Chapter 55

Keith woke up with a jolt.

From passing out till now, it felt like an instant. He hadn’t dreamed at all and was very disoriented.

After taking a few minutes to recover, he found himself lying on a medical bed, except this time he was in a small room.

Thinking nothing of it, Keith opened his status panel and found his Mana Erosion gauge at 89%. This was probably the highest it had ever been.

As a result, Keith felt incredibly empty – like someone had dug out his insides. He looked at his hands, almost expecting them to be see-through. To confirm that he still had flesh, Keith rubbed his fingers together, yet they were so numb he felt no tactile feedback. The disconnect made him nauseous.

“Crap,” Keith muttered, aghast by his condition.

He didn’t doubt that had he spent a few million more mana, he would’ve died on the spot. Handling the monster horde in two different areas had made him overexert himself.

However, he didn’t regret it.

What truly upset him was how long it would take to recover.

At 89% Mana Erosion, Keith would need a week at least.

Who would take over his position during that time?

With half of the Blockade Event’s top 100 missing, Keith being out of the picture would just make the situation worse. He was ranked 54th for a reason.

Keith suddenly smelt something delicious.

By the side of his bed was a dish of nutritious food, which he promptly wolfed down.

As he rested, around fifteen minutes later, the door to the room opened and a doctor walked in. “Hello, Mr. Walker. How are you feeling?”

“Empty,” Keith mustered some strength to speak.

“I imagine so,” The doctor took Keith’s pulse, saying, “Mana Sickness has become a frequent occurrence as of late. There’s ongoing research on how to mitigate its effects, but nothing has come up so far. As for recovery, meditation seems to help.”

“I’ll give it a try,” Keith responded weakly.

The doctor glanced at Keith’s empty plate and nodded with a smile. After checking up on Keith’s condition, he turned to leave. Just as he reached the door, he slapped his head and said, “Oh, I almost forgot. You’re currently in a time-accelerated Pocket Dimension located at the Blockade. You can stay here until your Mana Sickness wears off.”

Keith’s mood improved upon hearing that.

By staying in the time-accelerated Pocket Dimension, Keith could recover completely before a day passed outside. That way, he could fulfill his duty at Section B34 without someone weaker taking up his post.

Soon, Keith drifted back to sleep.

The next time he awoke, he remembered purchasing a Mana Reactor.

Keith checked his inventory and was relieved to find it sitting inside.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Knowing that it was a large construct, he directly collected it without withdrawing it. The moment he did so, he felt a significant improvement in his stats.

Opening his Collection Grimoire, Keith switched to the Function Shop and happily discovered a new function for sale.

Mana Core Technique – 100 Billion Collection Points

Description: A method to form Mana Cores within your body. Mana Cores are solid masses of concentrated mana and indirectly increase your maximum mana pool.

“Holy slimeballs!” Keith was so shocked by what he read that he abruptly sat upright.

The effect of this function was exactly what he had been hoping to acquire.

With Mana Sickness being the ultimate limiting factor to Keith’s damage output, he had desperately been searching for ways to increase his total mana. But besides elixirs, levels, and equipment, there were little to no options.

Thankfully, collecting a Mana Reactor had given Keith a bit over 70 billion CP. Including what he had saved up before, he had enough to purchase the Mana Core Technique right away.

As soon as he did, an influx of information surged into his brain. It detailed the exact method of how an individual should go about forming a Mana Core.

Closing his eyes, Keith started perusing the technique engraved in his mind, yet ten minutes later, he wore a bitter smile.

The technique was surprisingly easy.

As long as a person had a Mana Manipulation skill above level 500 and dabbled in arrays, they could form a Mana Core.

What made Keith feel a mix of emotions was how everyone, including himself, had overlooked the versatility of mana. They simply thought of it as a fuel source for casting skills when so much more was possible.

The problem lay in creativity.

Shackled by preconceived notions, nobody thought to experiment with mana to create something like a Mana Core.

Actually, that wasn’t entirely correct.

Keith knew of one person: Frisk, who had developed a Mana Body.

There was also Ska’dur.

Although not related to mana, Ska’dur manifested his stats as a form of energy.

Both individuals took a path nobody had taken before and were a source of inspiration.

Keith wanted to form a Mana Core, but his current condition prevented him from doing so. He didn’t dare spend any more mana. Feeling dizzy from his excitement, Keith carefully drank some water before drifting off back to sleep.

Over the next few days, Keith spent his waking hours meditating, finding it aided his recovery slightly. By the sixth day, Keith’s Mana Erosion gauge dropped to 14%, and he was finally healthy enough to attempt forming his first Mana Core.

Sitting cross-legged atop the medical bed, Keith closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. He went over the Mana Core Technique several times, ensuring he didn’t miss out on anything.

The first step was to choose a location within your body to house the Mana Core.

Keith selected his chest, next to his heart.

Next, Keith mentally focused on the mana within his body.

Under his will, a million units of mana gathered together.

Compress.

Compress.

Compress!

Keith’s consciousness squeezed the mana together into a ball three inches in diameter.

At this point, the mana started giving some resistance, as its natural state was to spread out to fill its container.

Keith paused briefly.

According to the Mana Core Technique, the minimum diameter for a mana core was one inch wide. Fortunately, Keith’s Mana Manipulation level was sufficient enough, so he continued compressing until the ball of mana shrunk to one inch.

Right then, a change occurred.

Like water freezing into ice, the mana ball solidified.

Keith didn’t relax, as if left alone, the mana ball would slowly dissipate over the next few minutes. What he needed to do now was inscribe arrays across the surface of the mana ball, locking the mana in place. The arrays involved weren’t overly complex, and in a few short moments, Keith successfully formed a Mana Core.

Even though Keith’s consciousness retreated, the dark blue Mana Core remained in place.

“I did it!” Keith cried out, punching the air in joy.

Taking a look at his status panel, Keith found a slight change.

Mana: 930,000/1,930,000 (+1,000,000 in reserve)

As Keith understood it, his body was a container, with limited space.

Forming Mana Cores effectively allowed him to store more mana even without increasing the size of the container.

How marvelous, Keith thought, his eyes bright.

According to the Mana Core technique, there was no upper limit to the amount of Mana Cores you could form, so long as you had high enough primary stats. There was just one teeny tiny downside. If not carefully handled, they could explode, and since they were inside your body, they might just kill you.

Keith shrugged, confident in his abilities.

He couldn’t wait for his mana to regenerate so he could form more.