"Lucas?!" Lydia yelled. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Stalling," he lied. "Just give me two minutes, guys!"

"Two minutes?" Marie said. "Are you crazy?! We can barely last two seconds!"

Charlotte thrust her hands forward. "Shield!"

Lucas blocked them out. Everything else faded away.

He turned his focus inward.

Okay, first step: find your core spot. It's usually like three inches below your belly button and a couple inches in. That's where all your mana pathways meet up.

Meanwhile, another translucent barrier materialized, this one even weaker than the last.

The Veronica's blade struck it and the barrier held for exactly two seconds before shattering into motes of light.

"Everyone, protect Lucas!" Raymond said. "I think he's forming his core, if he is, he's completely vulnerable. One hit and he's dead!"

"One hit and we're all dead anyway!" Lydia said.

"He's lost his mind! How can he form his Core at a time like this!" Marie shouted.

The four Veronicas smiled in unison.

"Oh, how touching," they said. "The mice are trying to protect their king. How long do you think you can last? Five seconds? Ten?"

"As long as it takes," Raymond said.

One of the Veronicas vanished.

Raymond's eyes went wide. "Where..."

She reappeared directly in front of him, her blade already mid-swing aimed at Lucas's exposed neck.

Raymond threw himself sideways and somehow with the grace of some god somewhere, he managed to block the blow.

But unfortunately, it had completely shattered the bones in both his hands.

Meanwhile, Lucas's awareness sank into his body like dropping a rock in water. He could feel his mana flowing through channels that had never been trained properly.

There. Found it. The spot where it all came together.

Second step: pull in mana from around you. From the air, the ground, everywhere. Just breathe it in.

Yeah, easier said than done.

Trying to form a core in the middle of a fight? The mana around him was in a mess. The people around him using Mana was making it unpredictable and dangerous.

But Lucas had one thing going for him.

He'd done this so many times in the game that his body just... knew what to do. His breathing fell into the rhythm from the [Basic Core Formation Technique] cultivation manual he'd memorized after playing the game over and over waiting for the next update.

The mana started coming to him. Slow at first, then faster.

It was like he was drinking from a fire hose. It was way too much energy trying to cram into his unprepared body at once.

He started heating up, sweat forming on his forehead and evaporating instantly.

Third: squish it all down. Compress everything into one point. Make it denser and denser until it hits critical mass. It's like how stars are formed.

Pain shot through Lucas's gut, sharp and instant. Felt like someone stuck a burning coal in there and was twisting it around for fun. His whole body locked up and every nerve screaming at him to stop.

He clenched his teeth and kept going. Stopping now would be worse than dying. A botched core formation meant either going insane or exploding from the inside out.

Around him, he heard Celeste's shout out. "Echo Slash!"

*Don't lose it. Don't lose focus. If this thing falls apart now, you're dead. Worse things worse, you'll blow everyone else up too.*

The compressed mana in his gut was spinning now, faster and faster, pulling in more energy like a vacuum.

His channels felt like they were burning. They were stretched way too far.

Fourth: lock it down. Make a shell. Compress the outside layer until it forms a wall around the core. This is the scary part. Too much compression and it collapses in on itself and creates a black hole that eats you alive. Too little and it explodes like a bomb.

Lucas was shaking all over now, trembling like crazy. Sweat was pouring down his face, soaking his shirt. His muscles kept spasming, fingers twitching and his jaw was clenched so hard his teeth hurt.

Blood dripped from his nose. Then his ears. The pressure inside was getting insane.

"Lucas!" Celeste's voice cut through everything. "Whatever you're doing, hurry up! We're about to lose!"

Almost there. Almost. Just a bit more. Don't think about them. Don't lose focus. If you screw this up, they die anyway.

The core was coming together. A ball of crazy-dense mana, spinning in his gut like a tiny sun, wrapped in a protective shell keeping it stable. He could feel it solidifying.

Last step: seal it. Lock it in. Make it permanent. This is your foundation. Everything builds off this.

Lucas shoved the last of his mana into the shell, reinforcing it, making it solid.

Over and over and over again.

The pressure built. And built. And built.

His vision went white.

Then...

Click.

The core was done.

[Silent mode disengaged.]

[Ding!]

[Congrats! You formed a Mana Core!]

[Current Rank: Copper (Low-Stage)]

[Warning: Core formation in combat environment has resulted in unstable foundation. Host is advised to meditate and stabilize the core as soon as possible.]

[Time until core destabilization: 4 hours]

Four hours. I've got four hours to win this and get somewhere safe to fix my core, or I'm dead. What I have here is more of a delicate power bank than a proper core and if it blows up, I'm taking everyone with me.

Lucas stood up slowly. Everything hurt, every muscle screaming at him.

But he also felt POWERFUL. Way more powerful than ever.

One of the Veronicas who'd been messing with his group froze mid-swing and looked at him.

"Well, well, well" she said. "Didn't see that coming. The Kid actually formed a core mid-fight. You're crazy and I like that. What do you think about becoming a honored member of the Legion?"

"I'd rather die." Lucas said.

"A pity," Veronica shrugged. "And I was just starting to like you."

Lucas didn't say anything and just raised his blade in the [Basic Swordsmanship] stance.

The Veronica smiled like a predator. "Oh, this is gonna be fun."

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