Beast Evolution Forge

Chapter 19 Corrupted Mana Pt.1

Vell was coughing up blood, his core fracturing with every passing second. The pain was unbearable; he had never felt anything like it. His fingers dug deep into the ground, trying to endure it in any way possible, but the agony only worsened.

[Master, hurry! The cores, take one.] His blurry gaze turned toward the cores, but they were too far for him to reach, especially with the pain intensifying by the second.

He attempted to move, but that single effort sent shockwaves through his body, causing him to collapse completely. Yenna, worried, rushed to his side and gently shook him.

"H-hey, what's going on? What should I do?"

His trembling arm slowly pointed at the cores, and she wasted no time in running to get them.

'Crap, crap, what is happening? Did he fight when he left the city? Is he still injured? Is this my fault?'

She grabbed as many cores as she could carry and began running back, her face etched with concern. She was so focused on him that she didn't watch where she was stepping; the next thing she knew, the world tilted as she fell, twisting her ankle.

'Why now, of all times?'

She looked at him still on the ground, groaning in pain. Ignoring her own discomfort, she picked up the cores and continued running with a pained expression. She collapsed beside him, relieved that she had made it.

"H-hey, I got them."

She placed one in his hand, and he stared at it for a moment before putting it into his mouth.

"Hey, that's not—"

She sensed that the mana leaking from his body had stopped; not only that, but his breathing had stabilized. However, this relief was short-lived as he let out a painful scream that was so loud Yenna instinctively covered her ears. His reaction was primal; his body twisted, unable to bear the pain. His veins were fully visible, a dark color coursing through them.

"Oh no, the niks mana is infecting his body since he consumed the core directly. Dammit, we don't have any elixirs, what should I do? Maybe Wren could help?"

She wanted to rush to get Wren, but Vell went silent again, and this time his runes began to glow. Mana emanated from the runes, spreading across his body and neutralizing the corrupted mana.

'What in the world? His body actually rejects corrupted mana? So what he said back then was the truth?'

[.....what the hell.]

The system knew that his body could reject corrupted mana because of the pure mana he possessed due to having more than one core, but what he just did should not have been possible. No human should be able to consume a core directly and survive.

[Haha... you keep surprising me. How did you do that?]

No reply; he was concentrating. He was in control of a massive amount of mana now and had to utilize it somehow. The mana slowly wrapped around his shattered core, and he began compressing it until all the pieces were back together.

"...Hey, about the corrupted mana in my body, can you really remove it?"

Her hands tightened around the core. "I am weak; I awakened as an apprentice and have been stuck at the same level ever since. No matter how much I tried to level up, it never worked. It's the same for the others too. The level you awaken at is the one you stay with forever."

He knew nothing about this, so he had to confirm. 'Is this true?'

[No, that is obviously not true. It's clear why they are not able to move on to higher ranks; the corrupted mana in their bodies is preventing any pure mana from entering. Unless that is fixed, they won't evolve. Humans are made up of pure mana, so it's only natural that they need that same mana to grow stronger.]

Just what are they up to by doing all this, and how has no one ever noticed? You want to tell me no player has ever been to other major cities?

[Huh, is that a trick question?]

'.....'

[Do you really not know how dangerous it is outside the city zones? Once you leave the safety, you will enter dangerous territory, full of monsters. I am sure you are aware that monsters are not only found in dungeons; this world is full of creatures that could wipe out humanity. It's not a place to take lightly.]

'Wait, then are we still in the safe zone?'

[Yes, a few more miles and we will exit the zone. You need to be very careful out there.]

'This sounds risky. Are you sure it's worth it? I mean, we could just hide in the small towns and live a secret life or something.'

[.....I know it's risky, but trust me, Master, if you make it to the next city, your life will be changed forever, in the best way.]

'Dammit, fine....how do you know so much, anyway?'

[Ah, that...I don't know; I just somehow know.]

'That is suspicious as hell. Whatever, let's deal with Yenna for now. I will remove the corrupted mana from her body.'

"You want to get stronger, right?"

Her face lit up, answering with a determined look in her eyes; he liked that passion.

"Yes! Please help me."

"Good, then die."

"Huh?"