[TELEPORTATION SUCCESSFUL]
Jin fell down from the portal that opened in the ceiling. His arm had been injured in several places beforehand. He let out a small groan on the ground. Lying on his back, he began to breathe. With a strong smile on his face, he raised his hand and made a fist.
"I did it. I definitely didn't expect such a big development. Thanks to Morgtar, I think my master, I gained a lot of benefits."
He got up and sat down. Even though he was happy, there was something he needed to check. He opened his dimensional bag with trembling hands. He hadn't collected the rubies from the fenharins he had killed. He looked inside the bag and breathed a sigh of relief. There were nearly 200 low-level rubies and skill stones inside. He thought, "Morgtar must have collected all the rubies and put them in my bag."
"Master, you're the best."
Jin took out the skill stone and examined it in his hand. It was a simple stone with a few unknown shapes drawn on it, glowing blue. He broke the stone with his hand.
=======================
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED]
SYSTEM RECOGNITION (B)
Mana Cost: 100
Description: The target's statistics are analyzed. The skill is less effective against powerful enemies.
=======================
The skill stone broke, and the system message appeared before his eyes. His lips curled upward.
"This is the trick you know."
Jin calmed himself after these words and entered the bathroom. His body was covered in dirt, blood, and scratches. He stood in front of the mirror and looked at his face. The area above his eye, his cheeks, and the sides of his lips were covered in scratches. It would be hard to explain this to others, but he could come up with an excuse. He took off his torn and bloodstained clothes and began to wash himself. The water touched his head and began to spread across his body. The dirt and blood began to wash away from his body.
A few minutes later, Jin came out of the bathroom and dried his head with a towel. He dried his hair and body and put on clean clothes. He took the magical clock from the table and looked at it. It had been one day since he left. He threw himself onto the bed and closed his eyes to get some rest. He didn't want to think about anything else today; he just wanted to relax a little.
As Jin fell asleep, he found himself in a red and shallow ocean. He looked around and saw everyone he knew and millions of corpses. Jin, looking at Amelia's corpse, saw a red entity beside her body. It was the strongest of the 13 rulers and Amelia's killer. It showed a horrific smile beside Amelia's body. His teeth were filled with blood, and human flesh was visible between them. How could Jin forget the death of the person he valued most? Jin ran toward the monster in anger to attack it, but before he could reach it, his body split in two, and as his upper body lay on the ground, he looked at Amelia one last time. A helpless gaze and tears began to flow from his eyes.
****
Jin woke up quickly, drenched in sweat. He looked around breathlessly.
"It was just a dream."
Even if he said those words, one day it would happen again. Unless he prevented it, of course. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 8:00 a.m. He had been more successful than he had expected. That's why he wanted to use the last day of the week to start practicing the first move of the sword technique.
He sat up in bed, took off his wet clothes, and went into the bathroom. The warm water touching his skin made him feel a little more relaxed.
****
Jin was walking along the path between the men's dormitory and the school to the individual education area. Unlike the open education area, the individual education areas were fee-based. This made sense given the limited space. He saw only a few students along the way. Since it was the weekend, many students had either gone to be with their families or gone to entertainment venues to have fun with their friends. Jin didn't have a close friend. Emily? She was just someone who shared the same row as Jin. Ester? Someone he had only met once. At least according to Ester.
Jin entered the individual education building and looked around. He walked at a moderate pace toward the reception desk. The receptionist looked at Jin's injured face and smiled.
"How can I assist you?"
"I'd like to rent a room."
"Of course. Our standard rooms are 1 eli per hour, and our VIP rooms are 5 eli."
"A standard room, please."
Jin extended the last 1 eli he had left to the receptionist. The receptionist handed Jin the key and continued speaking with a smile.
"Room 12. Have a good training session, sir."
After thanking the receptionist, Jin headed toward the assigned room.
Within a few minutes, he found his room, opened the door with the key, and entered. He closed the door behind him and looked around the spacious room. It was twice the size of his own room and empty. There were only training weapons in the corner of the room. Jin's sword had been broken in battle. He needed to get a new one.
'SIGH'
Jin's voice echoed in the empty room. He walked over to the training weapons and picked up the wooden sword. For now, he would have to make do with it.
He took the sword in his hand and practiced a few movements to get used to it.
"Even though the weight ratio is bad, it's not too bad. Alright, let's get started."
Jin placed his hand in a straight position and raised the sword 45° into the air.
[CASTANA 1ST MOVEMENT: Death Strike]
As Jin swung the sword, its speed steadily increased. It reached a speed that was difficult to follow. The sword performed many different attacks, creating a series of images. Even though it looked like the sword was attacking from the front, it was actually attacking from the side and in many different ways. Even without a suitable opponent, Jin knew how to use it. The cost of the first move was using too much mana. He had to increase the sword's speed and strengthen his hand.
Jin repeated the first move continuously for 15 minutes. He stopped when his arm began to ache and his mana started to deplete. He felt a bit excited because he wanted to try the spell. A human was naturally limited to one type of energy, but Jin could use magic thanks to the system.
**
At the time of the first disaster, people were given a choice between mana and magic. People who read the explanations of mana and magic chose the energy type that suited them best. Ten years after the first disaster, the system assigned energy types to newborn children either genetically or randomly.
**
Jin took a deep breath and closed his eyes to focus. He could feel and control the mana in his body with ease.
He sat down to feel the magic and tried to sense the mana around him. For several minutes, he felt nothing. This was completely natural. People who possessed magic could feel it from the age of 13. Jin had recently acquired magic and needed to work on sensing it.
He tried for a few more minutes and finally felt something strange but not unpleasant touching his skin. This was magic. He had heard about it from people he knew in his previous life and from academic knowledge.
He held his hand flat and opened his palm toward the opposite wall. His eyes were still closed. He felt a warmth in his palm.
'BOOM'
He opened his eyes and looked at the opposite wall in astonishment. There were traces of fire on the wall.
"Hahaha, I can use fire. What if I combine this with my sword technique?"
Jin couldn't resist trying it out. He had only mastered four of the seven movements in his sword technique before, and now he had something he didn't have before. He felt he could become much stronger.
He checked his mana and saw that he had enough for the first movement of the technique.
He slowly drew air into his lungs, his chest expanding.
He held his breath for a moment, then exhaled with a long sigh. He raised his sword straight up.
[CASTANA 1ST MOVEMENT: Death Blow]
The sequential images reappeared. He pulled his left arm back and bent it. He opened his palm and focused the spell into it. Fire erupted from his palm and struck the opposite wall again. Since he had no opponent, he didn't know how effective it was. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't use it against humans. No human had ever possessed two energies recorded in history from mana and magic. He vowed to himself not to use it among humans without possessing the desired power. He stepped out of his battle stance, placed the wooden sword on the weapon rack, and left the room.
He walked through the corridor, left the key at the reception desk, and left the building. The sun was high in the sky, and the day had just begun.
Jin didn't know what to do. He didn't have a friend he could hang out with yet.
'SIGH'
He put his hand in his pocket and began to walk around. At least he needed to get to know the area. He had to know the fastest and safest routes for that incident. Today he saw more students and teachers.
He walked toward the first-grade building. He didn't see anyone he recognized. His feet stopped walking, and his heart began to beat faster. In front of him, he saw a girl with high cheekbones, sharp facial features, and green eyes, walking with a swaying gait, her green hair flowing around her. She wore a blue uniform, a long skirt down to her knees, and leather shoes. She had prominent muscles, and this appearance caused many people to look at her.
Jin just watched him leave. Even if he wanted to talk to him, he didn't have the courage to do so. He clenched his teeth and looked at him longingly. A small thought crossed his mind. He whispered to himself.
"I wonder how much stronger he's become."
In her previous life, Amelia was much stronger than Jin. The thought that if she had been just a little stronger, she might have been able to escape, tormented her until her death.
[SYSTEM RECOGNITION ACTIVE]
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]
[UNRECOGNIZABLE]
I looked at the status window in shock. My eyes fell on Amelia. Our eyes met, and she smiled at me and started walking toward me.
"F*ck."
****
Four people were sitting at a long table in a large, ornate room. All of them had serious expressions on their faces. One of them began to speak.
"We have one month left for the final preparations. I spoke with Morgtar. He will return to the world to support us."
The speaker was one of the two immortals of the elders' council. He had black hair, brown eyes, and wore a long black tunic. His name was Den Valendis. He was only 40 years old and had recently become immortal.
The others nodded. A soft, beautiful female voice spoke up.
"If there's nothing else to say, I'm leaving. I have important matters to attend to."
The speaker was the leader of the Korvar clan. She had long, slender legs and wore a tight, form-fitting blouse that accentuated her chest. Her golden eyes seemed to pierce through a person's deepest secrets. Her character's bright golden hair was elegantly gathered at the top of her head, forming a sleek, tight bun. A few strands of the bun gently framed her face, giving her a soft and natural appearance. The brilliance of her hair and the neatness of the bun emphasized her noble and controlled demeanor. Her high cheekbones and sharp features stood out in harmony with her face.
Den sighed.
"The meeting is over. You may leave."
Everyone began to leave the room. Den remained alone and leaned back in his leather chair.
"I hope we succeed."
He stood up and left the room.