"No matter how many times I see it, this place is as beautiful as ever…" Wang Lei murmured, his eyes reflecting the sparkling scene before him.
Hmm… he paused, a curious thought forming in his mind. Somehow, it's getting easier to breathe in here…
He noticed the difference—the air, once suffocating, now felt lighter, more bearable than when he first stepped into this mysterious place.
And it felt… refreshing. As if his entire body was being gently washed clean, from the inside out. Wang Lei couldn't help but let out a deep, contented sigh.
How mysterious… he thought, his gaze slowly drifting toward the sky-blue ore. Not as mysterious as that, though, he added silently. Since everything here… all of it, must've come from that thing.
Wang Lei stepped forward, each step deliberate as he approached the sky-blue ore. He came to a stop just within arm's reach.
Up close, this thing is almost exactly my height… he noted, eyes scanning its luminous surface. I wonder how many attributes points I'll gain from it?
With a mixture of anticipation and curiosity, Wang Lei stretched out his hand. His palm gently pressed against the cool, crystal surface.
This is… Wang Lei furrowed his brow as his palm pressed firmly against the crystalline surface. I thought it would be a bit fragile judging by its appearance, but this… it's much tougher than I expected.
He tapped the ore lightly with his knuckles. A sharp, solid sound resonated through his hand.
Will my pickaxe even be able to handle this…? Doubt crept into his mind as he glanced at the tool slung over his shoulder.
"Let's give it a try—just once," Wang Lei muttered under his breath.
He adjusted his grip on the pickaxe and raised it high above his head, his muscles tensing. "I'll put everything I've got into this one strike."
With a sharp exhale, he brought the pickaxe crashing down.
His full strength—equal to four times that of an average human—channeled through the swing, his weapon slicing through the air in a powerful arc as it slammed into the surface of the sky-blue ore.
Clang!
The sharp ring of metal against crystal echoed through the cavern, reverberating off the walls like a warning bell.
Wang Lei staggered back, his expression twisted in pain.
"Kuh…" he gritted his teeth, tossing the pickaxe to the ground with a clatter. "My hands… they sting like hell…"
He looked down, flexing his fingers as the dull ache throbbed through his palms. The ore hadn't even chipped.
"Damn it… not even a scratch," he muttered, his voice thick of frustration.
"Should I just... bite it?" Wang Lei muttered, his face twitching with uncertainty.
Even though the absurd suggestion had come from his own mouth, now that he was standing in front of the ore, the idea felt even more ridiculous. He imagined himself crouched over like some primitive caveman, gnawing on a glowing rock. The mental image alone made him grimace.
"…Ugh. This is so humiliating," he sighed, glancing around the empty cave, as if someone might be watching.
"But… it's the most effective way, isn't it?" he reasoned, trying to shove away his pride. "My skill worked best when I directly ate the ores. Pickaxe won't cut it, literally."
Taking a deep breath—and then holding it—he leaned forward, eyes locked onto the crystal surface.
"…Here goes nothing."
Wang Lei opened his mouth wide, inching closer until he felt he had a good angle. Then—crunch—he bit down.
A loud, crisp sound echoed through the cavern.
He chewed slowly; eyes shut in concentration as he tried to make sense of the taste.
"…It's kind of sweet?" he mumbled, surprise flickering across his face.
He chewed again, thoughtfully.
"Is this… blueberry?"
Wang Lei was just about to take another bite when a familiar chime rang in his ears, followed by a floating screen flashing before his eyes.
[Mana +2]
His eyes widened.
"Woah… it already gave me something?" he exclaimed, staring at the message. "And I only ate a small chunk…"
A huge grin spread across his face as realization hit him.
"And it's the one I've been waiting for too—an ore that actually boosts my Mana?!"
"Just how many Mana points will I get if I eat this whole thing?!"
Wang Lei's eyes gleamed with excitement as he stared at the ore, practically trembling with anticipation. Drool dripped uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth.
He crouched, ready to pounce like a wild beast claiming its prize—
—but then, suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.
"…Wha—"
Wang Lei dropped to his knees, his eyes wide in shock. A sharp pain seized his chest as if an invisible hand had crushed his heart.
Blech!
Blood burst from his mouth, splattering onto the ground with a sickening splash.
What the hell…? His thoughts blurred. My whole body—it's burning… like I'm being submerged in lava…!
Wang Lei gritted his teeth, forcing himself to think through the searing pain that wracked his body.
This sensation… it's familiar…
His vision blurred, but he pressed on, clinging to the thread of memory.
It's… similar to when that white ant summoned the other ants…
He clenched his fists, trembling as he recalled that moment—the door splintering apart, the shrill screech echoing through the air, the swarm that followed like a tide of nightmares.
Although I felt it for just a few seconds, I'm certain. That sound... It wasn't just a call. It carried something more... something like this… oppressive force that hits you from the inside out.
That had to be a skill, Wang Lei reasoned, struggling to stay conscious through the pain. And an active skill like that... it must have consumed something to trigger—
His eyes widened as the pieces started to fall into place.
It happened right after I ate the ore... right after that message appeared.
He gasped, clutching his chest tighter as another wave of heat surged through his body, threatening to melt him from the inside out.
Then… could it be?
His thoughts sharpened with a terrifying realization.
Is this... mana?This thing that is rampaging inside me?
But… I don't even know what mana truly is… Wang Lei thought, his face twisted in agony. What's the point of understanding all this if I can't control it?
The heat surged again, worse than before, as if his veins were boiling from the inside.
Should I… just let it consume me?
…No, not yet. I haven't even tried anything—why am I giving up so easily? Wang Lei scolded himself, a bitter smirk twitching on his lips despite the pain.
His body trembled under the overwhelming heat, but he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to endure it. I've made it this far. I won't let some unknown energy take me down.
Now… how do I quell this mana? he wondered, furrowing his brow, even as sweat poured down his face. Thoughts raced through his mind, desperate for an answer, while his body fought to contain the storm burning inside him.
There has to be a way. I just have to find it—fast.
Wang Lei closed his eyes, trying to focus.
Now that I've calmed down, I can think a little more clearly.
He took slow, steady breaths, ignoring the heat that still burned inside him.
I don't know how I'm doing this… but I can feel something—like a blood vessel—deep inside, it filled my whole body, Wang Lei thought, unsure if he was just imagining it.
It wasn't something he could see, but somehow, he knew it was there. A strange space, like a tube, holding something unstable.
"Is mana similar to blood?" Wang Lei muttered as he focused on what he was sensing. "But it doesn't move… it just sits there."
Maybe it needs something like a heart to pump it around? he wondered.
With that thought, he concentrated harder, following the strange vessel through his body to see where it led.
"This is…" Wang Lei muttered, eyes wide in disbelief at what he was sensing.
Right in front of him—within the depths of his own body—was a faint, transparent sphere. It looked like some kind of container, and inside, a soft blue energy swirled slowly. But it wasn't whole. Cracks ran along its surface, thin but clearly visible, like fractured glass on the edge of breaking.
"It's… broken?" he whispered, unable to take his eyes off the fragile structure. "Is this where the mana's supposed to go…?"
His heart pounded. If this thing was damaged… what did that mean for him?
Is this why I'm boiling like a hot kettle? Wang Lei thought, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Because the mana in this sphere is overflowing through the cracks?
It finally made sense—the pain, the heat, the sudden rush of energy. It wasn't that his body couldn't handle Mana, it was that the thing meant to hold it… was leaking.
"Then the only way to fix this… is to somehow seal those cracks," he muttered, clenching his fists.
He stared at the broken sphere in his mind's eye.
"But how…?"
He had no idea. There were no instructions, no system prompts guiding him this time. Just instinct—and pain.
Wang Lei clenched his fists in frustration. I've tried everything I can think of—comparing it to blood flow, thinking through my instincts—but nothing makes sense.
He gritted his teeth, the pain from the overflowing Mana still burning inside him.
"In the first place… Mana didn't even exist before this whole mess started," he muttered bitterly. "How the hell am I supposed to know how to deal with it?"
He slumped back slightly, panting from the heat, his mind running in circles.
"Damn it… I can't think of anything," he said again, this time softer—more defeated.
Wang Lei took a deep breath, trying to shake off the rising frustration. Calm down… Just think it through.
"Mana and blood… blood vessels… circulation…" he muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes.
"…Wait. Circulation?"
His eyes widened slightly as the idea clicked. What if that's the problem? The mana wasn't moving—it was just sitting there, building up and leaking out through the cracks.
Maybe it's supposed to flow… like blood.
His heart started to race—not from panic this time, but from a sense of possibility.
"If I can get it to move… maybe I can relieve the pressure."
"Now that we're on the subject of blood circulation… didn't Father teach me a breathing technique to enhance it?" Wang Lei vaguely recalled, the memory surfacing like a whisper in the back of his mind.
But then, his expression clouded with uncertainty.
Mana… this wasn't ordinary blood flow or internal energy—it was something far more mysterious, more volatile.
"If I try that technique recklessly now," he thought, lips tightening, "it might not help… it might make things worse."
"…Screw it!" Wang Lei suddenly shouted. "I'll die anyway if I don't do something!" He basically threatened himself into taking action.
"If I remember right, it was something like this…" he muttered, trying to focus.
He forced his aching body to sit up, then crossed his legs and leaned his back against the cool surface of the glowing blue ore.
"Alright… let's do this."