Chapter 113: Core evolution.

Chapter 113: Core evolution.

Now that the time had come for me to evolve my core, I was a little anxious, to be honest. What if I made the wrong choice and fucked up my build? Cores were an essential skill to any classer, and I had faced the fear of losing it permanently once before. Any choice I made now might be one I could come to regret in the future.

After a moment, I resigned myself to my fate. Hard choices still had to be made.

My first option was [Dark Revolving core]. From its description, I could tell that this core leaned further into the ability to absorb other types of mana. My current absorption could be doubled, though it came at the cost of some mana as well, which might just cancel out the increase if I was unlucky, though I doubted that the system would offer such an option.

Furthermore, the revolving core would allow me to revert converted mana back to its previous element. I couldnt see the use of such a function right now, but perhaps its future growth would be worth it.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

Unfortunately, it only had a small mana capacity, the same capacity as I had now, which would limit my skill usage. Now that I had gained [Sword laser], that weakness felt especially grating.

The next core, or should I say cores were the [Twin chaotic cores]. This core somewhat solved an issue that I had been dealing with for some time now. When using [Ghost apparation], I would lose any built-up overloaded mana in the transfer. This gave me a momentary weakness after apparating. Fortunately, [Onyx chain wind] went a long way toward solving this problem, since the skill remained active while apparating.

Beyond the growth potential of this second core, there wasnt much the core could offer me, apart from the small boost to overloaded skills. Furthermore, it, too, had a small mana capacity, though technically I would have access to twice as much mana thanks to the number of my cores doubling.

All in all, it was the perfect skill if I wanted to specialise in overloaded mana. That was also the thing about the skill that scared me though. If I overinvested into overloaded skills, only to face an enemy that was immune to them, then I would be helpless. Right now, I still had the option of broadening and expanding my future build, and I wasnt willing to give up that option yet. Choosing [Twin chaotic cores] felt like closing fifteen doors to open one.

All this meant that the final skill was the most appealing one to me. It felt like an all around upgrade that could still switch to a different path if it became necessary in the future.

[Overloaded combustion core] would increase my mana output outright, while also giving me the option to revert the overloaded mana back to normal, giving me some much needed versatility. Perhaps most importantly, the core had a mediocre mana capacity, an entire rank above the other options. I wasnt really sure how large the differences between ranks were, but it felt like a significant upgrade.

All in all, this core had the most versatile growth potential and boasted the largest upgrade when it came to the basics. I felt assured that this was my best option.

I stepped over to the centre of the clearing and called out into the forest.

Hey guards! Im going to tier up my core now! Make sure nobody disturbs me while I do that.

Instead of a verbal reply, one of the cloaked men popped up and nodded slightly, before disappearing again. Huh. My uncles guards sure were professional.

I suppose they followed me into the goblin dungeon as I searched for a secluded spot where there was plenty of dark mana. Eventually, I chose the boss room. After decapitating the weak tier 2 hobgoblin and receiving a shitty tier 2 dagger as a reward, I calmed myself in preparation of what was to come.

I sat down in the centre of the cavern and steeled myself as I picked the skill, bracing for the wild rush that came with tiering up core skills.

As I mentally felt the skill appear on my status screen, I felt the mana around me change. [Weak mana sense] picked up on a strange wave of dark mana that was slowly forming around me. Strangely, the mana stayed at arms length from me, buzzing like a massive swarm of tiny bees. The hum of the mana slowly intensified, and the mana started to course around me in a stream, almost like they were dancing to their own tune.

Meanwhile, I felt my core shift, unprompted. The tiny black marble undulated like a heart, before stretching until it started to tear. As this happened, intense pain that [Dark form] didnt seem capable of stopping assaulted my senses. The core felt like it was a part of me. As it tore, it felt like my heart itself was being torn into pieces. After what felt like an eternity, the core had turned into a mat black ball the size of a human eye with several holes in it. The holes themselves were the size of my previous core, the circumference of a small marble. Five of them dotted the core, which looked like a torn piece of clothing, with dredges of black mana barely hanging on like loose thread.

[Overload Aura](100%)

Tier 3 skill.

Expelled overloaded mana can be turned tangible at will.

Expelled overloaded mana can be manipulated by the holder and will dissipate into ambient mana more slowly.

Use this skill repeatedly or creatively to increase skill progression.

Tier 4 unique upgrades:

[Method to madness]

Expelled overloaded mana follows patterns attached by the skill holder and can now be used to cast spells.

"Mana must deny itself at your will."

[Crawling road]

Expelled overloaded mana becomes infectious. Any pure mana that comes into contact with it will slowly become unstable itself.

Non-dark-aligned mana's infectiousness is half that of dark-aligned mana.

Unstable mana will slowly become stable after losing contact with your aura.

"Mana must share your pain."

[Part of the great sight]

Give sentience to your mana through sacrifice. Sentient mana can carry out tasks given to it and remains loyal to the skill holder.

"Mana must be elevated above mortality."

My eyes were wide as I stared at the system's notification.

"What. The. Fuck."