Mana crystals

[In his past life memories going on his first recon mission without Alex] 

"Come on, you're not seriously leaving without saying goodbye, are you?" Alex's voice echoes, fills with that familiar teasing lilt.

Legion, or rather, his past self, smiles despite himself. Alex always had a way of lightening the mood, no matter how dire things were. He can feel the weight of his uniform with all the guns fastened to him, the knives hidden in places nobody can reach, it is heavy yet comforting in a way, as they stand outside the barracks, the sky above them painted in deep oranges and purples from the setting sun.

Alex nudges him playfully. "I swear, you're going to miss me more than you think."

"Sure," Legion replies, his tone deadpan, but his lips twitched into a smile. "Just try not to get yourself killed while I'm gone."

"Oh, please," Alex grins, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "You know I'm invincible." He pauses, his voice dropping slightly. "And hey, be careful out there. These recon missions... they don't always go as planned."

"Yeah, I can't wait for ours to come up." Legion smiles but Alex's face stays serious, almost sad, as he slowly retracts his hands from his shoulder. 

"Right…" He smiles weakly at him.

{Memory ends] 

It's weird why did I think about him, the person that betrayed me, and why did I see him in him?

He lifts his head to meet Blaise's gaze. His buzzed sandy brown hair and baby-like face create a striking contrast with his toned body and sharp, steely grey eyes.

Blaise Mercer, Legion's friend. A person who cares about him and even takes over his job while he rests. He works three part time jobs, a miner, a cleaner for the orc's nd a helper in the tavern, all to keep his mother alive since she suffers from frostbite. He needs a potion every other day to help her not die or lose any limbs. 

"Legion?" he asks, his voice tinged with worry, his face still tense. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, let's go," Legion replies, urging him forward.

I don't know what to do. My mind is telling me to not trust him, what makes you think he won't betray you like your past, but I'm not in my past again and I said I won't stop trusting people so for now, I'll just observe him. 

Part of Legion was screaming at him not to trust him, which made him feel bad after the words he placed out into the universe. 

"Oh, alright," he says, leaning his pickaxe against the floor. He slips a hand into his pocket, and Legion flinches instinctively but quickly relaxes when he sees him pull out a rag. Wrapping it around his own nose and mouth, he adds, "Since we're digging deeper today, there'll be a lot of dust." Moving closer, he gently wraps another rag around Legion's face, covering his nose and mouth as well.

"Th-Thanks," he murmurs, a bit taken aback by the gesture, his surprise evident in his voice.

He thought about legion as well, shocking.

"Come on, you guys are taking too long!" Cinder exclaims, his scaled tail wagging excitedly from side to side as he gazes at the dark cave opening. "I'm ready to see what's inside; I can sense crystals all around!"

Crystals, that's the thing they're slaving away for. 

"Come on, let's get going." He turns on his heels , grabbing his pickaxe and leading the way. 

The sharp clang of metal striking stone ripples through the air, each blow reverberating in the tunnels. Even with the cloth over his face, he smells the faint, metallic tang of sparks as steel bites into rock. 

As they venture deeper and round a corner, a vivid scene unfolds before them—workers clad in sweat-soaked clothes tirelessly driving their pickaxes into the jagged walls. Next to them, a small crate brims with gleaming black shards of crystal, each piece sparkling in the light. However, Legion can't shake off the feeling of discomfort as he notices the stares and sneers directed at Blaise from the other workers.

He doesn't seem to care, no, he's holding it down. 

He notices Blaise's clenched fists trembling slightly, as if he's struggling to contain his emotions.

"Are your memories correct?" Cinder chimes into his thoughts with a question, confusion etched in his voice. 

What do you mean? 

"That is dried out mana crystals." he says. 

Dried out? 

"So, from what I gathered..." Cinder closes his eyes, then opens them again, revealing a radiant golden glow that pierces through the darkness. Soon after, Legion's eyes begin to glow as well, and golden shards begin to materialize around him, shimmering within the walls like hidden treasures waiting to be discovered.

You're sharing your x-ray?

"Yes, now look at this." One seems to come out of the wall, hovers in front of him as he continues to walk behind Blaise. "Activating teachers mod." He grins. "What properties do all mana crystals have?" 

All of them have to contain magic or mana, it's likely some kind of magical compound. It acts like a storage device, but it's different from beast blood, which absorbs and transforms into the powers of the selected beast.

"Now, why would they have you digging it up even though it's dried out since they're not mana coming through the barrier and the crystal is more a sucking and storing device?" 

The revelation dawns on him as all the dots connect.

They would use the magic from the humans to fill it. So mostly their not taking it to make them stronger but transporting somewhere. 

[1+intelligence] 

Oh wow, I gained an intelligence point.

Eventually, they reach their spot, Blaise is a mere few steps away from his own stop. "Should we begin? Remember anytime you feel a bit of discomfort, tell me kay?" He says with a playful grin.

Surprise, Legion mumbles out a "Yes."

Starting off, he takes a few powerful swings, slamming his pickaxe into the stone. He feels the vibrations ripple through the metal and up his arms. "One swing at a time," he mutters to himself, focusing as he chips away at a piece of rock.

Time passes, and he finally reaches his first shard, breaking it away from the stone that holds it, he bends down and picks it up.

Is there anywhere I can get magic into this, if I can maybe it would be able to help me learn how to control my magic. 

"The only way is by getting a full one, and the only way to do that is by stealing it from the orcs." Cinder suggests. "Though I'm sure the place they keep it is strongly guarded."

That's true. Then, I guess that's not an option, but I wonder what potions it would be able to make.