The Gamer's POV-Chapter 230: Essence Core

"If yes, then that’s an awfully strange coincidence."

Cedric sat lost in that thought for a moment, unsure of what to conclude exactly. He wondered if that question and the postluding conversation were seeds planted with purpose, or if it was just a strange coincidence and random convo over dinner.

After a minute or so, Cedric sighed, reached up and rubbed his face, then he roughly scratched a frantic hand through his long black hair that fell long past his shoulders.

"Gosh, I need a drink."

Remembering that there was no more beer in his inventory, he reached in and took out one of Aika’s many, many smoke pipes. This one was short and made of a dark, polished wood with silver filigree wrapping around the stem.

Now Cedric was not really a stranger to smoking. After all, he did smoke quite a lot back in his past life. However, he had never tried it since his transmigration.

He placed the stem in his mouth, took out a matchstick from his inventory, then struck it and ignited the bowl. He watched the dried herbs catch for a second, and as the amber glow spread across the packed leaves, he drew in a deep, long breath.

After that, he leaned back against the wall and exhaled a thick cloud of gray smoke.

He sighed.

"How long have I been asleep?"

With a blank expression, he turned his head tiredly to look at a screen that had popped up to the side in response with the information:

[Eight days.]

"That long, huh? Then why do I still feel like shit?"

Cedric stared at the screen for a few seconds longer than he should have before looking away. After a few more seconds, he raised his arm, then noticed it was bare.

"Where is Aika?"

He dropped his hand and was about to call out mentally for her, when he suddenly felt an emotion that was not his.

It was the desire to do bad fueled by an emotion of pure hatred. When that emotion brushed against his awareness, Cedric felt a tiny bit of energy trickle into a core in his chest.

’What is that?’

He thought as he reached for his chest with his free hand.

Suddenly, he felt another foreign emotion. He tried to focus on it. Although he could not understand what sort of sentiment this was exactly, he could recognize that it was the desire to do good.

Just like the first time, a tiny bit of energy trickled into the core in his chest again.

Cedric immediately straightened up and his eyes widened as a suspicion of what was happening took hold. Turning to the side, he quickly called out to his attribute. "Gamer Privileges?"

A large screen appeared in his vision.

[...]

It seemed his attribute already knew what he was going to ask, and so it replied.

[The Gamer has successfully developed an essence core.]

"I did?"

A disbelieving smile began to form on Cedric’s face as he looked away from the screen and back toward himself.

"No way..."

He closed his eyes and tried to feel the core within him. When he did, he could feel it right above his already filled up mana core.

Cedric opened his eyes and let out a small chuckle in astonishment.

This was an achievement that he had definitely not expected to have.

’How did I end up developing an essence core?’

He began to think about it. From what he knew, developing an essence core was practically a myth for most people. For one, not many knew how to develop one in the first place, because there were no general instructions on how to develop one.

As for the few people who knew the method, many could never actually achieve it because the requirements were a bit tricky. The instructions simply said to influence the world and the hearts of others.

But if it were that easy, all the kings and rulers of the different empires would have developed essence cores. After all, they do influence the empires and millions of people within them.

Cedric knew that there was more to that. Although he wasn’t sure of the exact mechanics.

Also, since all the essence cores were different, and tied to the individual and their authority, there was probably something personal involved.

Thinking about it now, Cedric came to conclude that every core was a reflection of the individual’s unique power and the specific way they touched the world.

Take Leon for instance. Cedric remembered that when he played the game Seraphim of Doom, Leon had developed his essence core after having so many people depend on his eyes.

In fact, many of the architects, master builders, and engineers in the empires were only able to complete or improve their projects with his help. Even the most influential power players among the nobles frequently sought him out for his vision. Because of this, his influence was massive.

Even though he wasn’t in the empire at the moment, the connection remained with his subjects of influence. If someone whom he had helped personally in the past were to suddenly find themselves stuck on a problem, or if they simply wished Leon were there to guide them, they would be feeding essence into his core without even realizing it.

The same thing happened whenever someone he had helped spoke his name in praise. If they were to tell others that they succeeded specifically because of Leon’s help, a trickle of essence would flow into his core and if they were to bring someone else to him, even more essence would flow into Leon’s core. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Inevitably, as more and more people depended on, thought about, or talked about his eyes, his influence would continue to spread, and the growth of his essence core would accelerate right along with it.

With that in mind, Cedric was now wondering how his own essence core worked in relation to his influence. He figured that since his essence core developed after he brought hundreds of cadets back to life, it meant that he had been able to influence the world using his authority over life and death, and that his main subjects of influence were those he had brought back to life.

’Since my subjects of influence are those I brought back to life, how do I gain essence from them?’

He drew in another long drag from the smoke pipe and exhaled a slow, swirling cloud as he excitedly grew lost in thought.

After a few seconds, he noticed something interesting. Unlike before, his connection to those he had brought back from the dead had suddenly sharpened. He could feel them now even more distinctly than ever before, and could tell where each and every one of them was.

As he studied that connection, something suddenly clicked.

’Ah! Come to think of it. Those emotions I felt earlier were from the cadets among them.’