Owari relaxed in his seat as he fell into meditation. In order to expand your mana reserves overall you have a limited set of options. First of all you could just use up all your mana and let it slowly restore itself, like a muscle it would slowly grow as you used it. Unfortunately, Owari didn't have a way of using mana except for the minimal cost branding method he used to tame the ghost eye caterpillar. The second option is to use breathing exercises which would take mana into the body from the air and your body would slowly digest it. This method was like how magical beasts grow and evolve but on a smaller scale and it only works by using specific breathing techniques, otherwise the mana just goes in and out without doing anything. Owari's subconscious breathing technique incorporated this type of mana breathing into it so he was actually always slowly expanding his mana capacity. However, this method is incredibly slow, and would only show results over a very long period of time. Of course, Owari had practiced it for so long that around 15% of his current mana reserves came from this method alone.

The third method is through meditation, by relaxing yourself and calming the mind you enter a state of serenity which seems to have a positive effect on the expansion of mana, and as long as remain in this state of serenity the mana around you will naturally suffuse your body and enhance you mana reserves. If asked to explain it simply, Owari would say that this process was like the mana breathing technique, but instead you breathe with your entire body. This method is the second-best way of expanding your mana reserves, but it is seen as the hardest since it is difficult to enter the state of serenity needed to maximize mana gain. Owari however had little trouble with this. He had been doing this since he was little, and he was a naturally quiet and introspective person. He quickly slipped into a meditative state and his surroundings faded away into the background.

One good thing about this type of meditation is that it acts as a type of rest, like taking a nap. Owari was sure that if he mastered this he might even be able to replace sleep with it. At the moment however that was a far off dream, so he just continued as he was. Time slipped by quickly as he no longer paid more attention to the surroundings then he needed to, only distracting himself with ensuring his own safety and that his items didn't get stolen. Other than that he just sat still and relaxed. A full day passed before they reached the next stop and a few people got on. There would be about a week of travel time, and each day they'd likely make a stop or two. Owari lived pretty far out of the way of the closest city, and the area around him was mostly dotted with similarly sized towns and some smaller villages. This was how it usually was though, with one city per region and many outlying settlements around it.

Not that Owari paid much attention to logistics and all that, it wasn't really his area of expertise. Instead of worrying about that he just continued to meditate. There were a few benefits to meditating for an extended period of time like he was doing now. First was how it acted as rest, even if he couldn't replace sleep with it as is, he also didn't need sleep if he meditated for the full day. 24 hours of meditation was about the equivalent of eight hours of sleep for him, so as long as he spent the whole day meditating he wouldn't need to sleep for the day. The second good thing is that meditation slowed his metabolism, meaning he wouldn't need to eat as much, and it would also preserve his muscles and keep them from degrading due to not using them or working out. This meant he wouldn't need to worry about losing too much of his strength as he traveled since he couldn't exactly work out during his time on the train. Of course he still needed some food, but he had packed some basic rations that could fill him up when needed.

Owari spent his days like this, and soon four days had passed since he left home. He had spent nearly the entire time meditating. Most of the original passengers with him had switched trains at some point so they could break up the monotony of the trip. After all not everyone was like Owari and could spend an entire week sitting in one spot, only getting up to use the bathroom. However, among the passengers who had been on for a while they had all noticed Owari and his strange habits.

Most just avoided him, but a few looked at him curiously. However one thing that people in this car shared was their caution. Only two types of people traveled low class like this, those who are frugal like Owari and who are naturally careful, or those who are poor and who can't afford to not be careful. So with this in mind, nobody dared to bother Owari, especially when they noticed the sword on his hip. Only people who have registered as hunters can so openly carry a weapon in a place like this. Owari had obviously registered himself as a hunter the moment he turned 16 and became eligible. Doing so was very beneficial after all, it allowed him to openly display a weapon, as well as allowing him to be accompanied by magical beasts so long as he registered them as his tamed beasts.

There were also some restrictions, such as higher penalties from the law should he violate laws related to violence, and he had to take responsibility for the actions of all registered magical beasts. Owari felt it was a fair trade-off, not to mention he couldn't actually work as a hunter without being registered. Without being registered most exchange centers where you sell magical beast parts wouldn't even consider trading with you, not to mention all contracts made regarding work as a hunter are invalid without a license meaning that the people you work for can just refuse to pay you for your work and there is nothing you can do.

At some point, the train entered a tunnel and everything inside went dark for a moment before the lights turned on. This moment of darkness was pretty typical so nobody felt anything weird about it. However Owari's eyebrows scrunched together as he felt something strange a few moments after entering the tunnel. Since he was meditating he was slowly taking in the mana around him, because he had been doing it for so long without stopping he had found that he was growing more sensitive to it, something he would have never found out without this trip.

As soon as they entered the tunnel he felt the mana that he was absorbing dip a bit before he felt some strange vibrations within it. This was quite unusual, it should be noted that even while moving so fast and covering so much land Owari had never felt a dip in mana nor had he felt this strange excitement in the mana around him. While he wasn't sure what it meant, he doubted it was good. Even when he absorbed mana using his breathing or meditation it didn't have such an effect on the mana around him.

As he was considering what this could mean and what he would do about it even if he could figure it out, a loud screeching could be heard as the train shuddered. Owari's eyes snapped open and he immediately grabbed the base of his seat and held with all his strength as the whole train suddenly slowed considerably sending a number of people flying out of their seats. Before they even had the chance to hit the ground the whole car was launched to the side as if it had been derailed and suddenly the whole world was filled with the sounds of screeching metal, screaming people, and darkness. Owari did his best to hold his seat, but after the car flipped on its side for the second time his grip slipped and the world seemed to spin as he felt himself slam into one of the metal walls and he passed out.

Owari woke up to the sound of wet crunching after an unknown amount of time. He didn't immediately move and instead only opened his eyes and tried to clear up his sight. After getting his sight back he noticed that the lights in the train car were mostly off, but a few were still on. Not that this would last, the lighting in the train ran on mana, and he doubted this car was still connected to the main power source. These lights were either running on residual power or on small storage crystals in the car itself. Either way, he would have limited light so he needed to make the most of it.

The first thing he noted was that he was still mostly okay. His head hurt a bit and he could feel the leftovers of dried blood clumping his hair, but his mind was clear and he wasn't dead so he likely didn't receive much if any internal damage. As for the rest of his body, he was sore everywhere, and his stomach felt like it had been crushed by a hammer, but he could still feel everything and most of the pain was superficial. Even the stomach pain was only on the level of a gut punch so he was pretty sure it wasn't ruptured or bleeding internally, at least he hoped so.

After confirming his health, Owari looked around slowly without moving his head. Glancing over to the side he was able to confirm what he had thought the noise he had heard was. Just a few feet away was a large dog-sized insect chewing at the remains of one of the other passengers. Owari closed his eyes as soon as he saw it. Although he had a tough stomach and had prepared for this type of thing, he wasn't immune to fear or disgust. He quickly reigned himself in and opened his eyes. He still needed to confirm the enemy, and he couldn't revive the dead.

The bug was shaped like a large termite, but it had a silvery carapace and its legs resembled centipede legs. It had degenerated wings on it's back that probably couldn't do more than help it fall slower at best. Its face had two compound eyes and a set of jaws that could split apart into four jaws to increase the intake of food. Judging on the ease it tore into its current meal Owari was sure its jaws were strong and he absolutely couldn't afford to get bitten by them.

After confirming the appearance and basic capabilities of his opponent, Owari carefully maneuvered his head and eyes to take in his surroundings. After a few moments he was able to confirm that the train cart had landed on its side since the seats were all on the wall. As for the rest of the passengers, there were many corpses around that were in varying states of being torn apart. Some likely died from the initial impact and the rest were torn apart as the insects swarmed the car. The doors and emergency exits were all closed, and a hole was torn into the side of the cart that used to be the ceiling. The hole was a bit away from Owari, and looking around he saw that there were about seven of those insects spread out around it. They had either found the hole or torn it open themselves, but either way, the distribution of them showed that Owari had woken up pretty quickly after they broke in. On top of that Owari was glad to see that among the insects most were closer to cat-sized and only two were dog-sized. Although size doesn't always indicate strength, he could only hope that was how these ones were.

As he was thinking of what to do, one of the cat-sized insects that were currently up on the seats eating one of the corpses that had gotten stuck between a few chairs looked over at him. Owari noticed that the wings on these smaller ones were far more robust and they could even fly for a short period, which meant even though they were a few meters apart he wasn't all that safe. He slowly moved his hand to his sword hilt and was relieved that it had landed with the blade parallel to his chest. This way he wouldn't have to move his body much to get it into the proper position to pull out his sword. As soon as he gripped the hilt, the strange insect seemed to have come to a decision and had deemed Owari as a target.

It jumped off the seat it was at and flicked it's wings causing it to rapidly close in on him, moving over the few meter gap between them in only a second. Owari twisted his body and rolled to the side while unsheathing his sword and swinging it in the same moment. The sword came out and traced an arc through the air splitting the insects head in half. Owari spun his body in place and got up on his feet before swinging his sword one more time and cutting the insect in half before it flew past his reach. Magical beasts are well known for having a lot of vitality, let alone insects who are filled with even more vitality. Cutting it's head in half might not be enough to kill it right away, so he gave it another chop to be sure. The insect fell into a few pieces before splattering across the ground.

Glancing around Owari smiled forcefully as he noticed all of the insects staring at him. Insects were well known for using pheromones to communicate, when he killed that one it likely marked him with a pheromone that indicated he had killed one of their own. After all, he could feel their hostility on his skin, like being pricked by needles. This meant running was unlikely, he'd have to kill his way out. The next moment three of the smaller insects near him launched themselves his way, arriving in front of him in an instant.

Owari twisted his wrist and positioned his sword so it pointed behind him before swinging it horizontally, he felt some resistance as it hit the first insect. However Owari took a deep breath and stimulated his muscles as he threw his weight into the swing and in a single moment all three of his attackers were bisected and flew past him in two pieces. As soon as he finished his swing he breathed out and stood up straight before swinging his sword to reorient himself. He looked over the final three insects, one was of the smaller variety but two were the big dog-sized versions. Having finally had a chance to use his training in an actual fight, Owari's hours of practice seemed to come together in his mind. He smiled as he felt this, he wanted to feel more of it, to experience what can only be obtained by risking your life and fighting to survive.

The three remaining insects seemed to have no value for their lives, the smaller insect launched itself at him and Owari flicked his wrist as he swung his arm cutting it in half like the last three. It was much easier when it was just one, as soon as he had thrown his weight into that first swing he had a flash of inspiration. When he swung his sword that time he had transferred the force of his swing into the blade and added weight to his swing. The heavier a blow the easier it was to slice through his enemy, all he needed to do was control the weight and force he applied through his sword and he would up his damage potential.

Of course he had to be careful not to put too much strain on the blade, but he was lucky his sword was made of a rather durable steel so it could handle it if he was careful. Owari confirmed his thoughts with that last strike, if he could master this method he could take his swordsmanship to the next level. Of course the last two insects wouldn't give him much time to think and they also jumped forward to attack. They were a step slower than the smaller insects, but Owari could feel more pressure from them and knew he couldn't just stop them with a simple swing. After all with their big bodies even if he bisected them completely there was a good chance it would still hit him, and he wasn't sure how hard their bodies were.

Because of this Owari sidestepped to his left by jumping and rolling, causing the two insects to be forced to stop and change direction. Their momentum had carried them past him a bit so they had to turn all the way around to face him. During that moment Owari had already stood back up, he had trained extensively to be able to reorient himself and regain his balance. Because of this it took him less than a second to get ready, and he kicked off the ground while holding his sword over his head with both hands. His speed was barely slower than the two insects had been as he controlled his breathing and stimulated his legs to reach their full potential.

He reached one of the insects just as it turned to face him, and he swung his sword down and straight through its neck. He felt like he was cutting through rock as the resistance was crazy high, but he threw his entire momentum into the swing and barely cut it's head all the way off. A side effect of him using his momentum to aid his swing was that he had killed most of his forward speed allowing him to come to a stop easier. However he quickly realized that this way of fighting had a major flaw, he could feel his arms shake slightly for a bit before recovering. Every time he redirected his weight and force through his sword, his arms would also need to take on some of the strain. He wouldn't be able to use such full strength swings all the time otherwise he'd risk tearing up his muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Luckily his body was tough so he could do it a few times, and he could handle some weaker applications.

Before he could really think things out too much however the other insect was rushing towards him. Owari kicked off the ground however he didn't dodge to the side and instead jumped backward. The insect that was about to reach him suddenly had a gap opened between them causing it to momentarily be unable to attack, but Owari had a longer reach with his sword. He swung his sword and sliced through the lower mouthparts of the insect causing a few pieces to fall off and ruin its mouth. Although he couldn't accurately cut through the base of the two mouthpieces, he only needed to make them unusable which was much easier.

The insect didn't seem at all fazed by the loss of its main attack method and continued to approach Owari. He was a bit caught off guard by this and the insect managed to get close to him, luckily he ruined it's mouth so it simply slammed into him and caused him to roll back as the breath was knocked out of him. As he rolled along the ground he reoriented himself and managed to get back onto his feet after only a few uncontrolled spins. He held his hand to his chest and took a moment to regain control of his breathing. Owari wiped his hand off against his shirt as he felt a bit of blood on it. When the insect slammed into him it's remaining mouthparts were still sharp enough to leave two cuts on his chest. They weren't too deep but they had managed to make him start bleeding. He'd need to wrap this up and stop the bleeding, if he fought too long he wouldn't be able to give his body a chance to close the wound.

The insect clicked at Owari as if to try and intimidate him, however that wouldn't really do much now. The two were determined to kill each other, and neither would back off regardless of how much they knew the other was dangerous. The insect seemed to realize this a moment later and rushed at Owari again. Owari learned from his previous mistake and so he jumped to the side with a roll, but he waited until the last moment and as he rolled he swung his sword in an arc and sliced through the insect's face. He had been aiming for its neck but he was still inexperienced, luckily he still hit its eye. He didn't give himself time to celebrate and instead, he immediately stood up and rushed the insect as it stopped and tried to turn.

Just like with the other one he held his sword over his head and swung down, however instead of aiming for the neck he aimed for the spot he already cut open. Since he had already gotten a good slice in it would be easier to expand the wound then it would be to slice into the tough neck. Just like he expected the insect that had lost one of its eyes was unable to react and his sword accurately hit the open wound and allowed him to cut its head in half. In the next moment he jumped back, Owari had heard that a cornered enemy was the most dangerous since the moment they realized they were dead they'd throw everything they had at their enemy without fear. However at least in this case he was overthinking things, the insect gave a click before slumping over dead.

As Owari was breathing in relief and looking around his face froze a bit. All of the dead insects that should have been corpses were in the middle of melting. They had started to revert into some kind of black sludge and were melting into a puddle. Upon seeing this Owari suddenly felt his luck was rather awful. He recognized this trait of theirs as belonging to a type of magical beasts known as hive minds. Some magical beasts don't fight directly with their bodies, instead they form a type of simulacrum out of mana and biomaterial. Then they control those simulacrums like limbs to go out and collect food for them.

The reason these insects were melting was because the mana that keeps them alive has been used up and they are no longer able to sustain themselves. Thus they are reverting back into biomaterial. Not only did this mean Owari no longer had any spoils from this fight, but he also knew that his situation was horribly dangerous. Even though the main body of this hive was almost certainly weak, he doubted this small group of its drones was all it had. If it could create even a few dozen drones of this level it would be a pretty big threat, not to mention Owari's intuition told him this hive mind had something to do with the train crash. Plus he still worried about that strange feeling he got from the mana in the area, which with a quick observation didn't seem to have changed much.