Now, two cores were floating in his mindscape. The cores were crystalline with a subtle glow over them, spinning slowly near him.
Zephyr took a deep breath and moved closer to the core. His excitement made him tremble ever so slightly as he approached the cores.
'I have done it.' He said again wearing a big smile.
The first step of his plan had succeeded. There was hope to survive the future ordeal.
His mind that was working overtime slightly relaxed.
'The two cores mean I can use both to gather mana from now on. In the end, it all worked out.'
Although it took hours to plan and form the core, he was still thrilled by what it meant.
'With a core it took hours, but by adding one more into the equation, the third core would be easier to form. The fourth would be even easier. If everything goes as expected, I will soon catch up to my peers.'
He smiled and observed the newly formed core.
It was the exact duplicate of the one he originally had. That meant he would be able to engrave the mana gathering rune on it to fasten the next core formation.
Although just engraving mana gathering runes crippled the spell functionality and required his constant monitoring to function, it was better than nothing. And when you think about it, if he had enough cores, at least 96, he could attach the cores in a circle and engrave the runes on each core to emulate the original mana gathering spell. It would allow him to gather mana passively, quicker. After all, the main difference between a mage and everything else is their ability to gather mana passively.
Zephyr had already thought of all that before selecting multi-core formation as his method to gain power. So, he was thrilled but not surprised by what he saw.
'I need to become a core printing machine to surpass my peers. If I can't have stronger, larger cores, I will make a lot of cores to out shine them.'
Zephyr giggled and opened his eyes.
The night had passed by. Through the seams on the window, he could see some light flow into his room, illuminating his desk.
It was the sign of a new dawn.
Zephyr rubbed his eyes and promptly stood up. The neatly stacked papers on the table fluttered as he moved to slam open the window.
"Thud."
The window opened outwards sending a breath of fresh, cold air towards him.
'It's a nice day.'
When Zephyr looked outside, he could see a thin veil of mist covering everything around his house. The subtle rays of the sun were struggling to pierce through the mist.
'Cold and humid.' Zephyr muttered and glanced at the sky. 'Perhaps the storm season is really here.' he added while watching the overcast sky.
Like waves, the rain clouds were tumbling around in the sky signaling a possible storm.
'I need to go to the lighthouse to check the weather.'
His duty as the stormkeeper was to monitor the change in weather. If there was a storm, he was required to pass on the information to the village chief and to the landlord. Many lives depended on him providing the right information at the right time to survive.
Take the fishermen for example. Each day, they go to the sea to catch fish. If a storm blasts over the sea at that time, the giant waves that were created during the storm could topple their boats.
A small boat will have at least five to ten people working on it and all of them could die if they accidentally got caught in a storm. So, Zephyr, the only mage in the entire village, had one of the most important jobs.
'I can't avoid going to the lighthouse.'
Zephyr muttered and walked away from the table.
'Then there is the issue about the crabs and the odd island.' He added massaging his forehead.
The sleepless night had taken a toll on him. Zephyr felt a little drowsy albeit spending the later half of the night in meditation.
'Meditation can't replace sleep. But at least, it allows my body to recover. I should think about that when I am doing something similar next time.' Zephyr made a mental note.
After that, he washed his face, ate some bread and made his way to the lighthouse, donning the washed out grey mage robe.
Unlike yesterday, the entire hill and village next to it was all covered in a thin layer of mist. Even as the sun rose into the sky, the mist persisted for a while, decreasing the visibility near the beach.
Zephyr walked along the village path cautiously before reaching the base of the lighthouse. The salty humid scent of sea drilled into his nostril as he climbed the spiraling stairway of the lighthouse.
Today, Zephyr was early. The sun had just risen and the warm light of it had just begun to heat the air. So, he felt a little chilly up there.
Still, without wasting any time, Zephyr pressed on the weather forecasting instrument and channelled mana into it.
Because of the new core, he didn't have to exhaust himself like before. After waiting for a few seconds, the instruments showed the result.
'Zzz'
With a slight buzzing sound, the metallic slab-like instrument began to glow in a blood red hue.
'Ah! Damn it.'
Just like the clouds above, Zephyr's face darkened.
'Red basically confirms that there will be a storm. And looking at the depth of the colour, it seems like the storm would be a nasty one.'
"Sh*t." Zephyr cussed.
It was not good news. In fact, it was the exact opposite of good news.
'I should probably go meet the village chief.'
Zephyr said to himself and walked out of the lighthouse.
Because of coming earlier than usual, there was no one except Zephyr near the lighthouse. So, to inform the village chief, he would have to walk all the way to the village hall.
Massaging his head once more, Zephyr gathered the remaining energy in his feeble body to make his way towards the village hall.
He was initially planning to use the rest of the day to create more core. But that would have to wait until he informs the village chief.