8 Mana

The book Zale held was a magical tome simply titled 'Mana,' but the book itself was benign. He rifled through the pages quickly, anticipating some change. Nothing happened. He looked up to be certain he was still in the city library. That hadn't changed. The only anomaly was the book's content. He stood still and took a moment to read.

-Forming a core is merely the process of amassing mana into one area and then trapping it there. This creates a conduit for the generation of magic. Mana can be amassed in different forms and through different means. Likewise, mana is pulled from different sources, such as rituals and crystals. Cores can become stronger by drawing mana from these sources and using that mana to enhance it.-

"Is there anything I can help you with, young man?" an elderly librarian asked as she pushed her cart down the aisle.

Zale would have leaped from his shoes is his leafs had the strength to jump that hard. He nervously fumbled with the book instead. "Ah, uh, n-no thank you. I'm alright," he stuttered.

"That's good. We appreciate you coming here," the lady started, "All of you that use this library keep us going. Knowledge is power, and, well, I'm just happy to help people learn," she said and gave a dry chuckle with a smile that wrinkled her old skin.

Zale took a deep, quiet breath. "Thank you for taking care of the library as well. I have to go now."

"Okay then, young man. Be seeing you."

Zale gave an awkward but handsome smile and slowly stepped away. He pushed his dark hair back, flustered. He cracked open the book cautiously to confirm the contents were still that of 'Mana.' He clapped it shut and walked to the front desk with as brisk a stride as he could. "I'd like to check out this book," he said, passing the book and his library card with it.

The old man at the counter picked up and opened the book. Zale panicked for a moment, terrified that his secret would be revealed. However, the old man moved slowly and carefully as always, scanning the barcode inside the cover and on Zale's card. He handed the book back, saying over his reading glasses, "Have it back in two weeks."

Zale nodded with a wave of relief and left. A wave of heat blasted him when he left the building, but his thoughts were focused on the book that he stuffed into his bag. "What's the difference in magic and blessings. And how is mana involved in the two? I didn't think about it before," he mumbled.

To search for answers, Zale made it to Starbucks and, with a black coffee, took a seat in the far back corner of the room. He pulled out his tablet and the book and looked at it hesitantly. He slowly opened the book, scared the contents would have reverted to something from 1984, but 'Mana' was still there. The book was one of the first he'd read in the coma library. It was mostly about sources of mana and how to find or generate it. The methods ranged from different crystals to rituals, to giving mana to someone else. It even included exiled means of obtaining mana.

Zale flipped through the pages and marked down several sources that seemed helpful:

Mana crystals

Bloodstones

Egyptian rituals

Martial techniques

Demon cores

Primals cores

Shinto rituals