"Mana Core? What is that?" Oberon asked himself as he stared at his updated status screen. The first thing he noticed was that some of his stats had improved slightly and then there was the new skill: Mana Core.
"A Mana Core allows the user to store mana within their body. With a Mana Core, one can control and absorb mana according to the core's current stage. There are seven known stages of Mana Cores, with each stage increasing the capacity for stored mana and unlocking unique traits and abilities specific to the individual."
He read the description out loud, letting the words linger in the air as he began to think deeply about it.
Oberon's hand slowly moved toward his navel, sensing something strange, something that felt both warm and cold at the same time. As his fingers brushed against the spot, he channeled mana into his palm.
He immediately felt it: a flow of energy moving from his core, through his arm, and finally into his hand.
It reminded him of the feeling of water running along his skin, but instead of flowing outside, the energy moved internally, weaving through his body like a stream under the surface.
The sensation wasn't strange. In fact, it was barely noticeable. He could only feel it because his sensitivity to energy was far greater than that of a human.
If he truly concentrated, he could even sense the movement of his own blood coursing through his veins.
But he chose not to focus on that.
Instead, he simply allowed himself to get used to the presence of this new feeling, of mana circulating within him, flowing from the core that now resided near his navel.
And like how he could feel the pulse of his blood, he could now sense the mana resting inside his Mana Core.
"Haa…" he sighed, his breath soft as he thought more about it.
"Initial Stage, huh. What are the higher stages of the Mana Core… and how does someone even improve it?"
These two questions echoed in his mind. The system had told him it could be advanced, but hadn't explained how. As always, it gave only the most basic information, leaving the rest up to him to discover.
"Tsk," Oberon clicked his tongue, irritated. But then suddenly, a thought came to him and he decided to try it out.
The idea was simple: he would create mana in his godly domain, just like before, and absorb it into his body the same way he had the first time. Maybe that was the way to improve the Mana Core, by feeding it more and more mana.
"Maybe that's the way," he whispered quietly to himself.
With that, he closed his eyes and began to slowly generate a thread of mana.
A faint blue string appeared in front of him, growing thicker and thicker as he focused. He kept his eyes shut, channeling more and more energy, until the string was about as thick as a finger.
Then Oberon opened his eyes.
The mana now surrounded him in a circular formation, hovering gently in the air. Without hesitation, he bit his thumb again. A few drops of golden-red blood began to drip out, but Oberon ignored the pain and extended his hand toward the floating mana.
Immediately, the mana around him began to tremble, then slowly, it was absorbed into his body.
The familiar wave of warmth and cold spread through him, washing over every limb and muscle. But unlike before, it didn't feel overwhelming.
In fact… it felt comfortable. Almost pleasant.
Oberon smiled faintly and allowed himself to enjoy the sensation. Ten minutes passed. By the time the last of the surrounding mana was absorbed into his body, the wound on his thumb had already healed.
His body felt normal again, just as it had before. But the area around his navel, where his Mana Core resided, felt slightly warmer than usual.
That surprised him.
Curious, Oberon sat down in the soft grass and closed his eyes once again. He focused completely on the region of his Mana Core, wanting to feel and observe everything happening there.
What he sensed was a small, nail sized orb, glowing with a faint blue light. The Mana Core. It was tiny, barely the size of a fingernail, and spherical in shape.
But… something about it had changed.
Very slightly.
So small, in fact, that no one would have noticed unless they were paying extremely close attention.
"It's… a little bigger, isn't it?"
Oberon opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth rising into a grin.
"Hehehe… so I was right, huh?" he chuckled softly.
Without wasting another moment, he repeated the process.
Again and again.
And with each attempt, each successful absorption of mana…
The tiny blue orb grew.
Little by little.
But undeniably.
The Godly Domain of Oberon was now surrounded by long strings of blue mana, flowing and twisting through the air like ribbons of light. The mana constantly brushed against his outstretched hands, and a soft, slightly mad laugh escaped his lips.
"So that's it!" he roared, his voice nearly cracking from pure exhilaration. "I understand! HAHAHAHA!"
At last, Oberon had discovered how to improve his Mana Core.
And now, with nothing else on his mind but growth, he became lost in the rhythm, absorbing mana, laughing quietly to himself, then falling into silence as he created more. The cycle repeated, over and over, as he immersed himself in his breakthrough.
At the same time, Osirs had already spent two days in the Black Sword Group.
During this time, he had learned many things, first and foremost, just how powerful the Averze race truly was.
From what the senior members of the group told him, a few of the elders had already reached the Mind Stage. However, there were none among them who had stepped into the Soul Stage, at least, not yet.
Aside from learning about the hierarchy of power, Osirs also learned more about the coming war and the Black Sword Group itself.
The Black Sword Group was an elite unit of highly trained and talented swordsmen, drawn from all age groups of the Averze race. Among them, Osirs was currently the youngest.
The group was led by a man named Colland, who was at the Body Transformation Stage, close to breaking through into the Mind Stage. As the eldest son of one of the race's high elders, Colland held a prestigious position.
Beneath Colland was the Vice Leader, a man named Greiz, who had also reached the Body Transformation Stage. Unlike Colland, though, Greiz had only advanced two years ago and wasn't close to breaking through yet, or so the senior who trained him had said.
Below the two leaders were the Seven Black Sword Generals. Each of them was close to reaching the Body Transformation Stage as well, though for now, they were still at the Blood Cleansing Stage.
Under each General were two Squad Leaders, forming a total of sixteen Squads. These squads were flexible in structure, able to assist one another as needed, depending on the situation.
Currently, Osirs had been placed into one of those squads, under the command of Squad Leader Vermold.
He had met Vermold on his first day at the Black Sword Group, accompanied by the squad's Vice Leader, a swordsman named Ethan.
Osirs had been assigned to follow Ethan and learn from him, both in combat and in discipline.