Al was baffled until he checked another blue screen that had appeared in front of him.

You have formed an [F Grade Core]. It will add Mana capacity and regeneration equal to that of F- Grade Will and Intelligence.

‘So it’s not a multiplier, but an addition huh...‘ Al was a bit bummed about that, but it was still an upgrade nonetheless.

In fact, he could already feel how the tiny core could hold a lot more mana than what it’s size would suggest, and it also seemed to have a slight vacuum effect on the surrounding ambient mana, pulling it towards it. 

Happy with the power-up, Al kept playing around with his new core for the rest of the day, learning how to utilize it correctly.

The next day, Al gave the manual back to Yuly, who seemed surprised to get it back so early. 

Al knew that for other people who didn’t have the System to increase their mana capacity and control, forming a core would be many times harder, so she was probably sure he hadn’t managed to do it.

In fact, he was pretty sure Yuly herself hadn’t managed to do it, which was obviously normal for a child, but he kind of wanted to help her form hers as a thank you for the manual.

“By the way Yuly, are you trying to form your core?” Al asked

“Well, only grown-ups can do that, I’m just preparing myself."

Al knew where she was coming from. Normal children wouldn’t have anywhere near the necessary mental strength and concentration to form a core, but with Al’s help it would probably be doable. 

“Well, I’ve already formed mine, and I could help you with yours too, Yuly!” Al knew she wouldn’t believe him just like that, but... 

She was looking at him like I was some kind of terminally ill patient. She was pitying him

Al decided to simply show her, so he took her hand and passed a trickle of mana through. Many people of this world wouldn’t even notice it, but Yuly should definitely be able to sense mana by now.

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And sense it she did. The look on her face did a complete 180 and now it glowed with admiration. “This... did you really...”

“Yup, do you believe me now?” Al said with his best smug face.

“Sorry...could you...help me with mine then...?” ‘Aww’

“Sure, let’s go to my room, there can’t be any distractions!”

Once they arrived, Al sat her down on his futon-like bed and sat behind her. He placed his hands on her lower back, and closed off his mundane senses in order to focus on the flow of mana. If mana were light, Yuly’s body would be a weak LED, and Al’s a Halogen lamp. The core in his navel a specially bright spot. 

He started pouring mana out through his palms and into Yuly’s navel, and could feel her squirming around as he did. He told her, “Feel the Ki gathering behind your belly? Try to keep it in there."

Of course, with her mental strength she wouldn’t do much, but every little bit counts.

Once his mana reserves were out, he pulled the last bit of mana needed from the air and added it with the rest. Now it was time to compress it. This proved a much more arduous task than with his own core, despite having Yuly’s help this time, since it was always harder controlling mana outside of your body than inside it. 

But, after about half an hour, Al managed to reach the point where the mana starts pulling in on itself, and collapsed onto the floor in a mess, sweating and heaving. To his surprise, when he opened his eyes he saw a message in front of him.

Intelligence has reached E Grade

This was incredibly strange. Al hadn’t expected another increase in intelligence for at least 5 more years, yet here it was. ‘Maybe forming cores is a super-efficient training?’

Then, he remembered he wasn’t alone and quickly said “It’s done,” Then saw Yuly next to him, asleep on the floor.

'Well, I guess it's normal. She was also trying desperately to contain her own mana after all.'

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Yulia woke up with a weird feeling in her belly. It was kinda...warm. Then she remembered. That boy, Al, had come out of nowhere, beat Koro, who could win against the big kids, and learned to read in a month. Then he formed a core...in a single day! And when he said he would help her form hers, she was sure he wouldn’t be able to, but she went with him just in case. ‘Did he actually... do it?’ 

Yulia looked around the unfamiliar room, and her gaze stopped on a bump beneath the blanket. It was radiating that warm energy called Ki. But it seemed... different from normal Ki. It was... fast. Yeah, it was fast and bright. Suddenly the flow stopped and Al poked his head from inside the bump. 

“Oh, Yuly, you’re awake?” She still didn’t like him calling her that, but she let it go, like always. “Do I... have a core now?” She was embarrassed, but she simply had to know.

“Yeah, you should practice moving your ma... uh, Ki around a bit” She ignored his weird correction and focused on the warm spot of her belly. 

It was...nice. It took her a long time to feel the Ki around her, and now it was finally also within her. She had always had a little, but now there was so much more. She willed it to cover her whole body, and it followed her command. Suddenly she felt stronger and faster, but just seconds later the warmth had completely run out. All this was only possible thanks to Al... maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.