"Hmm, yummy food, happy belly," Amika cheerfully swayed while stuffing her mouth with food. She was in a relatively cheerful mood compared to earlier.
The smaller girl expertly grilled the meat, letting it sweat in its own fat before swiftly assembling it on top of a leaf, adding sauce and herbs. She then proceeded to shove the entire thing into her mouth with gusto.
Beside her, Suina, the tall, blonde-haired girl, also diligently assembled her own leaf-wrapped barbecue, making sure the flavors were perfectly balanced to her taste. A thin smile was etched on her face, illuminated by the campfire, happy that she finally had a meal.
Ayato was sitting beside the tribal boy they now knew as Yaw-yan. The four of them had gathered to enjoy the meal Yaw-yan had brought.
Although the rations were meant to last Yaw-yan a few days, his three new companions had absolutely wolfed them down, leaving him with little for his journey tomorrow.
Luckily, he had already filled his bag with herbs and spices, so it wouldn't be a problem to call it a day and just return to his tribe.
"This food is amazing, Yaw-yan. I've never had anything like this in the capital. The process of grilling your own meat and preparing it while eating it fresh off the grill—I'm used to just waiting in line for my meals. This is a very unique experience for me."
Unlike the two girls, who were engrossed in their own worlds as they enjoyed the food, Ayato was making small talk with Yaw-yan, asking the tribal boy how to recreate the dish. Yaw-yan had no problem sharing the recipe.
The group continued their meal until everything was consumed. Ayato and Suina thanked Yaw-yan for sharing such a feast, while Amika lay on her back in the grass, complaining that her belly was bloated—but she was smiling, so she was probably fine.
Ayato stood to grab something from his bag and, upon finding a cylindrical object, returned to his seat with a grin. When he opened it, a sweet aroma filled the air, catching Yaw-yan's attention.
A liquor of some kind?
Yaw-yan perked up when he got a whiff of it.
"Yaw-yan bro, you've probably never had this since your land is in a remote part of the Endless Flow, but the liquid inside this container is liquor. Usually, we children aren't allowed to drink this until a certain age, but I secretly stashed this one. We planned to drink it after we three successfully killed our first beast. But since you shared your delicious meal, we'll share our drinks with you."
Ayato waved his hand and created four small glasses out of ice, then poured the liquid into them.
Yaw-yan was fascinated by the magic. He had never seen someone in his tribe craft something like that with their power.
He received the ice-made glass and examined it. It wasn't a simple cup—there were etched designs on it. The amount of control Ayato had over his magic astonished him.
"Is something wrong, Yaw-yan bro? I was hoping to make a toast with you, but you look like you're searching for something in the glass."
Yaw-yan turned his head and saw Ayato holding up his glass in the air, waiting. Hastily, he held his glass with both hands and gently pushed it toward Ayato's, creating a soft clink before they both drank.
Yaw-yan savored the taste. While his tribe's elders brewed their own kind of liquor, the quality couldn't compare to what Ayato had brought.
This was actual liquor—it tasted just like the one his father snuck into his hospital room when he turned thirteen. His father had said Yaw-yan's grandfather gave him his first taste at thirteen too.
Yaw-yan smiled at the memory.
"Not gonna lie, I expected more of a reaction than that, Yaw-yan bro. Is this something you've had before?" Ayato asked, pouring another shot into Yaw-yan's glass.
"Uhm, kind of, but it's been a long time. I'd forgotten about it until I tasted this. The memory just came back to me. Also, it tastes amazing—thanks for sharing this, Ayato bro."
Ayato nodded at Yaw-yan's words and smiled. The two made another toast before drinking again.
"So, Yaw-yan bro, what did you want to know outside your little valley?" Ayato put down his glass. He'd had enough for the night since he was still on first night watch.
Yaw-yan tilted his head, contemplating what to ask first. "Oh! What about your clothes? You're all wearing the same kind, especially those two. It's the same outfit, but one is smaller."
"Oii! Watch your mouth! Do you know how rude it is to talk like that to a lady? I'll kick your ass!" Amika tried to stand up but failed due to her bloated stomach. "Oh… o-okay, I'll kick your ass later. I'll just lay here for a while."
Suina and Ayato softly laughed at their smaller friend's antics.
Ayato cleared his throat and answered the boy. "This—" he pointed to his own uniform, then to Suina and Amika's, "is called an academy uniform. We wear it as proof of our identity as students of Lincad Greenwork Academy. It's one of the ten prestigious schools in the capital."
"We," Ayato gestured at Suina, Amika, and himself, "just started attending school, and the reason we're here in your homeland is to familiarize ourselves with the environment outside the capital."
Yaw-yan gave Ayato a questioning look. "Capital?"
Ayato nodded and grabbed the stick they were using to prod the charcoal.
"The capital is one of the largest manalands in the Endless Flow. You see, Yaw-yan bro—" Ayato drew two wavy lines. The bottom part had a large gap between them, while the top was narrower, like the lines were funneling together. Then he drew crude shapes all over between the wavy lines.
Amika snorted at the drawing. "Your art skills suck, Ayato."
The orange-haired boy shushed her, making the girls giggle.
"You see this gap between the lines?" Yaw-yan nodded. "This is what keeps us alive. This gap is called the Endless Flow—a stream of magical energy that holds every manaland in place."
Ayato pointed to the crude shapes inside the lines. "This magical river is also the reason we can use our core weapons. It's the source of our magical energy."
He looked at Yaw-yan, whose eyes had widened at the explanation.
"W-wait, the world's not a sphere?"
The three friends stared at Yaw-yan in confusion.
"When you say sphere, do you mean round?" Suina asked.
Yaw-yan nodded.
"Oh, you're talking about the Manaland before the Great War of the Gods," Suina replied.
"A great what?! Of Gods?!"
Suina nodded and continued, "You see, legends say that thousands of years ago, the manaland was one whole piece—like a floating ball in the void. They say you could travel between manalands without needing a mana-ark, just by using horses or tame-beasts to move across the land.
"But around a thousand years ago, a war broke out between gods, and the manaland was shattered. As a result, everything was falling apart. But the World Tree God, who loved all life in the manaland, sacrificed its divine body to create a flow of energy—what we now call the Endless Flow. It reshaped the world and holds the manalands in place, saving all life across the land."
Yaw-yan's head was hurting. There were way too many weird things for him to comprehend. So magic and core weapons were just the introduction to all the bizarre stuff in this world?
Like… the entire world was shattered into pieces and held together by a magical river?
Yaw-yan fell from his seat and lay on the grass. The three students were about to check on him, but he waved his hand.
"Just... just give me a moment to comprehend everything."
The trio sighed in relief, seeing that he was fine.
"Boi! That's not even everything—you just found out the basics," Amika said while munching on the chocolate she had stolen from Yaw-yan's satchel.
"Like, you still don't know about the God's Blessing, the Endless Forest, the Mana Core, the Endless Source, the Emperors, demo—"
Suina quickly covered Amika's mouth as they saw Yaw-yan starting to gag from the overwhelming amount of information.
"Do you still want to continue, Yaw-yan bro?" Ayato asked, noticing Yaw-yan had sat back up and was regaining his bearings.
Yaw-yan nodded. "L-let's continue with the capital first."
Nodding at his words, Ayato resumed, "Like I said, the manalands are held in place by the Endless Flow. The capital is one of the biggest manalands in this part of the Endless Flow. This entire region—" Ayato drew a circle on the lower part of the Endless Flow, encircling the capital and several surrounding, smaller manalands, "—is called the Infant Flow."
Ayato looked at Yaw-yan, who nodded, still following the explanation.
"This is where the surge of mana is the weakest. Meaning it's the safest part of the Endless Flow, since the beasts here in the Infant Flow are the weakest in all the manalands—well, with a few exceptions." Ayato glanced at the distant silhouette of the Silao Grande.
"Yeah, but that guy's just chillin', so it doesn't count. I heard there are beasts outside the Infant Flow that are as smart as humans and can summon their own core weapons," Amika chimed in.
"Exactly. That's why, if you want to travel outside the Infant Flow, you need to strengthen your Soul Core," Suina added. "Not just to make your body and core weapon stronger—it also helps you withstand the overwhelming surge of energy. The closer you are to the Endless Source, the stronger the magical surge flowing through your Soul Core. And without proper Soul Core strength... you'll burst from the inside."
The trio shivered at the thought.
Yaw-yan perked up, alarmed. "W-wait, what about the children in the Manalands?" He pointed at a manaland closer to the Origin Flow. "Are they just gonna explode the moment they come out of their mother's womb?!"
Amika burst out laughing at the image and earned a soft tap from Suina, who looked scandalized.
Ayato chuckled a little before answering. "That's what Mana Cores are for. You see, every manaland possesses a Mana Core, just like beasts and humans. The Mana Core regulates everything—the manaland's weather, day and night cycle, the amount of mana surge, and much more. It envelopes the manaland in a protective bubble that keeps it stable and in place."
Yaw-yan stood up, looking up at the night sky in awe. He never imagined that he had been living inside a kind of magical bubble all this time.
"Blegh, stop with all that manaland and manacore stuff! Let's tell him the interesting part!" Amika said as she stood up, summoning her core weapon—a giant war hammer—and resting it effortlessly on her shoulder. "Let's talk about core weapons and how he's been missing out, since he and his people don't have the Blessing of the Gods!"
Ayato and Suina both sighed in exasperation. Amika was just too much of a muscle-brain sometimes.
"Blessings of the Gods?" Yaw-yan asked, confused.
"Yuppa! I have the blessing of the Barbarian God, so my hammer is strong and big!" Amika replied proudly.
Yaw-yan waited for the rest of the explanation… but all he got was Amika's wide, satisfied grin.
He turned to Suina and Ayato, both of whom facepalmed at the same time.
"Suina, please…" Ayato muttered, sounding like he was on the verge of giving up.
The blonde girl pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly fighting off a headache, but nodded and stepped in.
"Core weapons, without a blessing from the gods, are just their base forms," she began. "By aligning your Soul Core to any god of your choosing, you can unlock a divine affinity with your core weapon."
She pointed at Amika. "Like she said—she aligned herself with the Barbarian God. That granted her a blessing that enhances her physical strength and core weapon's raw power. The stronger her Soul Core's mana surge becomes, the more her strength increases."
Then she gestured toward Ayato. "Ayato is aligned with the Elemental God, which allows him to wield elemental magic—in his case, ice. As his Soul Core grows, his elemental control improves, and he may even gain access to other elements in the future."
Finally, she pointed to herself. "As for me, I'm aligned with the Forge God. My core weapon evolves to match my combat style. Just like Amika, the stronger my mana surge gets, the more powerful and adaptive my weapon becomes."
"So," Suina concluded, "each god offers a different kind of power. The choice of alignment defines how your strength develops, how your core weapon changes, and even how you fight."
Yaw-yan's eyes widened as he listened to Suina's explanation.
So the core weapons his tribesmen wield were only their base forms?
No wonder these kids were stronger than the old chief.
"So, Yaw-yan, what's your core weapon?" Amika asked eagerly, practically bouncing in place. "Show it to us! I'll help you align with the Barbarian God!" She leapt in front of him, excited. "You'll be kicking everyone's ass in this land if you get a blessing!"
Suina coughed into her fist. "Amika, it's unethical to just align someone to your god without explaining the existence of the other gods, their beliefs, and values. He should be able to choose the god he resonates with most."
Amika groaned in disappointment. "But the Barbarian God is awesome! You get real tough and your core weapon becomes totally badass!"
"Same with the Forge God," Suina replied coolly.
"Yeah, but you guys are weirdos who always look like you're trying to sexualize your weapons."
"I AM NOT!" Suina snapped, face red. "I just love taking care of my core weapon—unlike you, you… you brute!"
Ayato sighed and shook his head. "This always happens whenever the topic of alignment comes up…"
Trying to steer the conversation back on track, he turned to Yaw-yan. "So, what is your core weapon?"
"I don't have one," Yaw-yan answered without hesitation.
"C'mon, don't be like that!" Amika said with a grin. "Not everyone starts off with a flashy core weapon. My papa's base weapon was a spoon! But after aligning with the Barbarian God, he became one of the capital's strongest warriors!"
"No," Yaw-yan said calmly. "I mean I really don't have one. No core weapon. No soul core thingy. Just… nothing."
The trio stared at him, a mix of concern and disbelief in their eyes.
"Usually," Suina said slowly, "you can view another person's soul by letting them channel their mana surge into you. That's how you peek into someone's soul core."
Yaw-yan nodded. "The old chief did that. So did everyone else in the tribe."
Suina bit her lip. "Would you… allow me to examine your soul? Maybe it's not that you don't have a soul core. Maybe your people just couldn't sense it due to weak mana surge."
Yaw-yan raised an eyebrow. "Isn't the fact that I can't summon a core weapon already proof I don't have one?"
"Well, yeah, that sounds right," Suina said with hesitation. "But… you shouldn't even be alive without a soul core. It's the source of your vitality. That's why you only let people you deeply trust peek into it. If someone with malicious intent destroys your soul core during the process, you die."
Yaw-yan's jaw dropped.
Wait—what?
Nobody ever mentioned that before!
He'd let the entire tribe peek into his soul just for fun! Even the kids!
They just thought it was amusing that he didn't have a core weapon!
Seeing the shocked look on his face, Suina gently stepped closer. "Do I have your consent to peek into your soul, Yaw-yan?"
He looked into her eyes, then nodded.
Suina nodded back, placed her hand gently on his cheek, and leaned forward until their foreheads touched. Unlike the old chief and the others, Suina's mana felt warm, gentle, almost like a soft blanket wrapping around him. Her control was far more refined—calm, respectful.
A moment later, she pulled back. Her hand dropped. Her eyes were wide in horror. Her entire body trembled.
"How are you alive?" she whispered.
Amika and Ayato rushed to her side. "What did you see!?"
Suina struggled to speak, voice shaky.
"Nothing… There's nothing but a gaping hole!"
End of Chapter 5