After clearing the first floor, Kael didn't waste any time.
He carefully extracted every monster core this time.
"…Not making that mistake again…"
With the cores tied securely in a piece of torn cloth, he moved forward.
The next two floors—
He used the same strategy.
Hide.
Observe.
Isolate.
Kill.
But the difficulty had already started increasing.
The goblins were no longer the same.
Some were larger—Hobgoblins, stronger and more durable.
Others stood in the back—Shamans, casting crude spells.
"…So they evolve by floor…"
"…Great…"
Even then, Kael adapted.
Void Step for positioning.
Quick kills.
Elemental bursts when necessary.
Careful mana usage.
And slowly—
Painfully—
He cleared all three F-rank floors.
Now—
He sat in a small open area.
A quiet space.
Safe.
"…So this is the safe zone…"
He leaned against the wall, exhausted.
"…Finally…"
Looking around, he found a small wooden crate.
Inside—
"…Potions?"
Two red.
Two blue.
"…Healing… and mana recovery…"
"…Common rank…"
He let out a small laugh.
"…Right now… these are priceless…"
He kept them carefully.
Then—
A thought hit him.
"…Wait…"
"…Food?"
"…What am I supposed to eat?"
{Ding! Find it yourself. Why are you asking me?}
"…You're useless…"
{Ding! Correct.}
"…Tch."
"…I'll deal with that later…"
Kael then looked at the cloth tied at his waist.
"…Cores…"
"…So…"
"…How do I use these?"
{Ding! Try absorbing the mana within them.}
{Ding! It should be easy for you due to your EX-rank talent.}
"…Absorbing…"
He picked one up.
"…Like this…?"
"…Can't I just eat it?"
{Ding! No, you dumbass.}
{Ding! Low-rank cores contain impurities.}
{Ding! The only reason I suggested absorption is because your talent allows you to filter pure mana.}
{Ding! If you eat it and fail to control the impurities—}
{Ding! You may explode.}
{Ding! Or mutate.}
Kael froze.
"…Mutate…?"
"…Into what…?"
{Ding! Possibly a goblin.}
"…That's terrifying."
After a moment of silence—
Kael sat cross-legged.
"…Alright…"
"…Let's try this properly…"
He held a core in his hand.
"…Focus…"
"…Mana…"
His eyes activated slightly.
He could see it.
The energy inside the core.
Dense.
Chaotic.
"…So this is what I absorb…"
He closed his eyes.
"…Come…"
Slowly—
A faint stream of mana began to move.
From the core—
Into his body.
"…It's working…"
But—
It was slow.
Very slow.
Time passed.
Minutes.
"…Huff…"
"…Why is this taking so long…"
{Ding! Of course it is, dumbass.}
{Ding! Low-rank cores contain little pure mana and many impurities.}
{Ding! Extraction takes time.}
{Ding! Using higher-rank cores would be faster—}
{Ding! But they would kill your current pathetic self instantly.}
"…Right…"
"…Makes sense…"
After nearly half an hour—
The core turned dull.
Empty.
"…One… done…"
"…That took forever…"
He looked at the remaining ones.
"…At this rate…"
"…This will take hours…"
Silence.
Then—
"…Or…"
A thought crossed his mind.
"…What if I just…"
{Ding! Don't.}
"…Yeah… but…"
{Ding! Do not even think about it.}
"…It might be faster…"
{Ding! You will die.}
"…Not necessarily…"
{Ding! Yes, necessarily.}
"…Too late."
Kael tossed a core into his mouth—
And swallowed it.
"…Let's see what—"
—BOOM!
"AAARRGHHH—!!!"
Pain.
Exploded.
Inside his body.
It felt like something was tearing him apart from within.
"GHH—!!"
He fell to the ground, clutching his chest.
"…WHAT IS THIS—?!"
The mana inside the core—
Wild.
Uncontrolled.
Raging through his body.
Burning.
Corrupting.
{Ding! You idiot!}
{Ding! Do you have a death wish?!}
"…HELP—!"
{Ding! Control it!}
{Ding! Guide the mana—don't let it rampage!}
"…HOW—?!"
{Ding! Use your Primordial Mana Control!}
{Ding! Focus on the flow!}
Kael gritted his teeth.
"…Focus…"
"…Mana…"
His vision blurred—
But he forced his eyes open.
"…See it…"
The chaotic energy—
He could see it.
Wild streams clashing inside him.
"…Too messy…"
"…Too much…"
His breathing became unstable.
"…No…"
"…Control it…"
Slowly—
He reached out.
Not physically—
But mentally.
"…Calm down…"
"…Move…"
For a moment—
Nothing.
Then—
A small part of the mana responded.
"…Yes…"
"…Like that…"
He guided it.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Separating—
Pure from impure.
"…This part…"
"…Mine…"
The pure mana flowed smoothly.
Integrating into his body.
Strengthening it.
The rest—
The impurities—
He forced them out.
Through his skin.
Through his breath.
"…Ghh…"
Sweat poured down his face.
"…Almost…"
"…Almost…"
Time passed.
Pain slowly decreased.
The chaotic energy stabilized.
Then—
Silence.
Kael collapsed onto his back.
"…Huff… huff…"
"…I'm alive…"
{Ding! …Barely.}
"…Yeah…"
"…That was stupid…"
{Ding! Correct.}
"…But…"
He clenched his fist.
"…It worked…"
He could feel it.
His body—
Stronger.
His mana—
Denser.
"…So this is…"
"…Faster…"
{Ding! Also more dangerous.}
"…Yeah…"
Kael let out a weak laugh.
"…Worth it…"
He stared at the remaining cores.
"…Should I…?"
{Ding! Don't even think about it.}
"…Relax…"
"…I'll do it properly…"
Pause.
"…Probably…"
Kael slowly sat up again.
"…Alright…"
"…Next floor…"
His eyes hardened.
"…Let's keep going."
Thanks for reading !!!!
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