The walk back from the library felt like a victory as he hold two books.
But Aether knew the real work was just beginning. Once inside his room, he locked the heavy oak door and stripped to his waist, revealing the faint, pulsing lines of the Rune of Fate.
He had two legendary techniques: the Codex of Mana and the Void Refinement Method. Normally, a cultivator would pick one. Aether, however, intended to weave them together.
He sat cross-legged on the floor, his back straight, and closed his eyes. Following the instructions of the Codex, he began to visualize his body not as flesh and bone, but as a network of circuits. He needed to establish the Nine Acupoints, the stations that would passively pull mana from the air.
The Refinement Breakthrough
Aether focused his intent on the first acupoint located in his right leg. Following the book's initial instructions, he tried to pull a thread of raw mana directly into the point.
Rejection.
The mana hit the acupoint and immediately bounced back, repelled by his own physical shell. He tried again, and again, but the result was the same. Frustration began to prickle at his mind, but then his Intelligence (20) kicked in. He realized the flaw: his body was too weak (STR 7, PHY 7) to hold raw mana without a stabilizer.
"If the cup is too thin, it will break," Aether muttered. "I need to build the cup inside the point first."
He decided to innovate. Instead of just pulling mana, he used his Mana Core to create a "Mini-Core" inside the acupoint itself.
The Link: He first visualized a thin, glowing thread connecting his central Mana Heart and Mana Core.
The Path: He extended that thread down to his right leg, creating a permanent highway for energy.
The Miniature Core: At the end of that path, he began to rotate a small amount of mana in a high-speed spiral.
Slowly, the magic worked. The "Miniature Core" began to act like a vacuum, gently pulling in the surrounding mana from the room. Because it was linked to his main Core and Heart, the energy didn't just sit there—it was instantly refined and sent back to his center.
Success and the Next Step
Aether felt a sudden warmth spread from his leg through his entire torso. It was a perfect loop. He had successfully created a passive refinement engine.
"Well," Aether thought with a thin smile, "at least all those fantasy novels I read back on Earth were good for something. The 'Mana Circuit' theory actually works."
*************
[ SYSTEM UPDATE ]
Technique : Codex of Mana (1/9 Acupoints Active).
Passive Effect: Physical attributes (STR, AGI, PHY) will now increase by +0.1 per day of meditation.
Comprehension: 35% progress toward Universal Mana Circuitry.
***************
With the first acupoint successfully established and his body finally beginning to strengthen, Aether's gaze shifted to the second book resting on his lap: the Void Refinement Method.
His excitement (and his "craze" for power) shifted into high gear. If the Codex was the engine, the Void Method would be the fuel tank. He reached out and picked it up, ready to see just how much energy a "Void" could truly hold.