Chapter: 17, Mana Veins
The next day, Dain and the others had gone through the same routines. Captain Harold would train them after they successfully integrate mana, since most of the sword skills that Harold will teach need mana to perform.
Every day without fail, Azaria comes and tries to talk to him. Dain mostly tells her to get lost, and she does.
Recently, Dain had softened his heart and began to exchange light greetings with her. He didn't love them anymore but that doesn't mean they have to be enemies. Dain also can't blame them for what their future selves had done to him.
So yeah, he is ready to turn a new leaf in his life, without love and without obligations. All he needs to do is live a normal life in the countryside after they are able to leave.
But by the time the two year countdown hits, the underworld would invade Imarion. He won't be able to live in peace if he leaves two years later. He has to leave after he awakens his mana. He also can't delay it by more than a month, since after the first month; they will again evaluate all aspects of the otherworlders.
So with that he began to plan as to how to leave this facility within a month. But for now, he has to awaken his mana first.
Dain again looked at his status window after five days of exercise
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Dainsleif
Race: Human (Imus)
Class: Dreamer (D-tier)
Level: 5 (0.00)
Strength: 7.
Agility: 12.
Mana: 0.
Intelligence: 30.
Stat Points: 12.
Innate Skills: [Envisioning](96%), [Dream Control]
External Skills: [EXP Converter], [Passive EXP]
Attributes: [Dream], [Imus], [Prodigy], [Mana Conduit], [Primordial Physique]
Flaw: [Loveless]
His speed of improvement was much faster than the others, just within five days, his strength stat increased by 6 and his agility increased by 10.
As to why he isn't just using state points to increase his mana, because it's impossible. Stat points are used to improve what is already there. If his mana was even just 0.1, he could've used stat points to improve it, and since it's completely 0, it won't work.
And as to why he isn't using stat points on intelligence and strength? It's because intelligence is not something that can be improved overnight. Even the 30 intelligence points he has has been cultivated by the [Prodigy] attribute over the previous five years.
And strength and agility can be easily improved by the [Primordial Physique]. So why would he need to use stat points? He is saving these stat points until he reaches a bottleneck in his physical capabilities or when he will urgently need the improvement.
And only he can see the intelligence bar because of his attribute while others can only see three stat sections.
*
The next day, it was the seventh day of everyone coming to this world.
Dain was doing the same workout of 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats and 3 hours of continuous run.
He was running after finishing the others. He had been running for an hour when he suddenly felt a familiar and serene wave entering his body. It was almost blissful if not for the sudden intense pain he was feeling all over his body.
He suddenly fell over his feet. Everyone saw him fall suddenly, as they rushed over to him. The girl's faces showed deep worry.
Dain quickly sat in a lotus position, trying to collect the familiar wave of something luminous that was forcefully invading his body from every part of his body. Blood leaked out of his nose and ears as he was slowly trying to manipulate and grasp that energy in his body.
The girls were now truly worried, but Lilith consoled them, "It's okay. He'll be fine. I'm surprised that he is the first one to awaken his Mana."
The girls relaxed a bit but their expressions were tense, they knew how painful the process of awakening mana was and so their worry was evident.
The three other guys were shocked. How could they, with high rank classes fall behind the weakest of their class. But they remembered his SS-rank attribute and their hearts eased a bit. But there still was a hint of weariness as they looked at the blonde dude in the lotus position, their expression tense.
Dain on the other hand was in a constant cycle of losing his focus as the pain distracted him from focusing on the mana getting inside his body.
But he tried again and again, everytime he lost focus, he quickly bore the pain and tried to focus again. His nerves tightened, teeth clenched and his skin numb from the pain.
After what felt like an eternity of pain, Dain was finally able to get a grasp on a tiny amount of the mana inside him. He then focused hard and moved that amount near his heart.
After doing that, he continued to control a small amount of mana and moved them near his heart. Slowly but surely, he was making progress.
Soon the mana near his heart collected to a small amount and then the mana started to violently enter the Lymph Vessels inside his body. The mana then entered and removed all the impurities inside the lymph vessels and slowly circulated through all corners of the lymph vessels and connected to the collected mana.
Outside his body, the removed impurities leaked out of his skin, giving him a foul stench.
Once all the lymph vessels were filled to the brim with mana, Dain took one last action and out of his control, grabbed all the mana inside his body and forced them at the place where the remaining mana stayed.
The wave of mana quickly collided and compressed with Dain's order. The mana was chaotic and pain spread through his heart.
But after what seemed like eternity, a small crystalline stone-like thing appeared near his heart, brimming with the mysterious energy that invaded his insides just a while ago.
With the appearance of the mana stone, the pain in his body dissipated and Dain fell to his back. At the brink of his consciousness, he heard a voice in his mind that couldn't be sweeter after all these struggles.
[You have Awakened Mana]
[Mana Veins Created]
[Mana Increased by 1]
"…"
To be Continued…