantage of that weakness.

Like before, whenever Mika charged in, the snake opened its mouth and shot a venom ball, but she easily dodged the attack and closed in on it!

Seeing this, the snake raised its head and struck, trying to bite her!

She adjusted her body, avoiding the attack, then dropped her Katana, cutting its head clean off.

Its body twitched and dropped to the ground, then lay there motionless.

Mika let out a sigh of relief.

“That was much harder than I thought it would be. From now on, I won’t recklessly charge in whenever I encounter an enemy I’ve never faced before.” Mika swore under her breath.

It couldn’t be helped. This world and its inhabitants were too different compared to her previous world.

After catching her breath, she grabbed the snake, dragged it out of the bushes, and returned her attention to the panther.

Luckily, it wasn’t gone or covered in bugs.

However, after giving it some thought, she let it be. She didn’t have the capability of protecting her prey from all the bugs in this godforsaken jungle. Maybe she could if her Mana Core was full, but that would take another few hours at the very least.

However, right now, she had no way of protecting it.

In fact, the pain from the bites and stings she received from the bugs was becoming worse and worse as time went on.

Mika also made a connection that she should’ve realized sooner, but overlooked.

When thinking of solutions for food, she asked the System if it could help her identify any edible plants, but it said everything was poisonous.

She thought little of it and was only concerned about how she would eat, but now, with her arms swelling up after being stung several times, she regretted she had overlooked the probable outcomes of a jungle with only poisonous plants could have.

“Alright! From now on, I won’t touch the bugs. Jeez.” Mika muttered, wrapped the snake corpse around her neck, then climbed the tree she was in before the panther attacked.

The snake wasn’t nearly as heavy as the panther. So, she could take it up to her little shelter, hang it over the nearest branch, and drain its blood with little effort.

Afterward, she dug out its Mana Core.

“At least tomorrow, I should be able to enjoy and nice hot meal…”

Mika muttered before sitting down on her little branch bed, activating her [Meditation Lv. 1] skill, and recovering her stamina and mana.