I sat at the table with Viktor's manual open in front of me. The paper was thin, the ink slightly faded, but the diagrams were clear. Each illustration showed foot placement and movement.
I ran my finger along a line of text and let Insight settle behind my eyes.
The words sharpened.
Not visually.
Mentally.
It was like my brain stopped reading and started filling in the gaps.
Basic Footwork was not speed. Basic Footwork was not about moving faster than your enemy. It was about moving with precise intent. Whether that was to retreat, or attack, engage or disengage. The footwork illustrated the perfect movement required to position yourself to execute your intent.
I swallowed and turned the page.
A faint shimmer appeared at the edge of my focus.
[SKILL ACQUIRED: BASIC FOOTWORK (Rank F)]
I blinked once, then looked down at my own feet like I expected them to be different now.
The manual described things I'd never bothered to think about before. How to pivot without wasting momentum. How to shift weight without telegraphing it. How to keep your centre under you so your weapon doesn't drag you off balance.
I had never needed to think about this before. Naturally, it was different now.
My eyes moved faster.
Insight moved with them, pulling the ideas apart and stitching them back together in a way that made the text feel… obvious.
A pop-up flickered in front of my eyes.
[Intelligence has increased slightly]
The words hit me harder than the skill acquisition.
Intelligence.
A stat I could actually increase by reading. I had already gone through the other books on the bookshelves, but none had stimulated it further. However, perhaps the key wasn't just to read a high number of books, but instead to read unique books I hadn't read before.
My lips parted slightly. I stared at the manual as if it had changed somehow. But I immediately realised that I was the one who'd changed.
It was a small shift, easy to miss, like the moment you realise a language had stopped being foreign and started being yours.
Insight pulsed again.
[COMPREHENSION INCREASED: BASIC FOOTWORK (RANK: F → E)]
I sat back slowly, the chair scraping faintly.
"That's…" I breathed out. "That's fast as hell."
If I could raise my intelligence by consuming information, and Intelligence made comprehension faster, then reading wasn't just studying.
It was training. Or rather a loop.
Read to increase Intelligence. Comprehend your skills and improve them. Put everything into practice to finally grow faster.
I closed the manual gently and looked at my spear, an arm's length away from me.
I pushed the chair back and stood. I took the spear and stepped into the centre of the room, then forced myself to do the footwork slowly. Not flashy. Not fast. Just clean.
Pivot. Step. Shift weight. Reset.
Again.
Footwork, then thrust.
My body complained, as always, but my movements were smoother. Almost as if they'd started to click together, like gears finding alignment.
Sevenfold strike wasn't a fixed sequence anymore. It was a pattern I could repeat in a different order.
Basic Footwork had given this pattern a foundation.
Minutes passed.
Then another message appeared.
[BASIC FOOTWORK HAS IMPROVED SPEAR MASTERY]
[SPEAR MASTERY INCREASED RANK: (F → E)]
I froze mid-stance, spearpoint held out.
My lungs drew in a slow breath.
'So that's how it works?'
Unlike the game, my skills were't isolated. Instead, everything I learned seemed to try to mesh together. Similar to a lattice.
If I learned the right things and stacked them properly, my skills could grow exponentially.
I lowered the spear and wiped sweat off my brow with my sleeve.
Then I sat back down and focused on myself.
-
[NAME]
NOAH REED
[STATS]
Strength: F
Agility: F
Constitution: F
Intelligence: E
Perception: E
Charisma: F
[VITALS]
Vitality: F
Stamina: F
Mana: F
[GIFTS]
INSIGHT: EX
HERO: F (DORMANT)
[SKILLS]
Endurance: E
Knife Work: E
Spear Mastery: E
Basic Footwork: E
Sevenfold Strike: E
-
I stared at the letters.
"Not that impressive.' I sighed.
I let the panel fade and leaned forward, elbows on knees.
"Beyond this," I said quietly, "it's just grinding."
No shortcut around it.
Even with Intelligence climbing, I still had to move. Still had to sweat. Still had to make my body obey.
The good news was that I could see the path now.
Small gains. Constant stacking. Skill synergy.
I grabbed the spear again.
Reset my stance.
And continued.
-
Upstairs, the bakery was already alive.
Heat radiated from the ovens, and Marin's constant grumbling echoed like a soundtrack that kept everything running.
I was scrubbing a tray when Marin spoke without looking up.
"They're going to start soon," he said.
I paused mid scrub. "What?"
"The Academy," Marin clarified, as if it should've been obvious. He shoved a loaf onto a cooling rack hard enough to make it thump. "They will take new students."
My hand tightened on the cloth.
I hadn't asked around enough. I'd been busy surviving, training, and building routines. The Academy had been this looming goal in the distance that I was aiming towards. But I'd never expected it to tackle it so soon. At least I thought it was a month or two away.
Marin glanced at me from the corner of his eye.
"I hear it around town," he said. "Talk from patrols. The testing grounds for the southern region will open within a few days."
"When the day comes," Marin continued, "you go to the centre of town. You sign up. That's it."
"That's it?" I repeated.
Marin snorted. "That's the easy part."
I swallowed. "Who handles it?"
"Awakened Corps," Marin said. "They'll handle all the administration and get you to the test."
"Good," I said.
Marin huffed. "You're taking this too easily. Don't be reckless, kid. The test will chew you up if you're not careful."
"I won't," I said, and meant it.
I wiped the tray clean, hung it, and kept working. But mentally, I had already started the countdown.
A few days. That was all that remained.
I quickly finished my tasks and readied myself for a few laps around town. By the time I'd left the bakery, the sun was rising, and a golden hue colored the sky.
I struck the ground with my feet, pouring everything I had into the run. Sprinting faster step by step. Blood rushed to my face, breath caught in my lungs, and a weight passed through my chest as a bitter sting pulsed from my sides.
I grunted and squeezed through the pain.
I wasn't going to stop here. There was still too much to do. Whatever this test would be, I needed to pass.
There was simply no other choice.