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Jinseong gently nudged the bison ring that was dangling from the ceiling of the tent.

The ugly bison ring swung back and forth like a pendulum, and Jinseong quietly observed it.

Eventually, as the bison ring swayed side to side and began to trace a gentle circle, Jinseong pulled something from his pocket.

It was a small sphere, just the right size to fit in his hand.

The sphere, resembling a lump of clay mixed with chicken feathers, didn’t look impressive at all and even had the unpleasant smell characteristic of clay, making it hard to call it a treasure even as a polite remark.

However, Jinseong handled it as if it were a precious gem and placed it beneath the bison ring.

Soon, a tiny crack appeared on the top of the sphere, and in sync with the bison ring’s movement, the sphere began to open slightly. Finally, it split into two pieces with a smooth cross-section as if sliced in half by a sharp knife, revealing a stone statue glowing with a blue light inside.

The statue took on a human form but had such an elongated face that it was hard to consider it human.

“Isn’t this a Moai?”

It was indeed a Moai statue.

“That’s correct.”

“Um… it looks like a keychain you’d find at a 100-yen shop.”

Lise couldn’t hide her shock as the clay sphere she had treated with such care transformed into a cheap keychain from a 100-yen shop.

The shoddy craftsmanship.

It felt like something made from stone-like material rather than actual stone.

It almost seemed to express a strangely unsettling sentiment, as if to say, ‘This is just a keychain. What do you expect at this price? Be grateful that you got such quality for 100 yen.’

It was exactly the same item she had seen while out with her school friends.

“Indeed. Apparently, due to an overstock, I could get it at half the price, not for 100 yen, but for 50 yen.”

“Not even 100 yen… but 50 yen?”

Lise had expected something grand to emerge.

But when the 50-yen keychain suddenly popped out, she felt the same sensation as when a cheap Chinese toy popped out from a gacha machine.

“Deity, but this keychain seems to glow with a mysterious blue light.”

Yet, something was off about the keychain.

Its expected quality was trash, yet it radiated a gentle blue light as if trying to illuminate the dark interior of the tent.

Moreover, as she continued to gaze at the blue light, it appeared to shimmer like an aurora, with the blue light undulating like heat haze, spreading in all directions. Additionally, instead of merely covering other objects with its light, the blue hue seemed to want to enter them, brightening and dimming on the surface repeatedly.

Jinseong spoke to Lise, who was fascinated by the keychain.

“That’s Mana.”

Mana.

Upon hearing that word, Lise looked at Jinseong.

“Isn’t that something from games? MP?”

“Right. It’s often used in games.”

MP.

Mana Point.

In games, it was primarily used to denote the resources required to use skills. Thus, for anyone who had played a game at least once, when they heard the word “mana,” gaming would usually come to mind rather than magic or martial arts.

“Originally, mana refers to supernatural power used in Polynesian culture. It’s somewhat akin to Qi and magical power.”

“I think I remember hearing about that in a textbook.”

“However, it’s not a power that can be easily seen. It has already declined.”

Lise tilted her head, as if struggling to understand.

“Isn’t it famous?”

“It is famous. But that fame comes not from the actual power but from its frequent use in fictional materials.”

Jinseong continued to observe the blue light filling the tent.

“Long ago, works using the concepts of ‘mana’ and ‘skills’ became extremely popular. As people began to emulate that, ‘skills’ quickly became associated with the techniques used by characters in those works, while ‘mana’ solidified as the resource needed to use those techniques. Thus, ‘mana’ gained fame in fantasy-related creations and significantly in games.”

“I see….”

The blue light spread throughout the tent.

To the bison ring hanging in the air, to the tent’s ceiling, to the soft mat laid on the floor.

However, while mana desperately attempted to crawl into objects, it couldn’t remain within them and kept bouncing out, its futile behavior appearing as brightening and dimming of the light.

“Perhaps the first person to use ‘mana’ in games thought that its nature of continuously growing aligned well with the appearance of a protagonist evolving through battles. That’s why they used this mana as a resource for using skills.”

“The nature, you say?”

“Yes. In games, protagonists often grow through constant battles, right? This mana could also be seen as a power growing through combat, so it carries that association.”

If Qi was utilized, there would need to be training. And if magical power was used, a combination of training and studying would be necessary.

But with mana, it could minimize the need for visible training while enhancing the action scenes, making the developer’s decision to set ‘mana’ as a resource a stroke of genius.

“It’s an incredible power. But why has it declined?”

It shouldn’t be bad to use.

It shouldn’t be bad to accumulate energy.

It was spread widely enough to be well-known.

From this perspective, mana should undeniably be a power that thrives.

But there are three major drawbacks to mana, and they are quite fatal.

Jinseong extended three fingers.

“One is cannibalism among kindred, another is instability, and the last is insanity.”

Cannibalism among kin.

Instability.

Insanity.

Each term sounded more ominous than the last.

“This mana allows its users to gather it within themselves as if collecting Qi using the techniques suited for their bodies. But using such a natural and moderate method, the efficiency wasn’t outstanding compared to gathering Qi, and it would explosively increase in efficiency when a living being was killed.”

“Hunting….”

“That’s not a problem. Killing fierce beasts and cutting down trees isn’t quite an issue, right? Moreover, since mana pairs well with magic, they could increase the efficiency of accumulation by offering sacrifices and performing rituals.”

There were no problems.

It was right to eliminate beasts that harmed humans. It’s also right to cut down trees to lessen their territory.

But what happens when the ‘beasts’ to hunt decrease?

“However, as civilization advanced, war inevitably followed. The beasts became easier to catch than humans, and the trees to be cut down were replaced by the fields cultivated and transformed by humans.”

It was something that could be considered a given.

Humans, who wouldn’t hesitate to encroach on forests and kill beasts due to conflicts in living space, would not just stab their own kind.

Swinging swords to annihilate or incorporating others under their clan, they sought to expand their influence.

Naturally, villages became cities, and cities became nations.

“And in that process, another characteristic of mana was discovered: it possesses the trait of cannibalism among its users.”

Capable people desired to efficiently increase their limited resources.

For the efficient accumulation of power.

To rise above others and achieve fame and fortune for themselves.

Many capable individuals broke taboos under the guise of research in seeking greater efficiency.

Warriors sought methods to seize others’ powers instead of training.

This became a disaster known as ‘Qi Absorption.’

Wizards conducted extensive research to find methods for storing and using magical power beyond its limits.

This led to a disaster known as ‘Magical Power Absorption,’ allowing them to steal and absorb the magical powers built up by others.

Summoners desired their summoned creatures to grow stronger, or for their own bodies to become as strong as their summoned beasts.

This resulted in a dark chapter of human history known as ‘Chimera Experiments.’

But all these experiments ended in ruin.

As if divine punishment fell upon those who dared tread on forbidden grounds.

Martial arts that sought to absorb others’ Qi created a massive backlash as different types of Qi mingled, rendering the practitioner a husk or driving them insane, sometimes exploding like a bomb.

The wizard’s research into magical power absorption yielded no benefits either. Attempting to accept it into their bodies caused horrific backlash, damaging their very forms. Forcibly extracting another wizard’s magical power and injecting it into an object would either ruin that object or burrow into the researcher’s body, inflicting severe damage to their brain.

The summoner’s chimera experiment promised great power but broke down their body from a genetic level, leading them toward death, and in the worst cases, reducing their existence to a state worse than death, suffering in pain.

Thus, one couldn’t recklessly claim another’s power for their own.

But mana was different.

Mana could be absorbed from other mana users with minimal side effects.

“A mana user can absorb the mana of another mana user. Of course, there are side effects in that process, and energy loss occurs as well. But compared to the life-or-power-loss experienced by other capable users, the costs feel almost negligible.”

Instead of accumulating through training, it could be built up by siphoning mana from others.

And it doesn’t entail risking lives; with just a slight cost, absorption was possible.

What happened once this fact was discovered?

“Given that mana was already a power best accumulated through combat, its users were bound to be aggressive. Knowing this, they naturally engaged in battles where they killed one another. Moreover, the realization that this mana pairs well with magic led to even greater chaos.”

A power capable of cannibalism among kin, yet harmonizing with magic?

Wasn’t it perfect for forbidden practices in rituals?

Human sacrifice.

“Ritual human sacrifice and cannibalistic acts intertwined with the mana absorption process. With magic involved, absorption efficiency soared, costs decreased, and the remnants of the lost mana were stored in talismans made from the corpses of those killed, leading to the creation of divine objects. Thus, the characteristic allowing mutual absorption of mana became known as ‘cannibalism among kindred.’ People consumed people, mana users devoured mana users.”

After hearing Jinseong’s explanation, Lise felt the mana, which had previously seemed fascinating, turn into something disgusting.

The mysterious blue light felt like the deceptive enticements of a predator trying to consume a person, while the shimmering heat haze seemed like a snake writhing. Furthermore, the image of mana trying to burrow into objects only to be expelled seemed akin to parasites attempting to invade but failing.

“Perhaps it’s the power most befitting a warrior. After all, if all they need to do is fight and kill mindlessly to gain strength, what could be better?”

Jinseong pulled Lise, who had a distasteful expression, closer to him.

With the inside of the tent cramped, it wasn’t difficult to do.

“But, you know, whatever comes easily is also easily lost.”

Jinseong looked at the flustered Lise, who was now stuck right beside him.

Then he conjured Samādhi True Fire in his hand and snapped his fingers.

With that, the flame of samādhi burning the immaterial burst small sparks, creating a momentary void. And that void began to shift back and forth, filling the space with a bluish hue, much like water flowing on the ground.

It seemed as if the very space was fracturing.

The spread pattern of the fracture shattered the blue light, and the scattered shards of light wobbled before beginning to revert back to the Moai.

Jinseong snatched one of those returning fragments with his fingertip and traced a circle around himself and Lise, then flicked his finger dismissively, sending it into the Moai.

The mana returned to the Moai and started to radiate a bluish light within the tent once more, but it couldn’t invade the circle where Jinseong and Lise stood.

Thus, Lise escaped from the ‘disgusting and unsettling’ aura of mana, finding herself in the space of the void created by Jinseong.

Right next to Jinseong.

So close that she could even hear his breath.

 

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