Jon awoke to the sound of lapping water. The right side of his face felt cold and wet and the uncomfortable sensation of sand in his mouth caused him to groan, as he pushed himself upright.

Jon's head still spun, somewhat reminiscent of a hangover. The scent of gastric acids caused his face to scrunch up in distaste, before scooping up those chunks of sand and throwing them downstream. The water would carry his vomit further down the river, hopefully alongside the memory of him nearly passing out in his own puke as well.

Cradling the sides of his head, Jon gargled a mouthful of river water, spitting it out onto a nearby bush. This was the second time in under two days that he had vomited his guts out, and this time, he did not even have to shove his fingers through the eye socket of some strange alien creature!

The image of his Knowledge Mana Core, still somewhat gloomy and lacking in lustre came to mind.

"Note to self… don't ever do that again. I think I… used up all the spiritual energy within my Mana Core. One of my abilities… [Monstrous Intuition], for a second there I thought that I could feel someone watching me. There was so much information, all at once, it was like…" Jon found himself unable to gather the words to describe this sensation.

'If a second's worth of information took the form of a single droplet of water, then I just stood underneath Niagara Falls for a couple seconds. The sheer amount of information I just experienced… how can an ordinary person withstand all of that?' Jon tried to think of an analogy capable of explaining how he was currently feeling. Water seemed to come to mind, although he was unsure if this was because of his Sea Of Knowledge or not.

There was obviously something wrong with what Jon had done to the image of a Mana Core within his mind. Affecting the fog that it produced, or the concentration of spiritual energy within certain locations provided little to no effect on the Mana Core as a whole. However, increasing the rotation of it caused a slight… malfunction in Jon's mind.

Jon knew that he was onto something, although was somewhat apprehensive of trying to affect his Mana Core so soon. With how intense the reaction was from increasing its rotation so suddenly, there was a chance that he had drained all the spiritual energy within his Knowledge Mana Core.

From the lustrous and gleaming appearance, it once had, had now been replaced with a dull, metallic appearance.

There was not any distinct measure of health, mana, or stamina through the System status page, but Jon was willing to bet that if there was, his mana, or spiritual energy would be severely drained at the moment. He had probably pushed too much spiritual energy out through the rotation of his Mana Core and somehow overloaded his [Monstrous Intuition] ability with too much mana.

Jon nodded his head unconsciously, before pausing and blinking several times.

His mouth opened as if to speak, but felt no words come as he raised his hand to slap his head.

"Aha! The rotation of a Mana Core affects the output of spiritual energy! Increasing the rotation should push out all the stored-up mana swiftly, so doing the reverse should limit, or halt the flow of spiritual energy in its entirety!" Jon's tone gradually became louder and louder, eventually causing him to stand up, rubbing his chin in thought.

He still did not quite understand why the image in his mind worked so well, or how spiritual energy flowed throughout the physical form, inducing mutations and the like. However, Jon felt that this was his first solid step in the right direction.

Perhaps this would not quite be considered "mastery" of an ability, but this could quite potentially form the foundation for Jon's methodology on the circulation and refinement of internal mana.

Taking a deep breath of air, Jon took a swift glance at his System status page. There wasn't any dramatic change with the exception of his second ability [Mine Is The Sea Of Knowledge] being added beneath [Monstrous Intuition], so Jon closed it, sending another quick glance towards his System task page.

He was quite pleased to notice that there were now two additional completed tasks, replacing two rows of blank space and question marks.

Tasks not required before completion of System Introduction

[13]: Survive a total of more than twenty-four hours outside of a System generated Safe Zone. Individuals shall receive a set reward upon the completion of this task.

[49]: Push an ability beyond the limits of your Tier. Individuals shall receive a set reward upon the completion of this task.

Jon turned slightly red upon reading the forty-ninth optional System task. The completion of such a task had been a complete and utter accident, one that resulted in him vomiting and then subsequently passing out.

'Not my best moment, I'll admit,' Jon thought to himself quietly.

Accepting the rewards for both tasks, Jon was pleased to see another two fragments appear in the space above his hand. The two gemstones appeared significantly different to the previous fragments that had come into his possession, causing him to frown as he read the System prompts.

Fragment Of "Tree" discovered.

Would you like to integrate this into your Mana Core?

Y/N

Fragment Of "War" discovered.

Would you like to integrate this into your Mana Core?

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Y/N

Jon temporarily dismissed the notifications, instead eyeing each of the fragments in his hands. The two gemstones possessed quite a different… flavour about them, if Jon was being perfectly honest.

The Fragment Of Tree glowed a distinctly green colour, although the contrast and depth of colour changed as he rolled the cube shaped jewel around in the palm of his hand. Lifting it up closer towards his eyes, Jon could clearly see the tiniest strands of root-like bands within the fragment.

Each time Jon blinked, the shape of the root-like bands within the gemstone changed. Sometimes into familiar rudimentary geometry, other times into strange seemingly random fractal patterns.

'A Fragment Of Tree might not be too good a fit for my Knowledge Mana Core. Putting theology and mythology aside, the compatibility between knowledge and trees isn't quite as broad as something like instinct or mind. Perhaps it might form something like the Sea Of Knowledge within my mind?' Jon scrunched up his face in thought for a couple seconds, before moving onto the other fragment in his hands.

If he was being completely honest, he had quite high hopes for this particular fragment.

The Fragment Of War consisted of a pale-red ovoid which slowly transitioned into a pale-silver colour on its opposite end. The centre of the gemstone highlighted numerous colours in various shades of pale red, pink and what Jon believed was sort of blushing silver.

There was no distinct pattern or shape from within the gemstone, but Jon could have sworn that the colour changed whenever the light hit it. Sometimes the silver took up a larger section of the gemstone, other times the red becoming more prominent, dying it a colour closer to a ruby more than anything else.

'I shouldn't have to doubt the compatibility between things such as knowledge and war. While men and women are the ones who fight in wars, knowledge and information is what wins them. Information superiority is a cornerstone in modern warfare, perhaps even more so as the human race advances.'

'This doesn't even consider the vast amount of information and knowledge there is relating to war. While there is perhaps even more knowledge and information on trees in existence than there is war, I cannot see either of these fragments merely granting knowledge or information on their respective concepts,' Jon nodded a couple times before accepting the prompts for both the Fragment Of War and the Fragment Of Tree.

Once again waiting approximately one hundred seconds before two more panels of information appeared in front of Jon.

[Fragment Of Tree] [Ashvattha Rana; Earthen Treasury Womb] [Knowledge, Tree, Summoning, Spirit, Spell, Buff]

Effect (Mortal): Perform a ritual to summon Ashvattha Rana; Earthen Treasury Womb. Ashvattha Rana is a bodhi tree spirit born from the enlightenment between knowledge and reincarnation. Ashvattha Rana dwells within the gap between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind after being summoned.

Ashvattha Rana is capable of manifesting an unmovable incarnation of itself with the point of casting at the centre. While active, the contractor will receive an infinitesimally minute chance of obtaining enlightenment. While active, the contractor and designated allies within range of the image of Ashvattha Rana are granted a refreshing instance of [Naraka Of Protection] and [Niraya Of Protection].

[Naraka Of Protection]: Increases mana regeneration.

[Niraya Of Protection]: Increases the amount of healing received from abilities.

Jon's mouth dropped.

[Fragment Of War] [Cometh Thy Red Horse Awaits] [Knowledge, War, Spell, Enhancement, Buff]

Effect (Mortal): Chant, then imbue oneself with the horrifying heraldry of blood and war. Knowledge relating to concepts of war, violence and combat become easier to comprehend while under the effects of this Spell.

Dramatically increases physical strength and speed for the duration of this Spells activation. Dramatically increases physical stamina and endurance for the duration of this Spells activation. Once ended, reduce all physical capabilities for an equal duration.

And his eyes widened, reading the effect descriptions of his new abilities once more.

These two new abilities of his… they were beyond what he thought they would be capable of. [Ashvattha Rana; Earthen Treasury Womb], which somehow imbued within him the knowledge and understanding required to perform a ritual of summoning, capable of piercing through the veil between dimensions, reaching out and calling forth this strange, spiritual existence.

The similarities between the name and notions mentioned in its effect description caused Jon to reconsider his belief in certain mythologies and religions. He had already established that something as extraordinary as a Karma Mana Core existed, but hearing the name of this ability, made him think twice about considering theology and mythology in relation to certain abilities.

'If I was being completely honest, I thought that there was a higher chance of obtaining an ability with a greater relation to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, than a Bodhi Tree. It does raise a question of whether our concepts and theologies on Earth, are not necessarily unique throughout the System integrated universes'.

'Theoretically, if you put a monkey in a room with nothing but a typewriter and somehow made it immortal, it would eventually type out the complete works of William Shakespeare, just through sheer random coincidence. Is this similarity in concepts a result of us humans randomly typing on a keyboard as well?'

Jon could not persuade himself otherwise, with just the information available in front of himself. Thoughts on the existential nature of theology and mythology throughout System integrated universes aside, Jon focused on his second new ability, grinning like a loon as felt the information relating to the Spell settle within his Sea Of Knowledge.

Unconsciously clasping a hand over his heart, Jon closed his eyes and recited the associated chant.

"Clad in robes crimson, harkening thou pitiful extinction. Sing thou of the coming of blood and war, proclaiming the sounds of trumpets that announce mine arrival".

Jon felt the hand over his heart glow a slight crimson, before a sudden surge of power filled his form. The faintest traces of red tinged the entirety of Jon's physical form as some foreign strength filled his veins, causing his muscles to bulge and his heart rate to immediately spike.

The corners of his vision were dyed red but felt his sense of depth or distance unaffected.

Reaching towards his spear, Jon picked the weapon up in both hands, striking out in a method similar to how he practiced previously.

The air whistled as Jon's spear pierced through the space in front of him. The sheer amount of force that he could produce with a single strike exceeded his expectations, causing Jon to grin, repeating the action.

He estimated his speed increased by roughly thirty percent, while the power behind his blows increasing by a similar amount. Without a series of suitable targets, Jon would be unable to gauge the difference in power between each of his strikes, limiting his momentum and striking without lunging forward.

Jon let out a small breath of air, imagining his Knowledge Mana Core slowing its rotation in an attempt to cut off spiritual energy from his abilities. Jon was certain it worked, considering the moment he did so, his knees wobbled, as if all the strength in his physical form vanished, replaced with a sense of weakness in his joints and muscles.

Despite this however, the smile on his face, threatened to exceed the limits of his head, as he gazed towards the distant forests, the familiar image of a certain fire-breathing duck flashing through his mind.

'I'm coming for you… duck'. Jon thought to himself.

That duck would not even know what hit it.

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