Chương 5: The First Quest

Day 1 of Training Kyle stood in the secluded clearing behind the hill, his lungs burning. He activated [Mana Enhancement]. Faint blue light flickered through his veins, but the flow was clumsy. It took a full ten seconds of intense concentration just to lock the energy into his legs. When he pushed forward, he crossed five meters but lost his balance and stumbled into the dirt.

'Ten seconds to use, terrible control,' Kyle thought, wiping mud from his chin.

'But I can improve.' He closed his eyes, setting a hard, singular goal into the golden prism in his mind: master [Mana Enhancement]. He slowly stood up from the ground, took a deep breath, and tried again. Day 10 of training After another training session, the warm current of his talent had done its work, increasing his control and mastery over [Mana Enhancement] by another percent. Kyle didn't just feel slightly faster or stronger; the mental friction was actively melting away.

He slowly opened his eyes, mana flowing through his veins. The activation time dropped from ten seconds down to a crisp seven. He executed a sudden thrust, his blade whistling through the air with a fluid precision, followed by [Burst Step]. After just 7 seconds, he instantly crossed 5 meters. This time, he didn't fall. It wasn't just his control over mana that had grown. He became stronger. Day 21 of training.

On the vast grassland stretching to the horizon, a black-haired youth stood, holding his sword, eyes closed. Kyle took a deep breath as he used [mana enhancement]. Faint blue light shone through his veins as mana quickly moved throughout his body, flowing to his legs. A few seconds later, Kyle took a step forward. He instantly crossed a distance of 10 meters, leaving a faint afterimage behind. The moment he stopped, he quickly took a stance as mana flowed from his legs and hips, then to his arms.

A few seconds later, he unsheathed his sword, swinging it at a massive speed. If an ordinary person or monster stood in front of him, they wouldn't even be able to react before their head was decapitated.

'As expected, at this level, using [burst step] and [superspeed slash] isn't practical. I need several seconds of preparation to use them. This wouldn't be very useful in a real fight.' Kyle thought as he sheathed his sword and walked towards his parcel, picking up a towel and wiping his sweat.

'Fortunately, these three weeks of training weren't for naught. I feel that I'm very close to condensing a mana core. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps a few days later. I will condense a mana core and become a professional swordsman.' Of course, that wasn't his only gain. Through intensive training, he narrowed the time needed to use [Mana enhancement] from 10 seconds to 7 seconds in the first three days, then from 7 to 5 seconds over the next two weeks.

He also quickly mastered his two combat skills and could use them flexibly now. Moreover, whether it was his mana capacity, control, or intensity, it was about 22% or 23% stronger now. Even his physical strength and stamina had increased slightly.

'Thus, it's now confirmed that even without using [Transcendence], normal training will result in growth.' Kyle thought as he packed up his stuff and walked back to the town.

"However, it seemed no longer possible to just train like this." Kyle muttered, helplessly looking at his dried-up money pouch, containing just a bit over 4 silver coins.

"I miscalculated. I never thought that the miscellaneous costs would be so much. Now, don't mention the month and a half that I calculated at first. It hasn't even been a month." Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The less his savings became, the more anxious he got. It's an old problem from his past life.

"I have to take a quest soon, or I will end up on the streets with nothing to eat in a few days." Kyle resolved as he clenched his shriveled money pouch. He couldn't just continue training like this. The anxiety was starting to get too much. It was starting to affect his training. It didn't take him long to reach the town gate. Looking at the line of people and carriages in front of the gate, Kyle's brows furrowed.

'It's always like this; I have to waste half an hour to an hour every day waiting in line. It's a pity the training grounds in the guild are only accessible to copper-grade adventurers and above. I wouldn't have to walk out of the town every day.' After a while, it was soon his turn.

"It's Kyle, huh? Back so soon from training today?" A young guard chuckled as he looked at the rectangular iron tag hanging on his neck.

"Yeah, I finished early today, John. I have to go on a quest today." Kyle smiled and said. He had gotten acquainted with the guards over the past few weeks. After all, he had to walk out and back to town every day. After talking a few times, they got familiar.

"Oh? So the famous training freak is finally taking a quest? I thought you would continue training until you became a rank 1 or even a rank 2 professional before taking a quest." John smirked as he teased.

"I want to do just that; unfortunately, my expenses won't be paid by themselves," Kyle sighed and said.

"Come on, Kyle, I know you're cautious, and a cautious adventurer will certainly live longer than those reckless fools. However, training alone won't cut it. Only warriors who dare face monsters can become professionals. Remember, for most of us commoners, only the brave can move forward." A middle-aged guard standing on the other side said.

"I understand; thanks for the advice, Mr. Mark," Kyle nodded and said.

"Sigh… I'm being verbose again. Kyle, you're free to enter." The middle-aged guard, Mark, waved and said.

"Hey, Kyle, see you at old Hogg's Tavern tonight." John waved and said.

"Haaha… If I have the time." Kyle said with a strained smile. It was because these guys always invited him to drink that his money dwindled much faster than he calculated. He was a bit curious about the beer of this otherworld, so he tried it a while back, and it was then that he got to know these guys. Fortunately or unfortunately, there wasn't a law prohibiting minors from drinking in this world. Kyle's thoughts were scattered as he walked back to the Hearth & Horn inn.

He took a quick shower and grabbed the essentials that he had bought over the past few days before walking to the guild. Walking into the adventure guild, Kyle walked straight to the quest board. [F-Rank Quest: Collect 20 Moondew leaves from the Silverbark Forest] [Reward: 2 silver coins] [F-Rank Quest: Eliminate 10 weak slimes near the Ber river and bring back slime condensate.] [Reward: 1 silver coin] [F-Rank permanent Quest: eliminate any goblin and bring back its ear.] [Reward: 50 copper coins per ear] [E-Rank Quest: Hunt the 4 Iron-back Boars near the moonshine farm] [Reward: 20 silver coins] [E-Rank Quest: Clear a goblin settlement in the Silverbark forest] [Number of goblins: 20 to 30] [Reward: 30 silver coins] Kyle ignored the high-danger quests at the top and looked at the various F and E rank quests. These were the only quests he could take anyway. He didn't hesitate to take the quests about hunting slimes and goblins before going to the counter.

He had already decided to take these quests for a while now. Not only to get familiar with adventuring and hunting monsters. It was also because they were the most cost-effective beginner quests.

"Good morning, Miss Celia. Please register these two quests for me," Kyle said as he placed the quest on the counter.

"Oh, it's Kyle. Finally taking a quest? Sure, I'll register them right away." Celia replied with a smile.

"Here you go, and be careful, Mr. Kyle. Although they're just low-level monsters, falling into an encirclement would be very dangerous. Especially goblins; they can be very cunning. Ah, well, you're a very cautious adventurer; I guess you know all this very well." Just as Celia was about to caution him as she does for all adventurers, she remembered that Kyle had been preparing for almost three weeks. Now that she thought about this, he might be the most cautious adventurer she had ever seen.

"I've said too much. If it's you, Kyle, I don't need to worry at all." She said with a relieved expression.

"Ahaha… Indeed, you don't need to worry, Miss Celia," Kyle said wryly. Did everyone think he was an overly cautious coward? The reason he didn't take a quest for so long was that he was training. With his heaven-defying talent, it would be stupid not to train. The issue is that he could only train for a few hours every day. Naturally, he couldn't just stand by and waste the rest of the time. Besides, without his phone, the only thing he could do was learn and gather information for his future adventures.

However, it seemed everyone thought he was overly cautious, spending weeks preparing for just a newbie quest.

'Whatever, as I take more quests in the future, the misunderstanding will go away by itself.' Kyle thought as he walked out of the adventure guild, heading towards the quest location.