The Age of Horrors

Basil quickly leaped toward the corpse to confirm his suspicions. As he neared the glimmering object, the master activated a barrier that Basil collided with, then said, "Don't touch it yet. By the way, we haven’t talked much about 'Original Stones,' have we? I think it's time for you to learn about them, young Basil."

Basil responded, "I know what they are, Master. It's just that this is the first time I've seen one, and I got a little excited."

The master, curious, asked, "Oh? Then tell me, what do you know about them?"

Feeling confident because of what he'd read in books, Basil answered, "Well, Original Stones are found in monsters capable of using magic. When you kill one, you open its chest from the middle, find the stone, and remove it. Once you do that, the corpse disappears, almost as if it evaporates in an instant. After a while, the monster is revived in the forbidden zone, but it loses all memory of what happened before. The stone can be used for various purposes, like creating 'Magic Vessels.'"

When Basil finished explaining, he stood proudly, waiting for his master’s praise. But the master simply stroked his chin and said, "As I’ve told you before, what you’ve read is only a fraction of the truth. You still think you know much more than you actually do."

Basil’s shoulders slumped as he sighed in frustration, his voice dull, "Alright, as usual, I don’t know anything. So, Master, tell me more."

The master chuckled mockingly at Basil's dejection, "Hohoho, don’t be so down. It’s not that you’re lacking knowledge—it’s just that you haven’t had access to better sources. And what you said is pretty much what everyone in this world knows."

Hearing that, Basil began to wonder, "In this world? What does the master mean? If I have the knowledge most people in this world do, and the master knows more than that... does this mean he’s not from this world? But..."

Before Basil could delve deeper into his thoughts, the master interrupted, starting his explanation, which shifted Basil’s focus.

"Alright, you said the monster's body evaporates after you remove the stone. But do you know why that happens?" Basil shook his head, so the master continued, "It’s because the moment you touch the stone, it becomes yours—or you could say the 'Heavenly Protection Barrier' recognizes you as the new owner of the stone, and that’s why the former owner's body vanishes. And after some time, the monster revives. But do you know what determines how long it takes for it to revive?"

Basil replied, "I don't know, Master."

The master explained, "Well, all monsters are revived or regenerated by the energy coming from the barrier. But the revival time varies greatly depending on the monster's Original Stone. Monsters without magic don’t have an Original Stone, so their regeneration is slower compared to those that do, as the stone is the source of the monster's magical energy. When the barrier's energy fills the monster's body to regenerate it, the stone accelerates the process. That's why magical monsters regenerate faster than non-magical ones."

Basil listened intently, amazed at every turn, as was becoming the norm, thinking to himself, "I really don't know anything."

The master continued, "What I said about regeneration and magical monsters being superior is true—but only if you don't take the stone with you. If you do, non-magical monsters actually regenerate faster. Their bodies just need to reform, whereas magical monsters first need to reform their Original Stone, and only then does their body start regenerating. The larger the stone, the longer it takes to form. In other words, the stronger a monster's magical power, the longer it will take to regenerate if you take its Original Stone after killing it."

Basil asked, "Ah, so that’s why you stopped me from touching the stone. But does that mean I'll have to fight that bear again?"

The master answered, "Of course. You’ll keep doing so until you can defeat it at its full strength."

A look of discouragement crossed Basil’s face, and the master continued, "And what you said about the monster losing its memory when it’s revived—that's partly true. But instead of saying it has no memory, you can consider it a different monster entirely, only with the same appearance."

"Alright, that's what you need to know for now about the relationship between the Original Stone and the monster."

"Understood, Master," Basil replied.

"Now let’s eat something and continue our discussion afterward," the master said, and Basil eagerly followed, looking forward to his master’s delicious cooking.

The master approached the bisected corpse, using wind to carve out the meat he wanted, then lit a fire and started cooking the meal.

When the master mentioned food, Basil thought they’d be eating 'Gnawing Rat' soup again, but he was mistaken. This time, they had grilled 'Depth Bear' meat, which was just as delicious. As Basil ate, he wondered, Are all monsters this tasty, or is my master's cooking just that good? While chewing, he asked his master, "Master, is it okay for us to eat this? Won’t it affect the speed of its regeneration?"

The master replied, "Don’t worry. The body doesn’t matter. Just don’t touch the stone. If you plan to take the stone and eat at the same time, go ahead and eat the monster’s meat without touching the stone, and only after you're done, you can take the stone. That’s all that matters. Now, let’s continue our talk. What do you know about the uses of 'Original Stones'?"

Basil, still chewing, answered, "Well, you can sell them for money and use them to craft weapons that can enhance magic, called 'Magic Vessels.'"

The master continued, "That’s right. You can make money from selling them, and their price depends on the size. The 'Magic Vessels' you mentioned aren’t all the same, though. Each vessel has a limit to the level of magic it can withstand, and its capacity is based on the stone it's made from. If the stone belonged to a monster that could use fourth-level magic, the vessel made from it will be able to handle fourth-level magic. Blacksmiths are the ones who craft these vessels, and any blacksmith must be at the same level or higher than the vessel they’re creating. The same applies to the mage—if they want to use a Magic Vessel, they must be at the same level as the vessel. But there are other uses for Original Stones, ones that people in this world don’t know about. For example, using them to make potions that speed up healing, or others that temporarily boost a mage’s power or help build their magical energy. This is done by using the stone's powder, not the stone itself."

Surprised, Basil remembered the potion his master had given him and said, "Oh, so that potion you gave me was made like that. But where did you get the stone from, Master?"

The master replied, "Well, there were ten Depth Bears here before we arrived. I ate them from time to time, but when I started speeding up your training, I didn’t just eat them—I also took their Original Stones to make the potion."

Basil asked, "Oh, I see. What’s the name of that potion, by the way?"

The master answered, "Ah, you can just call it 'Healing Syrup.' Now, as I mentioned, this potion is made from stone powder, but not everyone can make it. Only those with sufficient knowledge of magical alchemy can do so, and they must be at least at the third level. The higher the creator’s level, the better the powder they can extract. But it’s not just the creator’s level that determines the powder’s quality. The level of the monster that the stone came from plays a major role. The higher the monster's level, the larger and more powerful the stone, which helps produce higher-quality powder."

"Alright, there’s another highly useful application—you can create storage cubes from Original Stones. The capacity of a 'Spatial Cube' depends on the stone's energy as well."

Basil was intrigued and asked, "A Spatial Cube for storage? What’s that, Master?"

"It’s a cube with a vast, virtual space inside where you can store anything without it decaying, even food, since time inside the cube is nearly frozen."

Basil was amazed and got excited, "Oh, that’s amazing! Doesn’t that mean I could carry tons of things with me? If something like this exists, no one would ever need to carry heavy loads again!"

The master interrupted Basil’s excitement, saying, "That’s true, but only for mages. Ordinary people can’t make or use them."

Basil, chewing the last piece of meat, replied, "Ah, I see. But it’s still incredibly useful, even if only mages can use it."

The master concluded, "We’ll go over how to make it later. Now, let’s get moving and continue your training."

Basil nodded, "Yes, Master."

The two of them left the cave, and Basil handled all the monsters that crossed their path without the master's intervention. As usual, the monsters attacked the moment they stepped out, but Basil kept defeating them one after another. This went on for a week without them entering another cave, until the Depth Bear regenerated, and they returned to its cave once more.