Starting this one month long training, I knew it was going to be difficult, but I didn't know it was going to be this hard.
It has now been a week since I started training for more than eighteen hours a day. With the little money that I had left, I bought some stamina recovery potions, which helped a lot, but I still felt exhausted coming home every day after training. So much so, that falling asleep has even become a challenge.
Luckily I am still feeling motivated from the goal I have set and the results I have attained. I have completed most of the easy general achievements, which have raised my stats by a bit, making the training a little more endurable.
Today marks the seventh day of training. This past week, I have only focused on physical training to get stronger and gain achievements, but the schedule for today is a little bit different.
Today I am going to train my rune crafting proficiency. Not only will this improve the runes that I can draw, but I will also be able to get rune-crafter related achievements. The aim for today is to gain two specific achievements.
The first achievement is simple, which is to draw ten runes successfully and will reward me mana stat points. The second achievement is a little more difficult though. The requirements for this achievement is to draw a rune with a 'good' grade, which will reward me with a new rune.
*Rune grades are given when a rune is drawn and measure the proficiency and accuracy in which the rune is drawn*
The current grade of the rune that I drew is 'normal' grade, just one grade below 'good'. I don't know if it is even possible to improve the grade of the rune today, but I must. The reward of a new rune is just too valuable for me to give up on, that is why I have dedicated a whole day to just for this.
'Okay, maybe it is also for my body to rest a little bit, but mainly for the reward of the achievement.'
Sitting behind his desk where he has failed to draw thousands of runes, Yasuo had a newfound confidence. Now that he knew that he had to draw the rune on his body for it to be successful, it felt like nothings was stopping him anymore.
Without even the slightest bit of hesitation, Yasuo picked up his brush, dipped it in the mana ink and crossed out the rune on his forearm, making it disappear.
Having cleared out space for a new and better rune to be drawn, Yasuo dips his brush into the mana ink once again.
As Yasuo begins to draw the outline of the rune onto his forearm, his hand is steady and precise as he creates the design, which he had drawn o so many times. Occasionally pausing to admire his work and ensure that the lines are perfectly balanced, but drawing confidently at a reasonably fast pace.
Finally, Yasuo had completed the outline of the rune, now the only thing he had left to do was fill in the empty space, creating a solid black shape that stands out against his fair looking forearm.
Having completed the rune, Yasuo puts down his brush, admiring his work with satisfaction, knowing that it will be used for an important purpose.
The rune starts to light up, covering it in a bright blue hue.
With the light slowly fading away, Yasuo looks at his forearm full of anticipation, but there is nothing there…
'What? I thought that it said that I could draw runes on my body now that I awakened, so why isn't it working?'
Calmly thinking about this for a solid few minutes, a thought popped up.
'Thinking back, this also happened the first time. The rune was also not completed when I first drew it, instead it appeared later. But why was it completed at that time....'
'That must be it!' A thought suddenly popped up in Yasuo's head, which made it all make sense.
'When I was stabbed in the hand by that goblin, blood flowed onto the rune, which successfully completed the rune.'
Being thrilled about finding this out, Yasuo summoned his dagger and made a small cut on his finger. A drop of blood formed on the tip of his finger. Holding his right hand above the forearm he drew the rune on, the little droplet of blood fell down.
Making contact with his forearm, the rune started appearing again and the blood was absorbed by it. A light emerged once again, this time much brighter and pure than the last time.
[Rune Successful]
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Rune: [Mana barrier rune]
Description: Mana barrier uses mana to form a spherical barrier around the user. The more mana that is used, the bigger the mana barrier.
Rank: Rare
Grade: Good
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Achievement [Good Rune]
Description: Achievement for drawing a 'good' grade rune for the first time
Reward: New rune selection. ~ Press [Yes] to receive reward ~
Yasuo was ecstatic having formed the rune successfully, but on top of that the rune also got a good grade. A goal he set out a whole day for and wasn't even sure if he would achieve, he completed on his first attempt.
Not being able to wait, Yasuo immediately presses [Yes] to gain his rewards.
Upon pressing it, a sort of roulette appeared, which was spinning three slots.
Having stopped spinning, three images of runes appeared.
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~You may choose one of the three runes to obtain~
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1. [Water shot rune]
Description: Using mana, a small amount of water can be shot.
Rank: Common
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2. [Mana circulation rune]
Description: The rune will increase a user's mana capacity and recovery rate.
Rank: Unique
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3. [Fireball rune]
Description: Using mana, a fireball can be shot.
Rank: Uncommon
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Yasuo was amazed at the sight before him. Three runes that he could possibly pick, that would become his.
Reading the three options, the decision was easily made. When Yasuo saw option 2 [Mana circulation rune], he immediately picked it. Not only did it have the best rank, but it would also be the most useful for him at the moment.
Having a higher mana capacity rate and recovery would not only help him in training or recover faster, but it would improve his overall strength by being able to use his skills more.
Once he clicked on the rune, the appearance of the rune was made visible.
A beautiful round rune with smooth, flowing lines that swirl around in a circular pattern. It was intricately detailed, with each curve and line purposeful and deliberate. The centre of the rune was bold and eye-catching, drawing Yasuo's attention. The edges of the rune were perfectly symmetrical, lending a sense excellence.
Overall, it was a beautiful rune. Elegant, timeless, and captivating, with a clear message that spoke to Yasuo.
Being enthralled in the moment, Yasuo picked up his brush and started to draw the [mana circulation rune] on his thigh, which was easily accessible and had a lot of space to draw the intricate details.
From beginning to end, Yasuo had a lot of difficulties drawing the rune. Not only because this was a rune that he had never drawn before, but also because the pattern was much more difficult than the [mana barrier rune].
Yasuo thought that the difficulty of the rune must have a connection to the rank of the rune. Every little mistake could be seen when a brush stroke was even a little bit off because of the completely symmetrical pattern. And the details were so intricate that the small brush seemed to smudge everything like a mop brush.
After, what felt like an eternity, the rune was fully drawn. Now the only thing left to do was to complete it with a drop of blood. Poking his finger once again and letting the droplet made contact with the rune, a small light appeared.
In comparison to last time, it felt like holding a candle to the sun.
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Rune: [Mana circulation rune]
Description: The rune will increase a user's mana capacity and recovery rate.
Rank: Unique
Grade: Poor
Effect: +10 mana & +2% mana recovery
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The grade that the rune got was the lowest possible grade, a poor grade.
Not being satisfied with this, Yasuo quickly crossed out the rune. Creating a empty canvas of his thigh, Yasuo began drawing the rune again and again.
The attempts that followed weren't much better, all getting a poor grade, but small changes could be seen. The rune started to look a little better and after every completion, the light seemed brighter.
And finally on his eighth attempt, a significantly brighter light appeared.
The rune had finally gotten a better grade, transforming from a 'poor' grade into a 'bad grade'.
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Rune: [Mana circulation rune]
Description: The rune will increase a user's mana capacity and recovery rate.
Rank: Unique
Grade: Bad
Effect: +20 mana & +4% mana recovery
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Achievement [Rune completion: 10]
Description: Achievement for completing 10 runes successfully.
Reward: +5 mana
Yasuo was glad that he obtained the achievement and got five extra points of mana from it, but it felt like nothing in comparison to the 'bad' grade [Mana circulation rune]. He was happy that he improved the grade, but he was especially happy about the effect that it gave. A twenty point increase in mana and a four percent increase in mana recovery.
Feeling happy about the results and having achieved everything according to his schedule, Yasuo went to bed.
Feeling tired and having rough days ahead of him for the next three weeks, he had decided that going to bed early was the best option.
And apparently that was the best option, as Yasuo fell asleep immediately.