Manaless Mage

The other voice was something that hardly spoke… especially during these recent times.

The other voice appeared in Harry's head the first day he got the system, and even till now, it was still a mystery to him.

All Harry knew was that it was related to the system and only spoke once in a while whenever it felt like.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

[Manaless mage pride isn't just a quest, it is actually… well, that; Manaless mage pride.]

[Your pride, in simpler terms]

'Still don't understand… what does my pride have to do with me defeating this mana beast?' Harry asked, his confusion rising rather than lessening.

This was why talking with the other voice was some annoying most times.

It would only drop little vague bits of information once in a while and then disappear for days… or even weeks.

While Harry didn't want to be spoon-fed all the time, he didn't like to be left on the edge all the time also!

'And it always speaks… so slowly.' He mumbled with gritted teeth.

[Just saying… be careful. Don't let your pride get into your head.]

[Don't overdo things…]

Harry sighed before piercing the dagger into the beast's head, continuing the process of digging out the beast core.

At first, he thought the other voice was going to say something… really important. But since it only seemed to be advising him, Harry's nerves calmed down a little.

However, he didn't dare take those words—meaningless as they may seem—for granted.

Even though he didn't see himself as someone stupid enough to let his pride get in the way, he still took note of it.

Don't let pride and power get into your head—that was how he translated it.

[As a manaless mage, that "pride" could be your strength or your downfall. If you notice, whenever you're in a fight against someone… or something, your mindset is subconsciously focused on ultimately defeating that person.]

[Not just defeat in the sense of it, but humiliation…]

Harry's eyes squinted slightly at those words, he subconsciously stopped his actions and focused on what the other voice was saying.

This was the most the other voice had spoke in a while hit that wasn't the main reason he paused.

Though it was still quite vague, he could now somewhat understand where the other voice was getting with all this.

[It's quite difficult to explain and understand… even I don't know the best way to say this.]

[But this is something somewhat unique to Manaless mages. Sometimes, you tend to view others as lesser than you… condescendingly and you gain a lot of joy being in a position where you dominate them.]

[Just like I said earlier, quests aren't just random things formed by the system… most of them are things you desire… deep down.]

[Like the "Manaless Mage's Pride" Quest, it is something that only pops up when you feel the need to humiliate someone, or make a pay back.]

'You mean… something that only pops up when my… pride is hurt? Somewhat…?' Harry said, finally understanding what 'it' meant.

[Yeah… something like that.]

"Wow… you're definitely chatty today." Harry mumbled. Ever since he got the system, he doubted that the other voice had ever spoken this much.

[…]

It seemed this matter was really something it considered important enough for him to explain throughly.

Its words were true though, Harry couldn't find any way to refute it.

Whenever he was in a fight with someone, overwhelming his opponent and seeing that defeated look on their face always filled him with much joy.

At first he didn't think much about it, but it seemed it was because of this "Manaless mage's pride" of a thing.

There was one more thing that also caught his attention in what the other voice said.

"Something that is unique to Manaless mages… there's an 's' behind it, does that mean there are other Manaless mages?" Harry asked, silently hoping the other voice would give him an answer.

[…]

As expected, the other voice went silent.

'I'm not sure what you are yet, but you're really annoying… you know?' Harry sighed in disappointment.

But even though the other voice said nothing, inside his mind, Harry started considering the probability of other Manaless mages existing.

He couldn't help but wonder…

If his suspicions were true, and there were truly other Manaless mages out there… what were they abilities…?

Did they also have a system like him…?

Did they also receive quests like him…?

[You're pondering too much on unnecessary things, don't think about it too much. You'll understand everything in due time…]

"Due time huh?" Harry muttered while staring off into the sky.

For some reason, this whole conversation with the other voice had somewhat killed his desire to hunt mana beasts.

Even though he didn't know much about the other voice, he still felt that he could trust it.

Whether it was simply blind trust… or something deeper, there was just this strange resonance that he felt with the voice that made feel at ease.

"Whatever." Harry said. He suddenly shook his head while pulling the beast core out of the mana beast's body.

"All I need to do is focus on hunting more mana beasts, and getting stronger!" He said and then clenched the beast core in his hand.

His hands were tainted dark red from the blood of the beast, and some blood was still around the beast core, but Harry didn't seem to care and gripped the beast core anyway.

A system message suddenly flashed across his eyes.

===========

[Does the Host want to absorb stage one beast core?]

[Yes/No]

===========

"Yes…" Harry said.

Immediately, the mana inside the beast core swirled rapidly as it rushed into Harry's palm.

[Absorbing beast core…]

[10%]

[89%]

[Beast core absorbed]

[+3000EXP]

Harry's brows creased slightly when he saw the low amount of EXP he got from the beast core.

If it was before, that amount of EXP would have been a lot to him, however, his level had been steadily rising and the EXP required was also rising too.

His eyes drifted to the beast's body riddled with cuts and injuries in the ground.

'Since I can no longer sell it, I should just absorb the mana in it.' Harry said inwardly and then placed his hand on the body.

"Mana steal…" He muttered.

***

More chaps coming today!