After coming to my hotel room, I jumped on my bed and instantly fell asleep.
"Anghh!"
When I woke up from my slumber after around three hours, a dull ache pounded my skull relentlessly, causing me to groan in irritation.
Soon, I realized it wasn't just my head that was aching in pain but my whole body, especially my chest.
As I unbuttoned my new shirt, which I had purchased earlier today on my way to the hotel, I discovered the familiar red ruby engraved on my chest once again.
Each time I shed my armor for using Embrace Discard, the ruby in my chest would break, instantly boosting all of my stats.
Once the effect of the Embrace Discard wears off, my status returns to normal, and the ruby will appear back on my chest.
But this process of my status returning to normal and the ruby reappearing on my chest is always accompanied by agonizing pain.
However, this time the pain came a little later and was somewhat more tolerable than before.
Maybe as my mana core increases in rank over time, I will feel less and less pain.
Maybe that's the reason Nero was shown to experience no pain in the novel while using this feature of the armor.
Arghh!
Every other new experience I encountered in this world only emphasized how much more there was to it than what was explained in the novel.
Anyway, after I was done sulking and groaning, I picked myself up from the bed and got over to a bottle of water sitting on the bedside table.
Picking up the bottle, I took out a few small-sized pills from the dimensional storage of my smart bracelet and gulped them down with water.
Those were some pain relievers that I packed with me, just in case.
"Haaa," after I was done, I let out a cold breath and threw the bottle in the trash can.
Sitting on a sofa nearby, I decided it was time to finally open the metaphorical treasure chest.
Suii--
I infused mana into the red ring on my finger till it glowed and started bringing out stuff from inside its pocket space one by one, laying them out on the bed.
After taking out most of the things, I let out a disappointed sigh.
A few thousand worths of physical money. Six bottles of mid-grade mana potions. Some canned food. And some blood bags.
To me, these items were all mostly worthless trinkets. However, the ring itself was a valuable asset.
When imbuing mana into an enchanted object that features dimensional storage, one can gauge the object's storage capacity.
I estimated that this particular ring on my finger could hold up to 20 cubic feet of items.
For reference, the smart bracelet provided by the academy boasts a storage capacity eighty times greater than that of this ring.
Anyway, there was still some stuff remaining in the ring's pocket space.
Suii--
When I imbued mana into the ring again, a pair of daggers materialized in my hand.
"Ho?" I arched an eyebrow and inspected the daggers, taking one in each hand.
As I held them up, I felt their weight and balance in my hands.
The blades were curved and etched with intricate runes, giving them a malevolent feel.
Despite this, they were well-crafted, with sturdy metal blades and quality leather-wrapped grips.
"Are these Dark magic runes?" I thought out loud to myself.
They were indeed dark magic runes, by the way. Since I possessed Fire and Light affinity, I could feel the magic power of opposite affinities near me.
For example, I would feel very slightly uncomfortable if something or someone has a Water and Darkness affinity near me.
It's a weird feeling, but that's the best I could describe it.
According to some of the early Mana Theory classes I attended in the academy, it's the same for everyone.
As my curiosity rose, I opened the daggers status screen.
Item: Dark Twin Daggers (Relic)
Rank: Legendary
Description: These twin daggers are unlike any others, for they have been enchanted with powerful runes that can enhance the user's Dark magic spells.
One strike from these blades can cast Soul Poison â€" a lethal venom that corrupts the victim's soul and renders any ordinary healing magic useless against its effects.
Stroking my chin, I put the daggers away, visibly impressed. They were good.
Unfortunately, I don't use daggers, so I don't see a reason to get hyped up about them. Maybe I'll give them to Quinn or sell them to someone who uses daggers.
Besides, why would I be excited about a Legendary-grade item when I was about to open a Mythical-grade item?
Yeah-uh! It was finally time to take out the thing I almost risked my life forâ€" The Mythical beast egg!
In The Chronicles Of Legendary Heroes novel, every living being had a predetermined growth potential, except for vampires.
For example, a human born with the potential to only reach up to ‹Iron-2› rank was destined to be stuck there for the remainder of his life no matter how hard he may try to achieve a breakthrough.
Of course, later in the story, a genius Alchemist, who at the time was a third-year cadet in Ethereal Academy, made a potion that could make anyone upgrade their potential to mid-ranks (Gold, Diamond, Platinum).
It was a revolution. But until before then, breaking one's mana core potential was impossible and unheard of.
This was also true for Mana Beasts, as they too had a limit to how strong they could become.
In contrast to Humans, Elves, and Dwarves who trained to use mana arts, Mana Beasts were animals that evolved from mana.
As a result, not only could they rapidly grow their mana cores, but they were also stronger than other species at the same stage.
For instance, a Mana Beast at the ‹Silver› stage would require at least two fighters at the same stage or one at the ‹Gold› stage to defeat it.
In summary, Mana Beasts are inherently more powerful than other species, even when they are at the same stage.
That's why the wisdom of some Elves from the past is reflected in the saying, "While we intelligent beings steal mana, Beasts are granted to use it by the heavens."
This saying acknowledges the natural ability of Mana Beasts to use mana without having to acquire it through training or study as Humans, Elves, and Dwarves do.
However, in the end, they are still just beastsâ€" unintelligent, wild animals who just mutate as a side effect of mana appearing in the world.
Much like animals, they can be tamed.
And also, much like animals, they can be killed through the strategic use of martial arts and weapons developed by us intelligent beings.
So, naturally, people tried to use Mana Beasts as a source of power by taming them.
Here's the thing though, taming a Mana Beast is a lot of work and isn't anything like getting a pet. Not to mention, it's not feasible.
Therefore, it is unsurprising that only wealthy and noble families are currently engaged in practices of taming Mana Beast.
However, in two years' time, an alchemist will discover a new method for utilizing Mana Beasts as a resource.
This alchemist will uncover a technique to extract the Mana Beasts' mana cores and create a potion capable of breaking a person's growth potential limit.
Yes, that's how he would create the Limit Breaker Potion.
Unfortunately, the Limit Breaker Potion would be extremely challenging to obtain since it required a Diamond rank or higher Mana Beast's mana core as a component.
Moreover, the potion could only elevate an individual's potential to mid-ranks after hunting a high-ranking Mana Beast, making it an unfeasible solution.
Still, it was the best and, not to mention, the only solution anyone had for breaking through their mana core potential, so it became a hit.
As I mentioned before, it was a revolution.
Or that would've been the case if four years after this revolutionary incident, a new and more efficient way to break through one's potential wouldn't have surfaced.
In the year 2729, when the world was readying itself to attack the Vampire territory and end the centuries-long war in one final struggle, William Sinoath, one of the main lead of the novel, revealed a groundbreaking secret that shook the whole world.
He revealed that he possessed a Gift called Beast Taming. Just like its name suggests, he had the power to tame Mana Beasts.
He told the world that he grew up taming Mana Beasts of different ranks and kinds.
One day, he chanced upon a mythical beast egg in the woods near his home estate.
The egg looked old and stale, so he felt like it wouldn't hatch. For some reason, the twelve-year-old William thought something that no one in this world ever thought of trying.
He put his hand on the egg and channeled his own mana into it. He had no logical explanation as to why he did that.
He just felt like he had to do itâ€" as if his inner voice was urging him to take that action.
He took the egg home with him and kept repeating his actions, supplying the mythical beast egg with his mana everyday.
After a few months, the egg hatched. As it cracked open, a black cat came out of it.
For reasons unknown, William felt attached to the black cat the moment he laid eyes on her, even though he had yet to tame her.
He felt as if a part of his soul was connected to her. Unbeknownst to him, the black cat also felt the same for him.
Over time, William started experiencing some changes within his body and mana core.
His mana core felt stronger the more the black cat grew up. Over time, he realized his mana core and his soul was synced with the black cat.
He realized he could grow his mana core upto the ‹Mythical› rank while previously he was destined to remain stuck at the ‹Diamond› stage all his life.
He also felt his body beginning to manifest the affinity for Dark magic despite the fact that previously he only possessed Light magic affinity.
Although he couldn't normally use Dark magic, he found that he was able to do it after tapping into a unique form he later dubbed the «Beast Mode.»
When William revealed this truth to the public, the world was ushered into an era of Beast Cultivation.
But right now, six years before all of this knowledge became public, I am the only one aside from William who possessed this knowledge.
