Chapter 2: This isn't my body!

Alan reached out to the light with an incorporeal hand. His white palms wrapped around it, as he began to squeeze. Had the magic god not used that attack, a paralyzing pain would have overtaken his body, but now, he just felt nothing. He felt a weird emptiness within his consciousness, as if reality and dream had become indistinguishable, and memories of his passed regressions began to seem fake as if they didn't happen, although Alan knew they did. This was a weird feeling, one which Alan became all too familiar with in his training with the villagers, "I should hurry up." Alan let out a robotic voice, as his grip tightened. The black void around began to ripple, and shake, and Alan's mind became even more distant, and his vision blurred. He squeezed harder. Cracks began to form in the abyss, and all emotion drained out of Alan, becoming an empty husk of a soul, but the singular objective he drilled into his mind remained. He squeezed harder. The light seemed ready to pop at any moment, squeezed like a balloon, the shaking became more intense, and the very space around Alan was being rent apart. He squeezed even harder, and just like that, the light popped. Darkness enveloped Alan, and his consciousness began to fade, Well…it was a good run.

Outside of Alan's body, a split second passed. In those few short instances, a wide smile was plastered on the magic god's face as he believed the fight to be over. The sword and spear god stopped, relief welling up within their bodies. The change that was about to occur would happen so fast, that the three remaining combat gods would not be privy to its undertaking. Their bodies would be eviscerated by a white light, hundreds of times faster than they could comprehend. This angelic light would expand, covering the entirety of the mirror world in which the magic god created, shattering it into shards of reality, with such power, the outside world would also face natural disasters on a scale never seen before. 

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"Aaah!" Alan shot upwards, letting out a pained cry as his eyes snapped onto his surroundings, "Where am-," Alan groaned, gripping his chest as an intense wave of pain shot from it. Blood? Alan wore leather armor, strung together loosely, and the leather itself was distressed, covered in cut's, and stabs. Beneath it, a cheap woolen shirt stained with blood and pants so torn apart they looked more like shorts. He could feel the weight of a sheathed sword at his back, "What the fuck is happening," Alan mumbled, looking at the forest lush with foliage around him. Blades of grass stabbed his aching back as a light breeze whistled through his hair. Strands of sunlight poked through the thick canopy, bathing the scene around him in a bright light. The grass and trees around him coated in a thick layer of blood, as he watched small, humanoid figures stab a struggling adventurer who wore similar attire to Alan. The adventurer let out a croak before his body went limp. Tens of similar bodies littered the area, and a stench of death wafted in the air, "This isn't the same." Alan's heart began to thump, and he gritted his teeth. 

[Welcome Alan, to your final life] 

A blue translucent screen snapped open, hovering directly in front of Alan's worried eyes. The words were typed in white. The screen swiftly folded closed, opening again an instant later. 

[Profile]

Name: Alan Greeve (Alan Bridun)

Mana Core Evolution: E Grade 

Techniques:

Mana Imbue (Imbue your body and weapons with mana) - 1

[Soul Draw] - Absorb the souls of what you kill. The amount of souls gained will be determined by the power of what you kill. Use the souls to draw a random item, technique, or summon. The amount of souls used will determine the power of what you draw. 

Current souls: 15

"What?" Alan's eyes could hardly focus on the information currently typed on the blue screen, "Final life…" His voice quivered slightly, but he remained otherwise calm. His mind was old, and he experienced many surprises, this was just another, albeit more drastic one, "So I guess I did succeed…but, I'm still alive. Does that mean humanity is threatened again? And a name that isn't mine is in parenthesis," Alan mumbled, examining his body, rolling up his sleeve, noting that his birthmark wasn't there. With a sigh, Alan dug his hands into the lush forest floor, blades of grass feeling unusually sharp as he pushed his injured body upwards, "I can figure all this out after I'm not bleeding out." Alan closed his eyes, shifting his focus to his mana core. It was exceptionally weak, much more so than what it was when he usually regressed. It had a different feel too. 

He began by imagining the core as a reservoir of water, with hundreds of valve's attached. He envisioned imaginary hands opening one of these valves, and a calm stream of water flowing from it. The change was evident, and he could feel a soothing, warm sensation around his solar plexus. His body began to relax, and release most of it's tension. It was already obvious this wasn't his body, and Alan clicked it tongue. Whatever body he invaded was incredibly weak. The valves weren't pristine, but rusty, and had not been opened for many years. And instead of turning them calmly, it felt as though they were hammered, forced to open. 

Returning to his focus, Alan directed the stream, washing out the impurities built up within his mana veins, eventually reaching the center of his wound. Opening up more valves, Alan directed tens of streams toward this area, and the bleeding stopped. Opening his eyes, attaining more familiarity with this body's mana core, and its veins, Alan opened all of the valves, using his old, experienced mind to perfectly direct these streams of mana to all junctures, and begin constant mana circulation, mimicking the circulatory system. The mana flowed, returning to his mana core, before leaving once again. Alan let out a pleasurable sigh, all of the tension stored within his bones and muscles released, his exhaustion fading away and his senses sharping beyond what this body could have ever dreamed of achieving. 

[Mana Core Evolution Achieved]

[Mana Core Evolution Achieved]

[Congrgulations On Achieving a C Grade Mana Core]

"That feels better," Alan let out an energetic breath, lifting his arm up and down, "Still not ideal, but it works…at least to deal with these guys." Alan locked a sharp gaze onto the trembling goblins. These disgusting creatures wore worn woolen pants and gripped rusty swords that could snap after a single slash. They were thin, rib cages showing, undefined muscles, their heads seeming unusually large due to this fact. Their slimy mouths hung open, and drool leaked out onto the once pristine forest floor. Beads of sweat dripped visibility from their forehead, as their beady eyes stared at Alan, ready to attack at a moment's notice, "Scared but still ready to attack..huh?" Alan slowly raised his arm, folding his calloused fingers around the hilt of the broadsword sheathed on his back, "This won't be difficult."