The man cloaked in full-body cloth searched the clearing inch by inch.
When he found the graves, he knelt silently.
Then he spotted cart tracks—fresh, clean, and clearly recent about 5-6 hours old.
His fist tightened "Someone survived…I must report this to the Boss immediately."
With that, he vanished into the air.
...
Sky slowly shifted to evening, colors melting into orange pink hues throughout the forest.
Toka and Ansu were preparing to camp.
Together they took out and placed the twigs, dry sticks from the cart and lit a campfire.
The campfire warmed the cool evening breeze.
Toka pulled out their last two pieces of bread.
Ansu's face fell "Anna! No jam??."
Then—
Toka grabbed and drank the remaining light-blue potion, activated the exchange circle, and focused.
FWOOSH—
A swirl of mana, a shimmer of light—and jam appeared. He then placed it on a Large leaf.
Toka grinned "Dinner is ready."
But even as he ate, something troubled him.
Energy.The exchange drains normal Energy…but blue potions are not always available to him.
He needed a stable energy source.
Something permanent, something internal.
He stared into the fire, "Mana Furnace…!!"
He searched through all the books, flipping them rapidly.
Then...
"Huh?"
A title caught his eye "Infinity Mana Furnace Technique"
Toka blinked twice, "…Infinity? Okay this sounds illegal but let's check it."
He opened it carefully as many of its pages were torn and some stained with old blood.
Still, he hurried closer to the campfire and tried reading under its light.
After squinting for a while, he got the gist of the theory:
The body has two crucial mana centers:
The Dan tian (lower abdomen)
The Heart Center
High-speed mana must revolve around both Simultaneously and Endlessly.
The rotation pattern resembles the ∞ symbol.
Toka stared at the diagrams.
"…So I have to spin energy like a fidget spinner?Two of them? At the same time??"
He gulped, he prepared green potions, placing them beside him like emergency first-aid.
He sat cross-legged and began.
He inhaled, imagined mana…pushed it around the heart…tried spinning it…
POP! CRACK!
His imaginary infinity loop collapsed instantly.
"GAH—!" He coughed a mouthful of blood.
Ansu panicked "ANNA! ANNA ARE YOU OKAY?!"
Toka gave a thumbs-up while dying inside.
He drank a green potion and reset.
He tried again.
Mana started to flow…slowly circling…then faster…
His chest throbbed.
"KHAGH—!"
More blood. Another potion. Another reset.
Ansu placed all the green bottles in front of him with trembling hands.
Toka patted her head "If I die, bury me under a mango tree…"
Ansu "Anna!! DON'T SAY THAT."
Mana spun…wobbled…and completely exploded inside.
He almost blacked out, everything twisted.
He took the potion bottle.
He inhaled deeply.
Slow. Steady. Controlled.
He used breathing as the base rhythm—mana moving with every inhale, expanding with every exhale.
Then he imagined the shape ∞.
Two loops. One path. Endless rotation.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
Mana began moving rapidly, smoothly, endlessly between the heart and dantian.
His body grew warm comforting him.
Gears whirred in his mind.
CHAK—CHAK—CHAK—!
The robotic voice echoed:
[Congratulations.
Mana Furnace (White) Unlocked.Intelligence Level Up by One rank.]
Toka's eyes widened. "…YES! I DID IT!"
He grabbed a light-green bottle, drank it, and maintained the mana flow for a while.
A FEW MOMENTS LATER..
When he finally opened his eyes, Night had completely fallen.
Ansu had somehow set up their tent in the most crooked, chaotic way possible.
She had fallen asleep inside his sleeping bag.
Neelu bounced in front of him rapidly.
Toka laughed softly. He took a deep, peaceful breath.
Just as Toka finished stabilizing his mana furnace—
His stomach twisted "…Shit. I need to pee."
He stood up wobbling and walked toward a tree.
But before he could relieve himself—
THUD.
A heavy sound echoed through the forest, followed by another.
THUD… THUD…
The ground vibrated.
Toka froze mid-pee-pose.
A massive presence approaching towards the camp.
Instantly, he sprinted back to camp.
He grabbed old clothes, random planks and some metal scraps.
He threw them into the exchange circle, pumped mana into the arrow, and yelled in his mind "GIVE ME A COMPOUND BOW AND METAL ARROWS!"
Light swirled.The materials were torn apart,reconstructed.
FWOOSH—
And a sleek, deadly High-quality compound bow appeared beside a bundle of metal arrows.
Toka held it and grinned.
"…I may be suck at archery.But my aim is better than my life decisions."
Another faint SLIDE–THUD echoed.
Ansu slept on, snoring softly.
Neelu shook violently in fear.
Toka slowly moved forward to check the noise.
A large figure cameinto view and he froze for a moment.
A six-foot-tall, muscle-packed bull, foam dripping from its mouth, staggered into their clearing.
It looked just like Neelu when it first appeared—only angrier, bigger, and ready to murder someone.
Neelu's body trembled in terror.
Toka whispered "Neelu… authority granted, melt its skin and Leave only bones."
Neelu gulped in fear…Then pounced on to it.
BLOP—FWOOOOSH!
The bull screamed as Neelu melted its flesh clean off.
Within seconds, only bones remained.
Then Neelu reached its core a blood red orb and swallowed it.
SHIIIIIING—!
A bright light emanated from Neelu's body.
Toka shielded his eyes.
When the glow faded…
Neelu was bigger, Shinier, Completely Healthier.
Toka shcoked "…It leveled up."
He crouched down "Neelu. Protect Ansu. Anything that threatens her—melt it."
Neelu bounced proudly.
Toka felt relieved…But also realized something else.
The bull was running from something.
Something dangerous. Something will come this way.
He turned toward the forest.
"If that thing reaches camp… Ansu and I are good as dead."
He ran in the opposite direction of the bull's arrival.
After several minutes of running—
KIEEEEEEEK—!!! SCREEEEEECH!!
A huge eagle cry split the air.
Toka slid to a stop, gasping.
In front of him, a massive eagle, wings wide as trees, was attacking the entrance of a small cave.
Inside the cave, a tiny bull calf, trembling with fear.
Toka clutched his bow "Why attack a baby? You feathered demon B*tch!"
He pulled out an arrow, aimed at its head, and fired.
The compound bow was absurdly good.
TWANG—!
The arrow SHOT through the air but hit only its wing.
The eagle screeched and crashed to the ground.
Toka cursed "Fukk !! I was aiming for the head!"
The eagle's eyes are burning with rage.
As it fell, it released a barrage of razor-sharp feathers.
SWISH–SWISH–SWISH—!!
Toka dove behind a rock and rolled.
Moments later SSSSSSSSSS—!!!
Everything the feathers touched MELTED..Plants, Trees.
Toka's jaw dropped.
"WHAT KIND OF RADIATION CHEMICAL FUKK ARE YOU USING?!"
He steadied his aim.
This time—He focused, Breathed, Activated mana furnace.
The world slowed, he released the arrow.
WHOOOOOOOOOSHTHUNK!
Right through the head.
The eagle dropped dead instantly.
Toka exhaled "…Thank god I didn't miss that one."
—and suddenly felt warmth from his nose.
DRIP DRIP!!
His fingertips touched his face "Blood"Not a little.A lot.
Then a metallic taste filled his mouth.
"Oh… great… internal bleeding… What the fuc…"
His legs shook, his vision blurred.
He tried to take one step—
and his knee shivered as it has no energy.
THUD!
He collapsed on the ground, cheek pressing against the cold dirt.
The world dimmed, dark at the corners as vintage effect.
Mana furnace still spun faintly in his chest—But the strain of using it with lack of experience damaged his insides.
His consciousness flickered.
Before his eyes fully closed—
FOOTSTEPS.
Heavy.Steady.Not human.
Something was approaching him Slowly.
Huge horns…Glowing eyes…and a shadow trailing behind it like smoke.
Toka could barely lift his head "Ah… crap…Not another beach…"
His vision finally went black.
The last thing he heard was—
A deep, thunderous breath…right above him.