17 Magic-core Engraving

"Aghhh!!!" James continued to scream as he fell. A minute later he got tired and stopped screaming. 'How deep does this hole go? Am I going to die when I hit the ground? How long have I been falling anyw-'

*Bam!* James felt the air rush out of his lungs as he slammed into water. He sunk into the water for a few seconds before he managed to swim back up. "Huff, huff!" He gasped desperately for air. "Is master trying to fucking kill me?!"

James looked around him. He couldn't see anything. It was so dark that everything appeared pitch-black. He slowly swam around the water while feeling the walls. They were completely smooth and slightly wet. It would be impossible to climb them. He continued to swim before finding a small cave. The cave inclined upwards and provided a small amount of dry land.

James climbed up the incline and took off his clothes. He could taste the salt water on his lips. His master had taken everything from his interdimensional storage pouch, so he had no choice but to sit naked on the ground. He relaxed for 15 minutes while hoping his eyes would adjust to the dark. Unfortunately, he remained unable to see anything.

James fumbled around for his storage pouch. He pulled out one of the three books his master had given him and opened it. 'Mm. Might as well read since I'm here… is what I'd like to say! Is that old man fucking retarded? How am I supposed to read down here?!' He pulled out the other two books and several of the dark magic-cores his master gave him. 'Yep. Still can't see a damn thing. It's official. Master has gone senile in his old age. I'll have to find him a good home. One with some woman his age. I wonder if his other disciples will visit him with me occasionally? I'm such a filial disciple for caring about him like this. Not everyone can be so blessed to have someone like me in their life. Oh well, might as well take a nap.'

Several hours later James woke up. He sat up and enjoyed the spectacular view of nothing. Out of boredom he fiddled with the book in his hands. He flipped through the pages repeatedly. "Eh? There are bumps?!" Each page had various bumps on it. James rubbed his finger across them slowly. "The letters are raised?! Is master blind and I've never noticed?! No, he definitely isn't blind. He's fucking with me on purpose! I swear to God old man! I am going to put you in the worst fucking retirement home! I'll pay Beth to visit you so you won't be lonely!"

As James ran his fingers across the raised letters of the book he finally managed to read it. The book was divided into two sections. The first section discussed mana manipulation. The second section was the actual spell matrix. To train in the technique, the magus had to first be able to send the mana out of their magic-core. Once James succeeded in that, then he must use the mana to carve the spell matrix onto 1st grade dark magic-cores for practice. Once he felt he had practiced enough, then he could manipulate his mana to carve the spell matrix on his own magic-core within his body.

James read all three books. The training methods were the same. Only the spell matrix differed in each book. He could only choose one to train it. James closed his eyes and rested his head on his hands, 'Which one should I choose? Umbra Ball, Dark Fog, or Shadow Threads? Hmm… Come to think of it, there isn't much point in me closing my eyes… I can't see anything anyways. Why do I always assume this pose when I think anyways? I always just end up thinking about unrelated things… Ah, I'm off track again! Okay… Which spell to choose. Umbra Ball shoots a dark ball of energy that has a strong corrosive effect. It is the most powerful of the three and the easiest to learn. However, it uses a lot of mana and is only of use in limited situations. Dark Fog is the 2nd easiest to learn. It covers the magus in a dark fog. The fog is harmful to enemies and hides the magus from view. At higher stages the fog can spread great distances for large scale attacks. Last is shadow threads. It is the most difficult to learn and the weakest spell of the three. However, it has great versatility. It can be used for offense, defense, and movement. Hmm.'

James grabbed a book and smiled. 'This is the one! I'm obviously choosing Shadow Threads. I think I'll make myself a red and blue costume later. Then I'll use my threads to swing around Sea Salt City!'

…

Two days later. James appeared to be deep in concentration. Sweat poured down his face while his entire body trembled. "Finally!" A very tiny amount of black mana could be seen on his right thumb. It was thin and in the shape of his thumbnail.

'I finally managed to send the mana out of my magic-core to my thumb. No wonder magi carve spell matrixes on their magic-cores. It takes all my mana and concentration just to control this thumbnail size mana outside my body!'

James picked up a 1st grade dark magic-core. He slowly used the mana on the top of his thumb to carve lines in it. The lines took the shape of various runes that James barely understood. These runes represented the underpinnings of how mana worked. Artificers were experts in these runes and used them to carve artifacts such as lights, weapons, and other necessities. They could even create one-time-use spells by carving runes into magic-cores. What James was doing now was the same as what artificers do. However, most magi were not willing to spend their free time to learn extra runes for creating artifacts. It's an extremely time consuming and expensive practice.

The lines on the magic-core were rough and jagged. Some lines were thin and others thick. Some dug deep into the core while others barely scratched the surface. The last line was slowly connected to the beginning line. *Boom!* The magic core exploded in James hands. The dark energy rushed past his face. "Cough, cough!" The energy slowly faded, and James gasped for air. His face and hands could feel a very slight burning sensation.

James screamed in frustration, "Damnit old man! How am I supposed to carve these fucking lines when I can't see!" James had lost control of the mana on his thumb during the explosion. He waited for his mana to recover before he made it travel out his magic-core to his thumbnail again. Then he picked up another core and started again.

The days slowly passed, and explosions continued to ring out every 10 minutes or so. *Boom!* "Damnit! I almost had that one! Again!" *Boom!* "Aghhh! I've got it. I just need to carve the lines a bit deeper!" *Boom!* "Ugh. The lines were carved too deep that time." *Boom!* "I think my lines might be too thick at that part of the matrix…"

Twelve days later. James sat in the dark cave. His eyes were completely bloodshot. His hair was a complete mess. He was still completely naked. *Grumble* 'Ugh. I'm so hungry… so thirsty.' James turned to look at the salt water outside the cave. He licked his lips in temptation. Then he shook his head in disappointment. 'I already drank the salt water a week ago. It made things even worse. Fuck! I'm so thirsty!!!'

James opened his storage pouch. He pulled out his final two magic-cores. 'I definitely have to succeed! Who knows what my master will do if I fail… I've always worked best under pressure! It's not just an excuse to procrastinate, I swear! Okay. Let's go!' James sent mana out of his magic-core to his thumbnail. He could do that part with ease by now. However, he had not managed to bring out more mana or change the shape much. It would seem that spell matrixes really were a necessity for magi to make use of their mana.

One line after another appeared on the 1st grade magic-core. If before his lines looked like a toddler playing with crayons, then now they looked like an amateur tattoo artist ruining somebody's face forever! The last line connected to the beginning…

*Boom!* "Fuck!!! Shit! Damn! No, calm down. I've got one left. The hero always pulls a turnaround at the very end! I've got this!" James concentrated more than he ever had before. Each line flowed smoothly and beautifully. Dark mana released a dim black light within the lines. If before his lines looked like an amateur tattoo artist ruining somebody's face forever, then now they looked like a professional tattoo artist ruining somebody's face forever!

*Boom!* The core exploded. James stared wide eyed in disbelief. That was the last one. He had put everything he had into it. He felt utmost confidence in the spell matrix he engraved. James sat in silence for several minutes before lying down to wait for his master. 'Master is going to kill me.'

A few hours later a man with black mana wings appeared. He landed in the cave and looked at James. "Hey kiddo. Ugh, what's that smell?!"

"I haven't bathed in two weeks. What do you think it is?!"

"No. Not that." Skeleton looked around the cave. "IS THAT SHIT?! What are you, an animal? Do you shit where you eat?!"

James screamed in anger, "I haven't eaten in weeks! How could I possibly shit where I Eat? Where else was I supposed to go?!"

"Gee, I don't know Yale! How about the giant fucking lake outside the cave? Are you braindead?!"

"The saltwater gives me a rash! I have no change of clothes! I did what I had to old man!"

Skeleton snorted. "humph! I assume you've at least succeeded in your training, right?" James shook his head, "I failed. I thought for sure I had it on the last one, but it still blew up in my face."

Skeletons eyes widened in disbelief. Not that James could see him right now anyways. Skeleton pointed at James and yelled, "You! You wasted all 1,000 magic-cores! How can you be this untalented?! I've taught beasts smarter than you! Do you even know how much 1,000 1st grade magic-cores cost?! How much I've spent on you?!"

James blushed in embarrassment. It was true his master had been extremely generous despite the harsh training. Yet he had failed and yelled at his master in return. James spoke, "I'm sorry master. It was wrong of me to yell at you." He knelt on the ground and kowtowed towards his master, "I'll try even harder in the future, so I don't let you down master!"

Skeleton nodded, "Good! At least you know your wrongs! To think I wasted 1,000 copper coins on you! Fortunately for you I'm a benevolent master." He waved his hand and another 1,000 1st grade dark magic-cores appeared on the ground. "I'll give you these since you know your wrongs."

James looked up from the ground in shock, "1,000 copper coins? You mean those cores only cost 10 silver coins total?!"

Skeleton nodded, "Yes. They're only 1st grade magic-cores after all."

James spoke, "But… I never saw any for sale in Sea Salt City? Aren't they incredibly rare? How could they only cost 1 copper coin each?!"

"Hehe. The academy has a trade deal with the merchant's guild. All magic-beast magic-cores are sold directly to the academy. We pay more than they're worth anyways. Our school naturally needs a large number of cores for training students. Normally you would get 100 1st grade cores a month when you attend your classes. Lucky for you, I'm your master! You don't need to go to those dog-shit classes with me around! Hahaha!"

James stood up and yelled in anger, "You made me feel guilty about a measly 10 silver coins?! You starved me here for weeks in complete darkness! I'm completely naked without even a change of clothes available! Do you feel no shame for treating your disciple like this?!"

Skeleton yelled back, "Shame?! Do you know how much face I'll lose if the other magi find out my disciple couldn't master a spell after using 1,000 1st grade magic-cores!"

James pointed at where he thought Skeleton was located within the darkness, "Two weeks ago you said you don't care about face! You're a hypocrite!"

Skeleton smiled, "Oh? I'm a hypocrite, am I? You know you have another two weeks down here. Even longer if you still don't master a spell matrix. Hmm. I wonder if I should bring my disciple any food and water. Maybe he doesn't need it… he seems perfectly healthy from what I can see."

James eyes widened, and his legs shook in fear. He hurriedly dived towards the ground and repeatedly kowtowed to Skeleton, "Master! I was wrong! You are a great master! The sun in the sky that lights up the path for me! The tree that gives me shade in this dangerous world! You are like a father to me that I revere and love! Please don't let my earlier insults into your heart. My mind was clouded by anger due to my own shortcomings!"

Skeleton laughed, "Haha! Okay, okay. That's enough. I don't have a hobby of naked men worshipping me. I suppose I'll give you a bit of food and drink to last you the next two weeks." He waved his hand and a large wooden chest appeared on the ground. "I'll check on you again in two weeks." Then he flew out of the cave and hole.

James eagerly put the magic-cores in his storage pouch. Then he opened the chest. He licked his lips in anticipation of his meal. He reached in the chest and felt something tough and squishy. He still couldn't see and could only guess at what it was. 'Is it meat?' James lifted the meat up to his mouth and took a large bite.

*Ptui!* James spat the meat out on the ground. "It's fucking raw?! Eh? What's crawling on me? Are these… maggots?!" James shook the maggots off his hand. Then he felt more. He realized they were coming from the meat! He hurriedly threw the meat away into the salt water.

'Why? Why master?! What did I ever do to you? Why???' Tears were welling up in James eyes. He had never been so abused before. It was even worse than when he was locked up in the prison when he first came to this world. He was only still alive due to his increased strength and vitality from mana.

James hesitantly grabbed a flask from the wooden chest. He wiped off a few maggots from it. Then he opened the flask. 'He… he wouldn't do something to the water too right? What could he possibly do to it?' James hesitantly rose the flask to his lips. *Ptui!* James spit out the drink instantly. "Blood?! Really?! Why?!"

'Okay. Screw it. I'm just going to focus on my training! Then I'll use the shadow threads to escape!' James once again started engraving lines on the magic-cores…

Several days passed. Magic-cores continued to explode. James was starving and dying of thirst. He eventually couldn't stand it and began to drink the blood in the flasks his master provided him. 'Ugh. I think I'm slowly getting used to it.'

After a full week had passed, James finally began to eat the meat as well. 'Ugh, it's so gross! It's covered in maggots! I think it's rotten? Master, are you sure your other disciple working to become a deity will treat you well? I think he might just want revenge!'

James ate until he was full. Unfortunately, this caused him to have diarrhea for the next three days. On the 10th day after he had last seen his master, he finally engraved the spell matrix onto a magic-core successfully. "I did it! Haha! It took me a total of 24 days, but I finally did it! Time for another one!"

James continued to engrave magic-cores. He sometimes failed and sometimes succeeded. His rate of success slowly increased. On the 25th and 26th days he finally managed to engrave 100 magic-cores in a row successfully. He smiled, "Time to engrave the spell matrix on my magic core."