Thane saw the option and quickly agreed.
The TV view changed as it became locked at a distance. It was as if there was a fixed TV that Thane could see at a distance, giving him a complete view of his surroundings.
"Whoa. This is nice. But I'm sure it won't be easy..."
The corpses around him glimmered faintly as glowing arrows and outlines appeared, highlighting where Garron's hands had been.
"Alright... let's try this," Thane muttered, rolling up his sleeves.
The first goblin lay stiff before him. Thane placed his palm on its clammy skin, exhaling slowly, forcing Spirit into his fingertips. The TV overlay guided him to trace the flow toward the stomach.
Thane rewinded and forwarded the TV to see the exact methods that Garron did.
In his first attempt to reach deep into the body, he pushed too hard.
Thane knew what had happened. And so, he uttered the words that you shouldn't say during a brain or heart surgery.
"Oops. My bad." Thane felt that the mana within the organs began to leak.
FWISH! The body began to crumble, and like the scene in Infinity Wars, the monster turned into dust, leaving only the monster core.
A dense mana energy could be faintly sensed. It was thicker than the little light he saw when he killed the Groundlings earlier.
[Celestial TV is absorbing leaking mana energy.]
[Time Dilator skill acquired.]
[Increases Time Dilator to slow time up to three times than normal.]
[Note: Time slowing amplified effects from the Ambrosia will be used up first before the Time Dilator will be active.]
Thane saw the notification and was rather pleased.
"Good... So even though I messed up, I could still gain some benefits from it." Thane smiled.
"But now to the core..."
Thane reached deep into the body and pulled the Core out.
It was rather dim. Thane could still feel some mana from it.
With a quick search on Celestial TV, Thane went back to the first episode of Monster Core Harvesting — From Slimes to Serpents!
The episode flickered back to the very beginning, Garron's familiar grin plastered across the glowing screen. He held up a translucent blue orb, letting it glimmer against the firelight.
Thane fast-forwarded the show with his heart being hurt by skipping several seconds' worth, but since he needed to do this fast, he had no choice.
"Monster cores come in different grades," Garron explained.
"There are two things you need to keep in mind: A Core Level and a Core Grade. Levels depend on what you kill. A Groundling nets you a level one; a Goblin would net you a level two. Hobgoblins would be a level four. But as for the grade?" He tapped the orb with his knife, making it hum faintly.
"That depends on how cleanly you extract it. A sloppy job drains the mana, leaving you with scrap. So you could have gotten a level five core, but if you're extraction is poor, then the grade acquired will naturally be poor. A careful hand seals the flow and preserves the fullness."
"There are numerous grades to watch out for. I pride myself in being able to extract a High Grade at a 20% rate for Level 6 Cores! This means I could extract a Hydra Core, and I'm sure to have it at Mid Grade, but on those rare days, when I'm feeling pretty good, I get it up to a High Grade! I have never acquired a Flawless Grade. And there are rumors of an impossible grade."
The screen shimmered with floating words:
Grades of Monster Cores
Poor Grade – Poorly extracted Core. Only less than 20% of the life mana has been stored.
Low Grade – Mana flow has been directed to the core, reaching between 21-49% of mana in the core. Some energy has been preserved during extraction. A bit more useful, especially for weak cultivation methods. The most common Grades that low-level extractors acquire.
Mid Grade – One or two organs have undergone proper extraction, and the life mana of the creature is preserved, 50-69% of the life mana. Suitable for weapons, alchemy, and training.
High Grade – Massive preservation of mana reaching from 70%-90%. It is possible to acquire a monster's skill or technique through Core Absorption using a High Grade core.
Flawless Grade – A near-perfect preservation of mana from 91%-99% of life mana. This pristine, flawless extraction is believed to be impossible. Sure to have at least two skills or magic spells acquired.
Celestial TV Bonus Info: Divine Grade- 100%-150% of life mana acquired! Only possible if the soul of the beast is sealed and contained. Not possible within the Mortal Realm. Acquiring a perfect 150% will create a Summoner Core!
"Whoa. I didn't expect it to be like that. A Summoner Core, huh?" Thane eyed it and realized the implication of the TV.
"My TV must also grow so I can watch from even more skilled extractors!" Thane vowed to increase his channel subscriptions.
Thane fished the dim gem he'd pulled from the goblin's gut and compared it to the glowing ones on screen. His eyes drooped.
"Poor Grade..." he identified.
Resolute, Thane rolled up his sleeves again.
"Alright, let's try this once more."
Switching back to Episode 8: Goblins, Orcs, and Other Demi-Humans, Thane began to follow the step-by-step procedure.
He followed the overlay carefully this time, letting Spirit thread from organ to organ, watching the glowing arrows. His brow beaded with sweat as he whispered,
"Steady... steady..." But as he made the final cut, the incision was too long, and it created a small gap for the mana to escape.
"Motherless Goat!" Thane cursed with his Christian-safe word.
"Another poor grade?!" Thane groaned, holding his head.
"At this rate, I'm going to start a Poor Grade collection! But I must not give up!"
He pressed on. One corpse after another.
By the time the last goblin lay open, Thane sat slumped against the moss cushion, his arms trembling.
It was exhausting. He needed to concentrate and make sure his hands wouldn't even move the slightest. He never had a steady hand, not with all the coffee he drank in his past life and his undiagnosed ADHD.
Seven cores rested at his side: four dull and cracked (Poor Grade), two faintly glowing (Low Grade), and one with a steady pulse of green light (Mid Grade).
"At least... one win..." Thane sighed, holding up the Mid Grade core with weary pride.
He looked at his small sack. Already stuffed with jerky, moss, and random trinkets, it barely closed. "Where am I even supposed to put these things? I can't just juggle monster cores like apples..."
As if answering his complaint, the Celestial TV chimed.
[TV Inventory space unlocked.]
[Storage Capacity Detected.]
[Total Available Space: 2 GB (Grimoirebyte)]
[Warning: Each monster core consumes approximately 10 MB (Mana-Bytes).]
Thane froze with his mouth left open.
"Wait... The TV's a storage device too?!"
But he did think about it. Most TVs do have storage space.
"Hmm... Seven cores use up 70 MB of space! I recall my TV having over 25 GB of space. This means that the TV has little space... At least for now. I should be able to increase its capacity. For now, I can carry 200 cores with me..." Thane calculated.
One by one, the cores shimmered and vanished into the glow of the Celestial TV screen, leaving Thane's hands free.
At that moment, Thane saw a notification in his profile.
[Net Wealth – 1 Gold, 70 Silver Coins]
[Based on items stored in Celestial TV Inventory]
"Oh? I have money!" Thane grew excited.
Thane browsed the TV settings and found the [Net Wealth Breakdown] section.
[Net Wealth Breakdown]
Equipped Items
Torn Shirt (Bloodstained, Goblin Edition) – Smells like victory. Or like goblins. (Value: 0)
Ripped Pants (SpongeBob Edition) – When I... SKKKKT... Ripped my pants. (Value: 0)
Baggy Underwear of Sus Elasticity – We recommend releasing this one from his oath of service. (Value: 0. Potentially negative resale value. Seriously, change your underwear.)
Worn BootsOf the Arrogant– +1 to slipping on damp rocks. (Value: 0)
Canvas Satchel of Questionable Life Choices– Technically a small bag. Technically, a handy trash bin. (Value: 0)
Item Storage [Celestial TV Inventory: 2 GB (Grimoirebytes) / Used: 70 MB]
4 Poor Grade Groundling Cores – Like cracked marbles filled with the disappointments of a Core Extractor. (Value: 5 Silver coins each = 20S)
2 Low Grade Groundling Cores – Better than Poor Grade, but don't quit your day job.(Value: 25S each = 50 Silver coins)
1 Mid Grade Groundling Core – Actually worth something. (Value: 1 Gold coin each= 1G)
"What the fragment!?" Thane cursed his Christian-safe expression upon reading the TV's assessment.
[Detected various items close by. Absorb all items?]
Thane saw the prompt and selected yes, and the TV flashed out as a magical power shot towards the items around him.
[Newly Acquired Items]
Rusty Groundling Dagger (x3) – + 3 chance of Tetanus (Value: 2 Copper each = 6C)
Crude Wooden Club (x2) – Knocks the arrogance out of you. (Value: 1 Copper each = 2C)
Groundling Spear (x2) – Pointy end goes to your enemies. (Value: 5 Copper each = 10C)
Ambrosia Peel (Celestial Origin) – Residual fragment of divine fruit. Contains the lingering essence of eternity. Cannot be sold. Fate Ownership locked on Thane Weakarm.
[UPDATE]
[Net Wealth]
Gold: 1
Silver: 70
Copper:18
[Celestial TV Inventory: 2 GB / Used: 376 MB Remaining Space: 1.624 GB]
Newly Acquired Items (306 MB)
Rusty Groundling Dagger (x3) – 12 MB each = 36 MB
Crude Wooden Club (x2) – 15 MB each = 30 MB
Groundling Spear (x2) – 20 MB each = 40 MB
Ambrosia Peel (Celestial Origin) – 200 MB
"What?! I nearly threw out the Ambrosia Fruit Peel?!" Thane was shocked that he had left a divine item to decompose on the ground!