Chapter 31: Mana Core?

The other orc's further down the corridor lost ALL excitement staring at the melted hole in the stone next to the and the hole in their leader ahead.

If not for the curve of the passage, that fire beam would have killed them too!

Bast released the hooks of light, and as they dissipated the orc leader fell, already dead from shock.

Bast smiled a bloody grin, savage and vengeful.

This wouldn't bring her peace... but it sure as hell would feel good to do!

Fire magic pulsed through her legs, giving strength as she leapt with enough force to crack the ground!

She flew at the orcs who panicked and had just taken a single step back in fear by the time she was upon them.

She held her bow, arrow at the string, and jumped past the orcs to the wall beside them.

As one, they turned their heads, but each finding that the head of the one beside them was in the way of seeing her, except the one in front of her.

And then her arrow fired into the head of the first... and as that head exploded, it continued to the next.

And the next.

And the next.

"BA-BA-BA-BANG!"

She lung the bow on her back, looking at the arrow in the wall opposite with some surprise.

The fusion of fire magic with the arrows material had somehow made it survive the force of its own shot.

'Elemental fusion can be used on weapons?'

She walked to the arrow and had to use fire fusion to tear it out of the wall, along with strengthening it again so it didn't snap as it was removed.

Stowing the arrow away she left the bow and spear on her back as she kept going.

When she saw the next orc, she simply leapt off with the strength of fire fusion, and punched it in the chest before it could react!

Beneath her fist it's ribs cracked and shattered, blood flew from its mouth as it's ribcage was pierced and crushed into nothing, along with its heart.

The next orc tried to surprise her by jumping from behind a corner, but she simply grabbed its head in her hand... and crushed it to a bloody pulp in her bare fist.

Onwards she went, killing more and more and more, and every drop of blood and gore that landed on her was incinerated by the heat coming off of her.

Vengeance was angry, and was coming for what she was due.

~ ~ ~

Before that night, back in the morning before when Kire left the shared Mindscape.

"-IRE!"

Kire flinched back. "Gah!"

Zanna sighed in relief. "What the HELL?" She demanded. Kire looked around to see the mage from earlier and a few guards around

"Why is everyone freaking out?"

The mage raised an eyebrow. "When a valuable research subject shows signs of anomaly it's a cause for concern."

The guards took a step away from the mage, who noticed as he glanced at them and rolled his eyes.

"When someone shows abnormal behavior we should be worried." He corrected with a large amount of exasperation.

"I'm fine!"

"You were completely unresponsive!"

Kire shrugged. "I had to manage the magic within myself for a moment."

The mages eyes gleamed suddenly. "What do you mean by that exactly?"

"Sorry?"

The mage took a step closer, excitement palpable on his expression.

"What do you mean by managing the magic inside you?"

Kire thought for a moment.

'I shouldn't go around saying there's a dragon who can just AWAKEN people running around, and I've no intention of betraying the secrets of one who saved my life and helped another.'

'But if I lie it'll be hard to keep the story straight... so partial truth.'

Luckily the higher ups currently thought that being struck by the lightning of a magic creature just triggered something in Kire.

The idea of a magical creature, a mere monster as far as conceited humans were concerned, could be so high above as to do such a thing would never occur to them normally.

"Well I can see my own magic inside me like a construct? It takes on a form inside my own mind, or it's how I interpret it?"

The mage stepped back. "So it's a visible thing? You see air and water within you?"

Kire glanced at the people surrounding him. "More accurately... my magic is pulled together into a core which I can see as physically existing inside myself but not at the same time? It looks like a globe of water with a layer of air around it, with tubes of ice making rings around and through it."

The mage straight up froze.

"...it takes on... the shape of a... core? A core of magic... a mana core... is this the key to awakening?" He began to mutter to himself.

How many mages learned to absorb world energy as separate it into elements to wield and manipulate? Hundreds.

How many could figure out how to fuse even ONE of those elements into their body, much less the full two of an awakened?

None, for hundreds of years.

The enemy kingdom had a few awakened, but most were aged and elderly, one reportedly near the brink of death!

A young awakened is near impossible, but why? What was the trick to it, the barrier standing in their way?

The mage began to theorize about the possibility of absorbing the magic into himself and trying to make a core which could then be infused into his body to fuse the magic!

Whether or not this method actually works...

"I must test this!" The mage exclaimed, running back to his lab in a sudden rush!

"...uh. I'm gonna... go now." Kire awkwardly muttered to the guards still standing there.

"Oh!" "Yes, let's go." "Apologies." Rang out as the guards returned to themselves and immediately made to return to their posts seeing as there wasn't an actual issue.

Soon Kire and Zanna were alone again.

As he began to walk and she followed beside him, she looked up quizzically.

"What did you have to manage?"

Kire smiled. "I'm not done awakening actually. I have a core, but it can still grow stronger! So I sensed a disturbance with that slow absorption and had to check on it."

"Oh." She nodded, unsure if he was lying or saying the truth.

He didn't mention what caused the disturbance or why it took so long to resolve...

But no one else would know exactly since most awakened didn't leave records of their secrets.