Mana Core?

 Now in the area full of strange stones, Michael slowly walks forward. There are glowing stones of different colors all over the place. 

 What's more, is that Michael can feel mana from these stones. 

 Stones don't normally have mana in them, which is why he could store them in his storage. At least, that's what he thinks for now.

 Seeing that all these strange looking stones have mana in them, Michael is curious as to what they could be. 

 "Mr. Crow!" Michael calls out to Crow from where he is. He wants to know what these stones really are. 

 Outside the room, Crow sits in a luxurious chair while waiting for Michael to return. He didn't expect Michael to take a long time choosing what he wanted. 

 Some more time passes, and Crow is getting tired of sitting outside the door, waiting on Michael.

 He gets up to leave and tells the guards outside the door to tell him when Michael comes out. 

 However, before he can get too far, he hears a shout coming from inside the room.

 "Mr. Crow!" Hearing Michael's voice bounce off the marble walls, Crow is irritated. He was about to leave, and you only need him now?

 Regardless of how he is feeling, Crow walks into the treasury looking for Michael. 

 He comes across him standing near the shelves full of stones.

 After shouting Crow's name, Michael waited for a minute while he looked around. After a while, he sees Crow walking towards him from the direction of the entrance. 

 "Mr. Crow!" Michael calls his name, glad that he is finally here and can answer the questions he has.

 "What do you want?" Crow's voice is deeper than usual, and Michael can tell that he is irritated.

 " I have been looking around, and I stumbled upon these strange looking stones. When I got closer to them, I could feel the mana in them." Michael starts to explain to Crow why he called him out here.

 "I wanted to know what these stones were, and why they give off mana." He managed to ask after his explanation.

 Crow listens for a moment before he is stunned. He is not surprised that the boy wanted to know what the stones were, but why he wanted to know.

 The boy had said that he could feel the mana in the stones. 

 This greatly surprises Crow, as most people are not taught how to feel the mana from these stones unless they are from a noble family or manage to get into one of the Magic Academies!

 Michael was a natural genius who was able to feel mana from these stones even without having to learn how!

 Hiding his surprise, Crow manages to answer Michael.

 "You want to know what these stones are?" He asks Michael just to make sure.

 "Yes" Michael sees Crow acting strange but does not think much of it and answers his question.

 "Very well. These 'Stones' are not actually stones at all. They are mana cores, from magic beasts." Crow finally answers Michael's question.

 "Mana Cores?" Seeing that Michael does not know what a mana core is, Crow takes a moment to explain it to him.

 "Yes, mana cores. Magical beasts are animals that have evolved due to the mana in the atmosphere. These beasts all have cores that store mana in them, based on their element." Crow says.

 "I see..." Michael goes quiet, thinking for a moment. He then looks back up at Crow, prepared to ask another question.

 "What are mana cores used for? They seem to be important enough to keep in your treasury, so they must be important." Crow is surprised to hear his logic. 

 He once again feels that Michael is a genius. 

 "Mana cores are very important. They are used to create new technology, like what is seen in the bigger cities. They are also used in array creation and alchemy." Crow once again answers Michael's question.

 "I see." Michael gets thinking for a moment.

 "Do you have any books that teach arrays or alchemy?" Michael suddenly looks up at Crow and asks.

 "These books are really rare, however, I do have a book that teaches arrays here in this storage somewhere," Crow tells Michael.

 "That is what I would like as my reward." Upon hearing Crow answer him, Michael immediately tells Crow what he wants.

 Upon hearing this, Crow is surprised that Michael could decide just like that. 

 "Are you sure? There are many other things here, and learning arrays is something only those with the talent to do so can do." Crow tells Michael, warning him about his choice. 

 "Yes, I have decided. This is what I will take." Without even flinching at Crow's warnings, Michael decided on the book. 

 Seeing that Michael would not change his mind, Crow did not bother trying to change it. He sighed, looking at the boy before him.

 "Fine, I'll send people to find it. However, this is a little thing. This book is worthless to my family, so why don't you also take a neutral mana core as well. You will need these to make arrays anyway."

 He calls over an attendant, telling them to find the array book and bring it to him.

 "Neutral mana core?" Michael had only just found out what a mana core is, how would he know what a neutral mana core is?

 Crow is not surprised by his question. Although this may be common knowledge to even commoners in the bigger cities closer to the capital, out in a random village on the outskirts of the kingdom it is not well known.

 "Mana cores come from inside the bodies of monsters. Usually, they have non-elemental mana in them and can be used by anyone. Some, however, come with mana that corresponds to the beast attribute, such as fire." Crow explains.

 Michael listens intently, devouring the knowledge in earnest. He knew that he did not know enough about the world.

 They say that knowledge is power in the right hands and Michael knew this to be true.

 Crow took a clear looking stone off the shelf, handing it to Michael. Michael could feel that the mana in the stone felt pure, without any elements in it.

 "Let's leave now, shall we?" Crow asked, turning towards the treasury door.

 Michael followed Crow, as they walked out of the treasury together. The iron doors were then locked, and the guards stood in front of it once again.

 After they went out of the treasury, an attendant came up to Crow, handing him a large book. 

 The books had a leather cover, and the paper seemed to be older. However, the book emitted a mysterious feeling, as if it contained the mysteries of the world in it.

 Crow handed the book to Michael. Michael stared at the book in awe. 

 "Take care of this book. Books like this are rare, exceedingly so." Crow reminded Michael.

 "Now that we have finished what we came here to do, should we go find the women?" Seeing that there was nothing for them to do now, Crow asks Michael about the women who walked out on them earlier.

 "Yes, let's go find them." Michael agrees and the two men go to find the ladies in the house.

 Upon finding them in the garden having a small tea party, they were both stunned. 

 Crow clears his throat, alerting the two women to their presence. 

 Seeing them standing there, having finished their business, Isabelle stood up.

 "Why, Ms. Grace here must come and have tea with me again! You will won't you?" Isabelle asks excitedly. 

 "Why, of course I will! If your husband would allow it." Grace responds, talking with a politeness that she usually doesn't have. 

 Seeing the two women behaving like this, Crow and Michael are dumbfounded. Were they secretly friends for years? Why were the two women so familiar with each other?

 "Yes?" Crow can only respond confusedly.

 After a bit of small talk between the four, Grace and Michael finally went home. 

 Upon arriving at their house, Grace sunk into the sofa with a large sigh.

 "I did not expect today to be so... Stunning." Grace lets out a laugh before deciding to go to bed. 

 They had eaten at Crow's house, so Grace did not need to make dinner tonight. 

 She tells Michael goodnight before walking into her room, done for the night. Michael also goes to his room.

 In his room, Michael takes out the book he had just gotten. He takes a quick look through the pages, finding it very complicated.

 Luckily, at the beginning of the book, there was an introduction to arrays. Michael quickly glances through it, deciding that he will start reading the book properly starting tomorrow.

 For now, all he wanted was a nice night of sleep. He closes his eyes drifting off to sleep almost immediately. 

 Elsewhere, a man wearing a hood walked up to a certain tavern in the middle of the night.

 Walking in, the man looked around for a moment before walking up to the bartender.

 "Talent is earned, effort is rewarded." The man who had walked up to the bartender said seriously.

 Narrowing his eyes, the bartender said nothing. However, he led the man into a room at the back of the tavern.