“Though we’ll soon have to consider deeper zones,” murmured Ren, studying the mana patterns. “The upper levels are almost depleted.”
Liu frowned. “Guards still watch those areas.”
“But with less personnel,” Ren pointed out. “And the patrols are more predictable now.”
“Are you suggesting…?” Taro began.
“I’m just saying we should keep our options open,” Ren continued working on the vein. “Especially considering what we’re doing tonight.”
The processing of Taro’s crystals.
The lunar phase would be perfect, and they would need sealing materials afterward…
“At least now we’ll have more freedom to move,” Min observed the almost deserted tunnel. “With everyone concentrated in the library…”
“Rich students can afford to buy their materials with what their parents send,” Liu shook his head. “Those like us have to dig to buy ours. But don’t forget that studying is important to pass the exams to the next rank… look at me, instead of coming to study it seems I came to dig.”
The reduction in guards and students could be an advantage, especially when they needed to explore deeper to obtain extra materials.
But for now, they had to focus on tonight.
Ren smiled to himself.
The veins might be depleting, but there were still things to obtain.
♢♢♢♢
“It’s almost time,” Ren whispered as he rose from his bed.
Last training of the day with Lin had been brutal as always, but this night was too important to rest.
It was the moment he had been waiting for.
“We’ll accompany you,” Taro was already ready, holding his crystal bag.
“It’s not necessary, you should sleep, I can do it alone…”
“Don’t even try,” Liu also stood up. “You’ve been bragging about your special method for a month. I won’t miss the chance to see if you really know what you’re talking about.”
Min stirred in his bed. “I also…” a yawn interrupted his protest. “I also want…”
Seconds later, his snores filled the room.
“That one can’t stay awake past 10, like a small child,” Liu murmured as they silently left the dormitory.
The night air was cool as they headed toward the academy outskirts.
Ren guided them to a clearing where trees didn’t obstruct the sky view.
“Here,” he decided after studying the area. “The moonlight will reach without interference.”
The sky shone with just over half its moons visible. Ren knew he needed exactly eight, the configuration would change soon, some would hide in minutes while others would emerge on the horizon.
“Help me with this,” he spread a long board on the ground.
He began methodically examining Taro’s crystals. Each piece was studied carefully before being placed or discarded.
“This one’s too small,” he murmured, replacing one. “This other has an irregular surface… we need the best quality possible.”
“Does it really matter that much?” asked Taro while watching Ren reorganize the crystals with others he’d obtained from the mines.
“It must be big enough to reduce from 150 to 100 days,” Ren continued his selection until he had exactly one hundred crystals arranged in ten perfect rows.
He covered the crystals with a black cloth, protecting them from premature light.
Then he took out something that made Liu lean forward with interest, a bronze crystal, flat and curved.
“Is that…?”
“A neutral crystal lens, cost me 500 crystals despite just being a bronze crystal carved and processed with cheap materials,” confirmed Ren while testing it, adjusting until he managed to concentrate the moonlight into a bright point.
Satisfied with the test, he began studying the sky intently.
“How long…?” Liu began.
“As long as necessary,” Ren interrupted without taking his eyes from the sky. “The configuration must be exact.”
Minutes passed.
Liu began showing signs of impatience, but Taro watched his friend’s concentration with fascination.
Finally, something changed in Ren’s expression.
“It’s time,” he murmured, removing the black cloth. The hundred crystals glowed faintly under the night light as he positioned the lens.
The next hours would prove if a month of preparation had been worth it.
♢♢♢♢
The concentrated moonlight formed a bright, intense point.
He took the first crystal and exposed it to the light beam. The crystal began to glow with an intensity that made Liu tense.
“Stop!” Liu stepped forward alarmed. “Do you see the glow? It’s processing too much mana!”
Ren was already storing the glowing crystal in the black bag and taking the next one.
“Ren, this is dangerous,” Liu continued while Ren repeated the process with more crystals. “Mana poisoning is no joke. Medicine is expensive, and if Taro has to go to the infirmary three days in a row, professors will start asking questions.”
“Maybe even two consecutive days would be suspicious,” he insisted. “Do you have any idea how much mana they’re absorbing?”
“They’re exactly at the right limit,” Ren didn’t stop his work, keeping a mental count of exposure time. “And I need to concentrate. This specific lunar configuration will only last thirty minutes before the next moon hides.”
“Is that why you bought the lens?” Taro watched the process, fascinated.
“If we don’t concentrate the light, we’d have to wait two more months to get the equivalent of thirty-six minutes of exposure per crystal… we wouldn’t have time to start your cultivation and finish before the end of the semester, so…”
Liu opened his mouth to protest again, but Taro calmed him with a gesture.
“I have over 600 crystals saved thanks to this month in the mines,” he reasoned. “Most I found following Ren’s directions. If something goes wrong, we simply discard the method on the second day and I lose only 100 crystals.”
Ren continued working methodically.
The first crystals received exactly thirty-six seconds of exposure, but he gradually reduced the time.
“The resonance is already established in the moon group,” he explained without stopping work. “The next ones need less time because they’ve been exposed to these same moons’ light while waiting, though not concentrated.”
His movements were precise, each crystal placed exactly at the lens’s focal point. The last ones barely needed six or seven seconds of exposure.
“How do you know it’s enough?” asked Liu, watching the crystals glow with an intensity that still seemed dangerous to him.
“Because…” Ren paused for a moment, considering how much and how to explain. “The absorption patterns are clear when you know what to look for.”
Finally, the last crystal went into the bag.
Ren began collecting the equipment quickly, aware they’d already spent too much time outside the dormitory.
“That’s all,” he announced, securing the bag. “Let’s return before someone notices our absence.”
As they returned through the academy’s dark grounds, Liu couldn’t stop looking at the bag with evident concern. For him, each crystal there was a time bomb, overcharged with mana and ready to wreak havoc in Taro’s system.
Taro, for his part, showed more curiosity than concern.
After seeing Ren defeat Kai and find the best veins in the mines for a month, he was willing to trust his strange knowledge once more.
The first day of the hundred that would determine the success or failure of Ren’s method had begun. And with it, the first real proof that his knowledge about beasts was more than just crazy theories.