Derek waited until the squad's attention drifted back to the tactical board, their conversation tapering into low murmurs. Evelyn was muttering something about how the streets near Westbridge were unnaturally quiet—good cover for a flank, or maybe a trap. He let them talk.

"System, how many Mana Stones to boost them all up a notch? No half-measures. I want them sharp."

The familiar sensation curled through his head—not words, not sound, but meaning pressed into the space behind his eyes.

[Seventeen mid-tier combatants. Three borderline elites. You'll need 850 units total. C-grade equivalent.]

"Fine. Withdraw and convert. Drop them here—quietly."

[Done.]

There was no flash. No dramatic rift tearing open the air. Just a low shimmer across the centre table, like heat dancing off summer asphalt. Then they were there—small glowing stones, faintly pulsing, warm to the eye but cool to the touch.

Eighty of them. Enough for the first round.

Evelyn noticed first.

She leaned in, brow furrowed. " What are those…?"

Felix beat her to it. "Wait—we saw these before. Besides those monsters, we killed. I thought it was just, like… monster waste or something."

Andrew picked one up. "They looked duller than this, though."

Derek didn't look at them. "Because they hadn't stabilised. These are ready."

"Ready for what exactly?" Evelyn asked, eyeing him.

Derek reached forward, picked up a stone, and turned it between his fingers. "You wanna become stronger, right. They're not just leftovers. They're mana vessels. Absorb one properly, and your body will remember how to do it again."

Brenner narrowed his eyes. "So they're... what, XP?"

Derek glanced at him. "Something like that."

He set the stone down. "Let your body do the work. Hold it. Focus on it. Don't fight it."

Felix rolled his eyes, half-joking. "Sounds like you're describing meditation, not a power-up."

"No difference," Derek said. "One clears your mind. The other clears your limits."

They stared at him. Not accusing, not suspicious—just processing.

Andrew rubbed his jaw. "And where the hell did you get this many?"

Derek gave a shrug that offered nothing. "I've been busy."

They moved in, hesitant but drawn. Curiosity outweighed caution.

Evelyn reached for one, paused, then finally closed her hand around the faintly glowing stone. She gasped. Not loud—but sharp. Like ice water poured down her spine.

Felix winced. "You good?"

She didn't answer for a beat. Then nodded slowly, almost breathless. "It's… like a vein opened. I can feel things I didn't before."

The others followed. One by one. Stones disappearing into waiting palms.

Energy rippled subtly through the room. No lightning strikes, no golden auras. Just a deepening of breath, a settling of muscle, a silence that wasn't empty—it was ready.

Andrew flexed his hand, testing strength that hadn't been there a moment ago.

"Where'd you even get the idea to use them like this?"

"They were never meant to be ignored," Derek said, voice flat. "You just didn't know what they were."

Andrew met his gaze. "And you did?"

"Eventually."

The others had gone quiet. Even the usual side comments from Felix had dried up. They weren't suspicious-not-not—not yet. Just stunned. The kind of quiet people fall into when the world they knew gets redefined mid-sentence.

Evelyn broke the silence. "You said we'd be stronger. I didn't think it would feel like this. My understanding of my ability even seems to have improved"

" Not bad " Derek nodded aloofly, he really did not know, the mana stones were that useful, but he could not let the Genesis Unit know that he was ignorant, so he continued playing the role of a cold warrior. Surprisingly, it worked, the squad even thought he did not want to reveal the secrets of the mana stones.

Andrew folded his arms. "You're hiding a lot more than how these stones work. You're either a scientist with military clearance, or you've been places the rest of us haven't even heard of."

" You have a lot of conspiracy theories, soldier", Derk thought smugly.

Derek's expression didn't change. "I go where I'm needed."

Andrew studied him for a moment longer, then gave a slow nod—not agreement, but understanding. "Right. That kind of man."

He turned back to the others. "We train with this. No short bursts. No cheap tricks. If this is what we've got, we build around it."

No one disagreed. Not even Felix.

Evelyn looked over her shoulder at Derek. "Whatever you've tapped into, keep it coming. This changes everything."

Derek said nothing, just glanced at the last few stones still sitting on the table. They wouldn't last long.

The sun had barely dipped when Derek returned to the college shelter. His boots crunched over broken gravel and glass, but he didn't hear it—his mind was elsewhere, still tallying potential squad upgrades, mapping scavenging routes, counting food stores like they were minutes on a clock.

He didn't notice the figure standing in the courtyard until she moved.

Maya.

She stepped into his path without a word. Slim frame, dark hoodie, one sleeve half-torn at the shoulder. Her eyes were red. Not just tired—red. Like someone who hadn't slept and didn't want to.

Derek stopped, blinking once. "Maya?"

She nodded slowly.

And then, just like that—she started crying.

No sobbing, no screaming. Just silent tears, like a dam finally gave up holding. Her shoulders shook, but she stayed standing. It was the only thing keeping her together.

"I thought I could carry it," she said, voice raw. "I thought if I stayed useful, if I kept helping, it would mean something. But it doesn't. It doesn't."

Derek stood there, unsure of what she wanted him to say. His instinct was to stay quiet. Let the storm pass.

"She died because of me," Maya said, stepping closer. "You know that, right? You probably won't say it, but I know you think it."

"I don't," Derek said quietly.

"She jumped in front of that thing. I froze. Everyone froze. But she didn't. She just ran in, like she always did." Her voice cracked. "And it killed her."

Derek exhaled slowly. "Lila made a choice."

"A choice I forced her into," Maya snapped. "Because she loved me. Because she thought saving me mattered."

He didn't argue. He knew grief didn't like debates.

"I've watched you," she said. "Since that day at school, You had changed. You got stronger. I don't know how, and I'm not asking. But you don't flinch anymore. And I need that."

She stepped forward again, closer than comfort allowed. "I don't want to be saved, Derek. I want to be dangerous."

He looked at her for a long moment. "What are you asking?"

"I want to be able to kill the kind of monsters that took her. I want you to teach me. I want you to make me strong. However, you did it—I want that too."

He exhaled through his nose. "This isn't something you just learn, Maya. It changes you."

Of course, he was mot talking about thew system , the system was his secret, plus he could not share the system's ability even if he wanted.But Mana stones were capable of awakening a normal human.

"I've already changed," she said. "I just haven't caught up yet."

He believed her. It wasn't just desperation in her eyes—it was decision. The kind that makes or breaks a person.

The courtyard was too exposed.

Derek's eyes scanned the surroundings—open space, too many windows, too many ears. He didn't answer Maya right away. Instead, he turned and walked.

She followed, wordless.

Through the broken halls of the college shelter, down staircases still stained with soot and dust. Past the old generator room, down to the sub-basement—a place only Derek knew hadn't collapsed. A storage bunker, once locked for faculty only. Now, it was just… forgotten.

He kicked the door open. The hinges groaned like they hadn't moved in years.

Cool air drifted inside. The room was dark, but dry. Silent. No eyes. No sounds. No watchers.

Only then did Derek finally speak.

"You sure you want this?"

Maya didn't hesitate. "Yes."

He studied her. Her posture was stiff, but not afraid. She didn't shake. Didn't flinch.

"System, .Evaluate her. Give me specifics."

Maya Lorne.Age: 20. Emotional trauma index: 73%. Mental resilience: 62%. Mana Affinity Detected: Cryo-aligned.Potential Path: Icebound Evolution (Unawakened).Recommended: Controlled infusion. Initiate with Minor Talent Stone – Cryo variant.

"Cryo? " Derek asked silently.

A rare elemental affinity. Dormant until triggered by emotional imprint and mana surge. Her grief is the catalyst.

He didn't react outwardly, but the weight in his chest shifted.

He reached into his jacket. The stone he drew out was not a deep black like the previous one. It was a silvery white that shone like the moonlight, the mana stone of the Rank A, Brood Mother Scarab.

He held it up between them. "Hold this. Don't crush it. Don't drop it. Just… feel it."

She reached out slowly. The moment her skin touched the stone, her pupils contracted.

A gust of air swept through the room—not from outside, but from her. The faintest crackle of frost trailed across her fingers, vanishing as quickly as it formed.

She gasped.

Her breath came in sharp, cold huffs. Knees buckled. Derek caught her before she hit the ground, guiding her gently to sit against the wall.

Her hands trembled.

But the stone didn't reject her.

Instead, it glowed brighter. The cold intensified—not freezing, but pure. Clean. The kind of cold that burns without pain. The kind of cold that remembers.

Her lips parted. "I can see… it's like…" She touched her chest. "It's like the air itself is thicker. I can shape it."

Derek watched silently.

She closed her eyes, steadying her breath. A thin film of frost crept across the concrete floor beneath her. Hair lifted faintly as ambient mana curled toward her like drawn breath.

And then—silence.

She opened her eyes. This time, they shimmered faint blue, just for a moment.

"I'm not afraid anymore," Maya whispered.

Derek stood up. "Don't confuse power with healing. The pain's still there."

"I know." Her eyes met his, resolute. "That's why it works."

He nodded once.

"Good."

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