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A/N: Apologies for the delay, esteemed privilege readers. But this chapter is finally ready. Please, read my author's note at the Chapter's end for more context. It'll be gone when this chapter reaches public release.

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I didn't waste any more time. The Crisis-Class Beast Core went straight down the hatch.

It crackled faintly between my teeth, the solid sphere quickly dissolving into that familiar, molten warmth that spread through my tongue, throat, and chest. Then it became light---pure and raw---threading into every corner of me as the System began to hum.

[You have consumed a Crisis-Class Beast Core.]

[Absorption has begun...]

[EXP: 6200/7750]

[EXP: 7200/7750]

[EXP: 7750/7750]

[Level Up! 2 --> 3]

[You have gained 15 Attribute Points.]

[EXP: 1000/9950]

[EXP: 2000/9950]

...

[EXP: 8450/9950]

[Crisis-Class Core has been fully absorbed.]

The warmth settled a few moments later, leaving me with yet another Fifteen Attribute Points. And there was only one place they were going.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

[Attributes | AP: 0]

Strength: 61 (70.15)

Speed: 70

Mind: 34 (51) --> 49 (73.5)

Constitution: 38(49.4)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Amorphic Mana Core inside me pulsed---once, heavy---then expanded. It wasn't violent this time, just dense. Controlled. The added points flooded my circuits with clarity. My thoughts sharpened, and the pressure behind my eyes became a steady hum instead of pain.

Perfect.

I looked around at the room, realizing it felt a little too cramped for what I had planned. My thoughts went straight to the Courtyard of Tenacity.

I'm sure the Chieftain won't mind if I borrow his training grounds for a couple hours...

I turned toward the door, glancing at the cub. It had already curled up on the bed, tail tucked, snoring softly. Its sides rose and fell in the glow of the golden ceiling patterns.

"You stay here," I said quietly.

It flicked an ear but didn't move.

I smiled lightly, then stepped out.

The corridors were mostly silent at this hour, the faint wind a constant companion as I retraced our path. The light that streamed along the golden streaks on the ground had dimmed to a pale yellow, giving the stone streets a soft, but comforting gleam. Even the air smelled a little different now---clean, cool, faintly metallic from the ore veins in the walls, instead of the sandy scent I'd first caught from the stairway.

The Courtyard of Tenacity wasn't hard to find. It was exactly where the Chieftain had pointed, an open square surrounded by thin stone spires. The ground was a single expanse of black sandstone carved smooth and inlaid with intricate golden runes. Each mark pulsed faintly, like veins under living skin.

Even standing still, I could feel it hum.

I stepped into the center, tapping my feet against the ground---as if it were enough force to judge its indestructability...

It felt just like any other stone ground. Hard, smooth and cool to the touch.

I sat cross-legged. The hum of the wind around courtyard grew a little stronger, as if reacting to my presence.

Then I closed my eyes.

The Amorphic Mana Core responded immediately. The inner space bloomed to life behind my eyelids---a vast, swirling sphere suspended in the dark, now almost twice as big as when it had first formed---half of it bright and fluid, half a churning storm of crimson chaos. The two energies spun together, a contradiction that somehow held.

But this time, I focused on the calmer half.

The normal mana.

I needed gates. But what would I create them with? And if the solution was going to be permanent, then wouldn't that mana also be permanently out of use?

This was what I needed the extra points in Mind for.

I began with my blood vessels.

The trick was precision. I directed packets of the calm mana outward, tracing them through my circulatory system with care. It was different to channeling in that I wasn't trying to boost my strength in any way. It was merely a short-distance transportation, just inches away from the core, but into each branch and each capillary. Once the packets arrived where I needed them, I willed them to condense, to tighten from their liquid/gaseous state, into something more akin to a semi-solid substance, like a metaphysical blood clot, meant to stop the flow of Mana rather than blood.

One by one, the larger packets were condensed into thin, translucent rings that locked in place within each of those tubes. I couldn't focus on them all at once, so I ended having to go through them about 10 at a time. Each round of condensation took me about 10 minutes.

Then, I did the same with my nerves. These were much easier, because the Second Layer of my nervous system originated from the core itself. So plugging the tubing was much simpler.

By the end of it, every blood vessel and nerve surrounding my Mana Core had been completely blocked up. A thousand small gates. Every one of them perfect.

When the last one sealed, the difference was immediate. My body felt...empty. Hollow.

I realized even though I was silver, there was still a leakage of the mana that strengthened the body passively. Now, even those leakages were blocked completely. No mana flowed anywhere.

Still, by raw numbers, I was far beyond a Bronze Rank hunter, but compared to the power that normally thrummed through me---this felt more like silence.

I sat still, testing it. My breath came slower. The beat of my heart sounded dull. Then I called for destruction, and my core pulsed.

The Berserk Mana rushed out into my vessels, flooding them completely, the tubing growing taut with pressure as the currents were completely stopped.

I waited, observing, analyzing. Was it damaging in any way? Were there any unexpected side-effects to worry about? I waited a good five minutes in that state of tautness, but...there was nothing. The mana, simply didn't flow.

I nodded. "Good."

The blockages held.

Next came the control.

Something that could open or close the gates in unison, and with precision. Something centralized.

They needed a link. A single command hub.

At the core's edge, near where my spinal nerves met the nerves leading into the core, I condensed a structure---likened to a tap, shaped roughly like a spiral, spinning around a single point of contact. When turned open, every linked gate, would open alongside it in equal proportions.

It was a painstakingly slow process. But I didn't mind. This was more important than the daily quest.

One by one, every single one of those thousand Mana Gates were linked to the tap with a thin thread of mana. It took a few tries to understand how best to calibrate everything, but eventually, I got the hang of it, and flew through the linking process like it was just another training session.

---------------------

It was a while before I finally opened my eyes.

I didn't know what to call this odd mechanism I'd created inside my body, but...it was finally complete.

I gulped, twisting the tap just a little---the bare minimum.

Mana surged through my blood again, weak but real, a trickle of power threading down to my limbs. The runes under me flared in answer, their glow deepening.

Only one percent of my total flow, but the difference was obvious. My pulse quickened. The faint heaviness in my limbs lightened. When I flexed my fingers, I could feel the raw precision of the mana-laced muscle fiber. The feedback was cleaner, the power more deliberate.

Controlled. Balanced. Mine.

I exhaled, watching the faint vapor trail leave my lips. The Courtyard's wind picked it apart instantly.

So this was it. A state of permanent, contained channeling.

It was intoxicating.

If I held the destructive intent steady—just enough to keep the Berserk mana compliant—I could stay like this indefinitely. The trick was equilibrium: the mana leaving the core had to match my natural regeneration speed.

If I opened the tap wider, I could release exponentially more power... but the drain would outpace regeneration and deplete my reserves fast.

This was a balancing act. Like breathing through a wound—carefully enough not to bleed out.

I grinned faintly.

In theory, I could always be in a state of channeling. Not at full power, of course, but at a steady, sustainable rate—like maintaining tension in a muscle. It wasn't the same as what Gold Ranks did. They had fully formed mana pathways—efficient conduits that circulated mana without waste, letting them stay at peak indefinitely.

What I'd made was crude by comparison. But it worked.

Still, maintaining the destructive urge constantly would be... draining. The emotion itself wasn't natural to hold for long. That constant internal pressure, the sense of poised violence---it wasn't something I wanted to live in. It'd be like being full of rage at all times. It was impractical, and unpleasant.

But in combat, it would come to be invaluable.

I stood up.

The Courtyard's golden patterns shimmered faintly beneath my feet. I rolled my shoulders once, checking for strain. None. The mana flow felt smooth, quiet, obedient.

A test swing, maybe...

No. The Quest.

I pulled up the timer.

[Time Remaining: 56 minutes 15 seconds]

This should be plenty.

I pulled my axe from its harness, hefting it up to my shoulder, its weight solid but light in my hands. The black steel edge reflected the faint golden glow from the courtyard floor.

I adjusted the tap, setting the outflow to about 10%.

Then, I began.

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