Chapter 11
That place was a small cave located in the middle of a sheer cliff.
Its location was already advantageous, but the entrance was so narrow that it was almost impossible to detect from the outside.
Since it was on a cliff, it could prevent monsters from approaching, making it the perfect place to clear this stage.
Of course, anyone who had bought the information notebook would naturally aim to come here.
The fact that it was such a good spot meant that everyone would desire it.
However, I entered the raid dungeon as soon as the event started and rushed to the second stage with almost no rest.
In other words, I was currently part of the leading group.
And that leading group wouldn’t have had time to accumulate Gold.
Therefore, there shouldn’t be anyone here who could have bought the information notebook other than me.
So, I didn’t have to worry about anyone finding this place.
Rustle. Rustle.
‘This should do.’
I piled branches and grass on the cave floor to make a bed.
Then, I checked my inventory.
It was stocked with preserved food, including salted meat, vegetables, and grains, for emergency long-term storage.
The inventory was full of enough food to last the entire 7 days.
‘I just need to endure here for 7 days.’
I planned to stay put until the stage ended.
Since the cave was on a cliff where monsters wouldn’t find me, I could just sit and wait.
For the record, starting from the second stage, there were bonus raid points that could be earned under specific conditions.
The final reward would vary depending on how many of these bonus raid points I could accumulate.
To earn these, specific conditions needed to be met in each stage, and for this stage, the bonus condition was:
[Avoid encountering monsters as much as possible]
This condition meant I had to stay hidden in my shelter as much as possible.
It seemed to match the survival theme, implying that combat should be avoided as much as possible.
‘If I didn’t know this condition, I would have thought I had to earn achievements and would have tried to kill as many monsters outside as I could.’
That’s why buying the information notebook was essential.
Without knowing, it was impossible to earn the points.
Of course, there was the dilemma of having to slow down the stage progress to earn the Gold to buy it.
But I broke through that dilemma head-on.
I was now in the most advantageous position among all the participants in every aspect.
***
Meanwhile, there was something I had to do while staying in this hideout for 7 days.
It was to increase my proficiency in Mana Breathing.
The method to increase skill proficiency was simple.
The more and more frequently you used the skill, the faster the proficiency increased.
With that in mind, the best way to quickly increase proficiency in Mana Breathing was:
To deplete my mana as fast as possible and then refill it.
I hadn’t had time to do this simple task due to the raid preparations and other responsibilities.
But now, I had time to sit still and do this.
‘Earn points and increase skill proficiency.’
Now was the perfect time.
Reaching 100 proficiency in Mana Breathing would grant a remarkable recovery rate of 10% per second.
What I was aiming for was the ‘true reward’ that awaited beyond that.
“Hoo.”
I sat down, controlled my breathing, and focused my mind.
Then, I took out a weapon from my inventory.
In my hands, a pair of cestuses were equipped.
They wrapped around my hands with thin leather straps, similar to the taping done by martial artists.
I used the skill that consumed my mana the fastest.
‘Sphere of Inferno.’
Whoosh.
Black flames erupted from my right hand.
In an instant, 100 mana was consumed.
I then used Mana Breathing in that state.
“Sss…”
As mana began to refill, the flames on my hand extinguished.
This was originally a penalty of Mana Breathing, but now it worked as a convenience for proficiency training.
It skipped the process of managing the skill after casting it.
“Hoo…”
After refilling my mana to the maximum, I cast Sphere of Inferno again.
Then, Mana Breathing.
The flames extinguished, and the mana refilled.
I repeated this process over and over.
{Your proficiency in Mana Breathing has increased. 16 / 100}
Before long, a message appeared indicating an increase in proficiency.
At this rate, I could reach the maximum level quickly.
‘Faster. Even faster.’
The repetition grew quicker.
The higher the proficiency, the more mana Mana Breathing recovered.
Initially, it was about 2% per second.
It took around 50 seconds to refill completely.
Later, it was 20 seconds, and when the proficiency was near 100, it took only about 10 seconds.
Skill activation, Mana Breathing, skill activation, Mana Breathing.
This cycle continued at intervals of less than 10 seconds.
This wasn’t like meditative breathing practices in martial arts stories where you’d lose yourself in deep focus.
For 7 days, in this cramped cave, I felt every single minute and second vividly, endlessly repeating the same action.
When the time came, I ate, slept, and did brief stretches.
Then I sat back down and resumed the process.
To be honest, it was maddening.
Being cut off from the outside world, unable to meet anyone or use any communication device, made this task truly gruelling.
At times, I thought it would be better to wander outside, watch nature, and fight monsters each day to survive.
But.
‘Endure. Endurance is victory.’
I didn’t give up until the end.
When you think about it, it was only 7 days.
A fleeting moment that would pass so quickly outside that you’d barely notice.
I couldn’t let myself burst out of here just because I couldn’t endure it.
Thus, I bore the endless, repetitive days with a sound mind for exactly six days.
{Time Remaining: 0 days, 22 hours, 49 minutes, 17 seconds}
{Your proficiency in Mana Breathing has increased. 100 / 100}
Finally, I reached it.
Mana Breathing proficiency 100.
And then.
{The source that has been steadily supplying mana within you transforms into a new form.}
{A mana chamber forms in your chest.}
{You have acquired the trait <Mana Heart>.}
The ‘true reward’ was given to me.
Woong.
A resonance was felt in my chest. It wasn’t a sound that could be heard with ears. Nor was it a vibration that could be felt through the skin.
The Sixth Sense.
The sixth sense that allowed me to feel the flow of mana within my body.
‘The mana spread throughout my body is moving.’
As soon as I tried to sense it, this act of observation itself caused a ripple within my body.
I tried to manipulate the ripple more artificially and move the mana within my body as I pleased.
Then it began to circulate.
A wave of power moving from the fingertips to the shoulders, from the shoulders to the abdomen, from the abdomen to the legs, down to the tips of the toes, and then rising back to the top of my head.
It was never easy to move this wave according to my will.
However, the more I felt it, the clearer the sensation became.
At first, I could only create a ripple that pushed the water flow, but later I was able to draw out the water flow.
Finally, I succeeded in gathering all the mana that had been evenly spread throughout my body into one point in my chest.
From that point, controlling the mana became much easier.
With the sixth sense, I only needed to grasp the end of the wave and pull it like drawing a rope. I moved the wave throughout my body in one big motion, as if cleaning it out. Then—
{Mana has increased by 1.}
My mana had increased.
“Ha, haha… hahaha!”
Laughter burst out when I confirmed that message with my own eyes. It felt as if all the tedious work until now had been rewarded by that single number one.
───
<Mana Heart>
- Your internal source of mana has been transformed through consistent breathing. Your sense for mana has been activated, allowing you to permanently increase your maximum mana through circulation.
───
There was no need to explain that this new trait was essential for all Awakeners.
This was because it allowed even Awakeners whose main or secondary stat wasn’t Willpower to increase their mana.
They also needed mana to use abilities and skills, and with this, they could secure mana regardless of their Willpower stat.
Of course, Willpower affected not only mana capacity but also magic resistance and the performance of some magic, so it couldn’t be entirely replaced.
Nonetheless, the fact that the Mana Heart was essential for all Awakeners remained unchanged.
But to me, this was more than just ‘essential.’
For me, whose mana capacity equated to my stats, the meaning of the Mana Heart was…
‘I can theoretically increase my stats infinitely.’
Is there any need to explain further?
With enough time, I had obtained the foundation that allowed me to surpass anyone.
As time passed, the accumulated mana of one would act to further widen the gap between me and other Awakeners.
The ultimate reward was now within my grasp.
It was inevitable that some people would eventually acquire the information notes and start earning raid points to catch up, but by then it would be too late.
I would have already cleared the final boss.
Anyway, it was now time to prepare for the third stage.
‘The third stage requires cooperation. What a bother.’
In the second stage, cooperation was actually a trap due to the conditions for earning extra raid points.
The more people grouped together, the higher the chance of being exposed to enemies.
However, the conditions for this stage were the exact opposite.
Participants needed to move across the widest possible area and engage in numerous encounters with enemies.
Because of this, the information notes explicitly stated that forming a team was essential.
‘Teammates… teammates…’
With that in mind, I decided to find companions to team up with.
I headed to a tavern located in the city.
As soon as I stepped in, I was greeted by a lively and noisy atmosphere.
German, Arabic, English, Chinese.
Languages from all over the world mingled together, filling my ears with their clamour.
Everyone drinking here was a raid participant.
Their modern attire mixed with the medieval European-style fantasy setting created a bizarre spectacle.
The most peculiar thing, however, was that all the NPCs spoke Korean, yet the people conversing with them spoke in different languages.
It seemed there was some mysterious system that automatically translated the NPCs’ words into each individual’s language.
‘Well, that aside…’
In any case, I planned to find someone here to join me for the next stage.
Thanks to the third trait I obtained previously, I could roughly gauge the skill level of others by discerning the grade of their Guardian Spirit.
And I had more than enough means to entice people to join me.
So finding teammates wouldn’t be difficult.
“Hmm?”
“Huh… what…?”
While scanning my surroundings, I unexpectedly spotted a familiar figure.
“Hyung-nim! What are you doing here!”
Lee Jin-yoon.
His eyes widened in surprise as he stood up abruptly and approached me.
My gaze, however, was fixed not on his face but above his head.
‘What is this…? This guy…’
An unexpected figure.
I already knew Lee Jin-yoon was participating in the raid.
Meeting him here was definitely within the realm of possibility.
And yet, the reason he was ‘unexpected’ to me was—
‘His Guardian Spirit was legendary, wasn’t it?’
Even after scanning the entire tavern, no one else possessed it—he was the sole owner of a legendary Guardian Spirit.
{Guardian Spirit: Utoori, the Infant Hero (Legendary)}
Although it seemed somewhat peculiar.
Regardless, a legend was still a legend.
—
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