The classroom was silent as Seraphine delivered her lecture, her clear voice filling the space. Jon sat attentively, his gaze fixed on the elf who spoke naturally about the mysteries of Aeloria.
"Creatures of nature follow the same laws of life: they are born through reproduction, grow and develop in balance with the world. However, dungeon creatures are different."
She paused, allowing the students to absorb her words. "Dungeons are considered nodes in space, places where mana concentration is abnormally dense. This energy, as it accumulates and stabilizes, crystallizes into pure mana cores. These cores give birth to the monsters inhabiting the dungeons and are known as beast cores."
Jon blinked, surprised. 'So that's why monsters exist infinitely inside dungeons... In the game, it was just automatic respawn. But here... the world insists on explaining the logic behind it.'
Doubt gnawed at him. 'Is all this just a creation of my mind? Am I dead? Is this a paradise? Or...'
He cut the thought off before he could sink into that useless cycle again. Taking a deep breath, he raised his hand.
Seraphine stopped speaking, surprised. "Yes, Jon? You may ask."
Jon straightened. "Would it be possible for humans or other creatures to also create a mana core inside their bodies?"
The room stirred with murmurs. It was not a common question for a first-year student.
Seraphine, however, answered without hesitation. "That is not necessary. Humans already use their own bodies as a core. Unlike dungeon creatures, our structure is naturally designed to channel mana through every cell. That's what allows us to cast spells without relying on crystallized cores."
She resumed her lecture, explaining the fundamentals of this difference, but Jon no longer listened with the same focus. His thoughts were running elsewhere.
'Back in my time, I knew well... the denser and more concentrated something is, the stronger it becomes. Pressure equals force divided by area. If I try to compress all my mana into a single point... could I achieve something similar to a beast core?'
The idea seemed dangerous, but fascinating. Without realizing, he raised his hand again.
Seraphine sighed discreetly, showing a trace of impatience now. "What is it this time, Jon?"
With some embarrassment, he asked: "Has anyone ever tried to replicate a beast core inside the human body? Or researched it deeply?"
The teacher's expression hardened. "There was indeed a researcher who devoted himself to that theme long ago. He wrote a treatise known as the Theory of Magical Manipulation. However, it was a theoretical study with little practical application. Most mages considered it useless, since learning spells was faster and more efficient. After all, humans are born with mana control already integrated into their bodies, almost as if it were one of their own limbs."
Seraphine turned back to the class, firmly closing the subject. But Jon remained silent, his eyes narrowing.
As soon as the lecture ended, Jon was the first to leave the room. He didn't even wait for Elara, Elija, or Nortis. He walked quickly through the Academy's corridors, his heart pounding as if he had just uncovered a truth that could change everything.
'I've mastered the basics of magic, understood the elemental arts... but this class illuminated me in an unexpected way. If I can create a core, I won't just store more mana. I could infinitely enhance my reserve, like the cultivators in the novels I used to read on Earth.'
The idea burned in his mind, so strongly he barely noticed the curious looks of passing students. When he realized, he was already in front of the library. He quickly paid the required points and entered, determined.
It didn't take long to find the book. The tome Theory of Magical Manipulation sat on a dusty shelf, as if no one had opened it for years. Jon pulled it out carefully, but the excitement in his chest was impossible to contain.
He sat at a secluded table and began reading, not even noticing the young woman in the far corner of the library. She pretended to be immersed in her own book, but from time to time cast subtle glances his way, curious about the unusual intensity with which Jon read.
The first pages, however, were anything but exciting.
"The author believed that mana was like the world's own vitality, flowing in balance among all things," Jon murmured in thought, flipping through with boredom.
'So it's just empty philosophy... I was right to think it would be useless.'
Even so, he persisted. Twenty minutes later, as he moved through the yellowed pages, he came across something different: a practical guide.
The author described, step by step, a meticulous technique to feel mana in every part of the body, guide it in detail, and beyond that, project it outward, interacting directly with the environment.
Jon straightened in his chair, his eyes widening. 'This... this is exactly what I needed!'
The moment he finished reading the instruction, the familiar alert flashed before his eyes.
DING!!! Skill Learned: Mana Control.
An involuntary smile spread across his lips. He even let the book fall onto the table, laughing softly. "This skill is different... it has no level? Cool."
His heart vibrated with joy. Another piece of the puzzle had fallen into place.
In the following hours, Jon finished the book, but no other surprise appeared. Even so, he didn't feel disappointed. He now held in his hands the tool he needed to begin his own tests.
He rose from the chair with a radiant smile, completely ignoring the discreet gaze of the young woman in the corner. His steps were firm, almost eager.
'Now it really begins.'
Without hesitation, Jon left the library and headed toward the private magic training rooms…
Far from the great cities, in a dungeon forgotten by time, slow footsteps echoed through damp corridors. A man walked alone, his silhouette indistinct in the flickering torchlight fixed to the walls. At first glance, he looked like an ordinary person—simple clothes, relaxed posture. But as he reached an ancient altar covered with faded runes, he lifted his face. His eyes were black as the infinite void, reflecting nothing but darkness. A grotesque, almost inhuman smile spread across his lips.