Lena watched as the mana of her spell took hold and the runes linked together inside the magical construct. With a soft push, she loosened her grip on the mana to unleash the spell.

A flash. And Lena watched as the construct fizzled out and the mana dissolved into the surroundings. She had failed. Again.

For more than a week she tried to cast her first high-tier spell, but each time her mana construct either exploded into her face or fizzled out and dissolved into the surroundings. She was frustrated.

Eshen wasn´t of great help either as he was a close combat fighter and never really practiced magic. Which didn´t mean he spared her from his lecturing comments each time she failed. This time was no exception.

"Not only did you waste a large amount of mana again, but could also have injured yourself or god knows even me. In addition to that, casting such a powerful spell might have attracted other monsters. If you ever decide to cast such a spell in a real battle you must be sure that you succeed and you can´t let yourself get distracted."

"I know, I just don´t understand why I can´t make it work." She complained.

"You´ve been practicing magic for how long now? A few months, a year? You can´t expect to be able to cast high-tier magic within a year. Even elven geniuses take a decade at least to learn how to cast such a spell."

She turned towards the tall elf that sat beneath a tree a couple of meters away from her.

"But I know that I can do it. I know that I´m close." She said, ignoring the hollow ring of her voice.

"The progress you made so far is already beyond any human or elf in the history of the empires. I think you should be proud of what you have already achieved." Eshen said, without looking up from his book, some old tome about magical birds.

"But I am NOT human anymore, neither am I an elf. I´m undead, a lich and I should be able to perform magic as good as any other monster of my rank." Her voice was shaking. She hadn´t realized that she had started yelling until she saw that Eshen looked up from his book with a sad expression on his face.

"I´m aware of that Lena, but you shouldn´t forget what differentiates you from normal undead and liches. You were born Human and still are, mostly. Comparing yourself to a being of mana driven purely by murderous instinct isn´t helpful. You are no monster Lena." His voice was calm and his face reflected centuries of experience.

He was right of course. Monsters knew how to use magic by instinct and didn´t need to learn or practice it like humans. The fact that she too had to learn it made her feel much better.

Since she lived together with Eshen the elf had taught her many things. From history to combat, math, and alchemy, the most important thing by far was self-acceptance. She still hated what she had become and she still felt like crying whenever she saw herself in a mirror but Eshen had shown her that she could still live, that she still was herself. And most of all, he treated her like a human, even when they both knew that she wasn´t.

"I´ll try one last thing and then take a break." She said. Eshen only nodded and returned to his book as if she didn´t nearly have a mental breakdown.

Ever since she knew that she could use magic she was eager to master it. Each time that she successfully cast a spell she felt a certain satisfaction. Even if Eshen couldn't teach her much about the subject she practiced daily. After several months of training, she had already mastered numerous spells and made astonishing progress according to Eshen. But she wanted to do more.

She looked back at the target boulder in front of her. Once again she started directing her mana, but instead of pushing it into her prepared construct and forcing her mana to bend the right way, she let it flow freely. Driven by instinct huh? She thought. She gently directed her mana into the construct and watched as it formed the appropriate runes and forms without her need to interfere.

Monsters are beings of mana, but until now Lena thought it referred to their birth or general nature. Humans captured the mana in their bodies or surroundings and forced their will upon it, pressing it into the shapes they want to cast a spell. But Lena didn´t need to do that, she was the mana. It came from her core, from herself, she didn´t need to force it into the right shape, she just needed to give it a gentle push and direct it outside of her body. The rest would come by itself.

If she was a being of mana then her own mana would know what to do, why force it?

When the magical construct was complete, the runes didn´t stay inside of it. Instead of anchoring themself inside of it, they expanded. At first, Lena thought that she had lost control and waited for the explosion, but nothing like that happened. And that's when she understood.

The magical construct, the circle in which she directed her mana wasn´t there to prevent her mana from escaping but was the heart of the spell. It was just the starting point. She would need to relearn every spell she had mastered so far. She laughed as bright white runes surrounded her entire being and linked together with her initial construct before lighting up in bright white.

Her entire being vibrated with power as the spell stopped expanding and took hold. This time she knew that it would work.

Lena looked at the boulder and thought of all the frustration of the past week, the devastating sorrow after her death, and the loss of her friends. In the last year, she had changed, she had died and become something she hated and feared. But she wouldn´t mourn her loss anymore, she wouldn´t belittle herself anymore, no, she would let her enemies feel her wrath instead. With a soft smile that would terrify even monsters, Lena released her spell.

"Winter´s Wrath"

A howling blizzard of ice and death crashed into the infuriated beast. The tearing wind shredded through scales and flesh alike and shards of ice shattered against the body of the creature tearing gaping wounds that froze in an instant. Flesh turned solid and scales cracked under the freezing winds. The beast let out a terrifying shriek that was swallowed by the howling winds of ice and death.

After a few seconds, the blizzard ceased, revealing a frozen statue.

Lena watched as the giant body of the snake fell to the ground, large chunks of frozen flesh shattering upon impact revealing blackened innards. The snake lay broken on the ground maw still wide open. Dead. She continued to watch as the death mana of her spell slowly decayed the corpse before she turned towards Garro.

While she walked toward him she could feel the massive rush of mana from the dead snake as it was slowly forming a core.

She looked down on the large beast-man, he was unconscious and might have a few broken ribs but otherwise, he seemed okay. Lena took her time to relax. The Boss was dead and they both still lived. Her core was still low on mana, her spell had consumed more than she had anticipated.

After making sure that Garro was still out she summoned a few vials of concentrated mana, it was time for a feast. She had to hold herself back to avoid moaning from the feeling of liquid energy running down her throat. She emptied five vials in less than a minute her core finally brimming with power. It was an invigorating feeling.

She hadn´t even realized how different it felt. Normally she took a vial as soon as her core wasn´t topped off, but she had neglected it after leaving Eshen´s tower. With the addition of the fights, her injuries, and her use of magic her core had depleted faster than ever. She needed to be more careful.

After her meal, Lena decided to retrieve her spoils.

As she looked at the giant corpse in front of her she nearly regretted her spell. It was almost impossible to identify the snake as the one that had attacked them. All that was left was a broken husk of frozen bits rotten flesh, shredded scales, and blackened and broken bones. There was no sign of the powerful predator she had faced.

For a second she thought that she might have overdone it, that was until she saw her reward. Right on top of a pile of frozen rot sat a small stone that glowed in the same grey color as the rest of the cave. The only difference was the extreme power it radiated. Lena couldn´t withhold a grin as she picked up the small uneven stone.

The monster core contained a large amount of mana, more than any other core that she had gained in this dungeon. She might even be able to make enough concentrated mana from it to make up for her losses. That might be a little optimistic but still. It was more than worth it.

She was about to search for other monster parts that she could use when she heard movement.

With a painful grown Garro sat up and looked around. Soon his golden eyes settled on her, standing in what once was the dungeon boss.

"What happened?" he asked after a moment.

"After you saved me from the snake´s grip and distracted it I was pissed and killed it." She said with a calm voice. Lena didn´t feel the need to elaborate things.

He skimmed over the remains of the snake and then back to her, he didn't ask for more details. But she noticed a slight change in his expression. Was it surprise or fear? His beastly face made it complicated to discern.

"Do you need a healing potion?" she asked. Even if normal healing potions weren´t effective for her, they still were for him. Eshen had taught her how to create all sorts of potions and after Garro´s help, it was only polite to offer him. I´m a nice and polite adventurer after all.

"No I´m good; it will heal from time alone." He answered.

Lena looked at him, she just realized that the large cut from the metal reaper had vanished. Beastman regeneration must be quite powerful. Not that she could complain, her own injuries were already healed after all.

"If your´re up again it would be time to search for the dungeon heart and more importantly for my loot. I didn´t come here for nothing after all." Lena didn´t want to sound pushy but after finding such a good monster core she was eager to see what she could get else.

Garro glanced at the snake corpse and raised his furry eyebrows.

"Well, nearly nothing. And you agreed that everything apart from the dungeon heart was for me." Why was she so defensive? It was only normal for her to take the snake's core, she was the one who killed it after all.

"You're right. That was the deal. The dungeon heart isn´t far from here. It should be hiding somewhere nearby."

Lena was about to ask what he meant by that when he elaborated.

"I suppose you have noticed that the mana in the boss room is much lower than in the rest of the dungeon. That´s because the Dungeon heart is trying to hide its presence. Normally the surrounding mana would be extremely high but due to injury the core has decided to conceal its presence." he said. After picking up his discarded sword he continued.

"But without mana, the Boss would likely leave this area. So there must be a small hidden area with enough mana to keep the boss close for protection."

She turned toward the wall from which the snake had emerged. Garro gave her an approving grunt and they both made their way toward the area. Lena found it logical, but the distinct lack of potent mana in the surrounding still made her doubt that a powerful mana-producing dungeon heart could be nearby. It seemed absurd, even with Garro´s explanation.

As they both stood in front of the large crack from which the snake had emerged Lena began to smile. Not only did she see loose metal ore littering the floor, but she also saw a small passage leading deeper into the wall. It would have been near impossible to find it if the snake hadn´t been hiding there. Even as she stood right in front of it, the strange glowing metal ore made it hard to distinguish shapes and edges in the wall.

The metal ore itself seemed to be rather high quality and might bring her quite a bit if she sold it. She wouldn´t have bothered with it if she had to mine it from the walls herself, it would have been too much effort but she wouldn´t let free money on the floor either. She would get it on her way back.

With one last look back they began their descent. Lena could only dream about what they would find beneath.

The narrow passage was short but complicated, with walls made of sharp edges and a low ceiling that forced them to crawl on multiple occasions. Even if normal cuts couldn´t harm her, Lena was relieved to have her armor. Also, her rather small frame eased her descent, contrary to her companion.

Garro was cursing blood and sweat. By the time they arrived at the small chamber below he was covered in cuts and bruises, growling like a madman. Lena ignored his last curse as she took in the small chamber, or rather the surrounding mana.

The mana in the chamber was denser than anything Lena had experienced so far. It was a strange feeling at first. As if she had lived her entire life underwater and suddenly she emerged, freed from an immense pressure. Her core didn´t deplete anymore, everything she used to live replenished instantly. This was a place where she could survive indefinitely.

The chamber wasn´t larger than a dozen meters with a floor descended into a shallow crater. In the middle of it was a small red flower, not larger than her hand. It was surrounded by a small patch of clear blue grass as thin air.

"Is...Is that....?"

"Yes. that's it" Garro´s voice seemed almost venerable.

She had never seen a dungeon heart but she was sure that she stood right in front of one. The small flower looked rather pathetic with its pale red petals and the bent stalk, but the energy it emitted was oppressive. Every fiber of it seemed to be made of pure energy and Lena could feel its roots oozing mana into the earth around them.

For some reason she wanted to be near it, it wasn´t a rational thought but rather an instinct. It was as if her core longed to be close to the flower. Its presence was soothing, for the first time since her rebirth as an undead, the nagging feeling inside of her that craved for more mana, was still. It would never come back if she stayed near it, all she had to do was to be near that flower.

"Lena. Don´t go too close."

If she was near it she would be happy, she would be safe and she would grow.

"Lena!"

There would be no more pain, she would have everything she needed. All she had to do was to stay close to it. Yes, close, real close. She needed to protect it! It made the pain go away. It needed to be safe. Close and safe. And...

"LENA! LENA!" Her hand was smacked away by a giant furry fist.

What....the..? How...?

Lena stood right in front of the small flower and looked at a panicked Beastman.

"What are you doing?" his voice thundered through the small chamber.

"Why are you yelling?" She was confused. How did she get so close to it?

"Because you didn´t listen. What were you thinking stumbling towards it like a drunken zombie?"

"I understand that you are powerful, but even you shouldn´t take a dungeon core lightly." He visibly calmed down as Lena stepped back from the small flower.

He was right of course. If Garro hadn´t stopped her things could have gone terribly wrong. But what exactly happened? From one moment to the other she had been completely entranced by the dungeon heart. Was it some kind of mental attack, or was it a natural reaction because of her nature. Maybe all monsters are lured towards it like that?

Whatever it is, I´m not gonna test it further. Without Garro, I would have been completely lost.

"So...what now? How are you gonna take it out then?" She asked, mainly to lead his attention away from her. Why was he so anxious?

After giving her another confusing look he turned towards the flower.

"That´s not something you should concern yourself with. Just know that I have a way to take it away. You should concern yourself about how your´re gonna transport all the stuff here. After all, we have a deal. I get the core and you get the rest." He said.

Lena had been so focused on the small flower that she didn´t pay attention to the other things that lay in the chamber. The walls were still made from the same dull metal ore as in the rest of the dungeon, but the multiple cracks and folds shone hundreds of small red mana crystals. Lena could feel her grin under her mask.

Mana crystals were one of the primary resources from dungeons and worth a lot as they could be used for nearly everything but could only be found in mana-rich areas.

In addition to the mana crystals, the floor was littered with polished scales. She had been miffed that she couldn´t harvest many monster parts from the boss but it seemed that she still could. Even if they weren´t as valuable as mana crystals the amount alone would make it worth it.

Wait! The grass around the flower....was that mana grass?

Fuck it if Garro sees that she got a storage ring. She was rich!

Without any other delay, Lena began to store everything she saw in her ring. She completely ignored Garro´s stare and just took everything she saw, she even found some kind of moss that seemed to be rather rich in death mana. Her mind was filled with piles of gold and gems.

After half an hour all that was left in the chamber was the flower and the mana as it was too close to the heart for her to take. She didn´t want to risk losing her mind again.

"Okay, I´m going back up to collect a bit of the metal ore so that you can take the dungeon heart." She said toward the Beastman.

Garro hadn´t made any attempt to touch the flower while she picked the place clean. She supposed that he wanted to be alone while excavating the heart. After all, such a technique was highly illegal and probably dangerous. Well, she wouldn´t pry for his secrets.

"I'll be back in half an hour, and don´t you dare steal the mana grass." With that said she made her way back up.

Lena tried to ignore the strange mana fluctuations while she collected the metal ore, but she could still feel that what Garro did wasn´t something as simple as digging the flower out with a shovel. Which was, Lena had to admit, exactly what she would have done.

Yes, it was a powerful flower, it produced large amounts of mana and emitted a rather nice feeling, but in the end, wasn´t it just a flower. Lena was confused. In all the books in Eshen´s library dungeon hearts were depicted as powerful entities even more dangerous than the dungeon boss itself. They were even said to possess intelligence.

She would have to learn more about them later, especially since this had given her an interesting idea.

She was about to pick up another piece of ore when she felt a massive wave of mana crushing into her, followed by a sudden emptiness. The mana around her was gone. The walls glowed less bright and the air felt hollow. It cost her a great amount of concentration to keep her mana inside of herself and prevent it to escape into the surrounding that was suddenly devoid of mana.

It was as if a great amount of mana had been ripped out of reality. Lena could feel that it would slowly return but the sudden change still shocked her. So that was one of the reasons that dungeon cores were forbidden to be excavated.

If the dungeon hadn´t been weakened before it might have sucked my own mana away. She thought before something else crossed her mind.

Lena didn´t think further and hurried back down into the chamber. Was Garro okay?