Chapter 5 - Awakening

*Mana will be granted to the player.* 

Lin Sei felt a strange energy beginning to flow into him, first as a tingling in his fingertips, spreading up his arms and into his torso. The energy seemed to find a natural channel within his body, concentrating in his dantian, a deep energy center just below his navel.

With each passing second, his entire body began to radiate warmth, and his veins briefly glowed with a golden shimmer, as though mana were flowing through them. He felt his perception expanding, connecting with his surroundings.

As the mana accumulated in his dantian, a sensation of pressure formed there, like a small spiraling vortex that pulsed in time with his heartbeat. His breathing quickened as he tried to control the flow; he felt that if he allowed the mana to overflow, it might lead to a collapse or even permanently damage his energy system.

Visualizing the mana stabilizing in his dantian, he created a warm, luminous sphere. This sphere would become an inner reservoir of power he could access whenever needed. Lin felt a latent power within himself, a contained fire that he could wield to unleash abilities beyond anything he had ever dreamed.

When he finally stood up, his eyes briefly gleamed with a golden hue, and he perceived the world around him in a completely new way. Now, he could feel the flow of energy in everything surrounding him.

*Complete Awakening* 

*Your body's capacity has advanced partially. Your true nature has been discovered. Corresponding skills will be added.* 

After absorbing the mana, Lin Sei felt something shift in his vision. Before him, a translucent panel appeared, floating in mid-air, barely visible but full of details, as if he were observing it from a game screen. He blinked, surprised, attempting to touch the air where the panel seemed to hover. However, his fingers passed through the empty space.

In the panel, letters and numbers appeared, revealing unknown information: 

[Level: 5] - [Classless] 

[Human] 

[Experience Points: 267/1,000] 

[Body Type: Akhala Body] 

[Strength: 10] 

[Agility: 20] 

[Stamina: 14] 

[MP: 23] 

[Element: Partially Awakened (Space)] 

[Title: Cold-Blooded] 

At first, his mind took a moment to process it, but as he focused his gaze, the letters clarified, and almost instinctively, he understood each value and symbol. It felt innate, as though he had been born with it.

An option labeled "Skills" appeared, and upon thinking about it, the panel responded to his thought, displaying a list of unknown abilities. 

[Skills: Dragon's Visual Projection, Enhanced Perception, Minor Teleportation, Clairvoyance, Minor Telekinesis, Minor Regeneration] 

A shiver ran down his spine as he realized that his life, his abilities, and his very existence were displayed as data on a panel only he could see. He felt the mana in his dantian vibrate in sync with the energy of the panel, connecting his newfound power with a tangible, almost magical interface. 

"So, is this what they call a status window? Hmm, after completing my awakening, it said my body would adjust accordingly, but to start with, this isn't bad at all." 

[Title: You will always display unwavering reasoning in any situation. You are completely immune to any form of mind control, such as brainwashing.] 

[Dragon's Visual Projection: The dragon's eyes pierce the truth; you can instill fear in weaker enemies with a single glance. Improves your willpower against adversity. Partially Awakened.] 

[Enhanced Perception: Your five senses have increased drastically.] 

"The one that really caught my attention is this skill; it's incredible." 

[Minor Teleportation: You can teleport within a range of 3 square meters.]

"Back to the hunt..." With his mind now set and an unbreakable will, he prepared to level up. 

Another day passed successfully as Lin continued hunting gray wolves. By that point, he had killed six more wolves and successfully reached level 9. Since his awakening, he had no trouble killing these beasts. 

"Damn it, for 15 years, weakness was always with me, but now, it's only taken a few days to kill these kinds of beasts. I know my circumstances are far from favorable, but perhaps this is the kind of environment I needed for my growth."

After repeatedly using his teleportation skill in battle, his mastery began to grow, increasing his range limit to 25 meters. Additionally, he spent time practicing telekinesis to pull his swords to himself and managed to level up once more. Naturally, with all the healing he had to do from his constant scratches and cuts during battles, his regeneration saw the most improvement. 

"Unfortunately, my physical stats remain stagnant, even though my mana capacity has increased fivefold." 

Lin decided to stop hunting for a while and train his abilities. Although he hadn't yet failed a hunt, it was only because of his teleportation and the low intelligence of the beasts he fought. He knew that as he ventured deeper into the dungeon, his current advantages would start to fade. 

Sitting in a meditative position, Lin closed his eyes and tried to sense the space around him. As he focused on this intrinsic connection, Lin felt as though he were in the middle of an infinite ocean. Layers upon layers and waves upon waves crashed against him from all directions, seemingly upholding the laws of space in the area. 

As he delved deeper into this phenomenon, he felt as though he could connect two of these layers and simply walk to the point in space where they began and ended. 

"I see, so that's the underlying principle behind my teleportation skill. I'm unconsciously connecting two points in space and transporting myself through spatial layers. If that's the case, then I wonder if..." 

Lin connected to a faint layer of space he felt beyond the end of his perception and pushed himself forward. 

*Cough… cough…* 

Suddenly, he appeared 30 meters from his original position, though now he was kneeling on the ground, coughing blood. Even so, his eyes were as bright as ever. 

"Yes, usually I only see a blurry image before I reach the point where I want to be, but this time, I felt it clearly. If my body isn't strong enough, the spatial turbulence caused by connecting two non-adjacent points in space will tear me apart." 

"As my understanding of my spatial affinity grows, I can reduce the amount of turbulence, increasing the distance I can travel. Likewise, as my body strengthens enough, the distance limit will no longer matter."

Since he wasn't going to make further progress in his spatial element for a while, he decided to train his swordsmanship with his short swords. Lin took a stance and swung his swords repeatedly, trying to reduce wasted movement as much as possible.

Hours passed until the day came to an end, and Lin finally finished his training. By the end, he had awakened the skill [Sword Mastery]. Although it was only level 1, it still meant he had taken the correct path. Lin decided that it would be best to rest for a while before starting to fight without relying on teleportation. Only then could he improve consistently.

*Viewpoint of the Tanhai Region* 

"Grandfather, grandfather, Lin has disappeared," Jin said hurriedly.