The hyena's lifeless body slumped on top of Klein. The conflict left him breathless and drenched in blood. His limbs felt heavy, drained from the effort of defending against the savage beast. Exhausted, he remained still in the warm embrace of the blood and the lifeless hyena, contemplating and easing his heartbeat.

[Achievement Unlocked!]

[Child of Law - You have comprehended a law of the universe before reaching copper rank.

+5 to all attributes.

+5% efficiency to all attributes.]

[You have learned the skill, Essence Manipulation (F).]

Energy pulsed throughout his body, driving away some of his sense of weakness. He knew it was still far from his peak, but he'd take it. It wasn't supposed to be this difficult. Of course, the resistance was a little less now that he gained some points, but that...

Klein stopped thinking as a realization struck him. The sphere only expelled energy when it spun and contorted. Perhaps that was the key.

With that thought, Klein drew his will and challenged the black sphere again. But this time, he didn't try the same way he had before. Instead, he channeled his will into the black sphere, not simply trying to draw energy from within it.

Klein willed the sphere to shake and contort. It did. Although a little sluggish, there wasn't much restriction like before.

For a brief moment, everything faded away, leaving only the black sphere in his mind. His breathing steadied as he took a deep breath, the tension in his body dissipating slightly. The energy pulsed out of the sphere as it turned.

The burning feeling of the energy flowing through him didn't rest, even though summoning his powers became a lot easier. The more he poured his will into it, the faster the sphere rotated, spinning almost effortlessly as more and more of the burning energy surged into his channels, overwhelming him with cold, burning indignation.

It was still not the full capacity of a Fifth Circle Mage, yet the sheer amount of power within him, with so much less energy, was... overwhelming. That was all he felt, apart from the pain that was.

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With the power building within him, Klein decided it was time to let go. He seriously couldn't endure it any longer. With a thought, the energy gushed out of his body in a torrent of force, flinging away the heavy corpse of the hyena a dozen meters. It was almost effortless, crazily easier compared to what he went through to kill the beast.

Klein let out another breath of relief, making a fist. Not so powerless anymore, though he had to figure things out soon enough.

Then the pain struck him.

Klein felt a throbbing pain intensify within his head. He wheezed for breath, sitting up, feeling like a novice again. After a few minutes, his pain settled in as he turned his gaze to the hyena. It lay still in eternal peace, its body surrounded by grisly blood.

The beast was clearly awakened, even if this world didn't run on the mana system. That meant there was a chance of getting an energy core out of it.

There really was a core in the hyena's head. It was smaller than a peanut, oval and completely black, full of foreign energy, a similar kind to the one coursing through his channels.

Klein wasn't sure what to do about it. Although mana cores were used in different kinds of mana constructs, this little one clearly wasn't a mana core.

Unwittingly, he rubbed his chin in contemplation, only to find his palm meeting smooth skin. His beard was gone.

What?!

Klein blinked, confused. Biting his lips, he finally examined himself for the first time since he awoke in this forest. It wasn't just his beard; all his body hair was gone. His head was bald, smooth like a balloon. There were no eyebrows either. He couldn't help but think he looked like a creepy alien, even though he couldn't see his face.

My hair is going to grow back, right? But it wasn't just about his hair. His body felt invigorated, brimming with life force. If he wasn't mistaken, he even appeared younger, with his smooth skin devoid of all the scars he accumulated over the years.

All but the one, the largest one of them, still scarred over his torso, coming down to his navel. Other than that, it was like a newborn baby in an adult body.

Klein couldn't imagine how all that was possible. He had too little information to even start investigating.

All that after I get into safety, Klein thought, redirecting his gaze downward. I need to find something to wear, too.

Running around naked in an unknown forest felt wrong, no matter how he looked at it. His eyes darted to the dead animal. Its fur could preserve his dignity if he came across any natives of this planet.

Considering the hyena and the green trees all around, there was a high chance of humanoid races living on this planet. Yup, clothes are a must. Can't have my dignity questioned when I come across them, can I?

Then his thoughts whirled back to the black sphere. The dimensional orb—it held all his belongings. Well, not all, considering he was the sole inheritor of an old Magus family. Most of his inheritance left home—now an impossible distance away. However, that didn't mean there was nothing useful inside the dimensional orb. The opposite, really. The sphere was full of materials necessary for survival in the worst environment possible.

Be it mana cores, essence stones, emergency supplies of food, meds, potions, weapons, and armor—the orb had them all in sufficient number for a year-long expedition. More importantly, it had power units to recharge Xin.

Now all Klein needed was to access it. Wasting no time, Klein sat cross-legged and reeled his mind back to the black orb. He established his will on it, swirling it to seize a small amount of energy.

He tried to access the dimensional construct's function, rushing his consciousness inside it. It was dark, as he recalled, but soon he found the outline of the belongings he left inside.

Without a second thought, Klein established his authority over them all and yanked them out.

A black hole with a radius of a meter manifested before him, and out came all kinds of stuff in a flood, making a heap on the ground.