14 - Absorbing the crystals

"A strange phenomenon has occurred, critical information about the crystals was revealed simultaneously on multiple platforms. The posts and websites were taken down within minutes, but people managed to repost and copy the information, creating new websites and content.

It's suspected that someone leaked the information against the will of an influential person, and the attempts to bury the leak were unsuccessful. The legendary hacker, <Unlock> is believed to be behind the spreading of this information."

Finn asked in disbelief "What kind of information was so important that even after such a massive attempt to cover it up, it still managed to leak out? Usually, that only happens when military or political data is exposed, but even then, governments can often wipe it from the internet."

"Stop holding us hostage and spill the beans." Lele added.

"I think in this case is more than justified," Mase replied, his eyes alight with excitement. "The information that was leaked is about a way to use the mana stones to permanently increase an awakener's strength. It's a game-changer in the world of awakeners, and I can see why someone would go to great lengths to keep it a secret. At the same time I understand why they failed, no one in their right mind would let this chance slip."

"Wowowow, hold on, so we can get much stronger by absorbing those crystals? How do you absorb them?"

Meanwhile Albert thought 'If I knew this beforehand, I would have tried to cut a better deal with Lara.'

"According to the articles all over the net, it seems that to absorb a crystal, an awakener has to inject their mana inside it and then suck it out along with the energy inside the stone. I haven't tried it yet, but I think that's how it works. It's probably challenging to extract pure mana from the stone, so by injecting your own and mixing them together, when you bring back your own mana, the pure one gets dragged with it."

Albert stated, "I have a theory as well. If I'm correct, I won't be able to absorb the crystal."

"Why not?" Mase asked.

"I can improve my stats with status points, so it would be strange if I could also use the crystals to increase my strength. Well, there's only one way to find out."

Albert picked up a mana stone from the table and closed his eyes, focusing on feeling the mysterious energy known as mana in his body.

"This is incredibly hard. I know there's something, but I can't get a clear picture in my head."

He tried to push that strange feeling towards the stone.

"It's working! The stone is turning slightly red." his friends reassured him.

Albert tried to pull back, picturing the mana like a rope, and the crystal turned gray again.

"Did it work?" Lele asked.

"I don't think so. On the internet, they clearly state that the crystal will wither after the fact." Mase stated.

Albert checked his stats using his MMO character profile.

Albert Bianchi

[Name: Albert Bianchi][Mana Density:???]

[Class: MMO Grandmaster, Archer]

[Passive: Gamer Grindset]

[Skills: MMO System Interface LV1, Bow Mastery LV 0]

[Equipment: Standard Clothes]

[1 Status point and 1 Skill point Available]

[Stats: Strength: 5, Intelligence: 5, Mana Pool: 5, Perception: 5, Vitality: 5, Stamina: 5, Agility: 5]

"Nothing changed, my stats are still the same." Albert reported.

Lele, who was hopping in excitement, said "I want to try too."

"Go ahead. Ah, Mase, we can only use two stones. I used the remaining 10 as payment for the weapons." Albert explained.

"What!? Why would you do that?"

"For a couple of reasons. At the time, I didn't know about the possibility of gaining strength through the crystal, but I also saw it as an investment."

"An investment?"

"You know that I'm really good at reading people right? At the smithy, there was a girl named Lara. If my gut feeling is correct, thanks to her, we might be some of the first awakeners to wield mana-enhanced weapons."

"That's probably worth it then. Let me guess, that was the errand you talked about?"

"Correct."

A brilliant light filled the room, catching everyone's attention. Lele's crystal was glowing with an green hue, only to fade into gray, mirroring what had happened to Albert's crystal.

"That's weird, are you sure you didn't do it incorrectly?" Finn asked

Lele scratched his head "I don't know I can try again."

[Several attempts later]

"It seems that I also can't absorb the mana crystal, weird."

"It might have something to do with your class, or maybe your energy is just too strong compared to the crystal." Albert theorised.

"I'm next!" Finn exclaimed.

"For fuck sake, I was the one who gathered the information, I'm done waiting." Mase rebuked.

"It's fine you two can try at the same time, even if the both of you manage to absorb the crystal it won't be an issue since we would still have left the 10 that I owe to Lara."

As Mase held his crystal, it began to emit a pale red glow, while Finn's stone took on an orange hue. Suddenly, both crystals disintegrated into dust, leaving nothing behind.

Mase felt a warm energy briefely running through his body. He was sure that something changed.

"I think it worked." He stated.

"yeah it disintegrated exactly like described on the web." Finn added.

"Let me try using [Character profile] on you brother."

Finn Bianchi

[Name: Finn Bianchi][Mana Density:???]

[Class: Aspect of Wind, Cleric]

[Passive: Mana Regeneration, Duo]

[Skills: Fly LV1, Wind Manipulation LV1, Small Heal LV1, Wind Bubble LV1, Wind Bullet LV1, Spear Mastery LV 0]

[Equipment: Standard Clothes]

[Stats: Strength: 4.3, Intelligence: 16.1, Mana Pool: 23, Perception:7.5, Vitality: 5, Stamina: 8, Agility: 8]

After a quick check Albert stated: "The increases to your stats seem to be slight and uneven, with some not improving at all."

Mase chipped in: "Well I think it is going to take time and experimenting to figure out more."

"Let's leave the problems of tomorrow to tomorrow. Let's eat and relax, I think we did more than enough for today."

He turned on the tv and switched to the newscast channel. An announcer was speaking in a grave tone.

"Just a few hours ago one of the three hands of the mafia Alex Piccio evaded from prison, the police are keeping all the details a secret."

[1 Hours prior Asinara Prison]

As the man in the confinement cell received his meal, he began to dig into the bean soup, only to almost shatter his teeth on something hard. After spitting out a small steel cylinder, he slowly removed his cap, revealing a paper note hidden inside.

<Boss, my apologies for the delay. We have received important news from the outside. You may want to try saying [Status], if you are lucky you will be able to evade.>

'What the heck are these morons talking about? Are they mocking Alex Piccio? I guess there is no demerit in trying, but I swear on my pride, if this is a joke when I get out I will murder them.'

"Status"

A blue window popped in front of his eyes. 'What the hell?'

A few minutes later, accompanied by a resounding BOOM, the wall of the cell facing the outside of the prison was completely shattered.

Before the authorities could react the fugitive swiftly entered a black car with tinted windows that was waiting for him.

Alex ordered "Before anything, give me a smoke and a girl."

"At your service boss." Three men in black replied.