And so?

\\Today, I shall speak of Mana Core creation. In essence, no magic derived from skills awarded by the system can be performed without a Mana Core. It is the first and foundation all mage Apprentice must go through. It is so easy that talent can complete it in mere minutes or for the talentless, ranging from days to months to years.

I dearly hope you are talented. Otherwise, your path ahead will lead to you doing the unthinkable, suicide.

Now, you need to sense the mana. It is as simple as closing your eyes to meditate, then thinking of what you know of mana. Seconds should be enough.

Now, take a deep breath, and mana will flow into your body, forming a core in one of these places; the Throat, Mind, or Heart. It is that simple unless you are talentless where it can take years for this\\

Handing the book over to Elizabeth beside him, she eagerly took it and flipped to the next page. She had finished reading the first page and was waiting for Edward.

Crossing his legs, Edward closed his eyes. As he breathed, he relaxed. Not much to do except be fully present and aware. Time went by, and all the outside noise died down to silence.

Following the instruction, he thought. 'Mana. The energy that guides magic.' With that simple narration of mana, the whole world behind his closed eyes changed.

His eyes were still closed, yet he saw. Everywhere was filled with mana. The tree behind him had blue vanes of mana running through its trunk, roots, and leaves. The sands, the air, and the sky all had mana. He also saw a tiny bit of mana within the silhouette of a humanoid. He could only sense one humanoid, and he assumed it was Michael. He was the only one that had to add a point to Arcane.

Returning to his focus, he took a deep breath. The mana immediately responded to his breathing, following his breath and entering his body. It flowed down his throat like water, moving towards his heart. Taking another deep breath, all the mana now in his body gathered around his heart before pulsing.

\Mana Core(Heart) formed\

\You Magic has increased to Tier 1\

Exhaling, Edward opened his eyes to the normal world. "You succeeded?" Elizabeth asked, not looking up from the book. Giving her a nod, Elizabeth smiled, turning to him. "Congratulations on becoming a magician."

"Thanks," Edward responded, taking the book as Elizabeth handed it back to him. Turning back to the first page, he continued reading.

\\ Congratulations my Student ! You have become a Magician! Be proud. Only a little get to be where you are. Your journey ahead will most definitely be hard but fruitful. Unless you are talentless, that is.

Now, I will tell you this. If your core formed at your throat, you MUST go down the [Verbal Magician] school. If Mind, you MUST go down the [Somatic Magician] school. If heart, you MUST go down the [Sigil Magician] school.

I warn you about this. Straying from these instructions would cause you to regret your path as a magician and will make you perform the unthinkable\\

Returning the book to Elizabeth, she asked, "So where did your core form?"

"My heart," Edward responded, going to his mail and noticing her yet again, had two new mails.

\For becoming a Tier 1, pick a School to thrive in. Choosing your school would seal your soul from venturing down to the other school, so pick wisely\

_______________________

Option 1: School of V: The Speakers(Not Recommended)

Option 2: School of T: The Signers(Not Recommended)

Option 3: School of S: The Drawer(Recommended)

_______________________

Picking option 3, he felt a strange force flow through his body, then his mind. Edward shivered at this, knowing he had lost something and gained something in return, but not knowing what.

"Where did you find that book?" Ezekiel asked, and with no care, pulling the book out of Elizabeth's hand and inspecting it.

"Hand me the book." Elizabeth hissed, glaring at Ezekiel standing in front of her.

"He does ask a valid question." Leonardo's voice came as he stood beside Ezekiel, looking into the book. "Where did such a thick book suddenly come from?"

"I got it in my mail for being the first three magicians," Edward explained, outstretching his hand to which Ezekiel dropped on his palm. "A book about magic, so to say. It is the only way I can learn magic, so please, don't manhandle it."

"Well, we are done making the spear, so time to head out," Brody explained, now holding two spears. "Two for each person."

Andrew handed the book to Elizabeth before standing up. He would continue reading the book later, but first, he needed to clear the slime dungeon.

Walking past Leonardo and Ezekiel, Edward headed to the campfire, picking up one spear. He had the knowledge of how to use it but hadn't put it to good use.

'After I clear the dungeon.' He thought, picking up the second one. "I will send you a team invite. Accept and show your level. This will allow us to share EXP." He instructed before sending everyone a party invite.

_______________________

Party name: ???

Average level: 2.5

[Member] Elizabeth Von Arnim: Level 6

[Party Leader] Edward Smith: Level 5

[Member] Andrew Evans: Level 4

[Member] Brody Hazel: 1

[Member] Leonardo Romano: 1

[Member] Michael Hwang: 1

[Member] Emma Brown: 1

[Member] Ezekiel Davis: 1

_______________________

"Wait." Andrew paused, going through the party team once more. Peering intently at Elizabeth, he asked. "How are you a level six?" His voice was calm as his eyes studded her. "You crazy bitch. You haven't changed one bit."

Elizabeth looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean?" She asked, closing the book and looking up at Andrew's disgusted face.

"Yeah, what do you mean, Andrew," Emma asked, getting between Elizabeth and Andrew. By the look on Andrew's face, he looked like he would pounce on Elizabeth at any given moment.

"She killed the woman that died." Edward's calm voice came as he looked down at Elizabeth. "She is the killer."

Shock crossed Elizabeth's face, but it went by too quickly before anyone could notice. "What do you mean, Eddy? I will never do such a thing."

No one else except Andrew believed him. The claim was too wild. Who would ever think the smart and reserved Elizabeth was a killer? Not even Edward would have ever believed himself if he didn't know you get EXP from killing another human.

"Killing a human grants EXP." Edward reviled, gasping going through the group. "And the EXP is calculated by 100 * the human's age. From yesterday night, just simply looking at the woman allowed me to know she was in her forties. Killing her would grant 4000 to 4900 EXP. Enough to go from level 1 to six."

Leonardo shook his head, not believing it. "How did you know--"

Andrew cut him off, his voice going lower and his eyes moving to the ground. "I got 100 EXP from killing the unborn child." He quickly shook off the memory, looking back up, his blue eyes meeting Elizabeth's cold, blue eyes. "After my first human kill, a message came to me explaining the EXP gain and the restriction. This bitch killed that woman."

Elizabeth said nothing and kept staring at Andrew. All eyes were on her, waiting for her response. No one believed Andrew, as there was no proof to his claim, but how else did she get to level six.

With an emotionless voice that sent shivers down all seven of their spine, she asked, "And so?"