Chương 76: 4 A.M

M I woke up bright and early. Luna was deep asleep and the sun hadn't even risen yet. It was 4 A. M. Closing my eyes, I tried to fall back asleep, but, I couldn't. I was way too excited. Usually when I wake up, I'd still feel tired and could easily fall back asleep, but today… All of my sleepiness had vanished the second I opened my eyes. And for good reason. After today's training, my mana strength will officially hit D grade. Yesterday, I hit D- grade and when I got home, I tried projecting mana externally.

The result was it lasting for 8 minutes when I cut off the mana supply. And… Here's a little secret, don't tell anyone: I completely cheated. Instead of coming up with my own shape to maintain, I just looked online for a popular one that had built-in stability. Really, learning things nowadays is just so easy. There's a YouTube video for just about anything. Hehe! I don't regret anything! If I had to design my own shape, the time it'd take to complete this step would tenfold!

I'm not an engineering or architecture student! I didn't even go to college! Glancing at the sleeping girl next to me, I turned over and drew mana from my core. Mana flowed through my pathways, reaching the tips of my fingers. Slowly, a small purple string of mana swam through the air. The mana gradually took shape, continuously moving through the air. It drew a horizontal line to start, then, it snapped upwards at a diagonal. After reaching it's apex, it snapped downward at a diagonal.

Yes, the most stable and sound shape was a triangle. Albeit simple, it truly was the goat of shapes. Let me explain why I call it the God Triangle: It's extremely easy to make, just needing three straight lines; There's no complex maneuvers or patterns I need to do which makes mana flow into it smoothly. It's super stable. Even when I use my usual thin threads of mana, it doesn't tremble or threaten to break when it's completed. And! Most importantly: It looks cute. A purple triangle sat on my palm.

I hadn't stopped supplying mana just yet so it was bright and vibrant. But, once I stop supplying mana, it'll slowly start to dim and die out which is kind of sad. But! That's life and I have a mission to accomplish. My goal is to let it stand on it's own for 10 minutes. During this time, I can provide it no help and have to watch it struggle to maintain itself. Even if it is just mana, I still feel a little sad for it; Maybe I'm just too emotional. But, there's no choice.

I have to do this so I can clear this floor. The best I can do is optimize it to give the little thing the best chance to survive for just a little longer. Over countless tries and attempts, I've learned that size matters up to a point. Too big and I can't supply enough mana; It'll use too much to maintain itself. And if it's too small, there's simply not enough mana supplied for it to maintain itself. So, I've found the middle ground. Not too big and not too small.

I confirmed that there were no weak points in the triangle before cutting off the supply. Immediately it flickered briefly, but started to maintain its light immediately after. Now, just to make sure we're all on the same page, cutting off the mana supply doesn't suddenly make it an external object that I can throw around and leave alone. It can't leave my range; If it goes too far, it'll immediately dissipate into the air.

I can still move it around and manipulate it freely, but, I'm not the one maintaining it anymore. It's using the mana it has available as its upkeep. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. At any point, I can reconnect to it and provide mana. Or, I could reabsorb it and bring it back into my core at a loss. Anyways, that's all to say… Keep it up, little one! I watched as the triangle stood tall on my palm. I had already started the timer on my phone.

On a side note, most of the obvious jagged edges and holes in my mana had long since disappeared. It truly is looking stronger and better than ever. I wonder if there's a noticeable difference from the upper-end of D- grade and low D grade. Hm… Logically, there shouldn't be? But, stranger things have happened. As I distracted myself with random thoughts, the timer counted up. 1 minute. 2 minutes. 3 minutes… 7 minutes. 7 minutes 30 seconds. I stopped my straying thoughts and refocused on the triangle on my palm.

I'm coming up on my current record of 8: 02. As the timer passed by my record, I bit my lip and smiled brightly. Come on, little one! You can do this! Two more minutes!! 8: 30. 9: 00. The triangle looked like a very dim light. Surprisingly, it didn't flicker as if it was on it's last legs, but maintained a steady but low light. No way… Is it actually going to reach ten minutes? 9: 30. No way! No way! Is this actually happening? Oh my God. 9: 45. The light started to flicker. What do I do!? I wasn't expecting this!!

Just last night I could barely pass 8 minutes!! Now, after sleeping, I just suddenly shot up to the goal?! 9: 55. I could tell it was about to die out and dissipate. But, like a general in war, it struggled for victory and barely held on. Ah!!!! I'm going to scream! 9: 58. 10: 00. 10: 01 It dissipated.

"WAAH!" I shouted in excitement, jumping upwards into a sitting position. The smile on my face couldn't be wider and I was rapidly shaking my arms up and down with joy.

"H-huh!?" Luna suddenly jumped up, lightning sparking off her body. In an instant she was in front of me standing up on the bed while holding a fighting position, "Stella!? What's wrong! Are you okay?" She hurriedly said, checking the area.

"A-ah." I stared at her back with my jaw dropped. Oops. After confirming that there was no apparent problems in sight, Luna slowly lowered her fists, retracting the mana back into her body and turned to me, looking down on me from above.

"What's wrong?" She asked, kneeling down and gently grabbing my wrist, "Are you hurt?"

"A…haha…" I nervously chuckled, "I'm…Okay." The anxious look on her face finally eased up as the tension left her body,"Are you sure? Did you have a nightmare?" She asked. Hm…How do I explain this…I screamed at 4 A. M because I was excited? Huh…Wow, I sound real bad. I wonder if the Grandma next door woke up? What if…I just try to skirt past this without explaining? That sounds good!

"Wow…" I looked at the girl in front of me in admiration, "It's times like these that remind me you're a real awakener who reached the 24th floor! You were up and ready within a second! You looked so cool!" I excitedly said.

"Ah, well…" She scratched the back of her head.

"No, really! You were so awesome just then! And impressive! Lightning sparked off your body! I didn't know it could do that! Is it just the natural property of your mana? In any case, it looked sick! You really are an electric type mouse!"

"Haha, well…Yeah, my mana is inherently electric. When my mana is suddenly excited, it naturally comes out."

"Wow!! That's so cool! And beyond that, you looked really cool and reliable too! You were in front of me by the time I blinked! Hehe! It really made me feel like that you'd…protect…me…no…matter…what…" My voice trailed off and quieted at the end. As I remembered what just happened, my brain starting to malfunction. It really did feel…safe…

"Well, obviously." Luna said, "Nothing can hurt you when I'm nearby." She stated as if a fact. Ah…Ah…Ah…Did the AC break…? It's getting…hot in here… Looking at Luna's face, I impulsively lunged forward to hug the girl in front of me. Once she was out of sight, my mind finally kicked back into gear and started to work again. Phew…

"Huh?" Luna let out, "Bin? Are you okay?" She hugged me back.

"Hehe," After separating, I continued to speak as if nothing happened, "Yep! You should go back to sleep, I'll make breakfast when you wake up."

"Well, okay…" Luna crawled back to her side of the bed and laid down, "You're okay though, right?" Her eyes were struggling to stay open. Looks like the adrenaline vanished and sleepiness took over.

"Mhm." I nodded, "Good night."

"Night…" Her eyes shut and within a few seconds only the sounds of the ceiling fan, AC, and her quiet snoozing could be heard. Haah… safe… That was close… … I didn't immediately announce my completion of this step to Luna or the alchemy misters. I was going to wait until after lunch to confirm that it wasn't a fluke or a stroke of luck and then move onto Free Alchemy. So, like usual, Luna and I headed to the AT room and greeted the familiar receptionist.

I'm half-certain at this point that they know that I'm an awakener but simply don't care that I don't have a awakener's card. I'm not certain that they know I'm unregistered though. Well, as long as they don't ask, there's no problems. At the mana strengthening machine, Luna stood behind me, wanting to watch my first attempt of the day like always. After imbuing my mana into the handle, I waited a bit before the weight showed. And I was half-expecting it, but confirming it still shocked me.

The weight started at 300. The entry point for D grade.

"Oh?" Luna let out, surprised, "You didn't tell me that you were already at D grade. You've reached it surprisingly fast. How long's it been? Just over a week?"

"…I didn't know about it either. My last attempt was at 295, did it go up in my sleep or something?" I replied.

"Ah, makes sense." Luna nodded, "It was probably settling in and actualizing. Congrats! But, this is where the real challenge starts. Anything past this is going to take several times longer."

"Thank you." I smiled, "What do you mean? Is D+ grade a wall or something?"

"Well, from F grade to D grade is basically just fixing your mana to its base strength. Have you checked how it looks? It should be mostly smooth now. What's left is to refine it; Make it denser and stronger. This is where the real time-sink starts."

"I see, I see." I nodded thoughtfully. I thought I was improving too fast. Even if I am super talented and amazing and humble and cute, moving up multiple grades in just over a week is crazy. I probably shouldn't expect to reach D+ grade anytime soon. Well, not like it even matters! Wahahaha! For now, D grade is enough for me! All I wanted to do was be able to complete this step! After I confirm that I can reliably make the God Triangle, I won't need to come back here for a while! …

Back at home, a purple triangle stood on my palm. Luna sat next to me, and I watched at the timer approached ten minutes. 9: 48. 9: 56. 10: 02. I smiled. A few seconds later, the triangle dissipated. Step complete. Next step? Free Alchemy.