Old Man: Interesting...
The old man took the Crystal and looked at it, then looked back at Cashew.
Old Man: Where did you get this?
Cashew: you want the short answer or long answer?
Old Man: Short answer.
Cashew: I traveled for a few hours, came across a clearing full of monsters, witnessed a Baby Dragon and this weird monster with those Crystals on its back fighting, the crystal monster shook its body, throwing those Crystals around, more stuff happened and I was able to snag that Crystal.
Old Man: I see... The creature was most likely a Crystalized Mont. As for what the Crystal is... It's a catalyst, to keep the answer simple.
Cashew: Catalyst? Like for a wand or staff?
Old Man: Among other things. The crystals can be used for Wands and Staves, it can be turned into a Mana Crystal, larger crystals can be turned into Orbs, which older wizards love. It's even possible to create a Golem out of these Crystals, you'll need a lot, though.
The Old Man handed the crystal back to Cashew.
Old Man: You only took 1? That's a shame, Wizards would pay good coin for these. But this is good for you, you can replace that makeshift Mana Crystal you showed me earlier... Are you even a mage?
Cashew: I'm capable of using magic, but I never had anyone to compare myself to, so I don't know how good or bad I am.
Old Man: At your age? How old are you? Being able to use magic at such a young age already means you're talented. You're lucky, that Crystal is good for training yourself as well as increasing your Mana pool. Something only magic users from rich and powerful families would be able to do.
Cashew: I see... How do I use the Crystal?
Old Man: Just inject your Mana into it, the same way you'd cast a spell.
Cashew: If I had a Mana Crystal that belonged to someone else originally and it still had their Mana inside it, would I still be able to use the Crystal?
Old Man: If your Mana is more potent then the one who had it before you, then yes. You could inject Mana into the Crystal, your Mana would overpower the old Mana, and Your Mana would eventually convert the old Mana into your own. The speed depends on how much more potent your Mana is. Technically you could convert a Crystal that has even more potent Mana in it than your own, but that would take decades, centuries even. it's honestly not worth it.
Cashew: I see. What should I do with a Mana Crystal that has Mana more potent than my own?
Old Man: Either Sell it, it would eventually find a buyer. or you can try to empty it. Or pay someone else to empty it for you.
Cashew: Does Crystal Size Matter? If I had a Large Crystal, couldn't I turn that into a Mana Crystal too?
Old Man: Yes, you could, but that's honestly a Waste. It's better to turn it into an Orb.
Cashew: I see... What do I do with an Orb?
Old Man: an Orb can be used for many things. It's not limited to one thing either, which is why I said it's a waste to turn a Large Crystal into a Mana Crystal. You can use an Orb like a Mana Crystal, your Orb could have a Pocket dimension inside it, you can use the Orb to spy on people and even the future, you can also find a Dimwitted mage who uses the Orb as a Glorified Mirror. It's up to you to decide what the Orb does.
Cashew: I see... How do you make an Orb?
Old Man: It's a very complicated matter. I know how, but I'm not skilled enough to teach someone else how.
Cashew: I see... So if I had a bigger Crystal, I could pay you to do it?
Old Man: Yes, I could, but you'd need a Crystal much bigger than this, not to mention a lot of coin.
Cashew: a Crystal about the size of an adult humans head? And how much coin?
Old Man: about 20 Silver Coins for me. But I'm not as skilled as others. A real professional could cost you 10 Gold Coins at minimum. As for size... A Crystal the size of a head would be a little small for an Orb, but certainly better than the Crystal you showed me.
Cashew: I see... Oh yeah, what can you tell me about Dragon Meat and eating it?
The Old Man looked at Cashew with a puzzled expression, as if he was questioning if he heard correctly.
Old Man: Eating Dragon Meat? Did I hear you right?
Cashew: Yeah, is it bad?
Old Man: It's... A mixed bag... On one hand, Eating Dragon Meat has several benefits, it can give your body faster natural healing, allowing you to heal anything short of a severed limb on your own with no Restoration magic, it can also increase your Mana pool size and stamina, as well as increase your bodies health.
Cashew: That all sounds great!
Old Man: Yeah, but the downside... Monsters will smell the Dragon on you and they will think that eating you will give them the benefits I mentioned earlier. It can even grant animals intelligence on par with what Man and Elves have. Dragons themselves will also be able to smell it and you'll be marked as an enemy of the Dragon Race, only exception might be Dragons of a different Element. So eating dragon meat will give you a sign above your head that reads "Eat Me!" Which all monsters within a a couple hundred meters will sense.
Cashew: Sounds fun. How much Dragon Meat would I have to eat for the benefits and downsides?
Old Man: It's not fun, My Grandfather died from that, but to answer your question, The more Dragon Meat you eat, the better.
Cashew: I see... Thank you! I'll be back in the near future. I'll also want you to make an Orb for me whenever I do get a Crystal of the appropriate size!
Cashew said as he turned around and rushed up the stairs.
Old Man: Wait! I helped you! name yourself, Dammit!
Cashew: Sorry, Couldn't hear you over the sound of the door opening!
Cashew Rushed out the door and shut it behind him, Finding himself and the store owner looking at each other again.
Cashew: ...
Merchant: ...
Cashew: You said that 98 Copper Coins can buy me directions to the exit?
Merchant: Fuck off!
He said with an annoyed tone, diverting his attention back to his book. Cashew chuckled and exited the store, Working his way back to the gate to leave.
On his way to the gate, Cashew noticed that the Massive Guard from before was still there, Cashew stopped, Looking at him. The guard stopped and was looking at Cashew back.
Massive Guard: You... Back?
Cashew deciding to test this new Energy he has, he didn't respond to the Massive Guard and bolted, Running at a speed faster than he was when he first ate the dragon meat, the speed isn't too fast for the Massive Guard, but it's still fast enough for him to notice and be caught off guard by it.
Cashew was able to Zoom past the Halberd and ran away, avoiding the Massive Guard and heading home.
This time, It took Cashew 3 Minutes to Run back to his new home from the Village, shooting inside and forcing himself to stop, Crashing into the bed by accident, this really hurt and Cashew felt a few ribs and even the bone in his bicep break.
But thanks to the dragon meat, His broken bones started to heal themselves. Healing up in the span of 20 seconds. Granted, it was the most painful 20 Seconds of Cashews life, but the bones were still healed.
Looking at the bed, The bed was bashed forward, crashing into the wall and the wood breaking, the legs were fine and the part of the bed you lay on was fine, but the footboard was broken.
Cashew sat down on the chair and pulled out the Crystal he showed the Old Man, looking at it, Cashew also pulled out the Mana Crystal he obtained from the bandit, comparing the two, trying to see if there is a way to tell how much Mana is in the Crystal. The best Cashew could come up with is the Crystal maybe gets darker the more Mana is inside of it, like a glass cup full of Water, injecting Mana makes the water murky and the more Mana you add, the murkier the water? Cashew doesn't know.
Cashew: Well, Here goes nothing...
Cashew started to inject Mana into the new Crystal, he imagineed the Crystal in his hand and Mana flowing from his palm into the Crystal, which seemed to work. And Cashews guess seemed right, the more Mana a Mana Crystal has inside it, the darker it is. Cashew kept pumping in Mana into the Crystal until he was really tired. Which took a lot longer than Cashew expected, it took 3 minutes for Cashew to get tired to the point of wanting to sleep.
Cashew: I feel like I do have more Mana now... I'll do this until Mana Exhaustion and Cast spells tomorrow. My previous limit was 43 Ice Spikes, I Wonder what my new limit is.
Cashew injected some more Mana into the Crystal and eventually Mana Exhaustion kicked in, sending him into a 12 hour long sleep.
...
Cashew Woke up and saw that he was still in the chair, he ended up dropping the Crystal and it Rolled a meter away while asleep. Cashew doesn't feel as energetic as he did yesterday, but he still feels more energetic than normal.
Cashew: Was all the Energy I had yesterday only temporary or do I feel less energetic because I just woke up?
Cashew Pondered the reason, but decided to drop it and move on. Deciding to Eat more of the Dragon Meat.
Cashew: Where did I even put the Dragon Meat? Did I carry it with me?
Cashew checked his shoulder bag and found the meat in there.
Cashew: I don't remember putting it in there. Oh God, I hope the books are fine...
Cashew went back to where he had created a makeshift campfire the other day, added more wood from the destroyed Bedside table and started cooking more of the dragon meat, reading the spellbook on Runes while he waits for the meat to cook.
Cashew: Since I have a larger Mana pool now and I plan to live here for the time being, I should study up on runes to defend the place. Those bandits mentioned a Boss Boss. I don't know when, but that Boss Boss might return here during my stay. I should get the placed defended for then.
Cashew took the meat off the fire and took a bite out, still finding the meat bland as well as finding himself feeling full after one bite.
Cashew: I'm surprised the stuff doesn't seem to burn. Does it not burn because it's dragon meat or does it not burn because the meat came from a fire breathing Dragon?
Cashew put the meat away and resumed to reading the Book on Runes.
Cashew: Maybe I could try creating a Golem again?
Cashew Pondered.