"Well that gives me a lot to think about. But one thing still puzzles me, why were you surprised that I have mana?"

Ele says "Because beastmen have a beast core. A beast core absorbs mana and converts it to life energy which is why beastmen can be so strong. To have mana you either don't have a beast core, or you have such strong mana that it is more than your beast core can absorb. The only known being like that is what you called a dragon."

"Wait, I have a beast core??"

Ele says "As a beastman you should. But my time is running out."

"Oh right, I'm sorry, I lost track of time."

Ele says "Don't be, I've enjoyed our talk. You are quite the interesting being Ash. It makes me wish I could stick around to see what happens next. Hmmm....."

"What?"

Ele says "Well there is one possibility since you have mana. I could attempt to form a bond with you which would make you able to summon me. However you can only form one bond and it would be for the rest of your life."

"Alright let's do it!"

Ele says "What? You didn't even think about it!"

"You are the first friendly being I've met since I was summoned to this world, and who knows how long it will take me to escape this place. If I don't have a friend to talk to I will go insane."

Ele says "Friend? I've never had a friend before! Okay we will try it. First though you need to give me a proper name, Ele won't work since it's just short for Elemental."

I take a long look at her and think about a name for her. It needs to be a good name, something that suits her.

"How about Ruby? Because to me your eyes look like rubies."

Ruby says "I like it! I don't know what a ruby is but I like the sound of it."

"A ruby is a type of gem, normally dark red in color. If they exist in this world I'll show you one when I find one."

Ruby says "Okay. Now when I make the contract you will have to place your blood on it to sign it. Then I will seal the bond with a kiss, now keep in mind I am made of fire so it will burn you. Also the bond will burn itself into your soul, it is going to hurt a lot! Are you still sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I am sure."

Ruby says "Okay I will make the contract now, it only takes a drop of blood. Also I will disappear afterwards because this will consume the last of my mana. While you should be able to summon me immediately please wait about a week before trying as I need time on the other side to recover."

"Okay, got it. Let's do this!"

Ruby holds out her hands about a foot apart and after a minute a scroll made of fire appears. I read it real quick and find no hidden clauses or anything, so I prick my finger and place it on the bottom of the contract. 

Touching the contract burns my finger but then the entire thing starts glowing and the scroll rolls itself up and twists so its ends are pointing at Ruby and me. Then as Ruby leans in to kiss me the scroll stretches and enters both our chests.

'How can lips made of fire feel so soft? And how can this be so pleasant when my lips are being burned?'

I collapse to the ground writhing in pain as Ruby disappears. To me it feels like all the blood in my body has been replaced by fire and I am being burned alive from the inside.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Pain Resist has progressed to level 4!

Pain Resist

Level 4

You feel 45% less pain.

Physical damage reduced by 3%.

*DING* *DING*

Congratulations!! You have gained a new ability!

Due to the contract you have gained Fire Elemental Bond!

Fire Elemental Bond

You are bonded to the Fire Elemental Ruby. Fire Resist +30.

*DING*

Congratulations! You have acquired the skill Summoning!

Summoning

Level 1

MP Cost 100 +5/Hour

You can summon the Lesser Fire Elemental Ruby.

'Ugh! Argh! Oww! That was only sixty percent of the pain? I thought I was going to die!!'

I lay there for quite a while, the memory of pain making me unwilling to move. Eventually my growling stomach motivates me to get up. I grab my spear and head to the mushroom area to catch some dinner.

'Hmm 100 MP +5 per hour? So I can summon Ruby and keep her around for eleven hours maximum.'

I need to either gain more mana or level up the skill to reduce the cost. It says she is a lesser fire elemental? I wonder what the ranks are, I will have to ask her in a week when I can summon her.

I soon catch two fish and head back to my room to roast them. I try to pick up my book and read as usual but I have too many thoughts roaring around in my head to focus on the words. 

So I put the book down and think back over everything Ruby had told me as I eat the fish. Wait, didn't she say something about powering a forge? What forge? Do I have a beast core? How can I find out?

As I think about it I think of meditation, in a lot of manga meditation can be used for a variety of things. I decide to try meditating to explore my body instead of focusing on healing. As I drop into the meditation an outline of my body appears before my mind's eye. 

As I focus on myself the body becomes clearer and then I can see the movement of energy within my body. I see a solid black beast core at the center of my chest. It looks just like the beast cores I have collected and absorbed.

As I focus on it I seem to move closer and closer to it. As I get closer and the image of my body clears I can see energy flowing into my body from outside and then following paths that all lead to the core.

'So this is the mana I am absorbing to feed my core? I wonder if I can affect it? Or the channels it follows?'

So I start experimenting, I soon find I can make small changes here and there. Mainly I am able to smooth out some rough spots in the channels and widen some narrow spots. I am surprised when I suddenly lose the meditation and fall over. I am feeling light headed and weird.

'MP!'

MP: 0/155

So doing things uses MP as the energy to make changes I guess. That just means I need to recover my MP and try again. So I meditate normally for seven hours to recover my MP. Then I go back into the mind-eye meditation, it is much easier the second time. 

This time the channels look good so I focus on the core. As I zoom in I find my core isn't smooth but is covered with ridges and imperfections. I am able to start chipping away but very shortly drop out of the meditation due to my MP hitting 0. 

I again have to stop and meditate for seven hours to recover my MP. Now that I have found out about the inner sight I am obsessed with it. I am about to go back to working on my core when my stomach vigorously objects. I am forced to put it off while I go and catch and cook a couple of fish.

Once my hunger is sated I immediately return to the inner world and go back to chipping away at the same spot. Just before my mana runs out I chip off a flake and find underneath it is red instead of black. Then I lose the meditative state and am once again light headed and feeling sick. So I do another seven hours of meditation to recover my MP.

Core Upgrade process started. Progress 1%.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Meditation has progressed to level 8!

Meditation

Level 8

Wis +8 Int +4 Cha +4

A skill for recovery. HP 30/hour MP 30/hour

'Core Upgrade??? What did I just do?'

Wait, does that mean I need to turn the entire core red? That will take a year with my current mana! Okay I need to improve my mana before I continue working on my core. Wait beastmen all have cores...does that mean so do ratmen? 

I rush to the trash pile and ignore the smell as best I can. I cut open the chest of the ratman I killed. Sure enough I find a small core and remove it, I return to my room with it and wash both it and my hands off. Then I sit down and stare at the core.

*ITEM*

Beast Core

Quality: Lesser

Would you like to absorb it? Y/N

"Yes!"

You have absorbed the Lesser Beast Core. HP +5 MP +5

'That's it?'

No wait it is something, there are twenty-nine more ratmen, this will add up fast. Okay new plan, hunt down everything in the sewers that has a beast core to raise my MP then work on upgrading my core!"