The Mana Harvest

I followed Nahee through the underground, passing countless unknown laboratories. “This is the place.”

When we stepped inside, the room was packed with unidentified equipment, and long rows of capsules filled with green culture fluid stretched into the distance.

“I’m here to see Tosam.”

“Oh my… you’re one of Tosam’s friends? Please follow me.”

One of the researchers, who also had mouse ears like Tosam, guided us to where she was. Inside each capsule, various human bodies were being cultivated.

“This is where we manufacture the bodies for us Ratmen. First-time visitors usually find it fascinating, right?”

It wasn’t like stamping out machines in a factory and simply swapping in custom parts. Every body differed in size, the areas where fur grew, everything.

‘Truly beautiful.’

It was too good a sight to keep to myself, so I shared it with the ghosts.

There were humans with six eyes, people whose beards grew exactly like mouse whiskers, and even tiny fragments so small it was impossible to guess how they would grow.

“Here we are.”

After passing all those bodies, we finally reached Tosam. The body floating in the culture fluid had no missing or underdeveloped parts. It looked like it would open its eyes the moment it was connected to Tosam’s main body.

“When will it be fully completed and ready to come out?”

“The body itself is already finished. The only problem is a lack of power.”

“What kind of power are you referring to?”

“I’ll explain that part, junior.”

Mana.

It was the term for the mysterious energy that could be obtained from anomalies and anomaly spaces.

It was said to be far more efficient than petroleum or any other resource, yet it could also cause impossible supernatural phenomena that defied modern laws of physics.

Stuffing a human into a single bag, a person undergoing complete transformation upon encountering an anomaly—everything was because of mana.

“It’s also required to operate a Ratman’s body.”

Ratmen automatically gathered the necessary amount of mana while wandering anomaly spaces. But when they needed to move into a new body like this, that mana had to be injected manually.

“Does mana run short this often?”

“The supply fluctuates a lot. Especially since the broadcasting station was temporarily shut down this time.”

After the quiz show incident, we could no longer enter the anomaly space known as the Broadcasting Station. Agents had tried to investigate the anomalous phenomena occurring there, but the only thing waiting for them was a notice saying the situation was being handled and to please wait. Entry was forbidden.

“There are still plenty of other places to gather mana, but this one got pushed down the priority list.”

According to Nahee, mana had many uses, including suppressing anomalous phenomena. It was heavily used to control dangerous anomalies as well.

“I don’t have clearance to know exactly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where else it’s used, so I can’t give you the details.”

Tosam remained quiet and well-behaved inside the bag.

“How long will it take to gather enough energy?”

“She should resurrect within three months.”

That’s too long.

‘Tsk. This is troublesome.’

I still hadn’t received the head pats Tosam promised me. What if she forgets and says she won’t do it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anymore?

“I suppose I’ll have to gather some mana. You’ll be doing the same, right, junior?”

“Yes.”

“Normally it’s better to start a little later… but you qualify, and I think you’ll do well.”

The qualification to gather mana began at 9th Grade.

The work itself didn’t change. All you had to do was carry a mana accumulator and travel through anomaly spaces. The harsher the environment, the higher the purity of mana you could collect.

“For a Ratman’s resurrection, you don’t need that high a purity. As long as the quantity is sufficient, even low-purity mana will do.”

However, the more mana you gathered, the more often you would encounter unpredictable events within anomaly spaces.

That was why it was taboo to carry one when accompanying fragile rookies or during civilian rescue missions where lives were on the line.

“So it’s best to gather mana only in places where the escape route is clear and relatively safe. Things can suddenly go wrong, you know.”

“Everything has always gone wrong for me so far.”

“…In that case, you can just carry it around. Here.”

The mana accumulator was heavier than I expected.

“Just fill this up completely.”

“Thank you. I’ll come see you again once I’ve filled it.”

After listening to Nahee’s explanation, the first place that came to mind was my own containment facility.

When you thought about it, couldn’t this place also be considered an anomaly?

There probably wasn’t anywhere with a higher concentration of mana than here.

Before collecting with the accumulator, I ran a density test.

‘The bluer the better, the blacker the worse, right?’

The farther from the center, the blacker it became. The closer I got, the bluer it turned. Especially at the exact center where Mary resided—it was a sky-like blue.

I hurried to begin harvesting, but a status window I hadn’t seen in a while appeared and warned me.

It seemed mana was the core energy source of the containment facility.

By containing anomalies and absorbing their power, it gathered large amounts of mana.

With no other choice, I returned the collected mana.

‘I’ll have to gather it somewhere else.’

The problem was that managing the anomalies in my facility left me with almost no free time.

Even so, I couldn’t abandon management. They were already wasting away even with my care. If I stopped, how much worse would their condition become?

“You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really don’t have to manage us…”

“What are you saying?”

“I was just thinking… maybe you need some time to yourself…”

“Raopf. It looks like you still need more education. Haven’t you come to your senses yet?”

“Hiiik! That’s not it… I just misspoke…”

I had only one body, yet there were multiple tasks that needed doing.

‘I should have caught that doppelganger that ran away after seeing me.’

If it had all my memories and behavioral patterns, it could have managed them in my place.

It was such a shame I let it slip away…

Next time I see it, I’ll definitely catch it.

It seemed everyone had gone through similar worries.

Exactly as DollBloodstain said.

There wasn’t a single anomaly that disliked my management. Any misunderstanding would be unfortunate.

I couldn’t show them Raopf screaming that it liked it, so this was frustrating.

While reading the comments, I came across something strange.

Intruders?

Did they get dragged in randomly like when people get caught up in anomalies?

It seemed everyone had suffered headaches not only from managing anomalies but from intruders as well.