Four Days Later:

Beneath the swaying branches of an ancient oak, Constantine stood before a colossal boulder. Embedded within it was a diminutive bluish core, its glassy surface reflecting the sunlight. The core protruded slightly above the stone's surface. A massive iron mallet rested beside him.

“Implant, start recording the experiment,” he commanded, already dictating notes. “The objective is to determine the hardness of mana against sudden shocks.”

The more he experimented with the cores, the more his curiosity intensified. Each answer only led to more questions, like peering at the tip of an iceberg with the bulk of its secrets still hidden from view.

Grabbing the mallet, he tried to lift it but staggered under its weight. His muscles strained, sweat beading on his forehead as he barely lifted it off the ground. Summoning the heat within his body, he pulled again, this time raising it high above his head. He swung it down in a wide arc, eyes squeezing shut. The jarring impact sent a shock through his arms, and the bang made his ears ring.

He opened his eyes to find the boulder completely intact. Not a single crack marred its surface. Instead, the maul's head bore a deep, spherical indentation. The core seemed to have absorbed the entire impact.

Constantine’s heart pounded as he approached the core. Kneeling beside it, he gingerly picked it up, examining it for any signs of damage. The core glimmered in his palm, flawless and unblemished. He marveled at how sharp his vision had become, and how vivid and varied the colors were. “Amazing,” he breathed.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, he dictated more notes to the implant. ‘Core appears impervious to physical force and able to absorb it with shocking efficiency. Requires further testing to determine limits.’

He glanced back at the untouched boulder, contemplating the implications. Despite previous tests showing it was unreactive with the mundane world, it also seemed extraordinarily tough.

‘Considering its low weight, it would make for an excellent material if it could be molded into different shapes.’ He envisioned controlling his mana to solidify and reshape it at will, potentially forming highly resistant barriers and shields.

His mind wandered, dreaming of a shield made entirely of mana, a translucent barrier shimmering with ethereal light, absorbing impacts and deflecting blows effortlessly. With a sigh, he returned to reality, knowing he was just at the beginning of his journey. The sun was already high. ‘I should go back, I already left the wolf alone for too long.’

Later the same day:

Constantine pushed the door open and entered his tiny hut. Scanning the dimly lit room, he muttered, “Let's see if you have learned.” Only a few rays of light managed to slip through the gaps between the boards covering the windows. Yet, he could see almost as clearly as in broad daylight, the purification of his eyes yielding great results. His gaze paused, lingering on a single corner where shadows seemed darker than the rest.

“Come out,” he commanded, and the darkness swirled and moved. The shadows retracted, and the room brightened. The dark pup was revealed, sitting in the corner, waving its tail. Its crimson eyes drilled into him.

Seeing that, he nodded approvingly. ‘It is learning fast. Faster than dogs.’ Initially, he was worried about how the young shadenwolf would respond to his commands. To his surprise, it seemed to learn with astonishing speed.

Taking out the small bluish rabbit core he used for the test, the pup twitched, showing its sharp canines. He could see that it wanted to move and snatch it.

“No, stay and wait,” he ordered, raising his tone slightly as he lifted the core higher. After a few moments, he said, “Now!” The wolf sprang up from its sitting position like a dark shadow with shocking speed. He loosened his grip on the core, watching the pup devour it mid-air. Its now brightly shining red eyes turned to him again, seemingly begging for more.

He just shook his head. “You’ve had enough. Sit down.” A satisfied smile played on his lips as the young wolf stopped in its tracks and sat down. The method of rewards seemed to work in controlling the little predator, making it eager to listen to his orders as there would always be a reward. Conversely, if the pup didn’t listen or acted against his wishes, there would be no treat, only a light smack on its snout.

As the wolf absorbed the core, the pattern on its back shimmered. Its dark fur seemed to blend seamlessly with the surrounding darkness. Constantine, his eyes alight with curiosity, kneeled beside it and hovered his hand closely above its back. The tips of his fingers brushed through the soft fur, tingling as mana coursed through them.

“Stay. Good girl,” he murmured, soothing the wolf into stillness. His curiosity quickly turned into excitement, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth. He could feel the mana flowing through the wolf's fur. ‘That pattern on its back. More mana flows through it than the rest.’ He lowered his hand closer to the intricate patterns of dark wine red and lighter shades of black. He could feel his fingers itch with the mana washing over them.

It was reminiscent of his experiment with the rabbit horn. ‘Implant, replay the scene of the experiment with channeling liquid mana through the thunder horn.’

His vision shifted, and he found himself back in his bed, holding the sparking horn. The memory was vivid, down to the smallest detail. It was exactly as it was on that day. This was why he always recorded his experiments through the implant, for future reviews.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

The horn crackled with energy, lightning bolts dancing along its length. Arcs of electricity leaped from one intricate pattern to another, the air humming with power. The room filled with the sharp smell of ozone as the electric charge intensified. ‘Slow down the replay,’ he ordered. The arcs of electricity slowed, the bluish flicker calming. Under closer scrutiny, he noticed that the patterns on it seemed to shine, with more arcs launching off them than the rest of the horn.

Heart pounding with curiosity and excitement, Constantine commanded, ‘You can stop.’

His visions shifted again. He was back in the present, kneeling above the tiny creature. Observing and feeling the currents of mana, his grin widened. It was a significant breakthrough. ‘So it has something to do with those patterns.’

Constantine leaned against the wall and grabbed a tiny rabbit core. His fingers tingled, urging him to devour it and suck it dry, but he didn’t relent. Instead, he moved away from the wolf. And reaching his cot, he took out a large, dark wolfish pelt from underneath it.

For an entire week, he observed the wolf using its power, experimented with the horn, the burning cat skin, and the shadenwolf fur. All the objects shared a common trait: distinct, yet oddly similar patterns that glowed, darkened, or reacted in some way to mana.

‘This is too similar to the trope of magic runes in the fantasy genre. Why does it feel so... expected.’ Although it was too mystical and magically inexplicable for his liking, it didn’t seem implausible. ‘Even with mundane electricity, by making it flow through certain materials or in specific patterns, one could transform it into magnetic force, plasma, heat, or light. To someone who doesn’t understand how electricity works, it would seem like magic. The same must apply to mana and those patterns.’

He shook his head, pulling himself away from overthinking. For now, he didn’t need to know why those patterns could affect mana. ‘I just need to learn those patterns and how to connect them to more complex ones. Let’s call the individual components runes.’ He nodded, liking the name.

Grabbing a quill and parchment, Constantine began to draw. His eyes flicked constantly between the hide and his expanding drawing, his hand moving rhythmically over the parchment. With one last stroke, he nodded. The parchment bore an exact replica of the pattern from the fur.

“Implant, keep recording this,” he muttered, commanding the device in his head. He then directed the same mana into the parchment. Mana surged, causing the air to shimmer, but it dissipated almost immediately. The pattern didn’t activate, remaining dormant.

Nodding, as he had already expected such an outcome, he grabbed the wolf pelt again. He channeled mana to his fingertips, watching the fur shimmer as the light around it dimmed. The patterns on the fur radiated warmth, pulsing, but were unable to fully activate. Although his non-liquid mana couldn’t fully activate it, he could feel the energy flow as he hovered his free hand above it.

“Truly fascinating,” he murmured. ‘So mana doesn’t flow through the monster parts without dissipating just because of the pattern; it must also be the material itself.’

Since two days ago during one of his experiments with monster parts, Constantine had observed a curious phenomenon. Mana could freely flow outside his body through certain materials, even in its gaseous form, without dispersing. Parts he called magical organs like rabbit horns, shadenwolf furs, and the fur of the fiery feline. Grinning at his discovery, he pondered its implications. ‘Let's call this new material property mana conductivity.

‘If there are materials capable of conducting mana, just as there are those like air or copper that cause it to dissipate, then there may also be mana insulators—materials through which mana cannot pass.’ The possibilities made his heart race and his pupils dilate. He envisioned forging armor to protect against mana powers, creating mana-powered circuits, and perhaps even more groundbreaking innovations.

He sighed, reminded that his relative poverty was a hindrance. He needed access to such materials and the techniques and tools to work with them. At most, he had a few mana conductors harvested from monsters.

Stopping the flow of mana, he refocused. He didn’t want to just use those patterns through artifacts; he wanted to freely call upon them. His heartbeat sped up, his grin widening as he imagined himself spinning magic circles, casting a fireball. Licking his lips, he became serious. ‘The now silly way wizards cast magic in anime now feels like a good idea, or at least something worth exploring.’

Although, he was always too ashamed to admit it to his peers. Afraid of them laughing at him. He was always into the fantasy genre. Especially those he would consider to be trash tier. He shook his head, ‘I am getting distracted too often. Could this body be malfunctioning with attention disorder?’ He wasn’t sure if something like that was possible.

Coughing, he refocused back onto the topic, ‘Can I form runes of mana itself?’ He could freely move and shape gaseous mana within his body and the liquid mana to a limited extent, even in close proximity outside. When he thought of it, it seemed plausible.

‘Using mana to control mana?’ It seemed plausible with the bits of knowledge he had. However, he let out a long sigh. Even if his idea worked, it was too far beyond him. He could hardly control the liquid mana to make it flow into his hand. To create complex shapes would require far more control than he currently possessed. Although his control gradually improved with practice, it was too slow.

‘To improve faster, I need to practice controlling liquid mana more. To do that, I need more cores. But that, even forgetting the supply issue, might ruin me mentally.’ He sighed again but then straightened his back. His eyes shone with determination. ‘In the end, it all comes to forming my own core. If I could produce liquid mana inside my own body, then I could practice as much as I desire.’ It was as simple as that; the only way forward was to form his core.

Just as he started to feel disappointed, he furrowed his eyebrows. Raising his palm, his eyes widened. There was another way. ‘Although it is impossible to form those runes outside my body without liquid mana, I should be able to draw them on the surface of my skin with gaseous mana.’

Excited, he tapped into warm mana circling within him, directing it into his hand. Looking at the wolf pattern, he shook his head. It was too complex and large. He couldn’t even say how many distinct parts it had.

‘Implant, can you flatten the pattern from the rabbit horn and project it for me?’ Light flashed, and the runes from the horn projected into his vision. There were only two 'runes' within the rabbit pattern, much simpler when compared to the wolf. Looking at the two side by side, he blinked. He could already see one rune they had in common.

‘Let's test this out.’ He bit his lips to calm his trembling hands. He could hardly wait to test it. Controlling the mana within his hand, he slowly and carefully shaped it, like painting. He etched the two rabbit runes onto his palm. The air shimmered around them, a faint radiance so subtle, he wouldn’t have noticed it without his improved sight.

Hooking the fingers of his other hand around the rabbit core, he whispered, “The circuit is complete. Now, let’s power it up.”