bookpower Chapter 13 World Core and The Isolated Core
Chapter 13 World Core and The Isolated Core
Caspian approached the sword.
He hesitated for a moment before reaching out, his fingers brushing the hilt.
AGHHH!
A sharp pain shot through his body, forcing him to his knees.
He clutched his chest, gasping for air as the pain suddenly vanished as quickly as it came.
{Hello, child,} a voice came.
Caspian's head snapped up.
"Who's there?" he demanded, looking around.
The room was empty.
{Hey, child. Look at me,} the voice said again, {I'm in your hand.}
Caspian blinked and stared down at the sword, his brows furrowing.
"Wait... you can talk?"
{Of course, I can,} the voice replied.
Caspian's mind raced. A talking sword?
'Am I losing my mind?,'
{I can also read your thoughts,} the sword interrupted.
"What? You can read my thoughts?" Caspian exclaimed.
The sword snickered.
{Relax, I'm not interested in whatever nonsense goes on in your head. Now, let's focus on the matter at hand, shall we?}
Caspian cleared his throat.
"Fine. Put that aside for now. I've completed your trials, so grant me power."
{I am your power, child,} the sword replied.
{I am your prize.}
Caspian stared at the blade, disbelief etched across his face.
"Wait... what?"
{I am the power you sought} the sword explained.
"So, show me your power!" Caspian demanded. "What can you do?"
The sword chuckled softly, a sound that made Caspian's irritation flare.
{I can't particularly do anything right now. That's because you are... how do I put this delicately... utterly useless.}
"Excuse me?" Caspian's grip tightened on the hilt as his temper flared.
"Are you seriously blaming me? What kind of excuse is that?"
{It's not an excuse; it's the truth,} the sword replied nonchalantly.
"What are you trying to say?," he asked.
The sword's tone shifted.
{No... wait a minute. How is this possible? No, it can't be...}
"What? What's wrong now?" Caspian asked, his irritation bubbling up again.
The sword ignored his question.
{Your core... it isn't connected to the world's core. No, this isn't possible. How is this possible?}
Caspian's brow furrowed.
"What are you talking about? What's a core?" Caspian asked.
He hadn't read anything like this in novel.
The sword hesitated, then spoke cautiously.
{Wait what?}
{Your mental age is around 16 years old, but your body seems to be around 9. That's not normal.}
Caspian's eyes widened.
'Oh... it must be because of my previous life,' he thought.
The sword's tone turned sharp.
{Previous life? Explain yourself.}
Caspian sighed.
"I lived another life before this one. I died and... I guess I ended up here. It's probably why my mental age is older than my physical one."
"But wait..." Caspian paused, scratching his head.
"I was 23 in my previous life. Does that mean my mental age was only 16 back then? Ugh, that's embarrassing."
"And if mine was 16, I wonder how much lower my friends' mental ages were... No wonder we were all such idiots." Caspian said as he chuckled bitterly for the first time in what felt like eternity.
{So, you possess memories of a previous life. This is the first case of its kind that I've ever encountered.}
"Yeah, yeah, I'm special. I get it," Caspian said, waving the sword's concern away.
{But it still doesn't explain why your core isn't connected to the world's core,} the sword continued.
Its tone was firm, almost as if it was more concerned about this revelation than the fact that Caspian had been reincarnated or transmigrated.
"Okay, now you're just throwing words at me," Caspian said.
"What is this 'world core' thing, and why does it matter?" Caspian asked.
{The core within you is your connection to this world's mana and life force. Everyone has one, and it's always connected to the world core—the source of all mana. Without that connection, you shouldn't even be alive, let alone capable of using mana.}
"But I can use mana," Caspian argued. "I've been using it to survive!"
{Exactly,} the sword said grimly.
{And that's why this is so strange. You shouldn't be able to. Your core is isolated, separate from the world. It's as if you're not truly a part of this world.}
"Not a part of this world, huh?....