Chapter 318: Golden Core

Ned left for the Forgotten Pint.

But arriving at the inn has put Ned's patience to test. He was, once again, asked to help the inn served the remaining guests. By remaining, the seats were nearly filled.

Su'aya helped with a happy face, aside from Su'ayun. That from time to time she smirked at one of the tables of Hunters. Perhaps, she was annoyed by their relentless need for her service.

Teklavit served with a quiet pace, unsure if this was because he lost to Ned's mock battle, or was it because of the upcoming Hunter's Exam.

But Master Claire spare none of them. Regardless of who they were, they were put to test to serve the inn's guests.

I'm also a guest here, am I? Ned thought with a slight grin after he collected water in a wooden jug.

After that, Ned nimbly ran the inn in circles. It was only that Lady Githa arrived Ned had the chance to leave.

Eating the food he was given, which put Ned in a cheerful mood since it was free, Ned left for the backyard of the Forgotten Pint where he, with Teklavit and the twins, had practiced.

There, Ned threw a glance at the marking on the ground where he and Teklavit had fought wildly. Grasses bent in uncertain directions like a storm had passed just to wreak havoc. There were old markings, like a scar over an old face, alongside the walls but Ned was certain these were a story for another time.

Ned walked in the middle of the backyard where the sun was almost exactly over the top but the beams were directly impeded by the looming clouds.

Ned looked over his shoulders, and behind him. Sensing he was safe to produce the book from his spatial inventory, he focused. In a blink, the leather-bound book appeared over his hands—

"Here to train?"

Ned spun around with his hand the book he held while the sword-arm he instinctively produced the Krisalix.

Shit! I should have used Detect, Ned scowled from the thought of his lacking.

But there was no one behind him. Instead, he looked up to the only window from the south part of the inn.

"Master Claire?" Ned said looking above, overlooking the green mossy wall below the window.

The buzz-haired owner of the inn nodded as he looked below Ned.

Ned cursed himself and thought, I should have known that some people can hide their presence. Ned once again hissed.

"Don't worry, Ned!" Master Claire covered the edges of his mouth as he talks to Ned, which was more of a shout. "I don't bite. Keep it going." With a wave, he left Ned upon closing the window.

Ned could say nothing but use the skill Detect.

Under his display, there were several movements, but he knew these were the people that stay in the Pint. Ned disregards the thought that they were there to check on him.

Aside from the wooden door behind him, which was shut off from his side, and the window above, there was nothing they could use to watch over Ned. Unless they dug the half a meter thick of the walls of the Pint.

Ned withdrew the Krisalix back to his Ring and opened the book and flipped to the page where the spell Oblix Peruro was written. Ned took a mental note of the specific page and withdrew it back to his Ring.

"Have you gotten all of them?" Ned whispered under his breath.

[I am, Ned.]

Ned smiled. Now with the content of the book memorized, he doesn't need to reproduce it anytime he wanted to learn spells. They were all recorded with the help of ICE.

Before Ned conjured the spell, he checked his current status. Specifically the mana and his energy.

Without him absorbing the mana stones, his mana would have stayed below a hundred. He smiled, seeing that more than a thousand of mana was ready for him to use. Perhaps he needed a lot of movements, then his energy at 60% was more than enough to do the job.

Ned focused. "A tenth of my mana." He raised his hands, although unnecessary since the spell only requires his body to be at a top shape to start the spell, to feel the mana flowing throughout his body. The warmth he felt at the tip of his fingers like he came from a frigid state and deep them into warm water. The more he focused, the more Ned could feel prickly sensations crawling through his skin. "A tenth of my mana." All the feelings then vanished instantly like it was never there in the first place.

"What happened?" Ned asked under his breath.

[The flow of your mana and the flow needed to conjure the spell was not synchronizing.]

[Try to alter the flow of your mana.]

"How?"

[It is for you to find out, Ned.]

Ned frowned. Of course, ICE couldn't explain it if she has not analyzed it in the first place, Ned thought.

The spell says a tenth of mana must come from the Core.

"The Core." Ned focused and put his thought inside the crystal Core.

After the Prime Evolution evolved, this was the first time that Ned examined the Core Rassus implanted in him.

Ned's thought shuddered. He was standing naked before the Core. Darkness enveloped the space around him. Aside from the black mist that covers the crystal Core, there was nothing but blankness.

As soon as Ned reached for the Core, the mist evaporated.

Suddenly, the crystal Core shook and stopped after several seconds. The Core shook once again but this time it was only a flicker. Then like a snake shedding its skin, the surface of the Core cracked with a hiss, and what came next surprised Ned.

The Core wasn't clear anymore but gold. Darkened gold, instead of the usual gold. Golden along with dark mist oozing out the Core.

Ned's thought was cut off after hearing a soft voice.

[Ned.]

[Something is going on within your body.]

Silence was all ICE received. She continued.

[Something is trying to change your body from within.]

[Here, take a look.]

Under his display, ICE showed Ned what she had interpreted from the bits of pieces that were currently going on inside of Ned.

[Prime Evolution Rank 1.]

[2, 000 Cores are needed to evolve to the next rank.]

[Next rank, Prime Evolution Rank 2.]

And then a series of unintelligent digits and letters were displayed.

Shit! Ned cursed inwardly and said, "2, 000 this time? Damn you Ra—" Ned sighed.

Not that he could do anything about it at the moment. Rassus was like a virus inside his body that ICE needed to find a cure. But how could she if her database shows that this was the first time that she encountered this kind of virus and no other data was available except for Ned to find it personally?

Ned focused on the task at hand. This time, instead of controlling the mana in his body, he focused on the Core. Now that he did this, he vaguely remembered that in the world of Earflgard, being both sentient or not, all were connected by a Core.

Then the book must be written with Core as the basis. All this time, he was conjuring Fireball like how he used to conjure it. But what if the mana he was using must come from the Core instead of his body.

Problem was that his mana was scattered all over his body.

"What if..." Ned rubbed his chin as he stood in the middle, unmoving. "What if I store the mana inside the Core as one? Was it even possible?"

[I recommend not doing it, Ned.]

"Why?"

[We do not know what the Core can do to your body. We have yet to learn more about that.]

[Also.]

[It could be an entirely different source. Try to imagine the pure mana in your body fusing with that unknown.]

"But doing it that way. Perhaps we might have a chance to understand what the Core is about. And why Rassus was doing all these?"

[Possible. But my inability to understand the subject means it was something that the Empire of Sskat does not have.]

To think that even the Empire does not have any records or data about Rassus was something...

[Incomprehensible.]

Was about to say mysterious, but if you put it that way, then so be it.

[Mysterious was something we do not use but exists.]

"And in this world, they have tons of it." This time Ned pinched the bridge between his nose. "Then what do we do if it's yet to understand?"

[We study it.]

"There it is," Ned said along with a satisfying smile. "I will expose myself to the incomprehensible and you be the one to comprehend it."

[Fair enough.]

"You know what you have to do if something is about to happen to me. If it's something that would take my life, then activate it."

[System is on standby and ready to assist the host.]

[So be it, Ned.]

[Do what must be done to fulfill the Becoming Legend Protocol.]