Adam’s POV
Apparently, alchemy is all about creating things that grant special abilities or contribute to the growth of your Nexus Core. It covers a variety of areas, like crafting potions, healing, and even equivalent exchange—which is essentially converting one material into another.
For simplicity’s sake, though, let’s focus on the two essential components: Core Nexus and Core Nodes.
The Core Nexus is basically your personal game system. It tracks your stats, manages your inventory, and ensures everything runs smoothly when you use abilities. For example, if you were to cast a fireball spell, the Core Nexus would handle all the behind-the-scenes activation and mechanics.
Core Nodes, on the other hand, are like skill slots. These are slots in your body, and filling them grants abilities or boosts your stats. For instance, inserting a Fire Node into one slot could give you +10 fire resistance and allow you to cast a fireball spell.
Here are a few key points about Core Nodes:
One, you typically start with 2–3 slots, and you can unlock more as your Core Nexus evolves.
Two, Core Nodes can be crafted through alchemy using any material, with their abilities and stats determined by the quality of the materials and your alchemical skill.
Three, You can remove and reinsert Core Nodes at will, but duplicates aren’t allowed. No stacking two Iron Nodes for double the benefits.
Now, about leveling up your Core Nexus—it’s not like traditional leveling up in a game by gaining experience. Instead, it evolves based on the materials you feed it. Feed it a lot of fiery materials, for example, and your Core Nexus will evolve in a fiery direction, granting you abilities and stat boosts aligned with fire-based attributes.
However, there’s a catch—you can’t just feed your Core Nexus anything. Every material has to go through a purification process to remove impurities before it’s usable, and your core nexus can spit things out that it doesn’t like.
With my body boasting a respectable 32 in Alchemical Mastery—a third of the maximum AM stat achievable by the human body—and Nove’s extensive knowledge of alchemical techniques, I left the processing in her capable hands.
Following her guidance, I extracted some stone and mud, then handed over the raw materials for Nove to work her magic. She planned to create Core Nodes and processed offerings for my second inert “baby core.” I couldn’t wait to see what came of it.
Apparently, inert cores need a little push to get going. I’d initially assumed that feeding them specific materials would dictate their evolution—like turning an inert core into an Iron Nexus Core by feeding it a ton of processed iron. But according to Nove, it’s more of a random draw. Sometimes you hit the jackpot, sometimes you end up with something less useful.
Thankfully, there’s a workaround. If a core evolves into something you don’t want—say a fiery core when you were hoping for something else—you can “reset” it by feeding it specific counter-materials. For example, cooling down a fiery core with icy materials to start over.
The guy whose body I’m borrowing woke up with a Sentient Core, which means he chose to level up his brainpower. Clever for clear thinking and decision-making, but it also explains why he’s no Hercules.
After some time, Nove announced she was finished. She handed me a handful of beads—grey, brown, and one fancy white one.
“Take a look,” she said.
Firstly, The brown bead.
Dirt Core Node (3/6 Stars):
- Stats Increase:
Strength (STR): +3
Vitality (VIT): +3
Metal Weaving Mastery (MV): +2 - Special Attribute: Physical Fatigue resistance: +20%
- Special Ability:
Passive: Hp regen: +1/sec
Nep Regen: +0.5/sec.
Note: Passive ability activates only when user is touching dirt ground, - Special Ability:
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Earthen Grasp (Active): Stability increase by 20% when activated, (useful for resisting pushes, pulls, or maintaining balance on uneven terrain.)
Next, the grey bead.
Stone Core Node (2/6 Stars):
- Stats Increase:
Strength (STR): +2
Endurance (END): +2
Metal Weaving Mastery (MV): +2 - Special Attribute: Defense: +5
Damage reduction: +5% - Special Ability:
Petrifying Strike (Active): Allows the user to deliver a strike that temporarily petrifies a small area of an opponent upon impact, slowing their movements.
Stone Shield (Active): Creates a temporary protective stone shield around the user, absorbing a portion of incoming physical damage when activated.
And finally, the white one.
Muck Worm Core Node (2/6 Stars):
- Stats Increase:
Dexterity (DEX): +2
Agility (AGI): +2 - Special Attribute: Web Senses (Passive)
Echolocation of up 2 meters. - Special Ability:
Sticky Web (Active): Allows the user in creating and utilizing sticky webs for various purposes.
I’ve probably mentioned this before, but seriously—the more time I spend in this world, the more pumped I get. I was itching to celebrate, maybe do a little victory dance with the beads in my hand, but Nove was keeping a close eye on me, so I decided to rein it in.
Still, a question lingered in my mind: why did the guy whose body I’m borrowing leave three Core Nodes empty in his Nexus? Shouldn’t you always have something plugged in there? Even if you’re not using the ability, those stat boosts alone are worth it. But, hey, he’s out of the picture now, so no use crying over his wasted potential.
Nove seemed a bit disappointed herself. She mentioned that she’d only managed to whip up tier 2 and 3-star Core Nodes. Apparently, the kid who owned this body before me could usually craft tier 3 to 4-star Nodes with the same common materials.
Unfortunately, we were missing some key components for higher-level alchemical magic, so this was the best we could manage for now. Not ideal, but better than nothing.
Regardless, I had 4 core nodes slots and one of them was already filled with a 4-star core node. Which was…
Caelum Lapis Node (4/6 Stars):
- Stats Increase:
Intelligence (INT): +10
Wisdom (WIS): +5 - Special Attribute:
Alchemical Attunement (Passive):
Increases proficiency in alchemical activities.
Improves mental clarity and boosts problem-solving skills. - Special ability:
Arcane Attunement (Passive):
Unlocks an innate understanding of Cosmological energies and enhances the user's proficiency in alchemy, allowing for more potent concoctions and a deeper connection to mystical and cosmological elements.
Huh. So that’s why everything felt weirdly normal. I mean, I’ve technically been killed, fought a wannabe god, taken over some kid’s body, and ended up in a completely different world.
I figured my sanity was holding together because of my love for the whole isekai and magic gig, but maybe it was this Core Node keeping me grounded. Who knows?
Anyway, two problems in the plan now.
First, Nove couldn’t process much from the muck worm’s materials, so experimenting with them for my other Nexus Core is a no-no.
No big deal—I’ll just chuck some processed stone and dirt at it instead.
But the second problem?
I glanced at my stats window, and there it was:
Nexus Energy Points (NEP): 2/600
I was running on fumes. NEP or the mana of this world, would slowly regenerate over time, but for now? No Metal Weaving, no alchemy, no Core Node abilities—basically, I was as useful as a wet noodle.
Crafting that short spear had drained over 150 NEP. I didn’t even knew if that was a big or small amount until Nove told me that a regular Metal Weaver would’ve needed only 2 to 5 NEP to craft the same spear.
I. Was. Fuming.
I didn’t care what my other Nexus Core woke up as—it was getting a steady diet of materials designed to pump up my MV stat, no questions asked. This inefficiency had to go.
In the meantime, Nove dumped the rest of the processed materials into my inert “baby” Nexus Core, mentioning it would need some time to digest.
While I waited, I slapped on the new Core Nodes and did a quick scan of my updated stats.
Overall Stats:
Strength (STR): 11 (+5)
Vitality (VIT): 8 (+3)
Endurance (END): 7 (+2)
Intelligence (INT): 36 (+10)
Dexterity (DEX): 12 (+2)
Agility (AGI): 12 (+2)
Wisdom (WIS): 27 (+5)
Charisma (CHA): 8
Metalweaving Mastery (MW): 6 (+4)
Alchemical Mastery (AM): 32
Hehehehe
A mischievous giggle slipped out as I watched the numbers climb. Strength had received a significant boost, and suddenly, the unwieldy spear in my hand felt as light as a feather. The excitement bubbling inside me only grew as I moved on to check out my new skills.
Returning to the spot where my body had first landed, I decided to test out some spear techniques. Sadly, my fancy new abilities remained firmly locked thanks to my abysmally low NEP.
Nove, ever the voice of reason, reassured me. “Your high WIS stat will accelerate NEP recovery after a proper rest, and the dirt node’s passive ability will enhance regeneration as long as you remain in contact with dirt.”
Good to know. But it didn’t change the fact that, for now, I had to rely on basic skills and muscle memory.
I spent a while toying with the spear, practicing thrusts and jabs until I finally felt confident in its handling. It wasn’t perfect, but it was progress.
It’s been a while since I’ve been completely spent, I laid down on the dirt floor, the cool earth beneath was a great welcome considering all the things that has happened to me so far.
Closing my eyes, I let exhaustion pull me into the sleep I desperately needed.