Within a few minutes, Kale had carved the small gap on the hilt of the black wooden dagger into the right shape.

’The beast core should fit into the hole perfectly now,’ he surmised, looking back and forth, comparing the circular shape of the two.

After that confirmation, Kale put his hand onto the dim Beast Core once more, and the familiar pain rushed through his veins again, this time with even greater intensity. It was like he had put his hands on a fence with 500 watts of electricity running through it.

If it weren’t for his stronger-than-normal physique and endurance earned from slaying a dragon, he would have had a seizure, falling unconscious as his brain would automatically shut down all operations.

Of course, Kale was prepared, instantly injecting the Beast Core with the measured force of bloodlust to keep the maddened Beast Will in check.

With his unique perception, he had observed the process for many other candidates, just to be cautious, on what exactly happens, for the real part of the toolcraft process when the Beast Core is placed upon the gap of the Black wooden dagger’s hilt.

To his shock, he found that the price of making even the smallest mistake in this part of the operation was downright devastating.

From what he could make out from the distant murmurs of the association personnel who were treating the unconscious failed candidates, there was a 20% chance for everyone who became unconscious to go into a state of coma.

Because upon failure, the Beast Will of the Core would explode, scarring the minds of the candidates badly.

This made Kale extremely apprehensive; it was like editing a genome sequence, but with one mistake, your own DNA pattern would be messed up as a price for failure.

Kale could only clench his teeth and push the Beast Core gently into the circular gap of the dagger’s hilt.

And the moment he did so....

RAAAAAWWWRRR!!!!

The howl of the Beast Will became even more crazed, and the creature realized what was happening, coupled with the Curse flowing through Kale’s veins.

The damned Beast started to attack his mind violently, and the Beast Core began to glow in such a chaotic manner that, if the stupid orb were placed in a dark room.

One would think that it was a disco ball for a party, albeit with fewer color options.

’Goddamn it,’ cursed Kale in indignation.

Even with a greater push of his killing intent, he was unable to suppress the Beast Will, as if it was hellbent on either being erased by him or self-detonating just to injure his mind.

Kale’s mind and body both began to quiver; the Beast Core was vibrating too strongly, and his mind was also constantly being injured at the same time, barely managing to fight against the mental roars of the Beast Will.

Yet at this moment, due to the violent clamors of the Beast Will that rattled both his body and mind, Kale felt a certain well of power loosen within his body. By pure instinct, he decided to take a leap of faith, closed his eyes, and focused on this sensation.

The feeling was coming from near his forehead, the soul sigil mark, no....

To be precise, it was from the area of his Brain’s frontal lobe, and his black soul sigil mark began to shine in a strange hue, as if spots of glittering stardust were lighting up all around him. The wrap around his forehead magically came undone.

But Kale did not pay any heed to that phenomenon, as a rush of new energy filled him, tearing through his body, reaching all corners, through his blood vessels. Wherever the energy passed, he felt this energy was reinforcing his physique.

Kale’s eyes opened wide, and he realized instantly that this empowering energy was ’Mana’.

This pleasant discovery was followed by the mechanical voice of the Beast Mutation System speaking directly into his mind.

[You have gained the skill Mana Sense-lv1]

[You have gained the skill Mana Control-lv1]

[You have gained the skill Mana Enhancement-lv1]

An even greater sense of understanding, as well as control for the Mana, washed over his mind. Kale’s eyes shone brightly as he spread the mana all over his body; his physical strain from handling the vibrating core lessened considerably.

He did not have the time to check the description of these three skills, as he still had to subdue the Beast Will properly, and a small smile tugged at Kale’s lips. He realized the game here, without hesitation, he poured some of his mana onto the Beast Core.

Immediately, the Beast’s retaliation lessened. But this was a different kind of suppression in contrast to him, using the killing intent. It was almost like he was chaining down the Beast Will with his mana.

’The mana can interact with the Beast Will. So, it can act as a binding material against this abstract entity.’ Kale’s expression was ecstatic.

Kale poured more mana onto the Beast Core and tried to fine-tune that mana into making a wrap around that ethereal entity in a way that it could not move anymore. He also realized that the method through which this Beast Will would retaliate against him was also through the use of mana.

But as he was not able to sense or control the mana within him, he was previously helpless against it, only using the killing intent to suppress the Beast Will, which may have worked to an extent if not for the curse, but it wasn’t the right method.

Kale discovered another thing: controlling the mana was extremely taxing on his mind; in fact, he felt his mental power being drained rapidly.

He had a feeling that if this drain on his mental power from trying to control the mana forcibly became too great, he would instantly lose consciousness.

Kale’s face was already stark pale; in his excitement, too much mental power to control the mana was wasted by him.

With a grunt, he maintained utmost focus and slowly stopped injecting his killing intent. Eventually, as the frenzied Beast Will was forced to stay still under the oppressive weight of his mana, from the spot where the Beast Core was placed, threads of white colored chaotic veins started to spread around the black dagger.

It was almost like the Beast was a seed of a tree, and his mana was like water. Upon watering the seed, it slowly began to spread its roots, and the black dagger was the mud on which the tree would grow.

These white roots spreading from the Beast Core would also act as a strengthener for mud. In exchange, the roots would absorb nutrients from the soil.

Thus, a harmonious cycle of give-and-take would be established among these items of toolcraft, in which each feeds on the other, like a food chain in an ecological system.

The Beast Will is like the soul of the tree,

The Beast Core is the body of the tree,

The white veins from the Beast Core spreading throughout the dagger are the roots. Through the roots, Energy from the Core goes onto the dagger, but from the wooden dagger, some nutrients are also absorbed into the Beast Core, feeding the Beast Will within.

From time to time, the tree would need to be watered; the water here would be his mana.

Thus, once the process was complete and the Beast Will was fully stabilized, the dagger would become a Magic artifact possessing supernatural might beyond the mundane. Worthy of being wielded by an apprentice-ranked awakened.

All of this took only a few seconds for Kale to grasp, as his understanding of the core process of toolcraft solidified. His green eyes shone with a brilliant light, as if he were experiencing an epiphany; as a result, all the worldly mana surrounding him began to vibrate madly. Rushing towards him.

A strange radiance of brownish hue materialized from the mana surrounding him, making his figure glow in an enchanting light that caught the attention of not only the candidates but also the three judges simultaneously.

The moment the Toolcraft grandmaster saw this, his pupils widened in disbelief, and his hands trembled. The other two also had extreme reactions that they could not hide. The Pillcraft Grandmaster, who was always wearing a gentle expression, now had a stern look.

Even the Association Leaders’ 7th disciple’s eyes flashed a sharp and focused glint of curiosity.