Chương 28: Core

"This intermission lasts for an hour, so I won't be able to train you to Nabi's level. But what I can do is teach you the basics of combat." Two wooden swords warped out of Ava's ring. Gray held up a palm.

"Learning how to fight is important, but I have a ton of pressing questions that are nagging at the back of my mind. Would you be able to teach me more about this world and its System instead?" Ava's mouth rounded in surprise.

"Ah, of course. You new generation sure differ from the old. Awakened back then only prioritized optimized violence." Ava scratched her cheek.

"Although… the first question Nabi asked me was how to decapitate a goblin efficiently with her scythe." Ava sat in a chair and gestured for Gray to sit across from her.

"Case by case, I suppose. So, what would you like to learn first?"

"I guess the obvious question is: why doesn't he want to help his own disciple, and why are you substituting for him right now?" Ava pressed her hands together in apology.

"All that I can do is apologize in his stead. I barely managed to convince him not to be so harsh on you anymore, so I'm sure he'll slowly open up. Although I think there might be a minor setback because of what happened between you and your brother."

"I appreciate that. Thank you. Then, what about my class? I'm aware that the System looks for the most optimal candidates to inherit classes, but why me? Why did I obtain a class that clearly doesn't suit me? And what exactly is this class?"

"That, I do not have the answer to. Gozen will happily answer any questions you might have about that. Isn't that right?" Ava directed the words toward the kitchen. She received a grumble in response. Gray scoured his mind for the next question from the long list he had tucked away.

"Alright, let's see… why doesn't the System have attributes like Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence?" Ava's expression visibly brightened at the question she could actually answer.

"Oh, that's easy! The Great System first implemented attributes back in 2004, replicating the mechanics of the sensational MMORPG launched on Earth: Realm of Battlecraft."

"Hold on—2004 on Astoria or 2004 on Earth?"

"Both. The planets share an identical calendar system. Every day has 24 hours, and there are 365 days in a year. We even celebrate the same major holidays," Ava replied.

"But how is that even possible? NASA would've discovered this planet if it were in our galaxy."

"Beats me," Ava shrugged.

"Quantis Corp handles all that spacey stuff."

"Now, back to attributes. Realm of Battlecraft flourished on Earth during that time, but it was the complete opposite for Astoria. The fatality rate for Awakened was at an all-time peak of 70%, marking it as the weakest era of Awakened in all of history."

"All because of some attributes?" Ava gave a solemn nod.

"With attributes comes innovation. With innovation comes experimentation. The issue was that there was no room for trial and error. The majority of Awakened in that era either allocated their stat points inefficiently or attempted to create some wacky off-build that wasn't optimized for their specific class."

"But the joy of having an RPG system is being able to create those unique and unconventional class builds!" Gray chimed in.

"For instance, building a mage that can also tank, or a glass-cannon warrior!" Ava shook her head, giving Gray a look of sympathy.

"Oh, honey, you weren't summoned to this world for 'joy.' The competition's purpose is to weed out the weak and bolster the strong. To craft you into a useful asset to this planet. You are not building some character in a role-playing game, Gray." Gray's posture went rigid at the revelation. He obviously knew he wasn't in some kind of video game, but hearing the words directly made the message even clearer.

"Awakened struggled against Riftborn of the same caliber as them, even with the optimized build system utilized prior to 2004. Now, imagine your stat allocation was off by even 20% in the new attribute system."

"But does being 20% weaker cause the fatality rate to spike that much?" Ava lifted a finger.

"The 20% margin of error was only referring to the capable Awakened."

"Sure, you would think that eventually everybody would figure out the optimal build for their class. But you have to realize that there were no guides to read from on an online forum. And unlike Realm of Battlecraft, where there were around ten unique classes to choose from, Astoria had over a billion unique classes at the time. You were completely on your own. And your mentor couldn't even give you advice because they had reached Kaiser long before the attribute system was implemented."

"After only a year of adopting the attribute system, the Great System reverted it back to what it is today. Pure automatic optimization."

"In a way, I guess that takes the load off my brain, but it takes the fun away as well," Gray said.

"Then why the lack of a health and mana bar? I still get injured, and people can use magic. Shouldn't there be a resource bar that manages all of that?" Gray asked, shifting right into the next topic.

"The purpose of a mana bar in video games is to limit the usage of spells. Obviously, game developers implemented this to prevent you from just unleashing your abilities nonstop."

"But there is one other element that will limit this as well: cooldowns. The mana bar isn't part of the system, but that doesn't mean mana as a construct doesn't exist. There is ambient mana in the atmosphere all around you, and your core is always absorbing it—constantly filling itself." She traced a large circle on the table, then drew several smaller circles within it.

"The larger circle is your core, and inside are spell pockets—storage spaces, if you will. Each pocket represents an individual spell you currently possess, and depending on the cooldown of the spell, the pocket will have a larger capacity for mana."

"When the pocket is full, you can only then release the spell. Once spent, the spell pocket drains itself, primed to restart the process all over again. The cooldown of the spell is determined by the duration it takes to fully fill that pocket with mana." She pointed a finger at his chest.

"Go ahead, look at your core. Its color is determined by the class you bear, and each spell pocket will have a unique hue, correlating with the spell. As you can probably guess, a bright scarlet-red colors my core." If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Gray pressed a hand to his chest.

"How do I go about doing that?"

"It's pretty straightforward. Just close your eyes and focus all your attention on the center of your chest. Then just will the word: core, and you should be in!" Gray nodded and shut his eyes. He tuned out the surrounding sounds, shutting out the bustling sounds of the kitchen and the chirping metal-birds resting atop the surrounding rocks in the hot spring. Core. He was transported into pitch-black darkness, unable to move and only able to watch.

He winced inwardly at the familiar, trapped feeling his brother had put him through at the cafe. Before the trauma could completely take him over, his core materialized before his view. It resembled a gigantic marble. The milky-white, churning cloud sphere brought respite to his mind, calming him down from the traumatic void. The fog contained in the domain cleared as he willed himself to peer inside his core. In one corner of the space was a large, gray, spherical construct surrounded by a smoky haze.

Gray instinctively knew that this pocket represented his Cloud Mastery ability. On the opposite end was another storage sphere, half the size of the first: Shroud Domain. A dome of gray smoke encased this one, similar in shape to the actual spell. Adjacent to it drifted a sinister, bumpy cloud of black gas, so dense that nothing within could be seen: Hollow.

He peered closer into the Shroud Domain spell pocket, only to find that the container was completely empty, save for a small film of mana resting at the bottom. Wasn't the last time I used that ability against Jun? It should've been filled up by now… he thought. Then he recalled the actual last time he cast the spell. He had used it to storm off and run away from Hyun in a cowardly fit. In the heat of the moment, he had wasted his most valuable spell just to escape a confrontation with his brother.

Just as he was about to exit his domain, the clouds inside his core churned at a furious pace. The fog gradually increased in speed and intensity until its color transformed from a milky-white into an ashen-gray. Breaking the previous silence, the sound of heavy rainfall assaulted his ears, alongside streaks of lightning flashing within the clouds. Anxiety flared in his chest as the static sound of the rain crescendoed, overwhelming all his senses. He willed his mind to escape the domain, but it didn't work.

A few minutes passed, and his attempts at leaving remained futile. He gave it one last attempt. Gray willed with all his might to escape the storm. Get me the hell out of here! His core listened. The streaks of lightning illuminated a bright yellow. He raised the back of his hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light, but it didn't protect him from the lightning blast that struck him a beat later, shocking him out of the domain. Gray roared and fell backward in his chair.

The hard thump on his back turned his loud cry into a breathless wheeze. He came to his senses, patting down his entire body to check for any injuries he might have sustained from the blast. He was completely fine. There wasn't a single scratch on his body, besides his aching back. Ava hurried to his side, gently lifting him back up and into his seat.

"Are you okay?"

"Ye… yeah, I think I'm fine. My core transformed into some kind of storm, and then a jolt of lightning shocked me out of the domain," Gray groaned. Ava shook her head.

"It seems that Gozen was correct."

"Correct about what?"

"It is not my place to talk about it. I will make sure Gozen informs you of everything later, okay, sweetie? Now, are you still in the mood to keep learning, or do you need a break?" Gray rubbed the ache on his lower back.

"It's probably best I stay informed, as these new mysteries apparently just keep emerging around me, right?"

"And you've only scratched the surface. Where did we leave off again?" She scratched her head in thought.

"Oh! That's right, we're still on cores. You might be wondering about ambient mana and if it is possible for someone to manipulate the rate at which their core siphons it out of the air."

"No, that wasn't something I was wondering, but it seems useful to know. Couldn't someone just suck more mana into their core so their spell pockets fill up faster? Essentially giving themselves an overpowered cooldown reduction on their abilities?" Ava let out an impressed frown and nodded.

"Good inference. That is a theory our best researchers still haven't managed to crack. There hasn't been a single recorded case of any class possessing an ability for increased mana absorption, so that leaves the other option: finding a place with a denser mana concentration in the atmosphere."

"There aren't any besides one place: an island. But even with the off-the-charts readings of ambient mana, none of the researchers' spell pockets filled up any faster. It did, however, affect the Riftborn that resided on the island. The ambient mana filled their spell pockets so fast that it reduced all of their ability cooldowns by an approximate 90%!" Gray furrowed his brow.

"That's absolutely insane! How did any of the researchers even survive the tests? Also, did you just say that Riftborn have spell pockets? As in, they have cores just like us?"

"You pick things up fast. Absolutely. We aren't sure if they can see the floating blue text like us, but we're certain they inherited the same System. The one difference, though, is that they are born into their rank and aren't able to cultivate beyond it." Her expression turned grim.

"And I said nothing about the researchers surviving…" A grim expression crossed Gray's face, and the room went silent for a minute. He hesitantly brought up the next question.

"…So, is that it for mana? What about health bars?" The question snapped Ava out of her solemn state.

"There are a lot more intricacies to it, but yes, these are the fundamental rules of your core and the concept of mana. Health points are a much simpler concept to explain. In short, they just don't exist. Like I've mentioned previously, we aren't in a game world, Gray. You're either dead or alive: 100% or 0%." She formed a circle with her fingers.

"But what if you get stabbed in the stomach, puncturing a vital organ? How can that represent 100%?"

"Simple. You can't puncture a vital organ because the System took them all away," Ava said nonchalantly. Gray's face twisted into a horrified scowl.

"Did I just mishear you? Tell me you didn't just say my organs are gone." Ava gave him a thumbs-up.

"You heard correctly. Your core has become your new engine. It consumed every other organ surrounding it when the System instilled it into your body during the summoning phase to this world." Gray frantically rubbed his sides in an attempt to locate his organs. His fear deepened when he couldn't feel them. Ava gave him an unamused look, and he took a second to comprehend why she was giving him such a deadpan stare. He facepalmed in realization. Then, she pointed at his chest, placing a hand over hers.

Gray mirrored her as he inhaled a deep breath. No heartbeat. His heart was gone. Gray's eyes drifted down to his pants, and after a few seconds, he let out a sigh of relief. Ava roared with laughter, repeatedly slamming the table and almost falling off her chair.

"Don't worry, they didn't take that away! Men have maintained their reproductive organs, and so have women."

"Your bones are still intact. And your circulatory system is essentially the same; your bloodstream acting as the mana circuits for your core. Thank God for that," she mumbled under her breath.

"Oxygen is still required, as your core needs it to absorb the ambient mana around you and regulate itself. At the Awakened Rank, you still require sustenance to stay alive, but beyond that, food really just becomes a hobby. You can still fulfill that craving for food, and the core will burn it the same. That doesn't mean you can just overeat to your heart's content, however, as there is a limit to what the core can burn."

"Oh, and the System has entirely removed the need to urinate and defecate. Doesn't this all sound fantastic?" Ava squealed, her voice rising in pitch. Gray raised a brow, staring at her in disbelief. Maybe he just needed time to adjust to this new body? This new world? The Gray from Earth would've agreed with her instantly. When he had spent his years shut away in his room, everything had become a chore to him. Cleaning his room, washing himself, and even eating.

He had hoped for a world where scientists could invent a pill that would meet his daily nutritional needs so he never had to leave his bed again. But what changed? Why wasn't he that version of himself here? There was something much bigger that had influenced his life and changed him completely: this world. Being forced into this death game had unlocked a survival instinct he never knew he had. It was only a couple of months before entering this new world that he had tried to end his life.

He had hated this body, ready to discard it and throw it all away. Then why was he desperately trying to cling onto it now? What was it about this new world that reignited his will to live? He could've easily given up at any point during this entire race, so why? Was it because of the second chance at life? Or did he finally realize how valuable his life really was? He couldn't quite pinpoint the exact reason, but the crucial point was that he had the will to live.

However, with the System hellbent on optimization and efficiency, he wasn't certain whether he was fighting for his life or merely preserving the machine of war he was slowly turning into.