Morning broke over the forest, sunlight streaming through the canopy in golden shafts. Ren stretched and rolled out of his tent, feeling the crisp air fill his lungs. Today would be different. Yesterday had been about experimentation and discovery; today, it would be about perfection. He had a clear plan in mind, and every step mattered.
Morning – Sword Training
Ren's first goal was simple but grueling: he needed to refine his two sword techniques—Fury Slash and his combination move—until they could be executed tirelessly and instinctively. He began with Fury Slash, igniting the edges of his sword in controlled bursts of fire. Swing after swing, he focused on rhythm, speed, and precision, ensuring that his mana consumption stayed low.
Each strike carved small channels in the forest floor, leaving the smell of scorched earth and singed leaves in its wake. Sweat dripped from his forehead, but he continued, timing each swing with his breathing. The combination move followed, a fluid sequence of horizontal and vertical strikes, enhanced with subtle bursts of fire to mimic unpredictable battle conditions.
By mid-morning, Ren noticed his muscles were burning, but the technique felt smooth and effortless. He could perform each sequence repeatedly without the overwhelming fatigue he had felt before. Satisfied, he allowed himself a short rest. Rolling onto the grass, he closed his eyes for a brief hour, letting his body recover and his mana stabilize for the afternoon session.
Afternoon – Burst Step Mastery
After his rest, Ren focused on his next target: mastering Burst Step, his personal magic movement technique. Yesterday it had been useful, but today he wanted precision control. The goal was to reduce mana consumption until each step only required 10% of his total mana, making it sustainable for extended combat.
He began by hopping from one tree stump to another, focusing on small bursts of motion, ensuring each landing was soft yet controlled. Each Burst Step required him to concentrate on balance, timing, and mana output. Mistakes meant sharp pains as his body strained against sudden movements.
Hour after hour, he repeated the technique, adjusting how he flowed mana through his legs, core, and arms. By late afternoon, he had finally achieved a consistent, low-cost execution. Every jump felt natural, almost instinctive. He even tested it while sprinting and dodging imaginary attacks, feeling how it could allow him to move through battlefields with efficiency and speed.
Introducing a New Technique – Ice Shuriken
Ren wasn't done yet. Inspired by the frost magic he had begun mastering, he experimented with a new offensive technique: a shuriken made of exceptionally thin ice, crafted to fly fast and strike with precision. The mana cost needed careful calibration; each shuriken consumed 8% of his total mana, leaving him enough for other minor techniques in battle.
He formed the first shuriken, testing its flight path. It spun perfectly, cutting through the air silently, and landed embedded in a tree trunk with a sharp thunk. Adjusting the sharpness and weight, he repeated the process, throwing multiple shurikens in rapid succession. Each throw demanded precise control; too much mana, and the shuriken became brittle; too little, and it lost speed and accuracy.
After several hours of repetitive training, Ren felt the technique was reliable and repeatable, a new tool in his arsenal that combined his ice magic with tactical combat strategy. He made notes in his book, sketching angles, spin patterns, and flight distances, ensuring he could reproduce it under stress.
Evening – Hunting and Earning
By evening, Ren's stomach reminded him that training alone did not sustain him. It was time to hunt, not just for practice, but to earn money to continue supporting his recovery and future training. With his mana now efficiently managed, he ventured toward areas with weaker goblins and low-level monsters, using his skills to subdue them without overexerting himself.
He combined Burst Step with Sky Jet to move swiftly, striking enemies with Fury Slash or his ice shurikens. Each fight was deliberate, allowing him to test his techniques under live conditions. Between battles, he practiced self-healing with his newly discovered personal healing magic, restoring minor injuries and conserving stamina for the next encounter.
The forest echoed with the sounds of combat: the hiss of goblins, the swoosh of ice shurikens, and the faint hum of his mana flowing. By nightfall, Ren had accumulated a modest sum, enough to sustain his next days of training, and he felt a subtle satisfaction—he was becoming efficient, resourceful, and deadly all at once.
Night – Study and Practice
Under the soft light of his tent, Ren opened a personal magic book he had acquired earlier. Tonight's goal was to read, understand, and practice one page of new content, ensuring he internalized the techniques rather than just memorizing them.
As Ren unrolled the page, his eyes widened at the glyphs and notes describing the Smoke Personal Magic. Carefully, he began practicing, focusing on the basics first.
Smoke Wall: Ren exhaled, shaping a dense wall of smoke between two trees. It obscured the view perfectly, testing the limits of how thick and how wide he could make it.
Smoke Form: Concentrating harder, he molded the smoke into his own silhouette. From a distance, it looked convincingly like him, a perfect decoy for ambushes or distractions.
Smoke Alarm/Signal: He experimented by sending small puffs in a specific pattern, imagining they could alert allies in the distance. Timing and concentration were crucial to maintain the pattern.
Poison Smoke: Finally, he mixed a tiny amount of poisonous herbs into the smoke. A faint, greenish haze formed, making him cough slightly. He realized that controlling the toxicity and spread was essential, and noted that overuse could be dangerous even to himself.
By the end of the night, Ren had successfully mastered smoke wall and smoke poison , noting in his book the conditions and limitations. Even a basic smoke wall or decoy would give him an edge in stealth or ambush situations, perfect for future trials.
Lying under the stars, Ren thought about the efficiency of his mana, the synergy of his techniques, and the importance of training beyond just raw power. Each day added precision, control, and strategy to his arsenal. He realized the key was not just mastering magic or swords, but combining them intelligently, conserving energy, and always thinking several steps ahead.
Tomorrow would bring more challenges, more monsters, and more opportunities to refine his abilities. For now, he let sleep wash over him, confident that with every practice, he was moving closer to the peak of his potential.