CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 20

Confirming the value of the token, he took it and then said:

"I understand. This token allows you to have a 50% discount on the fee to take the test, as well as on the cost to use the magic device."

Reily felt euphoric hearing this, and like a frantic calculator, he quickly did the calculations in his mind.

'So, if we consider the amount I've already paid plus the 10 silver coins to add for using the device, and with a 50% discount on the total, the number of coins I have to give is...'

He did the calculations quickly in his mind, and even before the receptionist could continue, he pulled out a certain amount from his pockets and placed it on the counter. Once done, he hastily said,

"When do we start?"

The receptionist, who was just about to tell him how much he had to pay, had to stop and look at the amount on the table.

'Wow, that was fast.'

Not that it was anything extraordinary, but it was well known that many adventurers hadn't gone to school, and although they still knew how to read and write, mathematics was certainly not their strong suit.

Taking the money, she called over a colleague.

The colleague, who was a slightly taller woman than the receptionist, arrived and took the token that she handed to him.

Understanding what he had to do, he gestured for Reily to follow him.

Reily followed the woman, and they climbed the stairs to go to the guild's first floor.

They walked for a bit until they stopped in front of a door.

The attendant knocked twice on the door and waited a moment.

Reily didn't speak and waited patiently.

After a few seconds, they heard the door open, and an old man with a long white beard appeared, who looked at the attendant and then moved his gaze to Reily.

Nodding his head, he said,

"I understand, you can go, I'll take it from here." He turned around and as he walked away, he said,

"Come in, boy, and close the door after you enter."

The attendant didn't say anything. She seemed accustomed to scenes like this. She bid Reily goodbye and headed towards the stairs.

Reily, after bidding her farewell in return, entered and closed the door. He then turned around and looked at the scene before him.

The room was a bit dark, illuminated by a few beams of light coming in through the half-closed curtains on the windows.

The room wasn't very furnished.

It had a wardrobe at the back of the room, a table with a chair in front of the central window of the room, and then in the center of the room, a white stone pedestal that supported a sphere on it.

The sphere had a diameter of about 20 centimeters, composed of a translucent enchanted glass that emitted a soft bluish light.

The brightness of the sphere illuminated the area around the pedestal.

Inside it, delicate golden spirals could be seen intertwining and pulsating slowly, emitting a reassuring energy.

Around the sphere, some ancient runic symbols were engraved that shone with a silvery light, giving the device a mystical and sacred air.

"So this is how a magical device for awakening the core is made," thought Reily as he looked fascinated at the sphere in front of him.

The old man who had stopped near the luminous sphere, seeing Reily's face, smiled.

It was a look he was very familiar with.

Almost every person who came for the first time to awaken their mana core had that expression of amazement.

Seeing that Reily continued to look at the sphere, he decided to proceed with the process.

"This, as you know, is the device we use to awaken the core," he said, gesturing towards the sphere.

Seeing that Reily was paying attention, he continued.

"All you have to do is approach it, place both your hands on it, and wait."

"The sphere will release, in small portions, a certain amount of mana to stimulate your dormant mana core and start it functioning."

"The process isn't always successful and can be due to various factors, such as a damaged mana core, incomplete or damaged mana pathways, and so on."

He said with a serious expression, as if he were a teacher giving a lesson to his student.

Reily already knew all this thanks to his basic knowledge of this novel, which although superficial, was still helpful.

With the help of the system, Reily had been able to determine whether his mana core had any damage or not, and the system had assured him that from its diagnosis, it had not found any problem with his mana core or his mana pathways.

Mana pathways were essentially the paths that connected the core to the veins and arteries of the body.

Mana, like oxygen, was transported throughout the body through the veins, and these, being connected through mana pathways to the mana core, were able to circulate mana properly throughout the body.

From this point of view, the mana core could then be considered as a second heart, which instead of pumping blood, stored mana and filtered it, and then circulated it throughout the body, ready to be used.

The ability of a core to absorb and store was what determined whether a mage was of high level or low level.

There were specific techniques that allowed to accelerate the mana absorption process, and depending on the quality of the technique, a mage could level up more or less quickly.

These were the pieces of information that the system had given to Reily after he had asked how the core worked.

Reily nodded at the old man's explanation, who, seeing him, said,

"Well, now approach and put your hands on the sphere."

Having said that, he moved aside, leaving room for Reily, who advanced and approached the sphere, ready to begin.

"Once the core is awakened, you will be able to perceive it," he said, watching as Reily placed his hands on the smooth surface of the sphere. Then he continued,

"The sphere will react to your mana core, and will begin to evaluate your affinity with mana, and will light up accordingly."

There were many types of affinities in the world. From the more generic ones like the five elements of nature (air, fire, earth, water, and metal) to the rarer ones like affinity with the light element, lightning, ice, etc.

Reily began to wonder what affinity he would have. Being a Vampire, he didn't know what to expect.

Vampires were born with the natural ability to manipulate blood, and as far as he knew, they didn't have the ability to manipulate other elements.

Therefore, although he still had to awaken this ability, he wondered if his being human before would give him some affinity with an element or not.

It wasn't rare to find people without an element; indeed, there were many who were born without any affinity.

Mages were divided into two categories. Elemental Mages, who had one or more affinities with the elements, and fighter mages, who used mana to strengthen themselves and also strengthen their weapons.

After he placed his hands on the sphere, Reily and the old man began to watch the sphere carefully.

The golden vortex in the sphere began to accelerate, and Reily began to feel a certain sensation in his body.

The sensation was of a warm energy that began to flow from his hands, through the

 arm, and to circulate throughout the rest of the body.

The sensation was very similar to when he had transformed into a vampire, but it was also somewhat different from it.

He could feel that energy flowing and beginning to move towards his abdomen.

He felt something pulsating in the abdomen for a moment.

Then he felt it again, once, and then again.

After a few pulsations, the sensation stopped.

Reily thought that the awakening process had failed and began to panic.

"Could it be that the system was wrong?"

Just as he began to have dark thoughts, he felt something peculiar happening in his body.

As if a dam had burst, letting the water flow like a waterfall out of it, he felt as if a barrier had broken, letting the mana flood his core, ready to be used.