'Nope. I don't want to think of that possibility.'
Distracting myself from the terrifying idea of dungeons evolving, I moved away from my desk, took out the monster cores, and placed them on my bed. It was best to look at matters in my life that I could control rather than those I couldn't. The Leech King core sat on my bed like a sullen little nightlight, glowing faintly in the dark alongside the azure Slime Prime core.
These were my prized possessions. The rewards for my conquests.I stared at the cores for a long moment, then looked at my hands, then looked back at the cores again, as if it might explain itself out loud.
"Alright," I muttered. "Mr. B said that I could absorb these. Time for the cultivation arc... hopefully they don't explode."
Mr. B's words circled through my head. Core absorption was needed for output stability, to prevent me from being a strong glass cannon that could hurt herself. If I was going to keep using lightning without turning myself into tomato paste, my core needed to be fully functional and not behave like a faulty phone battery. Opening up the forum on my phone, I typed up core absorption guides. Several results showed up. I clicked the one with the highest number of upvotes.
[Beginner Guide: Core Absorption 101 — Stop Frying Yourself By: MonkMode]
'Catchy title. Nice.'
The post was succinct and structured.
'Definitely made by a practical person.'
If you're new, stop trying to brute-force absorption. You're not a vacuum cleaner. I'll explain this nice and simply. You need to embrace the energy and the essence. Hold the core. Sit down and breathe slowly. Control your thoughts and focus on your core like it's a muscle in your chest. Don't be frantic and uppity. Instead, let the essence drip in. Don't force it. Forcing it causes backlash. If your nerves start burning, slow your breathing. If you get dizzy, stop. You are probably doing something wrong, and for goodness sake, if you taste metal, stop. STOP! Unless you want essence poisoning, then help yourself.
Also, here's a simple video for people who learn better with visuals. I know some of you struggle with reading comprehension.
A link followed.
[Video] "Core Absorption for Beginners (Without Exploding)" — MonkMode
Of course, the man who wrote guides, beratingly, also made YouTube tutorials. The video loaded. A calm voice started speaking over a simple animation of a human silhouette with a glowing orb in the chest.
"Alright, beginners. This is Core Absorption. If you're watching this, you've either just awakened, or you've made a bad decision and now you need to stabilise. Either way, the process is the same, really. So I guess it doesn't matter."
I sat, core in my lap, and listened.
The video explained it in a way my brain accepted better than any words could. Guess I was one of those visual-learner people. Although, unlike others, I had to make it clear that I didn't suffer from reading comprehension issues.
'Visuals are just easier. I am totally not soothing my own ego.'
The video hashed over concepts, some that I knew and others that I didn't. EXP was what the system acknowledged. It levelled you up, gave you stat points, improved your output over time. Core absorption was different. It was like maintaining a car. For some, a common Toyota Corolla, and for others, a Lamborghini. Either way, at whatever level, your core had to be maintained, lest you wanted to break down.
"Your core is like an engine," MonkMode's voice continued. "Absorbing essence doesn't instantly make you stronger, but it makes you safer. It reduces misfires and backlash. It also improves your capacity to handle higher output later. Think of it as reinforcing the core's structure."
The animation showed essence dripping into the chest orb in slow strands rather than blasting into it like a firehose.
"Do not force it," MonkMode repeated, and his tone made it sound like an ancient law of nature. "Forcing absorption leads to core strain, nerve shock, and in extreme cases, core scarring. If you feel metallic taste, dizziness, or any adverse symptoms that aren't minor, stop."
I paused the video and stared at the screen.
"…Metallic taste?" I muttered. "Why is that so specific?"
I hit play again.
"Start with low-rank cores. F-rank is ideal for beginners. Hold it, sit down, slow your breathing, and focus on feeling your core. It should pull naturally. If you can't feel it, you're either too stressed or you haven't developed core awareness yet. In that case, don't keep forcing attempts. Rest, and try again later."
Then he added, like an afterthought:
"And no, you do not eat it. Please stop asking."
Watching him go through the process on the core itself, the principle began sinking in. The way to hold yourself, the breathing pattern, the posture. I took in all of this information. After finishing the video, I glanced down at the Leech King core again.
"Alright," I whispered. "Cultivation time."
Then I closed my eyes and began to breathe. The core rested in my palms, cool and jagged. I inhaled slowly, then exhaled, trying to follow what that forum guy, MonkMode, had written. The method sounded ridiculous on paper, but it made a certain sense when you were living in a world where monster organs came with upgrade stats.
"Okay," I whispered. "Slow breathing. Focus. Don't force it. Let it drip."
I closed my eyes. At first, there was nothing. Just darkness behind my lids, the distant hum of the city outside, and the subtle ache in my muscles. Then I focused inward.
Not emotionally, but deliberately, like I was searching for a file buried in the back of my brain.
My core.
I found it in no time.
A sensation in the centre of my chest. A warm pressure, like a hidden organ that wasn't meant to exist but had moved in anyway. When I concentrated, it sharpened into a shape, almost like a small sphere of tension sitting behind my ribs.
My core felt… hungry, like a muscle that had discovered food existed. The Leech King core in my hands responded, pulsing faintly. And then the pull began. Warmth bled out of the core and into my palms, creeping up my arms in slow threads. The warmth seeped, patient and steady, like the essence was being poured into me drop by drop.
For a while, it almost felt soothing. Then the sting arrived. Not the violent snap from earlier when I'd turned myself into a living extension cord. This was different. This was more intimate. A prickling burn along the inside of my forearms, as if my veins were being rinsed with something sharp. The sensation climbed toward my chest, coiling around the core in my body like a serpent tightening causing me to clench my jaw.
"Don't force it," I reminded myself, breath shaking. "Let it drip."
The burn intensified, then plateaued, settling into a steady ache that made my skin feel too small. Sweat gathered at my temples. My fingers tightened reflexively around the core, and I forced myself to loosen them. The moment I relaxed, the sensation eased slightly, thinning from pain into a persistent sting. I kept breathing. The core in my hands dimmed gradually, its glow fading like a candle reaching the end of its wick. The vibration slowed. The hum softened.
And when it finally went dark, the room felt quieter, as if something had been removed from the air.
My eyes snapped open.
The system chimed in the corner of my vision with its usual cheerful lack of empathy.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Core Essence Absorbed: Leech King Core (Unrefined)
Core Stability increased.
Wiping my forehead with my sleeve, sweat dripping down.
'Phew, that was hard work.'
The CORE tab popped up not too long after..
[CORE]
Core Level: Bronze
Stability: 35%
Status: UNSTABLE (IMPROVING)
"…Thirty-five percent," I whispered.
It had been zero before. So that was a clean thirty-five percent bump, exactly what I'd hoped for. My core was still unstable, but it was improving in a way I could measure.
That mattered.
Leaning back, I let out a slow exhale. This process had been intensive. Looking at the remaining Slime Prime core, I resolved to tackle its absorption on another day.
"Okay," I muttered. "So the cultivation thing works. I am officially an electric monk."
My stomach growled again. I ignored it this time, I'd eaten earlier. This was just my body being dramatic. I closed the system panel, then remembered the one other thing that I had to look at. My forum system mail. Logging into the alternate account that I had given Mr. B, I pulled the interface back up, and searched for the mail squinting until I found a small icon tucked away like a feature nobody used until it ruined their day.
MAIL.
I tapped it.
A message sat there, unread, from a sender labelled Barascuda, causing me to pause. I didn't like how normal it looked. Like receiving messages from shady brokers was now part of my weekly routine. Yet I had no choice but to open it.
[MAIL – From: Barascuda]
Subject: Ticket Details
Body:
You owe me. Event is in three days.
Location: Narakimi District.
Don't be late and don't cause trouble.
QR code attached.
A square QR code appeared beneath the text, clean and crisp like it belonged in a normal world.
"He didn't even say please."
Which, to be fair, was extremely on brand.
I grabbed my phone, opened the camera, and scanned the code.
A ticket page loaded instantly.
Event: Idol-Hunter Showcase
Access: 1 Entry
Seat/Zone: Assigned A7
Valid: 3 Days From Now