Matthew’s POV the next morning

I slowly woke up albeit still slightly tired from last night (“I wonder if Devils and Succubii have it in common…”), a harmless thought went through my mind as her bare skin pressed onto mine and I noticed she had woken up before me. “You just thought of something perverted didn’t you?” she gave me a mischievous smile as I stared into her eyes, I decided it wasn’t harmless enough to say it out loud and played it off “Hm? I was only thinking of how good it feels to wake up to you by me” I pulled her closer and right after she blushed to my comment and I kissed her. Last night had been my first to many…many things along breaking the rules to break into her room, I began to get out of the bed (“I dare Zeaxar or anybody to call me out for this, though it’s not like it’s my fault that Elites have access to almost every door in the base”).

“I’ll go ahead and take a shower, or do you want to first?” I looked back as she stared at me, she seemed to be lost in thought “Ris? Should I shower first?” she snapped out of her thoughts with a couple blinks and nodded. I went ahead and grabbed the extra clothes I had brought with me and went inside the shower, after closing the door behind me I sat the clothes down and stood there for a couple moments. I sighed (“Ember, Saya I swear I will give you form and torture the both of you if you ever mentally peek again”) I wasn’t too angry but I’d rather settle it now than when I’m in the middle of it, I felt their apologetic nods through our connection and spiritual contract (“Good, is Wayne still…”) due to the both of them peeking Wayne also got an accidental peek (“I..I’m…okay…I’m okay…okay...okay…”) something told me he wasn’t okay at all.

I let it slide since even though he had a childish personality his spirit’s actual age was beyond even my calculations, Ember’s was probably much older but Saya on the other hand couldn’t be judged through age since Fae change completely when they gain a physical body and from millennia old Pixies become years old Fairies. I went ahead and began to take a shower when I suddenly scolded myself for not having my senses on alert, I hear the door suddenly open “Risa we came to get you!” I heard Natasha’s voice followed by Anabel “I’m sorry Risa…I told her we should message you instead but…” followed by three gasps. “Oh..S..Sorry…I didn’t think you…slept naked…” Natasha for the first time sounded embarrassed, “Why is sleeping naked strange?” this time it was Ell who spoke making the rest momentarily stop speaking.

On the other hand I was hiding my presence while flattening myself to the side of the shower (“WHY NOW!? WHY A BLURRY SEE THROUGH SHOWER DOOR!? GOD DAMNIT!”) I dared them to say anything…I didn’t mind them knowing…but this situation was beyond me. “Well it’s not that it’s strange…It’s just…I don’t know really…” Anabel tried to answer Ell’s question with no help from Natasha, while this went on and due to my concealed aura I could fully feel the killing intent emanating from Risa. “He…was supposed to be the only…one…to see…” her aura thickened so much I began to feel sick with nothing keeping it from pounding into my senses, “You…” even with the bright lights in the room and the blurry glass I could clearly see her hair light up into a blaze.

“Him? Wha…” Anabel began to speak but stopped as she must have noticed the shower lights being on, (“Fuck safety! The switch is on the outside…”) I cursed once more as I decided I should take action before Risa does something unfixable. I quickly dried myself off with Ember’s fire and put on the new uniform we found in our closet crystals, a bluish black trench coat that reached my knees with silver claw marks over a dark grey shirt with the company’s crest displayed proudly in the middle, long black pants with similar claw markings to the coat and a pair of dark blue combat boots.

I walked out of the shower room to the scene outside, a raging inferno of a naked Devil still on the bed covering herself with the sheets, a very confused Elf undecided on who to stare at, a bewildered blonde immediately blushing when she saw me come out and an amazed brunette switching gazes between me and Risa. “Devils work fast…” Natasha clapped her hands together, I swear I could see the heat searing the sheets Risa was holding. I turned to face the three girls still by the door, I was about to speak but suddenly the low sound of music began, the almost in audible sound of some sort of dubstep got closer and closer as we stood momentarily frozen staring at each other.

“What you all taking so long for? Matthew wasn’t in his room so…” along with the music Clyde appeared by the door way and was about look between his sister and Anabel, (“Why…”) with a burst of speed I rushed forward as a black mist quickly covered the entrance behind me. “Must you all have such horrible timing…” I menacingly glared at each one of them, none looked back and as for Clyde he was still staring at the black wall of mist behind me completely confused. Ell seemed to be amused at the whole situation while Anabel was still staring mouth half open at me “We..should leave…” she turned around pulling Natasha behind her while Ell followed, “Ookay...We’ll be eating breakfast while…well whatever the hell just happened…” Clyde gave one last glance at the mist and me then turned to follow the girls.

I sighed as I closed the door behind me, “What the hell?...” I released the mist making it quickly dissipate into nothing. I looked at Risa who had mostly calmed down as she held the sheets close while hugging her knees, “It was almost perfect…then they ruined the morning…” she pouted obviously annoyed at what had occurred. I leaned my back to the door and simply began to laugh, I laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation, I laughed at the annoyance and urgency I felt towards such a silly situation and I laughed happily that moments like these were now a possibility even for someone like me.

I ended my laugh after a couple moments and looked back at Risa who stared at me still pouting, I walked over and bent down to kiss her “They ruined nothing, we’ll have plenty of time to make use of and I won’t allow anyone or anything to stop us from enjoying our time” of course I was talking about the current predicament of a possible war between Gods with no God currently on our side. She gave me a warm smile oblivious to the future danger we might have to face (“I won’t allow it…This…will not be taken away from me…I will not lose anything else”) I moved away from the bed “Take a shower and go eat some breakfast, I was going to check in medical after our mission this noon but I think it’s high time I figure things about my body”.

“Alright…I’ll teach them a lesson myself then” she gave me a fanged grin while her tail whipped about excitedly, I chuckled and shook my head “Just don’t break them too much” I then turned around and walked through the door. I subconsciously raised my right hand and touched the black shard embedded on the front of my now slightly larger horn (“The gift of anir…Is it really just an expansion of mana?...or is there more to it?”), I had previously used it back on earth to refill my mana but the feeling it gave me was something I will never forget.

I again focused on it as a feeling of ancient magic freely flowed into me, again I felt a change in my eyes as well as my horn. It was too complicated a feeling to put in words but the main feeling was as if a bottomless pit of energy had suddenly opened up to me, I could no longer feel as in no emotion touched my mind while I was in this state. Slowly a coldness creeped throughout my whole body taking over my senses, it was like liquid ice slowly flowing through my veins until it reached my heart. I began walking through the corridors that is the dorm, I felt completely emotionless, no guilt, no worry and none of the happiness I had felt earlier.

I stopped the flow from the shard and quickly everything returned to what I now considered normal, (“I can see how such a feeling could devour someone…to feel nothing at all…would I ever leave that state if I hadn’t these emotions I hold dear within me now?”) I shook my head as I turned another corner (“There must be more beyond this…I can…feel it somehow…every time I enter that state…as if it’s poking at my heart…”). I clutch my chest as I finally reach the console (“I’ll figure it out…but first”) I momentarily stared at it before opening the map and setting the teleportation target.

I appeared within one of the many laboratory floors within the base, this one specifically was the highest clearance possible below Zeaxar’s personal floor. The room I was currently in looked like any other science lab at first glance but after taking a closer look I could see much more, strange liquids glowed and moved within hundreds of flasks that cleanly sat to the side while multiple mana signatures emanated from otherworldly looking stones and crystals that lay within large glass boxes along a long table.

I glanced at the strangest occurrence within the lab where the personnel seemed to be collected around, three figures in white lab coats stood around a large white crystal surrounded by runic sealing magic and two pitch black rings hovering around it. The runes surrounded the dungeon core like a barrier would and once you looked at it from certain angles ethereal chains could be seen wrapping around the crystal and its rings, I began walking over to the researchers while they studied the core with one of them noting things down when told.

They hadn’t noticed me at all as I didn’t even try to hide my presence, I stood behind the old Human, greying ginger Dwarf and large Fishman. I cleared my throat to get their attention making all three jump and quickly turn around, “Oh..K..Matthew, I was told you’d be coming but I expected you to be here a bit later?” Heiken had dropped his glasses from the fright I gave him and he bent down to grab them from the floor “These are my assistants Flerk and Daguth” the dolphin man nodded at the mention of his name while the dwarf simply grunted after.

Heiken rose up and put his glasses back on only to take them off a moment later “What the…” I guessed that nobody had told him, he put the glasses back on and stared at me for several seconds “You going to show me to the scanners or should I try door to door and find them myself?” I got tired of his staring and began walking over to one of the many doors in the room. “Oh..ah no that’s not a good idea and yes come with me” he finally rushed over and grabbed my shoulder to stop me.

I glanced back at his steadily paling expression as his hand slowly moved away from my shoulder “S..Sorry…This way…” he gestured to another door and turned to walk towards it, his assistants gave him worried looks but otherwise continued their study of the dungeon core. I stepped through the now open door after him taking note of the multiple scanning machines within the new room “Mana, Biological, Mechanical and Runic…but what are the other two for?” I walked over to the two scanning chambers I did not recognise; each machine was a small room with a door that could hold an above average sized Drakon.

“The left one is non-operational, it’s supposed to be able to scan a being’s soul but tests have not shown progress. The right one on the other hand is a multipurpose scanner, we use it to record certain reactions too dangerous to watch or record without enough protection in-between.” I eyed the larger chamber noticing that unlike the others it had no clear surfaces to look within only reinforced walls and door. “We’ll use this then, make things faster” I gave him no time to argue and turned the button that obviously opened the door since it was the only one on the machine and right next to the door, the chamber’s door opened horizontally upwards and I entered.

He scratched his head and walked over closing the door behind me “Yes..yes…fine…”, I saw him walk away and towards a desk full of monitoring machinery and computers as the door closed. The inside of the machine was pearly blue with perpendicular lines of green crystals on each wall, below me instead of a floor was a larger white crystal taking the whole area while the roof was also the same. The green crystals lit up with a blueish light and I felt as if every particle in my being was being watched, I retrieved my aura to decrease the unpleasant feeling and to allow more detailed data to be taken. Suddenly the white crystal floor and roof began flashing with a bright white light in unison, after what felt like a minute or more all the lights shut off.

When the lights shut off I felt a piercing pain on my back, the same pain I felt when overusing my mana or otherwise over taxing the dark shard on my horn. I leaned sideways holding onto the wall as the door began to open, (“Matt…I still cannot identify the pain…I feel so useless…”) I heard Saya and felt her annoyance (“Whatever it is it’s beyond the both of us, you aren’t useless Saya, the opposite really. If I didn’t have you who knows how far my change would have gone.”) I seemed to have calmed her down for the moment.

Doctor Heiken walked over to the scanning chamber with a confused expression “Are you alright? Did the scanner effect you?”, I shook my head and walked out “It’s something I’ve felt before after over exerting my mana, also this” I pointed at the shard “seems to be the source of it since before gaining it I hadn’t any problems”. I walked over to the two computer monitors on the desk with Heiken standing by me “It is still processing the data, mind telling me what happened to you so I can effectively read it when it is done?”.

I grimaced at the thought of this slug knowing anything about me again but in the end Zeaxar is right, I have no choice in this regard as I am neither a professional Aether chemist nor Biologist like this man. So I began to go over the steps I took to corrupt my soul and merge with my spirits and their Aether bodies to change myself to the core, using ambient mana to purify mana efficiency and bending it into my soul to speed up the change. His expression paled and changed from fascination to absolute horror “The material Bound Aethers are made from must have had a reaction to the ambient mana and a further reaction when it came into direct contact with your soul…” he seemed deep in thought for a couple moments.

He quickly took out a notepad and pen from his coat (“Really?...A notepad?...Paper?...and pen?...”) he ignored my surprised expression and began scribbling onto the paper, he then turned the notepad and showed me what he drew “Bound Aethers are made from a crystalline material known as Corium, the material monster cores are made of. It is the only material known to us that can hold mana in significant amounts without loss over time but can still be drained at will by sentient beings, beings with a connection to the soul realm like us and enough intellect to know the difference between it and I” the drawing was of a human figure with a monster core inside and two swirls on each side of the core.

He continued to explain while pointing at the drawing “Let’s assume you absorbed the material itself with the mana that resided within it, that should not be possible as the material would dissipate once drained unless…You absorbed the material without draining it of mana with the assistance of your spirits that held their mana within the material that were their bodies, still though that doesn’t explain your racial change?...” he looked back at the drawing again deep in thought. “My spirits had evolved before I merged with them, they gained adaptable bodies like a sentient being” I glanced at the monitors seeing the scan was complete.

He began to scribble on the notepad again while taking short glances at the data on the monitors, his horrified expression intensified with each passing moment. When he was done writing he put down the illegible drawing on the desk and turned to stare at me, I glared back “What?! What did you figure out!?” his horrified expression reached it’s peek as he began to mildly tremble but it wasn’t fear…no it was amazement and excitement. “Matthew…You’re the first sentient being with a core…” I looked at him with an annoyed expression “Yes I know my body works like a monster core as well as still having pores to utilize a soul, I already knew that!”, he shook his head “No no no! You for all accounts are growing a core! Your body reacts like a core while the actual core is still being formed!”.

I looked at him with a confused expression as he continued “The core is still stabilizing and it is doing so at a very quick rate! The more you utilize your mana the quicker it will be complete, I suspect the pain you are feeling is the core forming! Do you know what all this means!?” he then suddenly cleaned up the desk by throwing off a lot of the equipment off the desk and grabbed the keyboard and mouse, he opened a 3D display program and began forming shapes while opening other files. Two animations began to play on each monitor respectively, one of a human utilizing magic and another of a cored monster absorbing ambient mana.

He glanced back at my now shocked expression “You understand now…don’t you? You not only have a soul that processes impure mana from the soul realm for you to use but…once it is done… you will have a core to process ambient mana for you to also use…and due to what we are as sentient beings our mana control far surpasses slimes which use to be the most effective cored monsters at it before Dungeon cores!” I now fully comprehended what Saya had said the other time, “But that...That effectively triples my mana regeneration…isn’t that…unreasonable?...”.

He suddenly rose away from the desk with arms open laughing like a maniac “It is! It truly is! And not just that! With the possession of a monster core your mana manipulation abilities will increase in accuracy!” he held onto the back of his head with both hands while continuing to chuckle ,“Then there is your pure mana…Access to each and every known element and its sub elements…Dark, Light, Chaos, Corruption, Nature, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and all their children! Thunder! Lightning! Ice! Frost! Lava! Crystal! and everything else!” he slowly began to take controlled breathes to calm himself.

“The Etyrian texts have only known of a single being with pure mana! But you are much more powerful than even it!” but he was unsuccessful in doing so as his excitement had obviously reached its peak, he accidentally kicked away an office chair but ignored it to continue speaking “Matthew” he looked directly at me as I looked back still surprised by all this “You’re becoming something superior to mages of legend! Superior to Arch-mages! Superior to Soul mages! Only the ridiculous existence of a manamancer can compare! “.

It all made sense…it all fit in…but I still couldn’t believe it. I sat back into a chair and stared at my hands (“What will I be able to do once the core is complete?...With the shard for mana supply…my abnormal mana regen from my soul and now core combined…and the increased control over my mana and surrounding mana I will have…”) I clenched them into fists while Heiken continued on with his rant about legends that I ignored (“Do I even have limits anymore?...I guess I do…I know of no magic runic, casted or enhancement that uses so much mana at once…even Wayne and Ember’s weapon forms have limits to how much mana they can spend at once…”) as I thought of the possibilities my excitement was ruined by my own understanding of reality (“Everything has limits, I just removed one of them.”)

I sighed and stood up “As incredible as all this is on paper, practically it still has the same bounds I use to have except for one. I may never run out of mana but stamina is still a factor while so is body control and reflexes, calm yourself there is still things we need to check on.”, I walked over to the monitors while Heiken shook himself out of his rant “Yes..true…still amazing though!”. I maximized the scanner’s window and continued to go over the data with him “Anything else out of order?” , he was continuously tapping his finger on the table while scrolling through “I do not see anything else out of…” he suddenly took a step back from the desk and held onto the back of his head again with both hands.

His horrified expression returned as his eyes lay wide open while this time his mouth stayed agape, I glanced between him and the information I did not understand on the monitor “What?! What now!?”. I simply couldn’t stand the stress anymore and grabbed him by the shirt “Speak up! What’s wrong!?” he slightly shook out of his stupor and looked at me “You’re…both draconic and demonic?...” he looked at me as if I would explode in his face. I unconsciously held my face with my left hand “Yes…Yes I am…” I let go of his shirt, right after he rushed to grab some equipment from the other side of the table “We must do a DNA rate test! Could you?...” he handed me a small glass bottle smaller than my finger.

I sighed “I already did one, I can just…nevermind I cannot get the results but I already…” he cut me off “My equipment is much more accurate and I will need some blood and mana to study for further results anyway!” he was now going through each cabinet under the desk until he pulled out a grey crystal the size of an average fist. (“I guess my home-made equipment is somewhat questionable…”) I reluctantly held the bottle under my left arm while using my right thumb’s claw to cut through the skin, a few drops of blood fell into the bottle which I then closed. Heiken turned to hand me the crystal while staring attentively at the quickly closing wound “Pour your mana into this core, fill it up”.

I took the crystal and examined it with my aura before pouring my mana into it, it took longer than I thought but I filled it up. “Done, how long will this take? I still have to eat something and give mission details to the squad before noon” I looked at the time on my Iris, I woke up at eight and it was still around nine while noon was fourteen on Etyria since days are longer than on Earth. Heiken took the now blueish crystal and the vial of fluorescent blood, he momentarily looked at the vial “It will be quick don’t worry”, he walked over to some other equipment by the computer and entered the vial before storing the crystal into another machine.