Absorption

A large crowd had gathered around as Jor put the finishing touches on her web, connecting the pixies to the most critical patient first.

Gasps of shock and awe rang out amidst the crowd as the collapsed chest slowly healed. The man's breathing becoming steady, as his pained face eased substantially.

Seeing that it was successful, Mark sighed in relief as everyone began murmuring around him.

"Amazing."

"Something that serious healed that fast..."

"Is this really the same world we used to live in?"

Mark, noticing the tightening crowd becoming louder, spoke up. "Alright everyone back off! These are still patients, so let's give them some space, please."

Seemingly snapping out of their daze, the crowd made space for the injured. Some left, while others stayed for the rest of the show.

After a short time, the rest of the injured people were healed and everyone looked at Jor thankfully.

"Never in my life would I think a spider would save me... Thank you for everything..." The man who had had a collapsed chest said, looking at Jor, who was now resting on Mark's shoulder once again.

"Its name is Jor, and yes, it understands you just fine. Its intelligence and understanding are no less than yours." Mark told the man, after understanding his pause.

Another round of gasps echoed in the crowd from the newcomers after that.

"Truly, times have changed." The old man sighed.

"This can't be the same Earth, can it?"

"Even insects can gain intelligence now?"

...

After everyone calmed down, Mark asked the combat team members to bring the pixies with him to the exit of the base.

"Are we letting them go? Aren't they monsters?" Someone asked as Mark began removing the bindings on one of them.

"They aren't really, they're fae. They're the same lineage as fairies in fairy tales." Mark said, cutting the last binding, letting the pixie fly away.

"They also never attacked us, they simply cast that confusion dust on us. To me it felt more like children playing pranks than a malicious attack." Mark watched as the pixie flew up and waited for its friends to be freed as well, but staying outside the range of a surprise attack from its captors.

The others, watching the pixie's actions, began to understand Mark's thoughts and freed their pixies as well. Once they were all free, about to run away, Mark called out to them.

"I'm sorry for capturing you guys, but thank you for saving our friends." Mark didn't know if they could understand him yet, but he still wanted to give his thanks to the fleeing fae.

Turning around and entering the base with the others, Mark went straight to the storage area. Seeing the large pile of mana crystals, he smiled. Reaching down to pick one up, Mark sat cross legged right there, anxious to test out the absorption process.

"Just feel the mana in the crystal and pull it through the mana circuit, into your core." Clye kindly explained, after seeing Mark stare at the crystal for a while.

"Thanks Clye." Mark chuckled, following her instructions.

Soon, he felt the mana enter his body and flow into his core. He could feel it filling much faster than it naturally did.

The addicting feeling was fleeting; as soon as the mana crystal was drained, its once vibrant blue became a dull grey, as it turned to dust in his hand. Mark frowned at the consumption speed.

"Five percent and it crumples to nothing, huh? If we didn't have a dungeon supplying them right next to us, I'd say the price is pretty steep." Mark wiped his hand, before grabbing another crystal and resuming his absorption.

...

Some time later, Mark finally reached one hundred percent in his core density. He was wondering how to take that final step to reach the next stage, so he turned to the only being he knew could answer him.

"Clye, how do I enter the next stage? I don't understand how I compress the mana in my core." Mark scratched his head, as he tried a few different theories he had.

"It's not too difficult to begin the process, the challenge is completing it. Compression of mana takes willpower. The stronger your will, the easier it is to compress. Just imagine all the mana in your core being forced into a point as you circulate it." Clye explained, circulating Mark's mana to familiarize him with it.

*Whew*

Mark breathed out heavily as he began to follow Clye's advice. After circulating for a while, he began imagining his mana being compressed. Sweat began to drip from his head, as he struggled to remain focused. The longer he went, the more challenging it became, but he could feel that he was nearly there, so he pushed on.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Mark opened his eyes and smiled at the system notification before him.

{[Core Density] has reached Filling stage}

Mark excitedly opened his status to see his new information, as he felt the small amount of mana vapor dance around in his core.

{Status:

Name: Mark Tellin

Age: 18

Race: Lesser Human

Health: 10/ 10

Mana: 100/ 100

Title(s): None

Class: [Warrior]

Sub-Class: [Artificer]

Physique: 33 (30 +3)

Spirit: 20

Core Density: Filling (0%)

Mana Circuit: Beginner (Stage 3- 1%)

Innate Talent: [Life Bestowal]

Active Skill(s): [Slash]

Passive Skill(s): [Warrior's Body] [Nimble Fingers]

}

"One hundred mana!" Mark exclaimed, jumping up into the air. His face lit with excitement as he pumped his fist.

"Congratulations, Mark!" Clye cheered as they both became lost in the happiness of the moment, escaping the weight of reality pressing on their shoulders.

Finally, after the two calmed down, Mark made his way to the dining room to eat dinner, before returning to the storage room to sleep. It had been an eventful day; Mark and the others were all ready to rest.

Checking his phone one last time before he went to sleep, Mark saw that he had a notification.

It was from his best friend Jake, it seemed he had survived!

Mark immediately called him, anxiously waiting for the other side to accept. Finally the call went through and he heard the all too familiar voice on the other side, filling him with relief.

"What's up bro? Glad to see you survived!" Jake happily said, with his voice clearly choking up a bit.

"I'm glad you survived too, man." Mark warmly smiled, wiping a tear from his eye as the two began chatting about their insane experiences these past few days.