Hard at work, I didn’t notice the passing of time or the progress bar for the Phase 3 of the tutorial. They system was suspiciously silent as well, but taking in consideration that it only answers when questions are being asked, I decided to focus entirely on the task at hand.

And surely, soon enough, I could feel it! With each extra veins, organs and arteries connected, my body pulsated with much more life than before. I could tell that I was going through that ‘Oh yeah! Hell yes it was worth it!’ revelation I so much wanted before.

Moreover, just to prove my point, as the final adjustments have been made and a circulatory system has been created for mana to move through, my whole body shuddered violently as a feeling of emptiness drove me close to insanity.

It was as if my body was screaming for more mana. Panicking, but at this point already used to the pain, I started meditating again drawing more mana in, hoping to calm down the pain. Unlike before however, this time mana was flowing into and through me in larger quantities. If a couple of minutes ago it could be compared to a light drizzle, right now it was similar to a raging river, flooding everything in its path.

The feeling was intoxicating and I could tell even without hearing a notification from the system: I was getting stronger! The mana that was overflowing, broke past what I intended it to do and flooded my entire vascular system, reaching out to every portion of my body including the muscles, quenching its thirst for mana. The process lasted for a long while, until the flowing river calmed down into a peaceful lake.

I was brought back to reality from my reverie by a smell so pungent that made my face twitch and once opened my eyes, noticed the black substance covering certain parts of my body.

“The process is similar to what I’ve read in wuxia novels. It also smells exactly as horrible as described. Then, there’s also this…”

[Achievement earned! Basic mana body: your body reached the qualifications process mana. You have made the first step in path towards the apex.

Reward: +25 Total ATK; +35 Total DEF; +35 base stats; +0.04% Malice Rate; +0.05 Malice resist ]

[Title earned: Mana newbie]

[Congratulations on receiving your first Title. You can access the ‘Title’s sub-page in order to view its benefits and equip it.]

I could feel the grin slowly extending from one ear to the other. I was right! There were indeed rewards for being first, or among the first to accomplish something. Unable to suppress my growing curiosity, I brought up the sub-page and took a look.

Titles

Divided between passive and active, the titles are one of the ways to differentiate between common players and ones that have achieved something special.

The passive titles provide their benefits even while unequipped, however their rewards are mild, while the active titles provide many times the number of their counterparts, with the downside of only one being able to stay active at a time.

Active Titles None Passive Titles Mana Newbie (already equipped): provides +50% increase in mana absorption and conversion.

I was slightly underwhelmed in the beginning, until I realized the implications of this title. Because of the mana supplied steadily across my body, I could have a feel of how much could my body process and hold at the moment, without the said ‘core’ that I had no idea what or how it works. It was a given that even with the flood of mana after I connected everything I could, even the major organs were slightly less than 10% enforced.

“I truly have a long road ahead of me… Nevertheless, with that 50% absorption and conversion given by the title, even while breathing the amount of mana I take in and spread across my body grows by the moment. I should meditate as much as I can, given how bountiful the rewards are…”

Mana

A primordial energy that exists everywhere and nowhere.

Its purpose is to enhance all forms of life.

To use mana you must feel it by meditating, followed by condensing it into a core.

Different mana colors represent different attributes and different core colors represent different ranks of mana purity.

Skill proficiency: LVL 2 (8%) - Basic Mana Body (2%) Power: 685.5 ATK Rating: 563 Survival Rating: 808 Base Stats Total ATK: 58 Total HP: 73 Total Pierce: 63 Total DEF: 101 Total Hit: 65 Total Dodge: 69 Total Crit: 67 Total Firm: 67 Superb Stats Damage Add: 0% Damage Dec: 0% Malice Rate: 0.05% Malice Resist: 0.05%

I was slightly surprised by the huge stat increase I’ve went through. According to the AI, the base stats I had in the beginning were my biometric results after their ‘scan’. My ‘Power’ at that point was barely around 60. Now, I am at least 10 times over that, meaning to say that now, I am ten times stronger than a normal human. This is the gift of mana!

At the same time though, I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of ‘what sort of creatures will I have to fight, for which I need a body as strong as this?’, that passed through my head.

[Phase 3 fully loaded! According to your biometric scans, a few paths have been provided for you to choose from. The character creation will commence shortly!]

The same pressure as before bathed me in its power again, this time thousands of times more terrifying than before.

‘Fuck! You mean to tell me that while I wasn’t aware of mana it was only at a certain level, but now that I grasp the concept it’s an entire universe away compared to before!? Truly, there’s power in knowledge… how can an ant tell the difference between a human and a rat? Both are bigger than it…’

Thinking of how I could provoke a being as strong as I thought it was during my mana-ignorant phase, only to realize later what reality was actually like… damn! That sounds like a bad script for a stupid villain! I could only wipe my sweat away, gulp and quietly wait for this Phase 3 to start.

Next thing I knew, a fucking meteorite hit one of the hills in front of me, throwing my dumbfounded ass on the ground again. In its wake, eight groups of two people, a man and a woman, were staying proudly shoulder-to-shoulder. They were encased in different types of armor and sporting different weapons.

[In Origin, the classes one can chose from are separated into two main categories and four subclasses. First, there are the physical classes and the magical classes. Be careful when you pick yours, as it must have a good synergy with your subclass. For the subclasses, there are Tanks, DPS, Hunter and Support. To further explain…]

“That’s alright! I know what the subclasses are and what do they do… What did you mean synergy between the main and the subclass though?”

[Answer: To offer an example, there would be a bad synergy between a Support that chose Physical class, while there would be a great synergy between a Support and a Magical class.]

“Oh… I see…”

That was, severely underwhelming! However, simple it’s better than complicated, in a world where you don’t have all the details... or even 10% of the details at least.

[Furthermore, please chose a weapon. The weapon can be changed at any time, however your skills will be generated based on all factors already mentioned: Class, subclass, weapon, mana body progress and if applicable, mana affinity.]

“Wait, mana affinity? Do you mean like, affinity to a specific element?”

[Answer: correct!]

“Oh… how do I check what my affinity is?”

[Answer: you can request the system to do a check on your behalf.]

I looked incredulously around me and realized that, if I didn’t ask the right questions, I might’ve missed out on something again this time and had to stumble my way in the dark. Fuck! They sure aren’t making things easier for us…

“Please do an affinity check on my behalf then.” –I said through gritted teeth

[Acknowledged… Analyzing… Compiling data… Confirming… Congratulations! Your mana nature materialized thanks to reaching Beginner mana body rank. Type: Aura]

“Mana nature?”

[Answer: Correct! Once the mana stops being volatile, it begins transforming according to the trait of the player. Therefore, affinity becomes nature.]

“So, aura, hmm?”

I didn’t even bother asking why the fuck wasn’t that added in the Mana sub-page description if I gained it and instead glanced at the eight people staying in relaxed positions.

It truly felt like a character creation page, as there was a male/female option for each subclass. The Tanks held either spears and shields, or swords and shields, the female DPS was double-wielding short swords, while the male had a huge freaking axe, the Hunters with bows and crossbows, while the Support had it’s own class specific staff.

Given that there were no indications of magical classes, I frowned and asked.

“What about magical classes?”

[Answer: there isn’t a distinction as wielding mana has nothing to do with the weapon in your hands.]

Eh… okay… That means that you can see that dual-sword beauty over there charge at you and suddenly be hit by a fucking fireball while at it. There goes simplicity out the window…

So that posed the question: what weapon should I use?

“First off, if it’s aura, then I must go physical class. That means that I will fight at the frontlines. I could go for the Hunter subclass, however shooting arrows require a certain finesse that I am certainly lacking. The Support class is of the menu as well since… well, bad synergy and no clue how that would even work to be honest. Maybe a buff class? Anyways, that leaves me with Tank and DPS. I wasn’t prompted to pick between them, therefore they are more like guidelines most likely. I can’t see myself fight with an axe, longsword, hammer, or any other barbarian-like weapons, but at the same time I don’t want to be face to face with any opponents on the battlefield. I need something with more range than a sword… It’s decided then! I want a spear as a weapon!”

[Acknowledged! Generating skill… Analyzing… Compiling data… Congratulation on receiving your first skill: Aura emission! Randomizing its rank, based on general base stats… Rank B has been awarded!]

“Let me guess… ranks go from E to SSS or something?”

[Answer: Incorrect! Ranks start from G all the way to Divine.]

“Ugh… Well, I guess B isn’t that bad then. Let’s see what it does. Skills!”

Skills

Skills are the congregation of mana transfixed by the player’s individual traits.

They can be separated into passive or active, offensive or defensive, for buffing one person or many.

Current skills: 2

Passive Aura (G) (Level 0) – boosts all basic stats of the player by 5% Active Aura emission (B) (Level 0) – Use mana to take a physical form enhancing the desired object