"Today," he began, "we'll talk about mana beasts."
Liam perked up. "Mana beasts?"
Grey nodded. "Beasts that have developed a mana core. That grants them magical abilities. Unlike humans, they don't pursue to form one with will or training. Instead, their mana core forms naturally—usually when the ambient mana in the environment reacts with their blood."
"So they don't cultivate it deliberately?"
"No. It's instinctive—unconscious. The process isn't something the beast controls. In many ways, you could call it... luck."
"Then it's just luck whether a beast becomes a mana beast?" Liam asked.
Grey gave a thin smile. "In part. But it's the blood that carries the potential. Beasts are said to possess bloodline inheritance. If an ancestor of a beast once formed a mana core, its descendants may awaken that same talent—sometimes even inherit fragments of memories or innate magical skills. That's why some lineages produce terrifying creatures."
Liam frowned. "So beasts without any bloodline inheritance have no chance?"
Grey chuckled. "You'd think so. But the world isn't that cruel. Even beasts with no inheritance can develop a mana core if they live in a highly concentrated mana environment for a long time. But the difference between the two... is vast."
"How vast, Master?"
"Beasts with inherited bloodlines often gain powerful skills by instinct. They know how to fight, how to survive, sometimes even where to find rare resources. It's as if knowledge flows through their veins. But those without? They must learn everything from scratch. And beasts… aren't the best learners."
Grey paused, then added with a grim smile, "Though when they do learn, the skills they acquire are incredibly potent. There's a saying—'A beast that teaches itself to roar can shatter mountains.'"
"Why's that?"
"Because it means they've broken through their natural limits through sheer force and experience. Humans might grow soft or lazy, but beasts don't get that luxury. Humans by birth have mana cores, but they are self doubbting and limit their potential, unlike mana beasts which don't have one from birth but still strive in the wild to live "
Liam thought about it. "So the world balances it out. It's harder for beasts to reach that point, but if they do, they're stronger than humans of the same level?"
"Exactly. At lower levels, a mana beast might not be much. But once they reach higher stages, they become monstrous. A level three mana beast can easily overpower most iron core level mages. And as they go higher…"
Grey's eyes darkened.
"…they become terrifying."
Liam tilted his head. "There are levels?"
"Of course. Mana beasts are usually ranked from Level 1 to Level 5, corresponding to human cores, based on the strength and development of their mana core and abilities. At Level 5… they begin to awaken true intelligence."
"Like humans?"
Grey shook his head. "Not quite, it depends. Some become more cunning, others gain the ability to communicate. A rare few… even learn to speak or cast spells. Those are the ones you run from, boy. Not fight."
Grey let out a long breath. "Some say yes. Legends tell tales of beasts that ascended beyond their form—becoming spirits, even guardians of ancient ruins, gaining human form etc. But such cases are rare. Most are consumed by instinct, hunger, and raw power."
After a moment of silence, Grey stood. "This world is harsh, Liam. But the stronger you become, the more you'll see how thin the line is between man and beast. Especially when power is involved."
"Some demonic mages," Master Grey said, his voice low, "go as far as harvesting mana cores from beasts—to extend their own lifespan or hasten their breakthroughs."
Liam blinked, frowning. "Wait… how can they do that? Aren't mana cores metaphysical in nature? How can you extract something like that?"
A grim chuckle escaped Grey's lips. "That's true for humans. Our mana cores form in a specific place—deep within the navel, tied to our life essence. They're mostly metaphysical, like a soul imprint."
He leaned forward. "But beasts are different. Their mana cores are physical. Tangible. You can actually hold them in your hand, like a gem."
Liam's eyes widened . "Really?"
Grey nodded. "Really. And unlike humans, their cores don't form in the same spot. In fact, the location varies wildly depending on the species. One might have it in its chest, or in their heads, another in its throat. Some rare ones carry it in their tails, or even their—" he paused, smirking, "—buttocks."
Liam blinked in disbelief. "That sounds… ridiculous."
Grey shrugged. "Truth often is. That's why hunting a mana beast isn't as simple as killing it. A hunter must know the anatomy of the beast to locate and extract the core before it dissipates."
"And the demonic mages?"
"They perform brutal rituals, forcefully extracting and then absorbing the core into their own bodies," Grey said, his voice growing colder. "But it never ends well. The mana is foreign, chaotic. It corrupts the body… and the mind. They may gain strength—but they lose something far more important."
"What's that?"
Grey looked at him, eyes shadowed. "Themselves."
"The cores of mana beast have a strong will, and the bloodline inside carry inherent memories though fragmented, adding the external mana , it is extremely foolish for a person to directly consume it and think nothing will happen to them."
"I saw three to four cases where the mage has completely lost himself, and becoming something as degrading as becoming retarded and going on rampage, or their personalities take 180 degree shift."
"I used to work for lord Kelvin who was one of the illegitimate heirs of House Waston of the neighbouring town which governs surrounding 100 miles, I saw one of the servant's personality turn a 180 with inhumane cravings for human flesh. He used to have cheerful and calm personality before, but suddenly from one day he started having sudden anger outbursts, initially everybody thought he was having bad time at work or was having some family issues. The anger issues flared up even more, and uncontrollable as time passed. The servants in the mansion who were not mages suddenly started missing one by one, but we could not find them no matter how far we searched, and man even thought that a demonic mage or beast has entered the city unnoticed, but only the people in the mansion started disappearing, it was too suspicious."
"After 5 people disappeared without a trace , one night one of the servants who passed through his room, heard strange sound of something cracking, and broken. She slightly opened the door, to look what was going inside, her heart Palpitated and filled with extreme fear from what she saw, the guy was munching on the human flesh of one of the servant that he apparently killed that night, his mouth covered with blood as he chewed on the flesh, blood and bones of the victim without distinction, she was lucky that he was son immersed in eating and lost his senses that he did not even heard someone opening the door. She immediately reported what she saw, and the guy was immediately executed. I still remember his severed head that was hung on the rope for warning anybody to not become a demonic mage, his eyes were blood red with his face twisting to extreme."
Sigh.. "At the end , who can say what it is right or wrong?, he might be in the end true to his heart, pursuing his heart even though he knows , someday he might turn up into something like this. The path of a mage is extremely unforgiving"
Liam who was listening couldn't help but remember his life on earth-the extreme conditions, the crooked nature of human heart, and evil they can create , although his new life has made forget those things, he still remembers those things freshly. As they say "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? who knows one day he might turn to something like this, but he has now decided to see what a mage can become till the end, or die trying, at least he can die having no regrets. That is a praiseworthy goal to give this life for, who might know, he will get a third chance to live.