18. What about research experiment 232?

After briefly glancing at those charts, Jodoc screeched hoarsely, "Too many cracks. Rehabilitation by standard methods is near impossible. We could delay his death if he's ready to become a mere mortal. Otherwise, research experiment 232 or r.exp. 105, could be of use in his case if he doesn't want to give up being a mage."

Master Simon's eyes immediately narrowed after hearing Jodoc's suggestion. Neither of these two research projects has reached maturity yet where the duo could run human experimentations.

"No! No! No. Jodoc, we can't try out research experiment 105 even though a few magical medical institutes have succeeded. Transplanting a mana core is well above our weight class. Also, we don't even have the equipment necessary for those experiments," commented Simon with a sigh.

Jodoc nodded in agreement before asking: "What about research experiment 232?"

Simon hesitated to comment on the second experiment, and only after thinking for a minute did he comment on it. "We aren't in the phase of human experimentation. We don't even have any long-term studies regarding the matter, and I'm not sure if it could be a solution for his case."

Jodoc nodded in agreement before zooming in on a 3D model of Luz mana core. "But that's the only method to stabilize Luz's mana core situation as his mana output to the environment is way too high. Remember, we can use him as an experiment. Besides that, the Royal guard uses a similar method."

Simon shook his head upon hearing the latter's comment. "Yes, but these guys probably used a different organism. WE HAVEN'T MADE ANY PROGRESS IN ANY OTHER MAGICAL MONSTER. Have you already forgotten that it seized control of all the other magical monsters we experimented with?"

"Then let's ask him if he's ready for it. He's young and naive. I'm sure he'd rather die than give up his mage career. If you want to convince him, just add that you'll pay off his debt to Brian," the eagle remarked in amusement with a raised chest.

"You have no scruples," the mage sighed before adding, "Well, time to wait for him to regain consciousness."

As Luz was unconscious, some old memories resurfaced.

「Luz's memory」

A group of twenty children ranging from 10 to 15 sat on the ground as the village elder walked towards them with a cane. The atmosphere was cheerful, and the kids talked loudly with each other as they were excited about what awaited them.

Their cheerful mood infected even him, the cold elder, and a smile formed on his face as old memories of him awaiting his elders' for the same lesson came to mind. Nostalgy seemed to affect the elder, and he would even let them continue goofing around if it wasn't for the importance of today's lesson.

With a stern face, he immediately hit the ground several times with his walking stick. The kids immediately grew silent out of fear.

After loudly clearing his throat and gaining the attention of every child, he stated loudly, "We'll be talking today about the Mana core and the basics of magic."

The kids immediately grew excited, and only after yelling, "Be quiet!" did their talking grow quiet.

The village elder continued with his lesson. "That's better. Anyway, if I catch someone talking, they will be thrown out of today's lesson. So, has anyone ever seen a mana core or knows what a mana core is supposed to be?"

A few kids immediately raised their hands, and the old man called Gab's name first.

"Animals have mana cores. Most of the time, we discard them since they are worthless, as they have no nutritional value since one can't even eat them, nor can one use them as fertilizer," Gab commented in boredom with his raised chest.

Hearing such an answer, the village elder chuckled before asking him, "But every human also has a mana core. Do you think nature would give us a useless organ that takes up space in our body?"

Realizing that there are some grains of truth to that Gramp's comment, Gab gulped.

Would nature or the gods give us some useless organ? Everything is responsible for something in our body. A heart has its job, and so do the kidneys and the liver.

Seeing how the child couldn't answer his question, the old men merely grinned before taking out a few shiny stones.

"These are mana cores, harvested from animals we hunted. Even if we cannot eat them, they remain useful to us," commented the elder before giving a few kids a mana stone each so that they could take a look at it.

"As you all know, we all have a blood circulatory system in our body, consisting of arteries, veins, and capillaries through which blood gets pumped. But what if every living entity on this planet had a different circulatory system running alongside the other?" The elder asked the kids, who were shocked beyond relief.

But one of the kids immediately shouted, "That doesn't make sense. I've seen the hunters slaughter the animals and only blood came out. Shouldn't they be bleeding two different fluids if they had another circulatory system?"

The elder merely chuckled at the latter's scrutinize before proving her wrong by cutting his finger with his mere fingernail. Instead of blood, a light blue fluid began dripping out that immediately dissipated.

The elder's face immediately turned stern upon seeing some kids follow suit by testing whether they too could bleed blue blood by cutting their fingers.

Hastily, he intervened, stating, "Wait!! Only mages and strong monsters can bleed blue blood."

The kids grew even more enthusiastic, and Luz asked: "So, can you use spells?"

The man lamented their eagerness, as the lecture did not go as planned before he made a comment.

"Luz… I'll use a few spells later, but please let me finish with my explanation. As I stated earlier, we all have a mana core, but as long as one remains unawakened, mana won't flow through your mana circulatory system. It gets even worse the longer the body goes without mana, the more the mana circulatory system of the person degenerates."

The kids immediately began whispering to each other. By now, the elder regretted teaching a lesson meant for more mature people to a bunch of brats. "The older one is by the day one awakens, the stronger the repercussions are. For example, if one awakes by the age of 14, one's body wouldn't face any consequences, but if you were to awaken by the age of 18, you would lay in the hospital for a week. However, if any of you were to awaken at 23, one would die due to their mana veins bursting."

Meanwhile, the children had gone quiet. One could hear the chirping of crickets and of the other farm animals. The ones' older than 14, on the other hand, turned grim as they realized that their time was running out.

Sternly, the elder continued, from where he stopped. "Fear not, lads. I awoke at the age of 18. Remember being a mage also carries its own burdens."

But before the former could continue, a kid asked, "What do you mean with burdens? Aren't they supposed to be super strong!?"

"Magical creatures don't hunt you brats, for food but rather for fun whenever they are bored, as we provide no nutritional value. But the moment you awaken, you will pop up on their radar as a potential food source. Also, a mage has two Achilles heels. If one of you had a cracked mana core, you would remain fine. However, if a mage sustains an injury to their mana core, it would be lethal for them."

"Gramps, what are the advantages of using mana? Like are you trying to discourage us? Also, we want to see you use magic," commented an impatient child with a yawn.

The elder's eyebrows immediately began to twitch as he held himself back from cursing at the kid. "I might show it to you after we are done with it, so please remain patient.

Anyway, the advantages of being a mage are numerous. Mana positively affects your body in the long run. On the physical side, mages age way slower. But that isn't all. Your reflexes, stamina, and strength increase tremendously with time due to being a mage."

「Author note:」

「There is a lot I didn't include as I didn't want to overwhelm the reader.

For example, the younger one awakens, the greater mana will influence one's body.

Also, a mana core has the properties of a magnet, a compressor, and a pump. Your mana core absorbs/sucks mana from the environment (like a magnet), pumps it through your body (like a pump), and compresses the mana over time (like a compressor).

These aren't all the properties a mana core has, but naming them all is beyond the scope of this chapter.」