Dedication to honing one's mind was incredible. Even knowing that everything had the possibility of going haywire at a moment's notice, the Core was without pause, was without stray thoughts, and was most importantly with no hesitation at all. For the thirteenth time in the past minute, it moved the water out from the container, letting it hang in the air through an act of will and Mana put together. It was an act of intent making its presence known to the physical world. And it would not fail this time as well.

Moving the water up into the air differed greatly from moving it to the sides. Most of the attempts had been stopped at such an early stage, the sensations being so radically different. Yet, from having felt it so many times now, the Core was without pause as it allowed the water to glide through the air, none of it allowed to spill to the sides. In fact, the Entity had even conjured a lid for the top. It wasn't anything fancy, being close to just a flat block put on top, but it worked better than anything.

Though it did also add in with the complexity, the Core had to mentally remove that conjured block without removing the entire conjured material as a whole. Separating the two things in its mind had required seven full attempts, though they didn't count that hard in the long run. The Entity was sure it had forgotten to count a few before as well, so there was no stress about it. There was no stress about anything at that moment the mind being at peace with everything and anything.

And with the water having been moved to the designated area, the Core began to spread it out amongst the different patches of [Moss]. Here, it was an act of precision, no part needing more water than the other. The actual process of making it so that this happened had been more complicated than anything before, the Core not known for making anything with no faults. Yet, that was what had been required when working with the conjured Mana. It knew that it couldn't fail.

The water itself had been evenly distributed now. It was a step further than anything managed before, the Core usually creating holes in the bottom by accident earlier on in the process. Yet, it had avoided just that, making it possible to go through the last step of the process.

Watering each patch of Moss. With all the small containers of water now hanging half a meter above their designated part of the plan, the Core couldn't just let it all fall to the ground. Such a thing would only make it all splash around, creating bubbles and uneven watering. No… it had to go deeper than that. Starting in the straight middle before making an ever-widening circle around the premise, making sure that every part was perfectly put on, no parts allowed more water than the other. The speed needed to be constant instead of simply having the same time for a rotation. With the several tens of containers, there were to think about, it was harder and harder for the Core to control.

Yet there was not a moment of hesitation, fear, or anxiety to be found. Such things had already been flushed down the metaphorical draining system that the Core had been thinking about. Not in that moment, however, much more important things being at play. Reaching the end of the rotations, every part supposedly being watered to perfection, the Entity checked over each container, making sure they all emptied in tandem. With its sight so well made, not a single one had a single droplet left, no friction on the conjured Mana allowing it to stay. There was a desire to drop everything at that moment, yet the Entity was without respite. It needed to know if it was all done right, needed to make sure that there were no faults. Making the ant from the start move over to inspect, it… found no faults. There was nothing wrong with the techniques, no flaws that the creature wanted to fix at that moment. It just stood by the field, waiting for something to change from time. The Core had succeeded.

So… with a mental relief, the Entity allowed all the built-up tension away. It had been hard, mentally frustrating at times, and a lesson in how to hone one's mind into a state of oblivion, yet it had finally succeeded in its ultimate goal. It had watered a plant.

The Core realised it did not sound like much, yet the ability to do so without having to rely on physical creatures was a god-sent gift. Wait, no, it didn't want to allow any of the gods the privilege of thinking they were the reason behind the triumph. Everything done in the last minutes was due to the Core and the Core alone. Nothing had helped it other than itself, and that fact needed to be known to all. It would not accept anything less at that point, would not accept the idea of others getting praised for its own work.

Not that there was anybody else to praise it. The Core was all alone in its sight, disregarding the ants. Why did it even think that something would praise it? How peculiar a thought to have. But, it was disregarded as something that came from the shared frustrations of the last many minutes. So much work had been done, every part succeeding into an experience that the Core could see as nothing but triumph. It was happy and that was all there was to it.

So it knew that it could create physical matter and use that creation to carry other physical matter over to a designated spot. It was hard, it was gruelling, yet with sheer intent and will, the Core knew it was possible. Originally, it had intended to move on after the first successful trial, and it was clear that it desired to do just that, yet the possibilities of what could be done with this were extreme. The Core, being the curious being that it was, wanted to figure out more about this conjured matter made out of Mana. It had never seen anything like it. Sure, creating matter out of energy had been seen before, yet that had been to create creatures. And the matter used for that was more… permanent.

The matter used during the process of moving water was so radically different. It felt like nothing before it, having impossibly smooth sides where no water could stick and was not permanent at all. The slightest wavering of the mind was more than enough to make it all fall apart. Yet that didn't mean that it continually required more and more Mana. When the base cost was paid, the only thing required to keep it together was sheer will. It was different.

The Core knew that it needed to complete the ideas about intent, yet it also knew that there was more to be found with what it was currently seeing. There was something. Some distinct sensations when being used. It wasn't directly a different form or colour of Mana felt or anything. Honestly, it was just as pure as what could be seen on the inside, the elongated Mana being just as blue and pure. There was no change to the composition. Or maybe there was but just not in the way that the Core was used to.

Instead of melding it together with a specific colour, a specific tone from the earth, the Core had done nothing but make the Mana operate in its current state. It had allowed the energy to go unchanged. Normally, this should have meant that nothing could be done with it since no change would allow for it, yet the Mana had still succeeded in the task. It had become something else yet nothing like what had been seen before.

It had changed but also not changed. The idea wasn't making sense in the Core’s head, yet it made so much sense in practice. While there was no change in colour, the intent behind the Mana changed. The fundamentals were changed according to the wishes of the being, and the Mana did nothing but change with it. When the Core wanted results without changing them to a different colour, the Mana had done its best to accomplish these goals without doing so. It wasn't another colour, but it was a distinct branch of Mana-Use. It was a different branch of Magic.

The [System[ would know what it was. The Core had realised that fact slowly enough. And it would likely reveal its secrets the moment that the Entity understood enough as well, meaning that there were still small details that needed to be learned. Since the theory behind it seemed decent enough, it was only able to imagine that it was the practical skill that was lacking in its quality. That… was understandable. The Core was still having trouble with conjuring anything at all still, the mental gears needed to be turned taking more time than was likely intended.

That needed to change, and the Core understood that clearly. So… practice was to be had. Instead of going back to the provision-based practice from before, the Core took its focus a bit further outside of where the [Moss] grew. It was almost at the edge of where it could see at that point, yet it was more than enough for what was needed. A few of the ants in its control was circling that perimeter, making sure that they would sense anything coming before it stepped found onto the ground, yet the Core changed around their route to give itself space. It would notice any disturbance itself in that direction anyway, the readings from the air enough to give a second of warning beforehand.

The new scenario was different from the latter. Instead of creating a specific form for a specific task, the Core tried to create the most complex creation it could fathom in its mind. It started with a sphere, round in a perfect manner. Then, three equally sized spheres were created inside the larger sphere. These began to turn in tandem moving around and about in a nearly limitless number of patterns. The process was done again, each of the three spheres having an additional three inside of them. At that point, the Core could feel its mind beginning to harden from the pressure, the focus needed to retain speed close to its limit.

But limits were meant to be broken, lest the whole world would fall into ruin. Another level of spheres was added, this time with the speed increased to make sure everything felt was without any hint of easiness. The Core was only happy that the spheres held themselves in their designated spots, not going through each other on a whim, lest it would have already fallen together.

Yet, the act of allowing the spheres to press against each other instead of making all move with the same speed alongside the rotations made it all brittle. And, as it turned out, the material created was not without its faults, able to be fractured when enough pressure was put onto it. It only took a single break before it all broke into thousands of parts. The parts not destroyed were allowed to dissipate.

The Core could only watch and mentally gape at itself, pressure being found overwhelming. It was a nightmare of logistics, something close to impossible, and without any real chance of being done in any capacity.

Which was why, after five full seconds of rest, the Core returned to the task, starting up all over again with the same speed as before. It was not something that needed rest. It needed results, even if that meant pain to the utmost level. There were no gains to be had without being stressed, without being frustrated. There were no results without hardship so hardship would be felt until it either broke down or found the solution to everything.

The spheres were made. The first one was easy. The second level of them brought the full count to four. Then it was thirteen. Then it was something close to forty. Then it grew so large that the Core had trouble truly figuring out what was what. It just knew that it was holding it all together somehow, just enough that no fractures were made, and that was the only thing that the Entity wanted from it all.

Not that it could barely hold on, that is. The thing that the Core sought the most was progress. And since it was able to uphold what instantly destroyed it moments ago for what felt like something close to twenty full seconds, it knew that progress was being made at some level. It knew that it was all working out to be something that legends would be made about.

The last second of those twenty seconds was painful, however, to the point where the Core could feel some of its health being left behind its process. Not that its Mana had run out or anything. It checked to make sure that it was still as full as before. No… it was due to the sheer complexity that its mind was being pushed through that it made actual damage. The example of the [Wild[ ant stressing out all its muscles came to the Core’s mind. It was able to do so much damage at the cost of its own health. It had gone into something close to a berserk state, increasing its output for the most minor of seconds, and it had become a weapon worthy of being called a true threat. While the Core had looked down on such a tactic at the time, it could do nothing but wonder about how much progress was made from that small sacrifice.

While health was lost, progress was most certainly made. The Core had been able to sustain what had been deemed impossible before, and it had only stopped due to being distracted from the loss of health. And, speaking of that loss of health, it had barely been one point lost. It had a hundred and sixty to lose, yet it had lost the focus due to one measly point being taken away? That was shameful. That was something the Core couldn't forgive. Five seconds of pain equalled one point lost? It could go through ten minutes of pain without issue then!

With that heartfelt speech to itself, the Core began yet again. It stormed through the first two levels, four measly spheres feeling like nothing. It was made for greater things. Level three with its measly count of something under thirty? That was terrible inconsiderate to keep at as well. No, it needed to go deeper. It needed to have progress made. It needed… it needed to reach five hundred. Or something close to it. At that point, it knew it had made it. That was the turning point where enough levels had been gotten through to make it all worth it. The pain could be pushed through, yet there came a point where progress would equal it, and the Core knew that such a large number would provide what it sought. And it sought results in the way of the [System] recognizing its efforts.

The third level was easy to stabilize, so the fourth was started on. There the problem began in earnest, the Core almost losing focus from going too quickly. Yet it stabilised itself without too large an issue. Then came the fifth and where it had been needed to stop before. The dull pain in its mind became something so much more, the Core quickly realising why it had stopped at that point before the current attempt. It was all for pushing through, but painful sensations were called that for a reason. They were filled with pain. They couldn't be ignored, no matter how much one wished for it.

But the sensations could be accepted. There was never a chance of them being drowned out by every else, and the Core needed to accept that fact. The pain was a part of life, just like its own curiosity and happiness was. One could not exist without all others being there as well. And with that acceptance, the Core was able to remain in the game.

It stood still on that level for thirty full seconds. By that half-time, it could feel its health beginning to drain. Yet it did not care, the sensation having been accepted beforehand. And the rate was much too slow to even care for. No… it stops it another step forward. It did not stop at level five. It went over to level six.

And a world of pain arose again, making everything else seem so minuscule. Yet again, the focus was nearly lost, not due to the complexity but due to the increasingly growing pain. It was extreme, it was hard, and there was no chance it could be done for longer periods. The Core knew that it wouldn't be able to go to the next level of complexity, no matter how hard it would push for it. So, it created a stand-point for itself.

Ten seconds. It just needed to bear the pain, the complexity, and everything else within the process for ten full seconds, starting at the point where it finished that sentence. It seemed trivial at the start, yet time progressed slowly and the real effects only began then. The draining of health was omnipresent, every part of the circles floating around being what had made it turn. Yet the Core would not give in to the pain, would not be distracted by it. The Core understood it was there, understood it was there to stay for the entire duration, and it did nothing to stop the sensation from being felt. Instead, it focused on making sure everything else worked flawlessly.

It made sure no fractures happened, made sure all speeds were kept equal and made sure that no moments were spent thinking about anything else but what was happening at that very moment. Any ideas about the future, about anything but the spheres, were flushed away from its mind, it all needing to lead back to the process currently set in place. For it was not sure what would happen if it stopped.

How long had passed? How many seconds had ticked by? Five. Four. The Core almost lost focus at that moment by correcting its count, a chunk of its health lost due to that idiocracy, yet it continued unheeded. The pain was pain. The movement was movement. It was all what it was, and there was no need to think of anything as being different. Everything, down to the slightest movement, was just as perfect as those three or four levels above. Nothing was different in the structure, for it was without flaw. The Core was making sure of it.

Five hundred spheres. Four hundred and ninety-nine were inside the largest. After that, it was simply to divide and multiply by three each time one went down a level. At least, that was how the Core did it. It had the full, real count somewhere in it, yet there was no focus leftover to figure out what it truly was. Everything was more important. Their spheres were more important.

Two seconds. Two full seconds. How was time moving so slowly? The chunks of health being cut off were only seeming larger and larger, indicating that more time had passed, yet the Core just seemed to be slower and slower. The speed of the spheres was kept up, however. They never stopped, would never stop for as long as the count was still in progress. For the Core would not stop until the time had finished. There was nothing to see in the results if it stopped. The process needed to continue.

One second. Only a single second left. Yet that single second felt like hours, felt an eternity to the Core. There were no breaks, no feelings of relief. It could only continue like it had done before, no moments thinking of anything else. It was stressed. It was frustrating. But, most important of all, it was happy.

And…. with that, the time had passed. Level by level, the spheres were broken down, the Mana was released back into the air. Relief was felt on a level never felt before. The Core… felt happy. It felt progress was made. All levels had been removed with care, never letting anything stop in speed until everything was gone. And with the last giant sphere, the Entity said goodbye to the practice for some time.

For the [System] had answered its calls.

New [Skill] has been acquired!

You have learned: [Arcane-Manipulation]

New [Skill] has been acquired!

You have learned: [Pain-Tolerance]