Slashing the rock face a few more times, Cage realized that there was a lot of wasted energy. Using his [Burst] skill to make it vibrate was like using a fire hose to put out a cinder. The efficiency of using his skill like so was horrendous. Cage hated wasting stuff, be it food or mana.
'It seems I need to make another skill for this...'
Making a new skill for this would not only increase its mana efficiency, but it could also make it have a stronger effect. Just thinking about how much stronger it would be caused Cage to have a creepy grin.
He would have to make it later though, he still needed to return back to the main camp. Once he got back to his room...
'Ah wait... Me and Andrew don't have a room anymore, let alone a place to sleep. I should probably ask him about that later...'
Cage just shrugged his shoulders, he would cross that bridge when he got there. He still had quite a bit of time on his hands, Cage estimated he still had about an hour left until everyone else was done. Cage realized that he still only had a shallow understanding of his [Burst] skill, despite being the creator of said skill. Only time could reveal the uses.
Cage wasn't one to dwell on small matters, so he moved on. He still only had a basic level of combat skills. He was no where near his old self. His old self had overwhelming strength, senses, and seemingly intelligence. When he reached Stage Three, he would regain his memories and most likely with that, his combat skills. However, he could not inherit better senses and only some of the information he had in his old world would be useful.
His senses needed the most work of all of them. He relied too much on his eyes, as a result his other senses were less beneficial.
'I'm a beast-man now. My senses are stronger, but I don't use them. If I can master control over my senses, then it would be incredibly helpful in almost every situation for me.'
Cage sat down in a cross-legged position. He could only really train one sense at a time, so he chose to train his hearing first. It was also the only one he really knew how to train, so he didn't really have a choice in the matter either way.
First he closed off all of his other senses. It was no easy task either. He tried to listen for the slightest sound and tune out everything but sound. The cool touch of rock waned away, the smell of earth vanished, the taste of his lunch disappeared, and the sight of the cave faded.
He heard the clanging of pickaxes.
He heard the dripping of water.
He heard the scurry of small animals.
He heard the swoosh of the wind.
'Wait? Swoosh? I thought there wasn't any wind underground?'
Cage was indeed correct, there wasn't.
He opened an eye to see the cause of the strange sound. But before Cage could zero in on the source, he felt himself be picked up abruptly.
He quickly turned his head around, and found a familiar blonde-haired person.
Zaria flashed a smile, "Hehe... Found you... There is no escape~"
Cage was a little confused, "Don't get me wrong. I don't mind being picked up, but shouldn't you be overseeing the people working?"
"Hm? No, they just finished a little ago." answered Zaria.
Surprise flashed across his face, 'Would that mean an hour has already gone by? I guess I was just too immersed in my sensory training...'
Zaria, who was now carrying Cage, went back to the group where everyone was now packed up and standing shoulder to shoulder.
Zaria inspected everyone's quota and their tools. Finding that everyone had met quota and nothing was out of the ordinary, they all made their way back to base camp.
Surprisingly, Zaria and Andrew began to chat up a storm. They had only talked for a little, but their eccentric and whimsical attitudes got along pretty well. Their conversations mostly involved either, fighting, and... well, fighting. They both liked to fight... a lot.
'Why is it I always attract the fighting addicts...'
He suddenly felt a shiver down his spine. It felt like someone was watching him... He looked around, but no one was looking at him...
'Strange, I could have sworn I felt someone looking at me...'
Deciding it was nothing, Cage continued letting his thoughts wander.
Getting back to the main camp, Zaria finally released Cage from her grasp. She handed a meal ticket to everyone in the group which they all accepted with eagerness in their eyes.
After receiving his ticket, Cage went to find Andrew. Andrew waved at him to call him over. Andrew was already in line for a meal, he had even saved Cage a spot which was nice of him.
Cage was starving, he had used a lot of mana and was tired from swinging his pickaxe. There wasn't any smaller sizes, not that Cage would want a smaller size, and were quite heavy. They took a lot of energy to swing. The vibrations from the collision against the rock only added to his fatigue as well.
Naturally, he wanted to know what he was going to eat."So, what's the food today?"
Andrew grinned, "It's soup, like normal. We're in luck for the next three days though! The guys from group 2 killed a Stage Three beast called a War-hog! It gave enough meat to last the entire camp around three days!"
Cage began to share Andrew's enthusiasm. "Nice!"
Once it was their turn they each got their food. Eagerly holding their bowls out, they watched with anticipation as the chunks of meat fell out of the ladle into their bowls. Beast meat was very nutritious and contained a lot of mana so it was both good for the body and soul.
Without missing a beat, they both sat down with everyone else and began to eat voraciously.
Cage had never tasted anything so good. A warm meal after a hard day's work was truly a godsend.
While they were eating, Cage and Andrew exchanged skill ideas and concepts. They both knew that making a skill took a lot of time, but it was also beneficial to plan for it before hand. Having a clear goal in mind would help a lot.
After exchanging a few ideas back and forth, Andrew was especially impressed with Cage's vibration skill idea. "So you're saying that it would be a skill that would make your own body or whatever you're touching vibrate? That's a good idea! It would not only enhance weaponry, but also allow you to enhance you're unarmed attacks as well."
Cage laughed a little in response, "You forget that it doesn't have to be a weapon. Say if I were to touch a boulder, If I make it vibrate enough then wouldn't it fall apart and break in on itself?"
Upon realizing the true potential of Cage's idea, Andrew's eyes opened wide. "That really is a dastardly skill... Thinking about it gives me shivers. If you use enough mana you could destroy an opponent in the blink of an eye and reduce them to a pile of ruble."
Andrew realized that he had been much too narrow-minded, he needed to think outside the box to squeeze out all the advantages and uses his skills could give.
Cage made a random comment, "I'm jealous you were able to make your skill in a day..."
"I didn't make it in a day, what do you mean?"
Cage was struck speechless for a moment before it was replaced with confusion. "... Eh?"
Cage tilted his head, perplexed. 'How did he not make it in a day when he was only working on it at that time?'
"Don't you have to make it in one go?" asked Cage.
Andrew facepalmed. He had neglected to tell Cage something very important and was kicking himself inwardly. "Sigh... sorry... I should have told you this, but you don't have to do it in one go. You can work on it over time."
"..."
Continuing, Andrew said "What I mean is that you can edit skills using a special method. It is hard to pull off and you could even lose your original skill if you fail and mess up..."
Cage grabbed Andrew's arm and began to shake it while pleading. "Andrew~, Tell mee~"
Andrew pulled his arm away and placed it on Cage's head. Andrew began to pet Cage's fluffy black ears. Cage closed his eyes in content and began to calm down.
Andrew smiled, "All you need to do is replicate the mana signature of the rune formation. Because you are replicating the mana signature, it will be in an incomplete state and you can add and change whatever you want."
Finishing their meal, the duo made their way up to the entrance of the mine.
'Wow... I haven't been here in more than four years... I wonder where mom is right now, I hope she is doing okay...'
Moving on from his thought, Cage quickly caught up to Andrew.
Since they still had a ways to go, Cage decided it was a good opportunity to ask where they were going to sleep.
"So, where are we going to sleep?"
Upon hearing Cage's question, Andrew winced at the realization.