Chapter 3: Revisiting the Basics

I went back inside the house, and my mother asked, "Did you offend someone, Oliver?" Her voice was tinged with worry.

I shrugged. "Just a self-entitled prick. Don't worry, Mom. With the patriarch's protection, he can't do much."

My mother's eyes softened. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will. Promise." I then went to sleep.

I woke up, had breakfast with my mom, and got dressed to go to the library. "Take care of yourself, and try not to offend anyone else, okay?" she said.

I smiled. "Don't worry about me, Mom. I'm off then."

My footsteps echoed softly as I entered the library. Rows of ancient tomes and scrolls greeted me, a silent testament to centuries of accumulated knowledge. I made my way to the mana section. I needed a distraction, so I decided to revisit the basics.

I chose the book *Introduction to Core Formation*.

Before forming the core, mana enters the body through what are called mana receptors, which are located at certain chakra points in the body. The mana then moves through the body via mana channels, which resemble blood vessels, and converges in the solar plexus.

The body starts accumulating mana slowly. This process begins at the age of eight and goes unnoticed by the individual for several years. Some children are able to control mana before the formation of the core, but this is not advised as it can interfere with the natural process of core formation.

As the body absorbs more mana, it starts to concentrate the energy at specific focal points. These are the nascent stages of the mana core. The body's natural processes guide this concentration, similar to how the body knows to form bones and muscles.

Once a certain threshold of mana saturation is reached, the body begins to crystallize this energy into a stable, concentrated core in the solar plexus. This process is akin to how the body forms crystals or stones, such as kidney stones, but in a controlled and beneficial manner.

Over time, with continued absorption and refinement of mana, the core grows in size and strength. The core can also change in nature based on the individual's affinity.

After core formation, it grows naturally with time. Its only purpose is as a mana container, but if you do nothing, you will remain at the white core stage forever. Think about it like this: the quantity of mana increases with time, but the quality remains the same.

Each mana receptor has a purification node beside it where the ambient mana passes through to be purified. The purification node acts as a sand filter where mana passes through it slowly to be purified.

The way to purify mana is by using circulation techniques to make mana in the core pass through the purification nodes continuously. The difference between each technique is how fast you can complete a mana cycle, which is controlling mana to pass through all purification nodes and then return to the core. The best-known technique can complete a mana cycle in one hour.

There are even techniques that require surgically blocking certain mana channels to make mana circulation simpler and more efficient. However, that requires a green-cored individual to perform the operation due to their superior mana control.

After each mana upgrade inside the mana core, the body including mana receptors and the Mana core itself are upgraded because of the nourishment of the upgraded mana.

There were countless experiments made to try and improve this process. One of them involved preventing the mana from converging in the solar plexus to make each receptor a mana core, thereby removing the need to circulate mana as each core purifies its own mana. But this failed as the user would need 540 years to form this many cores.

After a while of browsing through the library, I saw Erica. "Thank you for what you did yesterday, Erica. I owe you one," I said, genuinely grateful.

Erica smiled. "No need to thank me. We're family."

My expression darkened. "David crossed a line. He won't get away with it."

Erica placed a hand on my shoulder. "Just be smart about it, okay? We'll face him together when the time comes."

I waved my hand at her. "Thank you, but this is between me and him. I will take my revenge with my own hands."

She looked at me worriedly. "Don't do anything stupid, Oliver. David is always protected by two yellow-cored individuals. You can't do anything to him now."

I smiled darkly. "You're right. I can't do anything to him now, but four years later, I wonder who will protect him in the academy."

She looked at me with surprise. "You plan to enter the battle academy? I thought you would choose to be a scholar."

I sighed. "Doing one doesn't mean I can't do the other. I will be overwhelmed, but in this world, strength is king. I need to at least defend myself." As I said that, I felt a little discouraged. I hope I can find a way to solve my talent problem.

Talent begins at the biological level. Individuals are born with varying numbers of mana receptors throughout their bodies. These receptors are specialized cells that can draw in ambient mana from the environment.

Individuals with high talent have a greater number of mana receptors and, therefore, a greater number of purification nodes. They can not only absorb larger quantities of mana but also purify it faster.

As I immersed myself in a book about mana channels, I couldn't help but think about the previous day. I won't let them look down on me forever. Although I enjoy researching magic, in this world, without strength, anyone can bully you. Magic has endless possibilities; maybe I can find a way. Somehow.

We moved to the library entrance. I took a few books with me. The librarian, an old lady with white hair and wearing a brown uniform, bowed. "Lady Erica," she said. Then she got up and looked at me. "Oliver, what books are you borrowing this time? Show me." She browsed through them quickly. "Theories about Core Formation, Introduction to Mana Channels, Documentary of Experiments on White Cores, and lastly, Anatomy of Mana Receptors and Purification Nodes."

She looked at me curiously. "What are you trying to do this time, Oliver?"

I smiled at her. "Nothing. It's just that since I am beginning the process to form my core, I thought to enrich my knowledge about the process and revisit the basics."

She looked at me sternly and pointed at the documentary book. "You better not try anything dangerous, or I will tell the authorities."

I waved my hand. "Don't worry about me, Miss Sophia. I know what I'm doing. Just a little curious about this stuff."

She smiled at me. "As long as you know when to stop, then it's alright."