Chapter 4 - 4: The Preparation

In the ancient cathedral, Kyle sat on the cold stone floor, clutching the wound on his back. Blood seeped through his fingers, but he forced himself to stay calm. "I need to stop the bleeding," he muttered, his voice strained. As he pressed his hand against the injury, he felt a faint hum of energy—mana. He looked at the faint mana he had felt. His eyes fell on the black ring on his index finger. "Is this… a storage ring?" he wondered aloud. At first, he had thought it was just an ordinary piece of jewelry, but now he realized it might be something more. Focusing, he tried to channel his mana into the ring, hoping to find something useful. It wasn't easy. His control over mana was shaky at best. After a few seconds of struggling, a pile of random items spilled out of the ring—clothes, water bottles, packaged food, and even a trash can. Kyle stared at the mess, frustrated. "Damn, mana control is harder than it looks," he muttered. "How did the transmigrated protagonist in the novel make it look so easy?" He thought back to when he had used his lightning affinity earlier. Even then, he had felt like most of his mana was wasted. Only half of it had actually gone into forming the thunder spear. After several minutes of practice, Kyle finally got the hang of using the storage ring. He managed to pull out a health potion, which he quickly drank. The pain in his back began to fade as the potions worked their magic, healing his injuries slowly but steadily. "At least the food problem is solved," he said, relieved. He had been worried about how he would survive for a month without supplies, but the storage ring was packed with enough food to last him if he rationed it carefully. As an awakener, he could go longer without food than an ordinary person, but it was still a relief to know he wouldn't starve. Water wasn't an issue either—with his water affinity, he could create it whenever he needed. Kyle ate some dried jerky from the storage ring, chewing slowly as he thought about his next steps. "I've got one month to get stronger," he said to himself. After eating, he pulled out a jian—a slender, double-edged sword—from the storage ring. It felt familiar in his hands, as if the original Kyle had trained with it before. He started swinging the sword, practicing basic moves to get a feel for the weapon. The movements were awkward at first, but he gradually found a rhythm. When he wasn't practicing with the sword, Kyle focused on mana manipulation. He tried to create different spells, experimenting with his lightning, wind, ice, and water affinities. It was exhausting work, and he often ran out of mana quickly. But whenever that happened, he'd switch back to sword training, pushing his body to its limits. "I've got to master both," he said, wiping sweat from his brow. "If I'm going to face that monster again, I need to be ready." As the hours turned into days, Kyle fell into a routine. Train with the sword, practice mana control, eat, rest, and repeat. It was grueling, but he could feel himself improving—slowly but surely. The pain in his back was gone, and his movements were becoming sharper, more precise. "One step at a time," he muttered, swinging the jian with renewed determination With each passing day, Kyle grew stronger. The cathedral, once a place of fear and uncertainty, became his training ground. **** In the ancient cathedral, Kyle sat on the cold stone floor, taking a sip of water from a bottle he had pulled from his storage ring. The dim light filtering through the cracks in the walls cast long shadows across the room. It had been 26 days since he arrived in this world, and now, with only four days left before the entrance exam for the Solvayne Magic Academy, he knew he couldn't wait any longer. "I need to get out of here," Kyle muttered to himself, staring at the empty water bottle. "I still don't even know where this cathedral is or how long it'll take to reach the academy. If I don't leave now, I'll miss the exam—and my only chance to change this world's fate." He clenched his fists, determination flickering in his heterochromic eyes. "Today's the day. I'm taking on that monster." To prepare himself, Kyle decided to check his progress. "Status," he said, and a translucent blue screen appeared in front of him. =======[STATUS]====== [Name]: Kyle Valemont [Age]: 18 [Class]: Swordsman [Title]: ???? [Blessing]: Echoes of the Roaming Storm [Mana Core Rank]: Bronze [Mana Core Grade]: Grade 2 [Affinity]: Lightning, Wind, Ice, Water ====[STATS]===== Strength: E Agility: E+ Endurance: E Intelligence: E Mana Capacity: D- Charm: C+ Luck: Unpredictable =====[MASTERIES]===== Swordsmanship: Apprentice - 81% Lightning Magic: Adept - 43% Wind Magic: Adept - 31% Ice Magic: Apprentice - 59% Water Magic: Apprentice - 18% ===================== Kyle sighed as he scanned the screen. "I knew this was gonna happen," he muttered. Despite all his training, he was still a grade below the humanoid monster he had encountered earlier. A month is not enough to breakthrough twice or thrice. The monster was a Grade 3 Silver, while Kyle is a Grade 2 Bronze. The gap was significant, but not insurmountable. "Maybe it's doable with my masteries," he said, trying to reassure himself. Over the past month, He had focused intensely on improving his skills, particularly his lightning magic and wind magic, which he hoped would give him the firepower he needed to take down the monster. His efforts had paid off—he had reached the Adept level in lightning magic and wind magic, which was no small feat. Most people took years to reach that level, but Kyle had managed it in just a few weeks. "It's definitely because of the blessing," he said, glancing at the line under [Blessing]: Echoes of the Roaming Storm. The blessing had not only enhanced his mana capacity—which was almost on par with Silver rankers—but also accelerated his growth. Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Still, he knew it wouldn't be enough to guarantee victory. Kyle stood up, stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders. "Alright, let's do this," he said, trying to shake off the nervousness creeping into his chest. He grabbed his jian, the slender sword he had been training with, and stepped out of the cathedral. The air outside was cool, and the ruins surrounding the cathedral were eerily silent. Kyle's heart pounded as he scanned the area, searching for the monster. "Where are you?" he whispered, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. As if on cue, a low growl echoed through the ruins. Kyle's instincts screamed at him to run, but he stood his ground. "No more running," he said, his voice steady despite the fear coursing through him. "I'm ending this today." The humanoid monster emerged from the shadows, its black, stony armor glinting in the dim light. Its red eyes locked onto Kyle, and it let out a guttural roar, its long claws scraping against the ground. Kyle took a deep breath, lightning crackling around his free hand. "Let's see if I can take down a monster ranked higher, than me" he said, a determined smirk tugging at his lips. "Time to see if all that training was worth it." ****