"Not Mana, a Mana Surge," Syn corrected him. "I think they'll teach it to you this year, but in general terms, it is a condensation of magic that happens for a reason."

Nyk narrowed his eyes.

"Beasts can feel and manipulate the ambient mana, right?" Nyk nodded. "Well, a Mana Surge happens when they interact and manipulate it, affecting the world." Syn continued, "When they do so, they use what we call Magic."

"Yes," said Nyk in response, his eyes opening wide.

"Through Mana Surges, beasts can create strong gusts of wind, harden their bodies, or in the case of sea beasts, throw strong water shots to attack our ships," explained Syn. "Some can even give the mana around them physical form, creating a sharp aura that cuts our nets and damages our ships from below." she gestured, moving her hands like waves. "Normal weapons break against them. That is what makes them so strong. Before the Island, there was not much we humans could do. Killing even one was, and still is, extremely difficult with normal weapons."

He nodded again. This was all common knowledge.

"When beasts die, they generate a strange Mana Surge." Syn began moving her arms around in circles. "When a beast is dying, their internal magic goes into disarray. The teacher said that their essence loses... cohesion, I think, and it causes a different type of Mana Surge. It is very similar to what happens in a natural disaster like a tornado or an erupting volcano." Her waving, slowing down and turning circular. "This different Surge is called a Broken Surge, and it affects the ambient mana, which, now infused with magic, affects the surrounding area differently."

Eyes sparkling, Nyk waited for her to continue.

Syn stopped and hesitantly added, "My mom said we discovered this Broken Surge centuries ago. We have been studying it since then, trying to understand why or how it differs from a normal Mana Surge... She used to say that Mana Surges had an order that a Broken Surge didn't and spent her life trying to understand why before moving here."

Nyk's eyes were fixated on her. His lips tightly closed to avoid asking questions that could stop her from talking.

Syn moved her hands together, the space within her hands a sphere, and she clasped her hand as if crushing the sphere. "Anyway, the teacher said that when a Broken Surge happens, the System attempts to consolidate the ambient mana AROUND the Broken Surge to turn it into something physical." she stopped and clenched her right fist. "It is in this moment, and only in this moment, when we'll be able to affect the result of a consolidation."

"Affect it...?" he asked, squinting.

Syn held up her left hand. "When a Broken Surge happens, for some reason, the System will kick in and prompt you with a list of options to consolidate into, the most common ones being Mana Stone, Magical Materials and Magical Nutrients," she said, lifting her fingers one by one as she enumerated the options. "Whether you choose one or not, the System will pick the first option by default."

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

Nyk's face was the perfect embodiment of confusion.

"Ok, Let me explain it better. What I mean is that when a Broken surge happens, the System tries to solidify it. To do so, it presents you with options ordered by their simplicity. For example, if you are out in the open, the first option you're often given is this," she said, opening her hand and showing the Mana Stone. "A high-quality Mana Stone is easier to create when ambient mana is abundant. And even if there is no one to select Option 1, the System will by default use it."

The Mana Stone... Nyk's gaze sat for a moment on it, promptly returning to Syn's eyes.

"The Mana Stone is not always the first option, though," she continued, "The teacher said that sometimes after a huge combat has taken place when there are a lot of monster corpses, the system presents either Magical Materials, which are often shining bones, leather, scales, feathers etc. or Magical Nutrients, which are things like meat or gelatinous spheres filled with different types of liquids..."

Syn's eyes squinted as she saw how Nyk hesitantly nodded and patiently waited.

"S-so..." said Nyk tentatively, "...you're saying that when a beast dies, magical energy comes out of it."

"Broken magical energy, a Broken Surge," corrected Syn.

"Right, so, broken magical energy comes out of it, and if you're nearby t-the blue screen will show and present you with o-options?" he said, confused, "Like, a, b, c, and you pick one?"

Syn nodded, "Yes, 1. 2. 3. and so on, you mentally select one, and the System will do its thing. In this case..." she said, pointing at the stone, "...it will solidify the ambient mana and the broken surge into a Mana Stone."

Nyk shrugged questioningly. "And in some cases, like after a huuge battle, the first option is materials or... n-nutrients?"

"Exactly. In those cases, other options will appear as the default option. Magical Materials or Magical Nutrients," she said, pointing first at the bones and leather scraps and later at the herbs and the pastry. "Apparently, the System attempts to maximize the output of the solidification process by selecting whichever is in excess around the Broken Surge."

"Okaaay?" said Nyk trying to grasp what she had said. "And?"

Syn looked Nyk in the eyes and smiled widely, a spark of mischief glinting in her eyes before continuing,"...and in some rare occasions, another option appears, the option of Cards," she said as she closed her eyes furrowing her eyebrows.

For a moment, nothing happened. Her eyebrows furrowed further in concentration, and a bright blue dot appeared in front of her, floating at eye level. The dot began to expand, rapidly growing. The blue floating rectangle grew until it was slightly longer and wider than her head. After a brief pause, it floated forward toward Nyk.

Nyk's jaw was hanging open. He had been getting closer and closer and tried to jump back in haste but wasn't quick enough to dodge the moving panel. Not that it matters, as the screen faded and traversed through his head. Once it was about a meter away from Syn, it turned, angling to float perpendicular to them both and moved to Syn's right until it was aligned with her bent knee.

Syn's eyebrows were still furrowed in concentration when she opened her eyes, a few drops of sweat forming on her forehead. "I am blocking most of the text in the panel, but there should be something you can read, so tell me, what do you see?" she said, a weak smile forming.

The Status Screen glowed and pulsated. Nyk approached the blue panel again, He could see many lines of text within it, but most were blurry and unintelligible, with only random letters readable. An 'S' here beginning one line, a number finishing the following line...

Nyk went through the panel word by word and line by line, but the text simply made no sense. "I can't read anyth-" He never finished the phrase. His eyes bulged when he saw that there were two lines he could clearly read among all that chaotic mess of unintelligible letters, almost at the bottom of the screen and in bright white letters.

> Card(s):

>

> * Wind I (White Quality)