But now that he had put away his book, it was time for something truly serious.
Another reason he wanted to live isolated from others was for this. The slightest distraction could cause him to lose all progress.
Concentrating and controlling his breathing, he got into position. Knees bent, arms stretched forward. All his focus was directed towards something moving inside his body.
After a little effort, a strange energy emanated from his body. It came out uncontrollably, as if nothing could keep it stable.
The energy itself was translucent, but its tips had a constant change of color.
That was magic, an energy present in every living being in this vast universe. But not everyone could refine it correctly. For that, a lot of focus and skill were necessary.
Dragomir strained to release the magic, sweat could be seen covering his entire body, which also trembled with the action.
Releasing and manipulating magic was a great effort that involved both the physical and mental aspects. This could cause a lot of strain on the individual performing it.
But with time, and the development of the "mana heart," an ancient technique for manipulating magic, it was possible to overcome exhaustion.
And considering that Dragomir has been training in magic manipulation since childhood, this should be something natural for him…
But it wasn't.
All that effort made him fall to the ground. He immediately put his hand to his mouth, trying to hold back his nausea from the exertion.
His head was spinning, and his blood pressure had dropped. But, even with all these symptoms, he still tried to recover.
Dragging himself to his bed, he managed to lie down and rest a little.
"Just two minutes!" His voice sounded tragic and comical at the same time, as if he were mocking his own misery.
His breathing adjusted again, seeming to be back to normal, "it's getting harder and harder! If I kept trying, I probably would have burst a vein."
"Blood-red." His face becomes more depressed. His facial expression made clear the disappointment he felt about himself, "it's even a little pathetic."
The cost of using magic for Dragomir was high. And he knew that very well.
Since childhood, he had always had difficulty manipulating his own magic. A fact that his family couldn't accept.
But it wasn't time to think about them; he wasn't doing this for them.
The young miner stood up once more; he couldn't stop, he couldn't rest.
And again he was in position, releasing his mana and manipulating his magic.
For the past seven years, Dragomir had been working hard to overcome his limits, to go beyond what he could achieve now.
It wasn't an easy task. His mind almost lost itself, his body almost tore apart, but he didn't stop.
In the same position, he stayed as long as he could. The limit of the previous attempt was surpassed; four minutes was what he reached now, which wasn't enough.
Even knowing that this was his limit, he tried to insist again, and it took its toll.
Suddenly, a small popping sound occurred in his left arm. A The area of his arm ruptured under the pressure, releasing blood and causing agonizing pain.
Once again, he was on the floor. His arm was still bleeding, still aching and bothering him.
He dragged himself to his desk, where he grabbed a bandage. He used it to stop the bleeding from his arm.
Finishing tying the bandage, he sat down at his desk.
The pain was making him crumble; this was much worse than just a scratch. His muscle had been torn by the excessive effort he was making. A serious and sometimes irreversible injury… but not for him.
Even though the injury was serious, that wasn't going to stop him, especially since… this time it was just a single injury.
He was having some difficulty getting up from the chair. This wasn't the first time he'd been seriously injured in training, and with all the certainty that could fit between his house and the sun, it wouldn't be the last.
Standing again, he returned to the center of the room. His daily effort wasn't over yet; he could still do more, he could improve.
He could… he could…
Memories flooded his mind, painful memories he didn't like to remember.
His past, his family. All of that was, in a way, fuel for his motivation.
He wanted to improve, improve enough so that no one would ever look at him that way again.
No matter how much time passed, he would never forget that look of contempt. How that look made him feel small.
How…
*Knock knock*
*Knock knock*
Someone knocked on his door.
Dragomir went upstairs, already imagining who was bothering him.
No matter how much the young miner pleaded to leave him alone, that stubborn idiot never listened.
With considerable reluctance, Dragomir opened his door to answer the calls of those outside.
Two people stood in front of his residence.
One of them was a tall boy with light brown hair. He wore light leather armor. His arms had leather bracelets adorned with green jewels. He carried only a black bow, slung over his shoulders.
This boy was Raiziquer, someone a few years older than Dragomir.
A little behind Raiziquer, a girl remained engrossed in her book. She dressed as a sorceress. She had red hair tied in a ponytail.
This was Tia, a person almost as reserved as Dragomir, but always dragged around by Raiziquer.
"Good morning, my great friend Dragomir. I have an invitation today for a…"
"I'm not interested." Dragomir didn't even wait for Raiziquer to finish speaking; his voice was cruelly cut off before the words were finished.
The archer's intentions were no mystery. He always visited young Dragomir for the same reasons. So it was easy to know what he wanted.
And since he had brought Tia with him, it was even easier to know what his plans were.
"But you didn't even listen to what I was going to say." Raiziquer whined in protest at Dragomir's refusal. This made the young man indifferent to his reaction, as if it didn't matter in any way.
"I'm sorry for refusing, but I don't want to go with you, and I don't like you. I'm sorry for the harsh response." Dragomir's voice was indifferent, his face expressionless like a statue.
Even with that response, the archer showed no sign of wavering in his intentions for this visit.
In fact, he still had the same confidence as before Dragomir's refusal.
That young man wasn't one to take no for an answer. When he wanted to do something, he would undoubtedly do it.
"*Haha* that Dragomir, always cruelly honest. Well, at least he apologizes for being rude *haha*."
The young adult with brown hair laughed at the situation. Tia behind him seemed indifferent to their argument, but was getting annoyed at being kept there against her will.
"Listen, an asteroid a few meters from here was hit by an unknown object. We don't know what this object is, but it's emitting a lot of magical energy." He straightened his posture, trying to project a more professional image.
"Some monsters are being drawn to it, and the energy emanating from it is growing rapidly. My grandmother believes this could be very dangerous, so she asked me to go take a look and, if possible, eliminate the threat."
"Yes, what does that have to do with me?" Dragomir asks, already prepared to slam the door in the face of his unwanted visitor.
"The situation is serious, Drag. I won't be able to do it alone, that's why I gathered the whole team."
"Drag?" The gray-haired man questions the archer, but he simply ignores the question and continues his attempt to convince his "friend" to join his group.
"This will be a very important mission for the safety of our community. We need to ensure that all residents can rest and work in peace. We are strong, that's why we gave you the responsibility of protecting the weak, and my grandmother said you can have a week off if you help with this mission."
Dragomir climbs up, almost leaning his body backward.
Raizicker's smooth talk wasn't convincing him. But the last part was quite tempting. A week off would give him more than enough time to reread his entire book collection.
Raiziquer looked hopefully at Dragomir. It was clear he wanted the antisocial boy's support.
"So, are you coming?"