Kael slowly opened his eyes, feeling the dull weight of exhaustion still pressing against him. His body ached, but it wasn’t the kind of soreness from physical exertion alone—it was deeper, more internal. He lay there on the wooden floor of the cramped treehouse for a moment, staring at the ceiling, feeling the sluggishness in his limbs.

  Dawn was about to break, the faintest sliver of light creeping over the horizon. Kael sighed through his nose before shifting his focus inward, diving into the space at the center of his being—the place where his essence resided.

  He found himself within the familiar void, vast and endless, with the pulsing blue core at its center. Yet today, for the first time, it barely glowed. The once radiant star was dim, giving off a weak light like a dying ember.

  He frowned, staring at it. He had never seen his core in such a state before. It had always been vibrant, always ready to provide the power he needed. But now, after yesterday’s ordeal, he had nearly emptied it.

  “So that’s what it looks like when I’m almost dry…” he muttered to himself, observing the sluggish movement of the tendrils of energy that stretched from the core. Normally, they pulsed and flowed outward in a steady rhythm, but now they were sluggish, barely moving at all.

  During his time in the forest, Kael had always used up a decent portion of his core throughout the day—sometimes more than half if he trained intensely in the morning and then spent time hunting and fighting. But he had never been this low before.

  His core always passively refilled itself, though the process was slow. Throughout the day, it would regenerate small amounts—nothing significant enough to make a real difference in combat. But at night, when he rested, his body could fully recover what was lost. That system had worked well enough—until now.

  Kael frowned, realizing that the more proficient he became with Essence, the more energy he consumed. He had started with small tendrils, tiny trickles of power. But now, to achieve greater enhancements, he needed thicker, stronger flow—a more direct pipeline from his core. That meant his Essence expenditure had increased dramatically, to the point where, at this rate, he would empty his core multiple times a day.

  His core was growing bigger with each level-up, and he could feel that it regenerated more than before as it did so. But the increase wasn’t fast enough to keep up with his needs. If this continued, he would eventually reach a point where his core wouldn’t be able to sustain his daily usage. Kael would be forced to spend more and more time just waiting for his core to regenerate.

  Kael withdrew from his core space. His eyes blinked open to the dim interior of the treehouse, the wooden walls pressing in around him. He sat up slowly, leaning his back against the rough surface, arms resting on his knees as he contemplated his situation.

  “I need a solution to this,” he muttered. His rate of regeneration was becoming a problem, and he doubted simply leveling up would be enough to compensate. He needed something more—something that could increase his regeneration rate beyond what the system level-ups naturally gave. His mind wandered, searching for ideas. He scoffed, shaking his head. “Thinking of ways to gather energy… this sounds like the kind of thing Denis would’ve been obsessed with.”

  The thought brought a wry smirk to his face, though it quickly faded as old memories surfaced.

  Denis had been the first friend he made after enlisting in the military. It hadn’t been a voluntary decision—his mother had spent years breaking him down, manipulating him into it. She had told him it was his duty, that after all the trouble he had caused her, this was the least he could do to make up for it. She made him believe that his bad behavior was why his little sister turned out the way she did. That it was all his fault.

  Eventually, he gave up. He stopped resisting, stopped questioning. The guilt and the ingrained obedience of a child took over, and at eighteen, he signed up for the army.

  Denis had been the first person to talk to him. A loud, energetic guy with an easy smile, the kind of person who could make friends with anyone. He had a way of making people feel comfortable, even someone like Kael, who had spent most of his life keeping his guard up.

  They got along well. Denis was a massive comic book fan, always talking about his collection, rambling about rare issues he had stored back home. But he was also fascinated with mythology—from Greek gods to Japanese spirits to African voodoo. He loved finding connections between different cultures, pointing out how myths from opposite ends of the world had eerie similarities.

  Kael chuckled, remembering how Denis would go on rants about how ancient civilizations all had their versions of spiritual energy—chi, prana, mana, life force. He had insisted that there had to be some truth to it. That maybe, just maybe, wizards and witches weren’t just stories but people who had figured out how to harness that energy.

  They used to tease him about it. Called him Wizideni. But now…

  Kael’s smirk faded as realization struck him. Denis might not have been entirely wrong. Magic existed. Kael had an Essence core inside of him, pulling in energy from—somewhere. He had no idea where his Essence came from, but he knew it regenerated over time. He had always just accepted it as a passive function of the System.

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  But what if it wasn’t?

  What if, just like the so-called cultivators from mythology, he could actively draw in Essence from the world around him? His pulse quickened at the thought. If he could control his Essence internally, why not externally? If his core was already absorbing energy passively, then could he manipulate that process? Use his will to make the process go faster.

  He had to try.

  Closing his eyes, Kael focused inward again, diving back into his core space. He observed it carefully this time, watching—not just the energy inside, but the way it regenerated.

  He felt it. A pull. A faint gravitational force, barely noticeable, but there. His core wasn’t just regenerating on its own—it was pulling in Essence from somewhere. And as it filled, the pull weakened. That was it. That was the answer.

  His core acted like a gravity well, drawing in the missing Essence. And just like gravity, the more mass something had, the stronger its pull. That explained why, as he leveled up, his regeneration increased—his core was growing larger, exerting a stronger pull on whatever source it was drawing from. Kael let out a breath, a small grin forming. “At least I learned something from school,” he muttered to himself.

  Now came the hard part—how to increase that pull manually.

  If his core naturally absorbed Essence like a sponge soaking up water, then what if he forced the flow to be stronger? What if he could make it work faster?He needed a mental image. Something to help guide his will.

  A drain.

  What if he imagined his core as a drain, pulling in Essence like water spiraling down? If he could make the flow circulate—loop around his core before entering—it might increase the suction effect, dragging in more Essence with each cycle.

  Kael focused, holding that image in his mind. He willed the incoming Essence to spiral, to circle his core instead of flowing directly in. He imagined it building momentum, like a vortex, faster and faster until it was being pulled inward with greater force.

  His core reacted.

  The pull grew stronger. He felt it. More Essence was being drawn in, replenishing his reserves at a significantly faster rate. It was working.

  But it was also… exhausting.

  His mind strained under the effort, his will stretched thin as he maintained the spinning effect. The greater the quantity of Essence, the harder it became to sustain. Eventually, his concentration wavered, and the force returned to normal.

  Kael exhaled sharply, withdrawing from his core space. He opened his eyes, his body trembling slightly from the mental strain—but his core was fuller. What should have taken hours had been achieved in minutes.

  A triumphant grin spread across his face. “That’s gonna save me a hell of a lot of time.”

  He glanced toward the exit of the treehouse. The sun had risen. At least ten minutes had passed since he went into his core space. Silence filled the forest beyond, the morning light filtering through the leaves.

  Kael stared out for a while, his expression softening. He let out a quiet breath, then muttered, “You would’ve loved this world, Denis. It’s everything you dreamed of.” With that, he stood up and stretched his sore limbs. He needed water and to refill his water bag. Thinking that, kael panicked and took it out from the now barely fitting the name jacket. "FUCK!" Kael cursed, it had a hole in it from where one of the attacks from yesterday had cut into the pocket and, from there, into the bag. Kael gave up; he didn't even have the energy in him to be upset over this, he had known this would happen eventually. He was just glad it lasted this long. "guess it's just going for a drink of water then..."

  Kael moved through the dense underbrush of the forest, his senses sharp as he made his way toward the river. The morning air was crisp, the scent of damp earth filling his lungs. He stepped carefully, his footsteps near silent against the uneven ground. His thoughts were still lingering on what he had discovered—his ability to accelerate his passive Essence regeneration.

  The process wasn’t perfect, and it drained him mentally at an alarming rate, but it worked. He had cut down his recovery time significantly, something that would prove invaluable in the long run. The idea that he could control the rate at which his core pulled on the Essence opened up an entirely new layer of possibilities. He exhaled, stretching and rubbing the back of his neck.

  As he neared the river, his eyes caught something moving. Lying a few feet ahead of him, partially coiled around a tree root, its head in a hole, was a snake. Without hesitating, Kael struck with his antler blade, cutting the part closest to the head off. He then crouched beside it, proceeding to prodd the body with his blade, confirming it was truly dead.

  He sighed, picking it up. He had eaten one of these before—an earlier encounter that had ended in him realizing that the snake's meat tasted oddly like a mix of chicken and whale meat. It wasn’t his first choice, but food was food. He slung it over his shoulder and kept moving, stepping cautiously as he neared the clearing.

  Just as he was about to move out, he froze. A figure stood by the river, just a few meters away.

  Kael’s breath hitched, his muscles tensing. A Gloomkin. It hunched near the water, drinking it up with its hand, and like classic Gloomkin fashion, it did so with fingers spread. The sight of it sent a surge of unease through him.

  This was the closest he had ever seen one to his treehouse. They’re getting closer…He was no longer as hidden as he had hoped. If they were coming to this part of the river, it was only a matter of time before they stumbled upon his camp.

  He clenched his jaw, shifting his weight as he carefully backed away, sticking close to the trees and bushes. Kael had to do something, and that had to be today—he had to redirect their attention. If they were this close to his home, it was only a matter of time before he was forced to fight them near his base, and that was something he couldn’t afford.

  I’ll lead them somewhere else. Redirect their attention.

  Thinking that Kael started moving with careful, deliberate steps. He crept further away from the clearing, circling around the area to avoid drawing attention. His plan was to head north, find a group of Gloomkin further away, and attack them from a different direction—making it seem like he was operating elsewhere. It wasn't the best plan, but it was better than staying in one place and waiting for them to eventually find him.

  As he moved, he buried the snake’s body beneath some loose dirt and leaves. He couldn’t afford to cook it now—not if he wanted to keep his cover intact. If the Gloomkin were moving in, they would find any trace of him if he wasn’t careful. The less evidence he left behind, the better.

  His journey took longer than expected. The deeper he went, the more unfamiliar the landscape became. The trees here were thicker, their roots weaving together like tangled veins. The air was heavier, carrying the scent of damp moss and rich soil. He moved carefully, scanning the area for signs of Gloomkin as he did so.