After a few hours of recuperating, his wounds were completely healed. Viers had his healing factor but the medical supplies healed more than his low-level ability. After becoming more familiar with his regeneration, Viers separated his healing factor into two types, passive and active.

Passive meant he didn't spend any Victa but his wounds were being constantly healed albeit slowly. Active was the opposite, but Viers won't do it unless he was in battle or seriously injured. Although Viers felt his regeneration was still too slow even in active mode.

After getting healed up and had got some info on the cult, Viers wanted to return. A change of clothes later, he adjusted his appearance, made sure nothing was amiss.

Before the three cultists went their separate ways, Wesk gave him an address. There was an underground passage there that led to Styra Manor.

“It's inconvenient to go from the surface, we need to pass through the town’s gate, many eyes watching. Too many people come and go to the manor can attract unnecessary attention, so we usually use the underground passage to the main base directly under the manor.”

“Main base? An underground base!?” The word stirred a reaction from Viers.

Wow, how nice. I’ll make one if I have a base of my own. With some decent Earth element Path-seekers, it shouldn't be too difficult creating a subterranean facility in this world.

“How big is the base?” Viers was brimming with curiosity.

“Hmm, about twice the size of the manor I suppose,” Wesk answered.

About a hundred meters area then, perhaps they made a couple of floors. Like U-G 1 and U-G 2. Quite big...

Wesk and Abe offered to guide Viers for his visit to the underground base and to introduce him to the various people there. Viers agreed without delay. They made plans to meet at the newly given address at sunset since there would also be a ‘cult meeting’ about the aftermath and results of this operation.

Viers said farewell then carefully left the house. It was time he shed his cultist identity and changed back to a regular fat boy trainee with tier 2 talent.

Along the way, the town was bustling with activity despite the early hour. The town was only lightly damaged and the loss of life was kept as low as possible but the people were agitated nonetheless. Which he ignored completely because it wasn't his problem, despite being one of the perpetrators of the situation.

He reached his dorm when it was almost dawn. Yisha gave him a warm embrace, genuinely worried about him. Viers told her that he took shelter and hid until the commotion died out thus his lateness. Some trainees also took similar action since some were outside when the Ghoul attack began at yesterday’s sundown. Viers was among the last to return.

“I was so worried! Are you okay? No injury?” The matron hugged him like a mother hugged her lost child.

“...It's fine, Mrs. Yisha. I just hid until the danger passed. I wasn't even in danger, not a glimpse of the Ghoul or any kind of battle. I was quite lucky.”

Viers wore regular clothes without illicit baggage so there wasn't anything suspicious when Yisha hugged him.

Viers left his illegally obtained items at the safe house, there was a treasure chest look-alike with magic lock available for him and he made use of it immediately. Wesk assured him that his belongings were safe and secure but Viers remained skeptical.

Alas, Viers had no other options. He couldn't bring his new sword, dagger, and cores to the dorm. If someone found him possessing said items, the consequences would be dire so he could only use the chest and hope no one would steal his hard-won items for the time being. The key was safely tucked in his pocket.

“The Radiant Lady blessed you, Viers. Don't forget to say your gratitude the next time you pray.”

If ‘Auntie’ Estelle would give anything to me, it wouldn't be a blessing but a smiting. A Holy Smite!

Fortunately, she didn't, because I’m still around and kicking. Saying ‘the Goddess’ every time is a bit of a chore so I’ll call her Auntie. She must be thousands of years old but her looks wouldn’t be older than twenty-five.

Why? Because it is a fantasy world rule! No major ‘good’ character is ugly, especially women. I’m certain of it, calling her grandma feels wrong so... Auntie it is.

Almost all of his classmates were awake and gathered in the common room. They made some unimportant conversion with him then Viers left them to their own business as politely as he was able. Farley and Paina said they were glad he was okay however only one of them seemed genuine in his eyes.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

After returning to the sanctuary of his room and settling down a bit, Viers used his remaining three crystals and resumed his training session. Perhaps it was his healing factor or the medicine he ingested earlier. In any case, Viers was brimming with energy, no fatigue of any kind.

Deciding that he got better things to do than lazing in bed, he trained. Thirty minutes later, another crystal turned to dust. Viers felt stuffed with Mana at this point so he stopped.

Hm, since I got a special constitution, I thought my tolerance of Mana absorption is abnormally higher than other people. It appears I was mistaken. No jump in cultivation levels like other MCs for me...

Viers half-wished he could wolf down Mana-crystals without repercussions. He hoped with his unique powers, he could quickly rise in levels. A wish that didn't come true.

Wesk said he needed ten crystals in the span of three months. I already have ten crystals but I must wait for my body to digest it before I can absorb more. It seems my strength won't grow sharply anytime soon, sigh…

With a heavy disappointment, he stopped his Mana-mastery training. Now that he had reached maximum capacity, more meditation wouldn't do him any good. Viers thought about his two monster cores next.

Viers didn't try to absorb them because of the time constraint at the time and he didn't know what cores those were. If those cores were not suitable for him, he planned to sell or exchange them for something he needed.

Hope they are suitable for me. I also need to experiment with my monster-changing ability but my Victa pool is dry, it would have to wait.

Then there’s that sun pendant, there should be someone that could appraise the cores and pendant in the cult’s base. The training I could receive and the Arte collection entices me a great deal.

While fantasizing about his field trip later, Viers went to school as usual. Since no trainees encountered a mishap, the class was scheduled as normal.

“Today we will talk about monster cores.” All of the kids were already familiar with Nakala’s lecture at this point.

Nice, the topic that I was waiting for.

“All monsters have a core somewhere in their body unless the monster is in its infancy or haven’t yet mature. Level 1 and above monsters almost always possess said core. After killing monsters, take their cores, never forget this.”

“Just like a Path-seeker have levels, a monster also differently categorizes by their strength. We got an affinity to a particular element, so do monsters. Generally speaking, a level 1 monster can go toe-to-toe with a level 1 Path-seeker. Level 2 monster can match level 2 Path-seeker, and so on. Simple to understand, yes? Level 1 monster will drop tier 1 core is the rule of thumb.”

“Unlike us, however, monsters become stronger by consuming other monsters core. After consuming a great quantity of tier 1 cores, level 1 monster could evolve and raise in rank, become a level 2. But, if you kill this newly evolving monster, you won’t get a core because it hasn’t yet mature. The core seemed to dissolve after a monster’s evolution.”

Hoh… Interesting. Evolving monsters? One of my favorite childhood games.

“It is the same in case you kill a baby monster. A child of a pair of level 3 monsters usually is also level 3 since the moment of its birth. However, killing a monster too young won’t give you that sweet, sweet core.”

Oookay, monster baby protection act? Did Auntie Est make it this way to prevent baby animal's massacre? Hehehe.

“Monster cores are very precious to us, Path-seekers. They have many uses and magical effects, different from core to core. I’m sure you kids know that monster cores could be used to make magic item but it also had other uses. See that lamp above you? It’s a magic item to produce light but how could it shine on its own? A monster core can also be used as a power source. The maker’s skill makes all the difference.”

Most of the kids looked upwards as they heard Nakala’s explanation.

“Magic item is the term we use to items that had wondrous effects. There are magic items made with monster body parts and other magical materials. There are those created by monster cores only, and there are items that made using both cores and other materials combined.”

“Medicines and potions are also the same. Usually, they are made from herbs, plants, and monster body parts such as blood, saliva, and other things. Monster cores could also be used in medicines. Grind the core to powder then with the right mixture and right dosage, one could make a wondrous elixir.”

And poison, don’t forget poison. Medicine and poison are two sides of the same coin after all.

“Finally, the thing that will depend on your luck. You can absorb monster core like Mana-crystals. After absorption, the core turns to dust so choose wisely before you make a decision. What you get from the core is an Arte… well, not really, but it becomes an Arte as the result. You get ‘inspiration’ depending on what monster the core from.”

“Supposed you get a bird type monster core and you absorb it, you could get inspiration about that monster’s way of life. From that inspiration, you automatically get one Arte. It could be an Arte that allows you to fly or move faster as if flying. It could also a beak attack inspiration, which you could release with your hand or weapon.”

“If you absorb a dragon’s core, you might create an Arte that allows you to breathe fire. Absorb a core from a defense-heavy monster like a turtle, then it most likely gives you a defensive Arte. It’s a gamble, you could get something lame, or life-changing. There are a lot of stories where an adventurer suddenly becomes famous because of one good core absorption.”

I hate RNG. I really hate it. Will I ever be free from the curse of gacha?

“However, there is some limitation. You can’t absorb core that differs from your own type. A fire-type Path-seeker cannot absorb core from a wind-type monster, you simply can’t. No one is clear why this is the case, perhaps because the Mana type in our bodies reject one another.”

Like blood types? Eh, so be it.

“…That’s it for today’s lesson. The world is full of danger, living inside a town isn’t a guarantee of safety. I’m glad no one is hurt because of yesterday’s attacks. Please be diligent in training yourself. Unfortunately, some measure of personal strength is needed to live in this day and age… stay safe, kids. Class dismissed.”