"Are you, perhaps, the one called Kai?" asked a figure clad in black robes, its face hidden behind a dark, ominous mask.
A chill ran down Kai's spine as he turned to face the speaker.
"Y-Yes... It's me," he stammered, sweat forming at the back of his neck.
'What does he want from me...? Don't tell me—' Kai's face darkened as realization struck.
'That old man hired someone to kill me...'
"Don't be afraid. I'm just a humble servant of Lord Alair."
Kai gasped at the mention of that name. "W-Wait... Alair? You mean Lira's—"
"Lady Lira's father, indeed," the figure interjected.
"W-What do you want from me?"
The figure chuckled at his question. "Nothing, really..."
Before Kai could respond, the man continued, "I have a proposal for you."
--
The white, glowing light vanished.
Kai's vision blurred.
His stomach lurched, he felt a wave of nausea wash over him.
'So that's how a teleportation artifact works,' he thought.
Regaining his senses, he took a deep breath of relief. Then, he glanced around to assess his surroundings.
He had expected to arrive in a grand, luxurious room filled with all kinds of delicious food. But instead, what he saw was—
Towering, thick trees. Lush bushes.
The distant sound of flowing water—perhaps a river or a lake.
But what shocked him was the complete absence of any settlement—
Not a single house.Not even a trace of another soul.
Only the distant, random growls of wild beasts.
Seeing all of this, panic surged through him.
As if sensing his reaction, Raven spoke. "Calm down, kid. Right now, you're standing in the Weeping Woods, just outside the Ritopia Kingdom."
He then turned to face Kai.
"Let me introduce myself properly."
Pausing for a moment to make sure Kai was paying attention, he continued,
"I'm Raven, the Duke's shadow. I'm also one of the heads of the Intelligence Division under Duke Elsworth. And you might be wondering why I chose this place for teleportation."
Kai nodded.
"You see, unlike common training halls, this place has a denser concentration of mana—perfect for your training."
A smirk formed beneath Raven's mask. "And it's also crawling with wild beasts and bandits."
Kai swallowed hard, processing his words.
"Also..." Raven pointed to the side, where a crystal-blue river flowed peacefully.
Beside the river lay a deep, damp cave.
"See that cave? Right next to it is an ancient ruin, filled with all sorts of traps."
Kai nodded nervously.
Seeing Kai's reaction, Raven chuckled. "What? Scared? Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
He then turned away, walking toward the lake while gesturing for Kai and Luna to follow.
As they approached, Raven stepped onto a large, flat stone near the shore. Kai did the same, settling down as Luna nestled into his lap.
Breaking the silence, Raven spoke. "I can sense that you've formed your Essence Core."
Kai nodded in response.
"I don't know how much you already understand about it, so I'll only explain what you need to know for now."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"After an individual forms their Essence Core, it remains unstable. To stabilize and strengthen it, they must meditate daily and refine their Essence Core by absorbing Soul Essence—either directly from the Soul Plane or by killing monsters and absorbing their Soul Essence."
He stopped, allowing Kai to process his words.
"Also, by forming your Essence Core, you now have access to mana. Mana exists everywhere in this world—in forests, caves, underwater, and even high in the skies. It's all around us.
While Soul Essence is stored within the Essence Core, mana is stored in mana nodes. As for how many mana nodes an Awakener possesses… you don't need to worry about that just yet."
Kai nodded, signaling that he fully understood.
"And our Essence Core automatically gathers and refines mana from the surroundings, storing it in the mana nodes."
Kai listened curiously, and as soon as Raven paused, he asked,
"So, it's like breathing, but for mana?"
Raven smirked. "Something like that."
He then pointed at Kai and said, "But right now, your core is like a leaky bucket."
Kai smiled awkwardly in response.
"Okay, enough theory. Stand up."
Kai obeyed, getting to his feet while Luna landed firmly on the ground.
Raven then pointed at a tree roughly 100 meters away.
"Sprint towards it. Now!"
At his command, Kai dashed toward the tree at full speed, Luna trailing behind him playfully.
Just as he neared the tree, he was startled to find Raven already standing there.
"Climb!"
Without hesitation, Kai began scaling the tree. When he reached the top, he was met with an even greater surprise—Raven was already sitting on one of the branches, arms crossed over his chest.
"Now jump!"
"Eh?" Kai turned toward him in disbelief. Before he could protest, Raven repeated,
"Jump!"
Kai hesitated, but Luna suddenly lunged forward, exclaiming—
[Yeee! Jump!]
And landed on the ground effortlessly.
"Tsk, tsk, even your little pet is braver than you."
Kai gritted his teeth but said nothing. Instead, he closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths—
Then—
He jumped.
Air rushed past him, his hair whipping in the wind.
For a brief moment, he felt weightless.
Then—
Thud!
He dropped, face-first into the ground.
"Argh!" He groaned, pushing himself up.
[That was fun! Let's do it again!] Luna chirped, bouncing excitedly around him.
"Maybe later, little one," Raven said, stepping closer.
"This isn't time to rest. Get up."
Kai stood up, grunting as he dusted himself off.
Raven pulled a coin from his pocket and held it near Kai's face.
"You should catch it—"
He dropped it mid-sentence.
"Before it hits the ground."
But before Kai could react, the coin had already landed.
Raven turned away. "Run towards the river."
Kai nodded and bolted forward.
"Turn left!" Raven shouted. Kai hesitated for a second before obeying.
Raven continued calling out random directions, forcing Kai to adjust his movements on the fly. Then, without warning, he picked up a stone and hurled it at him.
"Dodge it!"
Kai instinctively ducked, narrowly avoiding the stone.
Raven nodded in approval, then vanished from his spot, reappearing beside Kai—who was now kneeling, panting heavily.
Observing him, Raven mentally noted the results—
'Strength—Weak
Endurance—Barely decent
Instincts—Average
Agility—Good'
Raven crossed his arms. "Well... that was something."
Kai wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked up. "So? How'd I do?"
Raven stroked his chin, pretending to think deeply.
"How do I put this..."
A sly smirk tugged at his lips beneath the mask. "You run fast—like a scared rabbit. You climb like a cat stuck in a well. Your dodging? More like panicked flailing. And your reaction speed—" He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I could throw a rock, take a nap, and wake up before you even think about dodging it."
Kai scowled. "I wasn't that bad."
"Oh, you're right." Raven tapped his chin, pretending to rethink. "I forgot one thing. You have a talent."
Kai perked up. "Really?"
Raven stepped closer, his grin widening. "Yeah. You're excellent at getting hit."
Kai groaned, throwing his head back. "Is this training or just an elaborate way to bully me?"
"Both. But mostly training. Gotta break those bad habits of yours somehow." Raven clapped a hand on Kai's shoulder. "Cheer up, kid. By the time I'm done, you might actually survive a fight. 'Might'."
Kai sighed. Luna snickered.
And Raven? He just stretched, already thinking of the next torture—uh, training session.