The Thunderborn Chronicles: Rise of a Healer

After breakfast, Ranav returned to his room to meditate. However, Jessica had other plans. She approached him with a serious tone, claiming she had made a significant discovery. Intrigued, Ranav encouraged her to share.

"After my upgrade, I can perceive living bodies through mana sense," Jessica began. "I discovered this ability first with Midnight. Do you remember when I mentioned that Midnight has a red mana core? At the time, I assumed it was simply the beast core unique to magical creatures. We've seen beast cores in wolves before, but hunters usually have to cut open a beast to retrieve them. That means beast cores aren't visible to the naked eye… they're hidden. Only I seem to have the ability to see them."

She paused briefly, then continued, "After Midnight, I decided to observe other animals. I found that Lucky and the other animals here don't have cores. Then, I tried it on humans. To my surprise, every human has a mana core… and they're mostly red. Unlike beast cores, which are sturdy and bigger, a human's mana core is smaller, suited to the human body. The dantian in body-training methods isn't something new… it's the mana core. Every human already possesses a dantian; they just don't realize it."

She looked at Ranav expectantly. "Do you have any questions so far?"

Ranav nodded but said, "I do, but please continue. I'll ask once you've finished."

Jessica resumed. "After discovering this, I reviewed all the information we've collected about mana. Not a single book mentions mana cores explicitly. Some books describe the navel as a 'magical gateway' and caution that an attack there can temporarily disable a mage's abilities. If the navel is destroyed, the mage loses their magic permanently."

She added, "Other books mention severe pain around the navel when a mage's abilities upgrade. This pain likely comes from the mana core developing. These upgrades can be triggered by awakening new elements, frequent spellcasting, or life-and-death battles. However, none of the books provide a clear method for improving the mana core's quality."

Jessica hesitated, then continued with a slight smile. "Some texts refer to mages who overload their mana to create violet eyes by the age of twenty as 'super geniuses.' They're said to appear once every several decades. Those with blue eyes are called 'geniuses,' and they're also rare."

She continued, her voice brimming with excitement. "Here's what I've observed. All non-mages have red mana cores, but there are three shades: dark red, red, and bright red. Younger humans have dark red cores, while older humans tend to have red or bright red ones. Midnight has a bright red core. Grandpa Khan has a bright orange core. Paramita's core is a deep yellow. You have a deep green core. The countess has a bright green core, and the count's is deep cyan."

She paused dramatically. "Do you notice a pattern?"

Ranav hesitated before replying, "The strength of the cores corresponds to their colors, right?"

"Exactly! And think back to the magic crystals we've read about."

Ranav's eyes widened. "The colors are the same as the magic crystal tiers. Red is the lowest, and violet is the highest."

Jessica nodded. "Precisely. Now, here's the exciting part: if mana cores can be upgraded like magic crystals, then white cores should also be possible."

Ranav took a moment to process this information. "How does this relate to the Mana Body Training Method?"

Jessica explained, "Forming the dantian isn't about creating a new mana core… it's about creating space between the navel and the mana core. Most people's mana cores are close to their navels. The body-training method instructs practitioners to form the dantian two inches below the navel, possibly to allow room for the mana core to grow. The dantian serves as the foundation for future development."

She continued, "Mana body training focuses on close combat rather than magic casting, so it emphasizes creating acupoints throughout the body. The more acupoints you can form, the stronger your body becomes. Each stage of training likely correlates with mana core development. For example, reaching the Transcendent Mortal stage is said to extend your lifespan to at least one hundred years. Mages with blue eyes also said to have lifespan of at least one hundred years. Similarly, saint stage and violet eyes have lifespans of over two hundred years. By contrast, non-mages in the Mayura Kingdom have an average life expectancy of fifty years, while mages average seventy."

Jessica's voice softened. "If reaching the Transcendent Mortal stage corresponds to a blue core, and the Saint stage corresponds to a violet core, then history might be hiding something about what comes next. Imagine if a white core is possible. How many years could we live together?"

Ranav could feel the dreamy look in her eyes and remained silent for a moment. Then he asked, "What's the shape of my mana core? I've observed that my dantian isn't round… it's oval."

Jessica responded, "Your mana core is oval-shaped and condensed like a crystal. Most others' mana cores are glowing spheres. The crystal-like nature of yours might result from the immense mana you gathered during dantian formation. According to the books, your dantian will grow bigger as you progress."

She added, "Interestingly, Grandpa Khan's mana core isn't round either… it's square with rounded edges. And he didn't even train to form his dantian."

"So, unusual shapes are normal?" Ranav asked.

Jessica nodded. "Absolutely. In fact, I believe your condensed form is better than the glowing form."

"Good. Then I'll focus on finding acupoints… the more, the better," Ranav said.

"I can help you locate them," Jessica offered. "I've already identified the one hundred and four acupoints mentioned in the books. However, I believe there are more. On Earth, some acupuncturists used to treat patients by targeting over a thousand acupoints. I found that in your memories. If the human body hasn't changed much here, there should be more to discover. I'll need time to research further. If you can find a way to copy books from the healing center's library, it would greatly aid both your healing specialization and body training."

"Understood," Ranav said. "I'll ask the countess later. For now, I'd like to meditate."

"Of course. Let me know if you need anything," Jessica replied.