I widened my eyes.
Some of my mana veins were damaged?
"Dammit…"
I grit my teeth. "I knew using aura at full throttle was a bad idea..." I muttered, digging deeper into my body with mana.
Wait—my heartbeat's weird.
It's off-rhythm, and when I look closer—
"…what the hell?"
My blood. It's faint, but there's a yellow hue swimming through it. And the mana I'm using to inspect my body—it changes. From light blue to dark blue… with a hint of red the moment it touches my blood.
"Don't tell me…"
My eyes narrow. "The Dragonic beasts… when they exploded… their blood must've got into my wounds..."
I focus harder, tracing the flow of blood through my body. It's subtle, but that stuff's everywhere now. In my heart, in my veins—circulating with every beat.
And it's doing something.
My healing—it's faster. My veins—tougher. The damaged ones? They're recovering. Not naturally either. It's like something's forcing them to adapt.
But the longer I look, the more I realize—
It's not all good.
The fusion isn't perfect. Some veins look warped, mutated. If this keeps up, my own blood might get overridden entirely.
"This could kill me... or make me something else entirely."
---
An hour passes. I finish gathering mana.
My core stabilizes. Rank 5—Sword Beginner.
I flex my hand, then slowly stand. "This should be enough mana to start training."
I stretch first. Gotta make sure I don't pull something again. Then I head to the corner of the basement and grab the wooden sword I bought earlier.
"…Shit. Heavier than I remember."
I smirk weakly. "Perfect for training anyway."
I start swinging. Slowly. Carefully. Letting my body remember the flow.
Vertical. Horizontal. Slash. Stop. Reset. Again.
It's frustrating. My aim sucks. My form is shaky.
"This is hell... I can't even aim properly…" I hiss, wiping sweat from my brow.
I keep at it. One move at a time. Slashing with the 'Heaven Slaying Arts' like I used to.
Over and over. Over and over.
Until it's muscle memory.
I take ten-minute breaks here and there. But I don't stop.
---
5 hours later.
I drop the blade. My body's screaming.
"Ungh... it hurts…" I groan, gripping my right arm. I collapse. The floor feels cold.
My breath's ragged. Arms and legs—covered in bruises. My fingers? Swollen.
"I can't believe I have to go through this again…" I mutter, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Tomorrow… I'll just cultivate mana.
This? This was hell.
I force myself up, legs shaking like a newborn deer. I climb the ladder and head into the library, stumbling into the kitchen.
"…So slow… my legs fucking hurt…" I mutter, grabbing some bread and meat. I eat in silence.
Afterward, I clean the table.
"Hah… I should rest. My body hurts so damn much… shouldn't have gone that hard..." I grumble, wiping the table down before pushing the chair in and heading upstairs.
Every step up the staircase creaks under me.
I get to my room, pull out the chair, and open the drawer. Notebook's still there.
I check the to-do list. Done for the day. I toss it back in and grab a dusty old book about sword basics.
"…Can't believe I have to learn this shit again…" I sigh.
Page by page, I read. Memorizing. Burning it into my head.
By the time I finish, the moon's already up.
"UNGH! Finally finished."
I push the chair in, blow out the lantern.
Stumble to bed.
Collapse.
Sleep creeps in fast.
A new day awaits me tomorrow...
---
End of Chapter
---
[Author's Note]
Yo, Author here. Quick heads-up—starting after this chapter, I'll be dropping 6 to 7 chapters a week.
That's right. You're eating good.
Alright, that's all.
Back to the grind for me.
– Author out.