I woke to the sound of the door opening.
Click.
A guard stepped into the cell, placed a crate of food on the table, and left.
I felt sluggish as I turned my head toward the door and was only able to see his back as he disappeared into the corridor.
My clothes were drenched in sweat and clung to my skin.
Haah.
Another nightmare.
This one had been quite intense.
But still…
They were just nightmares.
I would wake up, and everything would be over.
Just like right now.
But…
Something was strange.
The guard had opened the door and brought another crate of food. That meant it was already morning.
Yet the strange part was—
There had been no fight.
They didn't wake me, and I wasn't brought to the arena to fight.
That was unusual.
It was good that I had gotten more time to sleep, but it still felt strange when the schedule suddenly changed.
But there was nothing I could do about it. The guards wouldn't tell me anything even if I asked.
So the only thing I could do was keep going.
Training.
Resting.
And then fighting.
Haah.
I let out a breath before climbing down from my bed. With both feet on the ground, I glanced around the cell as I walked toward the table.
It was still empty, with only me left inside. But the crate they had brought was enough for a whole group of teens.
That meant I would soon receive new cellmates.
It didn't really matter to me whether I was alone or had others in the cell, as long as they didn't try something like the teens before.
If they did—
I would kill them again.
Knowing that I would be punished wouldn't stop me.
Taking some bread and meat, I headed out of the cell and toward the arena.
The arena was empty when I arrived, with only a few guards inside. Walking toward the weapon rack on the left, I grabbed my sword and headed toward my usual training spot.
Step.
I planted my feet firmly into the sand and placed the sword tip-down into the ground as support and leaned against it.
There were some things I needed to check first. Yesterday I hadn't had the time, but now...
My advancement.
I had reached the Third Stage on the Path of Mana.
But what did that mean?
I only knew about the first two stages—and even that only partially. My sword instructor had no reason to explain it to me, as I was still at the first stage. And the pieces of information I had learned from our knights or Lucien gave me some knowledge, but not much.
So—
Third Stage—the True Awakening.
What had changed?
There was one thing I had already noticed after waking up.
My mana lines.
I had always kept a small amount of mana flowing through them. Before, it had required no effort. But now I needed to concentrate to maintain it.
The mana flowing through them had changed as well.
I used only a minuscule amount—just enough to feel it and keep the lines active—but while before there had been almost no physical effect, now my body felt slightly stronger.
Not by much.
But enough to notice.
Simply walking felt a bit faster than before, and my steps seemed heavier—even though I hadn't consciously enhanced myself.
It was as if the small amount of mana circulating through my mana lines was already partially strengthening my body.
The sensation was strange.
As if I had gained kilos of muscle while sleeping. My mind and body were no longer in tune like before.
I would need some time to adapt to the change.
Closing my eyes, I focused on my core.
There had been a change there as well. My core, which had once felt like a small point located in my heart, now felt larger.
Much larger.
It almost felt as if my entire heart had become the core itself.
It was difficult to describe.
There was a heavy sensation in my chest, and my heartbeat felt stronger.
Not louder—
Just more powerful.
Each beat resonated with my core, sending a faint ripple of mana through my chest. And my chest also felt warmer than usual, especially around my heart.
Not hot.
Just a comfortable warmth.
Lastly—
The mana itself felt different.
Thicker.
Denser.
I noticed it the moment I focused on my core.
Seeing that my mana had changed, I opened my eyes again and decided to test it directly. Lifting my sword into position, I took a breath and prepared myself.
Like always.
Step.
Stepping forward, I performed a diagonal slash, cutting through the air.
Shing.
I had trained mana control to such a degree that the mana followed my movements without conscious effort. And that hadn't changed after the advancement.
But—
The mana stopped halfway through the swing.
"Argh."
Pain shot through my mana lines, making me wince.
I placed the sword, tip-down, into the sand again and focused on what I had felt during the swing.
The mana that was about to flow into my arm, enhancing it, suddenly stopped before collapsing completely.
Then came the pain.
It hurt.
That wasn't normal.
I concentrated on the feeling again.
The mana had felt…stuck.
But I wasn't sure.
So I tried again.
This time without the sword.
I raised my arm into a simple boxing stance and punched forward, the mana followed my movement, about to enhance my arm.
When—
"Argh."
Pain flared up again, and the enhancement broke down mid-punch.
'Again.'
I clenched my jaw shut and tried once more.
Swoosh.
The result was the same.
Why?
I had suspected it after the first punch.
Now I was certain.
It wasn't that the mana only felt thicker and denser.
It truly changed.
The mana, which was like clear water, turned into something thicker, like oil. It kept getting stuck in my thin mana lines every time I used it.
The amount of mana I used during each movement was already ingrained into me like muscle memory. But now that same amount of mana was too thick for my small mana lines to pass through.
That was the problem.
It meant that I needed to adjust my mana control to the new density.
But in return—
This denser mana should allow me to use more strength once I properly controlled it.
But that was only a guess.
I wasn't quite sure about it, but it sounded logical.
However, there was another major problem.
My senses.
I had felt it the moment I woke up.
My mana lines were connected to my eyes, ears, and nose, constantly enhancing them for better senses.
And the result?
Too sharp.
That was the best way to describe it.
My senses had become overly sensitive when enhanced. The amount of mana I used to strengthen my sight, hearing, and smell was now too much for me to handle.
It felt like those times when I tried to fully enhance my senses and adapt to it.
I got a heavy headache and felt dizzy. My stomach twisted, and I had to force the vomit down.
The denser mana was just too strong for sensory enhancement. I would have to carefully adjust the amount of mana I used before trying again.
Haah.
I let out a long breath as I counted the problems I faced, but in short, it could be summarized in one sentence.
'I needed to refine my mana control.'
It was annoying to start this kind of training again. I had completely perfected my mana control and ingrained it into my body like muscle memory, using it without conscious thought.
And now I had to start from the very beginning again?
I frowned at the thought, but it was only for a moment.
Yes, I was annoyed by it.
But at the same time, it was good.
I had already hit a wall with my mana control, and there wasn't much left to refine or learn about the sword or my other techniques.
Focusing on a new goal would help me with my boredom.
Haah.
I let out another breath as I came to a conclusion.
There was no point in practicing my swordsmanship right now. I first needed to focus on my mana control.
Mana was the foundation of everything.
My punches or swings wouldn't hit if I couldn't use mana. Dodging as well was impossible if I couldn't see or even react to my opponent's moves.
Shish.
I pulled my sword out of the sand and walked toward the arena wall.
Step.
My feet halted as I reached it, and I slammed the sword back into the sand. I followed, lowering myself to the ground and sitting with my back leaning against the cold wall.
My legs shifted through the sand, and my back brushed against stone as I adjusted my posture, sitting more comfortably.
Martial Arts novels or anime always mentioned a specific seating posture, but that wasn't really true.
I had tried it once, thinking that it might really help with my concentration.
It didn't.
I just wasted two hours of my life on some author's imagination.
Haah.
I let out a breath and forced these thoughts away before focusing on my core.
Or rather—
My heart.
I closed my eyes and focused on the mana inside it.
The raw power I felt from it couldn't be compared to before.
Haaah.
I took a deep breath, relaxing before I started to guide the mana from my core through my mana lines and toward my stomach.
I tried to keep the amount of mana as small as possible.
But even then—
Pain flared through my mana lines.
It felt like it pressed against them as I tried to push it through, slowly bending them.
The mana was simply too dense. Reducing the amount wouldn't solve the problem.
So there was only one option.
Adaption.
I had to slowly push the thicker mana through my mana lines and force them to expand. My mana lines had to become wider if I wanted them to handle the new density.
Guiding a little more mana into them, I began.
I pushed the mana slowly through a short section of the line. Then I held it there and waited. I endured the pain until the line slowly stretched before I focused on the next section.
It was a painful process.
But adaption was the only solution I knew.
It kept me alive until now.