Izumi sat among the corpses, flipping through the worn pages of the Mana Focusing book. His fingers trembled slightly, both from exhaustion and anticipation. The thick, stale air of the pit clung to his skin, mixing with the scent of rot. But he forced himself to focus.
"This is the full version. There has to be something new here."
His eyes scanned the text, skipping over familiar sections. He had tried using mana before, but as a classless, he had never been able to contain it. Mana naturally built up inside people who entered the tower, but for him, it had always been a distant dream—until now.
Then, his gaze landed on something. A passage stood out from the rest.
Mana Gathering.
Izumi's breath hitched. He had never seen this before.
According to the book, Mana Gathering allowed a person to draw mana into a specific part of their body. By focusing it into their limbs, they could strengthen their attacks, increase their speed, or even sharpen their senses.
"This… this might be exactly what I need."
He straightened his posture, forcing his mind to push aside the hunger, the filth, and the exhaustion. All that mattered now was trying.
Closing his eyes, he concentrated.
He imagined the mana inside him, picturing it flowing through his body. Then, he tried to gather it into his right hand.
Nothing happened.
His brows furrowed. He tried again.
Minutes passed. Hours, maybe. But his hand remained empty.
Frustration burned in his chest, but he refused to give up.
"No, I can do this."
This time, he forced himself into a deeper state of concentration.
The air around him felt heavier. His breathing slowed.
Then—a faint warmth.
A tingling sensation crawled through his veins, moving toward his fingertips.
Izumi's eyes snapped open.
A dim glow pulsed in his right hand. It was faint, unstable, but undeniably there.
For a long moment, he just stared at it, hardly daring to believe it. Then, slowly, his lips curled into a small smirk.
"I did it."
But he wasn't satisfied. If this was Mana Gathering, then what came next?
He flipped through the next few pages, scanning the text eagerly. And then he found something that made his heartbeat quicken.
Compression.
By forcing mana to press together, a person could harden it, making it stronger and more effective.
Izumi's hands clenched around the book.
"This is it. This is what I need."
Without hesitation, he tried to force his mana to condense into something more solid.
He willed it to compact, to harden—
But the mana simply passed through his hand and vanished.
His jaw clenched.
He tried again.
And again.
And again.
Each time, the mana just dispersed, refusing to take shape. No matter how hard he tried, it kept slipping away.
Izumi exhaled shakily, exhaustion creeping into his limbs. His stamina was draining fast.
"Why does it keep slipping through…?"
Pressing his fingers against his temple, he forced himself to think.
There had to be a reason.
Then—a thought struck him.
"What if… instead of forcing it to stay still, I make it move in a circle?"
It was worth a try.
With renewed determination, he gathered mana once more, but this time, he guided it into a continuous flow.
At first, it wavered, flickering like a candle in the wind.
But he kept going.
Minutes passed. His vision blurred. His body trembled from exhaustion.
Then—
Something clicked.
A weight settled into his right hand.
It wasn't visible, but he could feel it.
He had done it.
Izumi's head swam from the strain, but he needed to test it.
His eyes darted to a rusted chest plate buried among the corpses.
Perfect.
He staggered toward it, lifting his newly reinforced hand.
Taking a deep breath, he clenched his fist and punched forward.
A loud clang echoed through the pit.
When the dust settled, a clear handprint was etched into the armor.
Izumi's breath came in short gasps.
He stared at his hand, then at the armor, then back at his hand.
A slow grin spread across his face.
"I finally did it."
But before he could celebrate—
His vision darkened.
His legs gave out.
His body hit the pile of corpses.
And then—everything faded to black.