Chapter 5: The first steps (2)

Cassian's hand clutches the mana stone with a faint grin on his face. His heart is beating wild with excitement. He can barely concentrate with all the anticipation he feels.

Sitting cross-legged, he slowly closes his eyes and inhales deeply. His body is in a state of complete relaxation, without any tension in his body. He feels the mana vibrate full of energy and nature. The mana flows from his fingers to his mana core, which is located in the center of his heart. Even without reading the novel, his body was able to instinctively guide the mana into his mana core.

In the rhythm of his heartbeat, he could see a tiny black sphere pumping mana into his body. The mana emanating from his Mana Core is shaded orange, resembling a flickering flame. He was able to sense and visualize the mana in his body.

"Oh...He trained his mana to grade-2 and only with a grade-3 core, that was really impressive... I was expecting much worse," he said with an emotionless tone. Although he couldn't remember all the details of the novel, he still had a decent memory when it came to fights, weapons, and power systems.

He was especially interested in the power system, because in this world, every intellectual being has a mana core.

These mana cores have been categorized according to the strength of their corresponding core color:

Grade-1 Mana Core: Brown

Grade-2 Mana Core: Orange

Grade-3 Mana Core: Black

Grade-4 Mana Core: Yellow

Grade-5 Mana Core: Purple

Grade-6 Mana Core: White

The highest mana core a person can possess is the white core. The grade of your core will not only determine your physical strength and the amount of mana you have, but also your future potential.

A person's current grade is indicated by the color of the mana in their body. With a black mana core, Cassian is currently above average. In this world, most people have either a brown or an orange mana core.

So far, nobody has managed to discover a method to improve the grade of their core. At least in a righteous way. Naturally Cassian knows a method which a crazy bastard discovered in the novel.

After a short while, Cassian puts the mana stone back on the ground. He is currently not ready to add an even larger amount of mana to his core, which is already filled to the brim.

"Finally... I can test my element and my attribute," Cassian said with a greedy look in his eyes as he grabbed the empty mana stone in his hand.

He was in the process of sending his mana into the empty mana stone when he suddenly heard the sound of something collapsing. He turned his head in the direction of the noise.

"Wha...What the hell are you doing?" cried Cassian in a shrill and dumfounded tone. He saw Erwin lying lifeless on the ground, if he hadn't seen his chest breathing in and out, he might have assumed that he had just died.

"Huff...I was...train...huff...and aft...huff...my breat...after th...huff...fall...tried...huff...to stand...huff...but couldn't" Erwin mumbled uncomprehendingly with a panting sound.

"Tsk, who the hell told you to run so much?" said Cassian with a look that asked if he was a fool.

"Tha-That...Huff...it was you...huff...you bastard!" Erwin shouted at him in a shrill tone of voice.

There was a moment of complete silence between the two of them.

But it was shattered by the sound of Cassian's embarrassed voice.

"Oh!...right, I forgot...haha," Cassian said with an embarrassed laugh, while trying to avoid looking at Erwin. But realizing that he could not receive a response from Erwin, he decided to say something he did not like to admit.

"Look, dude... it was my fault, I don't blame you... ok!" Cassian said in a casual tone while turning his head away. He expected Erwin to insult him and then apologize. But something unexpected happened. He heard Erwin's melancholy voice.

"Dam-Damn, why did I do that?" Erwin mumbled in an embarrassed tone. For some stupid reason, he thought that if he kept running, he would be able to change. He felt that if he continued to follow the young master, he would be rescued from his mundane existence.

He covered his eyes, afraid to cry, and the last thing he wanted to do was to do it in the presence of someone.

Cassian didn't knew if Erwin wanted an answer from him or if he was asking out of desperation. But he decided to say what he wanted regardless.

"How should I know?...but I must say you surprised me...not everyone has the mental capacity to run until they collapse...I'm impressed," Cassian replied monotonously, but with a faint smile.

"You-you mean what you said...right?" asked Erwin shyly, while he shifted his arm a little to glance at him briefly.

"Hahaha...of course...what reason would I have to lie...if you want I can show you some tricks to get stronger...what do you say?" Cassian answers with a chuckle, one could notice a slight amusement in his voice. He really meant what he had said, he hadn't expected Erwin to show so much perseverance. It really took him by surprise.

"'Cough...cough, that would make me very happy, young master," Erwin said with a red face, because he was very embarrassed to be seen like that.

Cassian nodded his head while saying with a cold smile

"Good!...now that everything is settled, go take a shower and come back tomorrow morning at the same time...and then we will start the training properly"

"Yes sir! I'm on my way," Erwin said enthusiastically as he picked himself up from the ground and made his way to the mansion on wobbling legs.

"Shit!...I forgot he was still a kid" Cassian mumbles to himself in an irritated tone. Erwin looked like a common village boy with his brown eyes and scrawny body. The only thing that stood out was his dirty blond hair. Although this was no longer his old world, he still had the old mentality that everyone should fight regardless of age.

'I've got to accept that this world is more peaceful than the one I used to live in' he reflected to himself with a blank look.

Cassian watched the somewhat pitiful but proud Erwin for a moment before he turned his attention back to the empty mana stone. Sitting back, he directed the mana from his core to the empty mana stone in his hand.

The empty mana stone has been specially designed to help children learn about their elements and the specifics of their attributes without harming anyone. Although cassian usually likes to take risks and his own mana generally can't hurt oneself, he doesn't want to risk it with his attribute.

Attributes are so unique that not all have positive effects on individuals.

The empty mana stone, now filled with Cassian mana, slowly began to glow a bright orange color. The first glow of the empty mana stone indicates which element a person possesses.

"Fire... it's not bad... it has a strong destructive force, but its lack of defense can be inconvenient," Cassian commented with a broad smile. Personally, he didn't care which element he got. Every element has its advantages and disadvantages. He just had to use them correctly, but his attribute was the complete exception.

In a life-or-death situation, a decent attribute can be the deciding factor.

The empty mana stone slowly began to lose its light until it returned to its usual black color. It also remained black for several seconds without changing.

"Eh!...what's wrong with the stone?...it should have started to glow with my attribute," Cassian complained as he smashed the empty mana stone to the ground with an annoyed expression.

He would have been even more frustrated had it not been for the fact that the stone had a slightly darker glow to it. He quickly closed his eyes in order to have a better focus on his attributes. He felt the darkness emanating from the stone.

It felt like the natural enemy of all living things

silent

destructive

[Decay]

The name popped straight into his head.

"Hahah...That's perfect!...Sounds like a lot of fun with such a destructive attribute...Alt-Wait what's happening!" Cassian started to laugh with joy when suddenly he witnessed the empty mana stone in his hand starting to shine in a completely different color.

A bright white, like an arctic landscape, was glowing from the empty mana stone.

"What the hell!...a second attribute?...does that make sense?...something like that was never mentioned in the novel...this is crazy!!!" Cassian reacted with a look of surprise on his face, but his eyes lit up with a spark of craziness.

This world gives him one thrill after another.

He couldn't be more excited to find out his second attribute.

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