Chương 6: FIRST TRAINING

Jimin woke before dawn. Just as he woke up…. DING!! —-------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Sound Sleep] Reward: +10 LP Total LP: 890 —--------------------------------------------------------------------------"What…? I got LP just from sleeping!" He remembers that the description said that fulfilling physical needs was a way to gain LP.

"Damn…." —- The world outside his window was still a shade of deep blue, cold and quiet, the kind of silence that felt almost sacred. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, splashed water across his eyes, and exhaled slowly. When he lifted his head, he caught his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Black hair - soft, slightly messy, refusing to sit down no matter how many times he combed it. Sharp eyebrows. A straight, well-shaped nose. A jawline sharper than he remembered.

His face wasn't bulky like athletes from his school; instead, it had a youthful, slender sharpness to it. And then there were his blue eyes. ….. …………………………………………. He tugged on his hoodie, tightened his laces, and slipped outside.

"Time to train."

He sprinted down the empty street, breath forming small clouds in the morning chill. His footsteps echoed faintly. For the first few minutes, it felt refreshing; then the burn hit his lungs.

"Damn… my stamina is garbage," he gasped. His pace wavered, but he forced himself to continue running. As he ran, his mind wandered, "Rank and level… I'm E-1. The lowest." The thought should have stung. It did sting yesterday. But now?

"I'm not sure if 'lowest' matters when I have Skillmaster." He'd heard a few things from the school curriculum. Manaborns' ranks are divided into E, D, C, B, A and S rank. Each rank has 20 levels. After reaching level 20 of a rank, a manaborn breaks into the next rank. Levels are earned, gained through killing Rift creatures. A high-rank low-level Rifter could still outperform a low-rank high-level one. But there were exceptions… rare cases where skills defied rules. —--------- His lungs kept burning.

He gritted his teeth and kept running. He reached the old factory's fence, the rusted iron mesh towering over him. Gripping it with both hands, he climbed up. He managed to reach the top, swung a leg over, and dropped inside. The factory yard spread before him; silent, abandoned, filled with metal scraps, broken beams, old pallets, and piles of discarded machinery. Morning light crept in through shattered windows in thin white strips. He jogged toward the factory doors and slipped inside.

The air was dusty and cold. After only a couple minutes, he was panting again.

"Pathetic… I seriously need to fix this stamina issue." He rested for a moment, leaning against a wall. Slowly, his breathing settled. Then he stepped forward, eyes locking onto the scattered debris across the factory floor.

"Alright. Telekinesis first." ….. He spotted potential training objects immediately: A chunk of rusted machinery casing, a heavy-looking motor base, scattered flywheels, steel pipes in different lengths, a long broken piece of chain and scrap metals He stretched out his hand toward the machinery casing.

"Telekinesis." A familiar, almost instinctive sensation surged through him; like flexing a mental muscle he'd never used before awakening, and yet somehow knew intimately. Blue sparks flickered faintly behind his eyes. The machinery part quivered… shifted…dragged across the floor a few centimeters… and stopped.

"Too heavy." He wiped sweat from his forehead. His head throbbed faintly. His gaze landed on a discarded flywheel leaning against the wall. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. That looks manageable. He extended his hand again. The flywheel trembled and lifted slowly. His teeth clenched as he held it in the air. It wobbled slightly, but stayed afloat. Half a minute felt like an eternity. He exhaled sharply.

"Move." The flywheel drifted sideways, wobbling at first, then steadier as he focused. Moving a heavy object in the air felt like holding a large bucket of water at arm's length; doable, but taxing. He gently set it down. The pressure eased from his head.

"Next." A slim steel pipe caught his eye. This one should be easy. He lifted it effortlessly with Telekinesis. The pipe hovered in the air, turning and rotating at his will. Like a spear, he realized. He decided to test something. He focused, inhaled, then flicked his wrist. The pipe shot forward. CLANK!!! Metal against metal. A perfect throw. He blinked in surprise.

"That worked?" He retrieved the pipe telekinetically and tried again. CLANK!!! This time it struck the beam harder.

"One more time." This time it was even stronger and more precise.

"I can actually do this…." This time he decided to use telekinesis throughout the action. He retrieved the pipe and thrusted it on the beam with as much telekinetic force he could muster. This strike rang louder, deeper, almost resonant enough to vibrate the floor. It even left a small visible scratch on the beam. He grinned. Excitement flared. His vision flickered. Then the strength left his legs. He collapsed to his knees.

"W... What….?" His limbs felt heavy. His thoughts slowed, like wading through mud. His breathing grew uneven.

"What… is this…?" He crawled toward the steel beam and leaned against it for support.

"Status…" A transparent blue window opened. —------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [STATUS WINDOW] Name: Sam Jimin Age: 16 Rank: E Level: 1 HP: 250/250 STA: 120/120 MP: 44/100 PE: 7/150 Stats: STR 5 | AGI 6 | END 5 | INT 8 | WIS 7 | VIT 5 | PSY 11 | LUK 10 Unique Skill: Skillmaster Skills: Telekinesis (Rare) – Lv. 1 His eyes widened.

"7 PE… I heard that being low on mana can cause fatigue. Maybe it's the same with PE as well. No wonder I feel like trash." He was about to close the window when another notification popped up: —------------------------------------------ [Training to the Limit!] Manaborn has trained to his limit. Reward: +50 LP Total LP: 940 —----------------------------------------------"Wait…what?" He stared, stunned.

"So… pushing myself like this counts? It matched the description he'd read before. LP responded to training, emotional spikes, major achievements. Which means…. I can farm LP by training!" The idea made him laugh with joy. DING!!

【Heightened Positive Emotional State Detected】 The Manaborn is experiencing a heightened positive emotional state. Reward: +20 LP Total LP: 960 —-------------------------------------------------------------------- He had no words. He just accepted it with a grin as he was getting used to it.

"That's damn good. But I better lock in. But first… rest." He sat down, breathing slowly. His head still felt foggy, but clarity was gradually returning.

After a few minutes, he checked his window again. MP: 69/100 PE: 20/150"PE really recovers slowly… MP is much faster." He rubbed his chin.

"There has to be a way to increase regeneration." As soon as that thought crossed his mind, something clicked inside him.

"Meditation". Controlled breathing. Mana flow. Psyche stabilization. Recovery enhancement. It all aligned perfectly in his head. He opened the Skill Creation window. He filled it quickly and confirmed it.

[Create Skill] Skill Name: Meditation Category: Active Type: Utility Rank: Uncommon Level: 1/50 Description: Meditation increases MP and PE regeneration and minor STA regeneration. Hones control over mana & psyche, if done regularly. Longer sessions yield better gains. Regeneration speed and amount increases with each level. Scaling: WIS & INT → depth of benefit and efficiency. Cooldown: None Cost: None LP Requirement: 150 LP 【Create】 【Edit】 【Delete】 He exhaled slowly.

"Perfect… but expensive for a skill that doesn't help in combat. Well, still way less than telekinesis. 150 LP isn't a joke. But this skill will accelerate all future training. It's an investment." He clenched his fists.

"Create." —-------------------------------------------------------- [Skill Successfully Created]'Meditation' - Acquired. [Total LP: 810] —-------------------------------------------------------- He felt something shift deep inside him; like an unseen mental door gently unlocking. A warmth spread through his chest. He lowered himself into a lotus position on the cold concrete.

"Activate Meditation."

['Meditation' is Active] —----------------------------------------------------- A subtle peace filled his mind. Mana flowed slowly, calmly, like a warm river beneath his thoughts. His breathing evened. The factory's cold air no longer bit at his skin. His heartbeat steadied. For the first time since awakening… He felt this calm.