Forging the Mana Core I — Ambrosya

Two more days had passed since my triple enhancement.

The hellish workload wrought about by school left me with zero time for relaxation as I weaved it into my already hectic schedule. Even on Sundays.

When I was not working on school requirements, I worked on my blueprints for Miana's Mana Core. When I wasn't doing any of those two tasks, I was fine-tuning my control over my new physique, further mastering my martial arts and growing more accustomed to moving meditation.

I had instantly pulled my mastery over the Rushing Shadow Art to E rank, while my progress in moving meditation reached 80%. My Mutated Physical Intuition was the cause of all this, allowing my body to seamlessly follow the commands delivered to it.

A few students had challenged me, as per usual, and I crushed them under my feet. I did not even have to show them my E+ rank Physical Ability. I decimated them with sheer dagger skills and an even greater battle instinct.

Virion and Lily both regarded me as some kind of monster when they saw the sudden spike in my abilities. Fear and admiration would always fill the stands when my fellow first years witnessed my deadly prowess that simply never stopped growing.

The gap between the first and second place grew ever more despairing. Lily was surely under an immense amount of pressure now because of me. The competitive glint in her eyes whenever our gazes met always gave me shivers.

Furthermore, when I used Vianthia to spy on the students, I would even hear words like,

"It had only been a weekend... How did Caelum's mastery increase by such a degree?"

"I feel like that guy is hiding some big secret underneath his hood. What if he's faking all of his abilities, and he's actually an old man?"

And,

"Find more about Caelum Phricius' weaknesses. You have my permission to take more drastic measures... He's growing abnormally fast."

Rumours aplenty were beginning to spread among the first years, ranging from the presence of a secret master teaching me, to deals that I had made with mythical devils. All of these things amused me and served as a fun pastime to listen to.

"I really wonder how you did it, you know?" Sylfie tugged at my sleeve, "Can you tell me, Cael~? I promise I won't tell anyone else!"

"Unfortunately, it's confidential," I answered with a teasing laugh.

Sylfie puckered her lips and pouted, "I'm the one collecting all these rumours for you, so can't you repay me with something?"

The girl was trying to act cute. Well, I did ask her to listen to the things the first years were saying... So I guess had to think about how I could repay my friend's efforts from now on.

"...I'll think about it," I replied with a pensive expression, showing that I was indeed giving her request some thought.

...

When I was not in school, I was hunting criminals and humans at night. I fed Aventine with as much flesh and blood as I could, reaching the halfway point until the next stage of Aventine's growth.

Theses two days were fulfilling. Studying in school during the day and murdering people at night gave me a beautiful balance of work and play.

For now, though, I had to deal with the task at hand.

"Give me your Mana Core," I spoke to the proud woman standing in front of me. I was currently in the Information Veil's HQ, inside a workshop, where several gleaming power tools were all awaiting activation.

Miana glanced at Rose and King who were standing at the side before meeting my gaze. She then produced a beautiful sphere of mana from within the depths of her bountiful chest and handed it to me.

I squinted as I received the item, giving Miana a look of questioning. She looked back into my eyes without any change in her expression.

I couldn't help but sigh.

'This woman... The subtleties in her intentions are really hard to ignore when I was the one who crafted her personality.'

I thus ignored her discreet attempts to get into my good books using her charms. After all, I knew that she did not want to risk even the slightest amount of foul play when dealing with such a treasure. Making it so that I was motivated to work was never a bad idea.

"Alright," I gestured to Miana, "Please stand beside King and Rose. I will also greatly appreciate silence while I work. I do not plan on making any mistakes today."

Miana nodded and did as she was asked to. King and Rose accepted her into their company, and they began to eye me silently.

I ignored their energetic stares and placed the Mana Core on a small velvet pillow. I then walked over to the workshop's wall and grabbed a few tools that I needed.

Slowly but surely, I set everything up, placing each tool in its respective place on the long marble counter. I made sure the mechanisms I needed were all in working condition and there weren't any sloppy portions.

When I was done sorting everything out, a full ten minutes had passed.

I looked at the table where everything was placed perfectly and sorted out according to how often I would use any one tool, the tool's size, and then the tool's time of use. A sense of fulfilment washed over me as my gaze washed over the sight.

It was nice when everything was in its rightful place.

Thus,

Taking a deep breath, I circulated my mana and took hold of the first tool. It was a minuscule needle attached to a nigh-invisible thread. The tool itself was a great conductor of mana, and it was one of the most often-used tools that enchanters utilised in their practice.

Inside my mind, a book had been opened, and I began rereading its contents as if I was holding that exact book in my hands right then and there. Blueprints and diagrams seemed to have come alive as they pulsated with power and danced with eerie agility.

Seeing that I was at my best, I held the needle by its thread and let it dangle above the Mana Core. Hyperfocus was activated as I poured mana into my fingertips and into the thread that I held between my index finger and thumb.

Hummmm—!

A faint blue glow that even the others could see began to spread through the thin thread.

I was ready, my materials were ready, and the atmosphere was perfect. It was time to work.