After the first wave, new minerals began appearing everywhere, making the old ones nearly useless.
But right now, natural gemstones carried more mana than the air because they formed through intense natural processes over time.
Although their concentration was weaker than the lowest-grade mana crystals, having many of them will made a big difference.
He crossed the street toward the jewelry store.
"Get me this one." He pointed to a pendant with a large blue stone.
"Yes, sir." The store assistant lifted the pendant and placed it on the glass counter.
"Is this natural or synthetic?"
"It's natural."
The moment he touched it, a pulse of mana sparked through his fingers.
"How much?" he asked, turning it in his palm.
"$27,000. It's an unheated Burma blue sapphire."
The price surprised him.
Although he got money to burn, he figured he would need millions of dollars' worth of this stones to break through.
'It's expensive, but it would help me get stronger faster.'
After thinking it over, he bought it to test how well he could absorb its energy.
Other gems were available, but they cost as much but held little mana.
Most were also synthetic, made in a lab, which was even worse.
Once the purchase was done, he headed back to his apartment.
Effie waited by the door, eyes brightening as he entered.
"Terrence, you're back—"
He leaned in, kissed her cheek quickly, then stopped her softly.
"I need to be alone for a while."
She opened her mouth to ask, but he was already gone.
The door clicked softly shut behind him.
Dropping to the floor, he crossed his legs and took a slow breath.
The gem felt cool in his hands. He clasped it tightly, both palms wrapped around it like he was praying.
"Impulse Breathing," he muttered.
Instead of the air, all his focus went to the gem.
It grew warmer in his hands. Soon, his fingers began to shake, and sweat formed on his palms as his skin slowly drew in the mana.
Energy spread through his arms like a faint electric shock.
It didn't hurt too much, but it wasn't comfortable either. It burned just enough to make him clench his teeth.
An hour slipped by in silence until he heard a crack—the sound of the gem breaking apart like brittle candy.
Slowly his breathing went back to normal.
'That was worth fifteen days of training.' He clenched his fist, feeling strength building inside.
'This method burns cash fast. I'll need plenty to keep at it.'
Fortunately, he would become extremely rich soon, so it was very doable.
'Can't wait to break through.'
Reaching the first stage would push him past human limits.
Speed and strength aside, his skin would harden enough to stop most knife wounds and low-caliber bullets.
Most importantly, breaking through let him train advanced techniques needing a superhuman body.
Still full of energy, he dropped into push-ups and curl-ups to build muscle.
Afterward, he ate a big meal and went straight to his office to check his investments.
Simultaneously, he browsed the Internet for news and anything that might trigger his memory and bring more profits.
Mana didn't just strengthen his body; it sharpened his mind as well.
Unfortunately, the only event open for betting was an esports tournament for the most popular first-person shooter.
He knew the winner, but max bets were too low.
Tapping the mouse, he checked every site and found one where the highest bet was $5,000.
'Wait, this could work.'
While checking the website, he saw they allowed betting through crypto wallets for animosity.
That meant he only needed to create more accounts and place bets one by one.
Noticing the loophole, he marked the date and time of the event and started searching for more opportunities to bet on.
He wasn't the businessman type, so gambling was his best shot at getting rich—aside from cryptocurrencies.
Right now, octocoin was climbing, but it was too soon to sell. He even converted his Kitcoins to boost his profits..
With his inheritance arriving soon, he could take bigger risks with his investments.
After double checking everything, he stretched his legs one more time before heading to bed.
Days passed. He split his time between training, working on his PC, and dealing with paperwork like getting his driver's license.
For that, he asked Saul to handle it with some tricks to skip the usual hassle.
He also followed up on the inheritance, but James said it wouldn't be ready until the end of the month.
"I won,"
He quickly transferred all the winnings into one account, then bought more Octocoins.
The price already hit 0.10.
Cautious, he aimed to sell 90% of his coins at 0.15 to 0.17, whatever happened
Why?
It was rising so fast, which meant whales were likely pumping money into it to lure in more buyers.
Marketing was also in full swing, with people online bragging about becoming millionaires overnight and urging others to hold because the price was about to skyrocket to the moon.
That was never a good sign.
So he waited patiently.
Six more days passed. The price hovered around 0.15.
Slowly, he began selling small chunks, converting them into Kitcoin.
Three days later, he sold nearly 95% of his coins.
The price still climbed to 0.19, showing steady support from new buyers.
That was until it hit 0.20. Suddenly, a few dozens whale accounts dumped tens of millions all at once.
A long red bar stretched down the screen after the price plunged from 0.20 to 0.17.
Terrence tried to sell his remaining 5%, but the orders didn't go through due to heavy traffic.
It kept falling—down to 0.15, then 0.10, climbed briefly to 0.1020, and dropped again.
Watching the screen sent a rush of adrenaline through him. Everything moved too fast to process.
Just like that billions of dollars was gone.
He felt nothing but pity for the people who dumped their life savings into the coin.
'Crypto trading isn't for the faint of heart.'