Chapter 22: The Birth of Mana Crystals
As I strolled through the city streets, I suddenly found myself surrounded by a group of assassins and a single city guard. The problem? The guard was grinning at me with a sinister gleam in his eyes. If he was the real deal and I killed these assassins, I'd be thrown in jail. They'd use him as a witness against me. That's the game they were playing.
If I left the guard alive, he'd lie about what happened, claiming I killed him too. They'd easily catch me with truth-detection magic. Either way, it was a trap.
I quickly sized up the situation. Using my stun-gun magic tool and enhancing my body seemed like the best option for now. I drew the stun-gun and prepared for the fight.
It began immediately. The assassins were clearly professionals, dodging the stun-gun strikes with ease. Meanwhile, I had already taken a few scratches. My body-enhancement technique was decent, but my movements were still amateurish. I wasn't a martial artist, after all.
Should I use Death magic? But that would be playing right into their hands.
If I were the hero in one of those stories, I'd awaken some new power right about now.
Desperate, I decided to push my limits.
I activated my mana pump to its fullest, compressing mana beyond its usual limits. As the density surpassed even Death magic levels, something incredible happened—the mana solidified. I could see it, a visible crystal of pure mana.
I shaped the crystal into a sword.
Could I control it?
Since it was made of mana, it should obey my mana manipulation.
The sword moved, slashing through the air under my command.
Why not make more? Five more crystalline swords materialized, and they began flying around me. The assassins hesitated, clearly startled by the sudden display of power.
As they faltered, I slashed their Achilles tendons, immobilizing them.
"Damn it!" one of them growled.
"You're not getting away," I muttered.
"Swallow the poison!" the guard ordered.
"Poison? That wasn't part of the deal!" one of the assassins protested.
The assassins began turning on each other, but I cut their tendons just to be sure. They'd heal with potions eventually, so I had no reason to hold back.
Before long, Phantom arrived with reinforcements from the real city guards. The fake guard and the assassins were arrested. Turns out, a certain noble family had hired them to target Karina. I was in the way of their plans, so they wanted me dead.
As it turned out, these weren't ordinary assassins—they were former knights who had been dismissed for misconduct. Skilled, but with a history of bad behavior. They denied any connection to the Assassin's Guild.
Honestly, I didn't care about them anymore. My mind was completely absorbed by the discovery of mana crystals.
I realized I could fully control these crystals. They were made of mana, after all. And since I was a master of mana manipulation, I could probably control a hundred at once.
Even better, when I reverted the crystals back to mana, they became high-density mana bombs.
Another perk: once I established a connection with the crystal, it would remain unless I actively severed it. I wasn't sure why, but it was a convenient feature.
Mana crystals could be used for all sorts of things—potions, magic tools, maybe even more. Their potential was insane, but I had to be careful not to let anyone know about this power just yet.
The crystals were lightweight and incredibly hard—perfect for creating flying swords. All I had to do was add some intelligence to them, and they'd be unstoppable.
The crystals could also be used like poisoned blades, delivering concentrated mana into a wound. Enough mana to kill someone outright.
A sword with Death magic capabilities.
I wouldn't show this off to just anyone, but I decided to make one for Karina.
Later, I headed to Karina's dorm. Three royal guards were posted at the door, including Uzall.
"I've got a gift for Karina," I said.
"I'll give it to her," Uzall replied, holding out his hand.
"No, it's valuable. I'll deliver it myself."
"Tch. Fine. You can give it to her under supervision," Uzall grumbled, knocking on the door.
"Understood," a woman's voice replied from inside. Not Karina's.
The door opened, and a female guard appeared.
"He wants to give Lady Karina a gift," Uzall explained.
"Lady Karina, there's a gift for you," the guard called inside.
A moment later, Karina appeared.
"I made you a dagger," I said, presenting the mana crystal weapon.
"Thank you," Karina said, though her smile seemed a little forced. Maybe she wasn't thrilled about getting a weapon.
I paused, realizing I'd misjudged. "Let me fix that. Here's something better—a wolf pup figurine."
Her eyes lit up. "Now that's more like it. I'll think of this figurine as you and talk to it whenever you're not around."
I smiled and turned the crystal dagger into a small wolf. Now for the tricky part. I mixed a little of her leaking mana with mine, infusing the wolf with her energy.
"It's yours now. Try moving it."
Karina hesitated, then extended her hand. The wolf wobbled awkwardly, circling her.
"It moves!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with delight.
I'd explain its more dangerous functions—like its ability to become a bomb or deliver poison—later in our exchange diary.
"Do you like it?" I asked.
"Like it? I love it. It's adorable."
"Tch. Made from black rainbow crystal, huh?" Uzall sneered. "Typical rich man's taste."
The difference between mana crystals and black rainbow stones was practically invisible to the naked eye, so I wasn't surprised he made that mistake.
"If you're jealous, you could try giving her something better—if you can make a moving figurine," I retorted.
This wolf wasn't just a cute toy. It was Karina's personal bodyguard. In the event of danger, it could take down a thousand enemies in an instant.
It was a small comfort, but now I felt like I could breathe a little easier knowing she had some protection.
Finally, a bit of peace.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone