Rayne dropped Syra off at her house, having gotten the address from her an hour earlier. She lived at the edge of the Merchant’s District, in an apartment that others might have charitably described as tiny, but which Rayne saw as luxurious. The walls did not have visible signs of leaks, the sink didn’t drip, the door looked sturdy, and he could barely hear her neighbors through the walls. Truly the epitome of luxury. Then he headed for the mana unlocker.

  After all the fuss that went into choosing which skill to take, actually having his mana unlocked proved alarmingly easy. Only a few minutes after entering, Rayne left, his purse fifty silver lighter and the method on how to use Keen Edge engrained in his memory.

  That last part had actually taken the longest. The manuals for the four skills were stored in a secure vault within the room, and he had not been allowed to take them out. Thankfully, the user guide for Keen Edge had only been two pages, and the woman behind the counter had kindly offered to let him come back should he need to study the manual again.

  Half a gold gone in the blink of an eye. Truly, money takes a while to acquire and is gone in an instant. Proverbs from ancient philosophers resounding in his brain, Rayne departed for the training field, eager to put his newfound ability to the test.

  Unfortunately, with Syra safely dropped at her place to hopefully sleep the rest of the day, he was bereft of a training partner to assist him with his new skill. Leon had said something about taking the day off when he’d met with him to divvy up their loot from yesterday’s mission, so he was absent as well, which left Rayne with no one.

  Ah well, solo practice it is then.

  That suited him just fine, eager as he was to practice his new skill, and he headed for the training field with a little more vigor than usual.

  The field was mostly empty when he arrived, with only three others present, and Rayne immediately claimed a spot in the corner where a single training dummy stood waiting for an abuser. Normally, he would have drawn his blade and began practicing, but today was different. Today he had mana. Or he would, once he figured out how to use it.

  Closing his eyes, Rayne felt for the mana flowing through him. It was not a fast process. His mana might have been awakened, but that did not mean it was present. Or at the very least, it was not making that presence known, and the seconds quickly stretched to minutes, lingering on and on as he searched inside himself. Standing there, eyes shut and doing his best scarecrow impression, he felt rather foolish. How must he look to those around him?

  Shame was not the emotion he was searching for, but it welled within him anyway, and Rayne ruthlessly tamped it down. He had spent good coin on unlocking this power. He was not about to let insecurity keep it from him.

  Suddenly, a slight spark caught his attention. It was faint, but he had felt something within his stomach, and he focused on that region. Now that he was paying attention, there was a faint heat that he had not felt before, like his stomach was full after a big meal, albeit slightly different. It was not his stomach that felt full, but something else. And as he delved deeper, he felt it: his mana.

  It was a blue flame that burned warmly within him, just behind his navel. There was not much of it right now, merely a tiny campfire providing light within the darkness, but it was unmistakably mana.

  The mage who had assisted him in unlocking it had given instructions for what to do first, and Rayne took a moment to remember them now. By focusing the mana on his body, and commanding it to spread through all of his extremities, he should be able to…

  Suddenly, a transparent, blue pane appeared in the air in front of him, and Rayne grinned at his own success.

  [Rayne]

  Strength - E (21/50)

  Agility - E (29/50)

  Dexterity - E (32/50)

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Constitution - E (19/50)

  Magic Power - E (24/50)

  It had been a while since he had last checked his stats, not seeing the need to do so after every mission as some did. Now that he had the ability to check his own stats without the assistance of the crystal orb the receptionist used, he might revisit that decision, and he nodded as he looked them over.

  It really has been a while. Looking at them now, it was evident just how much he had grown. Most of them had at least doubled, and there were no F-rank stats left. He was actually starting to look like a proper adventurer, or his stats panel was at least.

  Magic Power was a new one, as it had only said ‘unawakened’ the last time he had looked at it. Now, however, it was his third highest stat, and only a few minutes after awakening at that. Could it be that he was actually talented with mana?

  Well, only one way to find out. Allowing the mana to return to his core once more, Rayne watched the panel wink out of existence. Then he drew his sword, ready to use a skill for the first time.

  Using Keen Edge turned out to be a much more complicated process than viewing his stat panel had been. Although he could command the mana freely inside his body, the moment he attempted to make it enter his blade, it rebelled, disrupting the skill and necessitating that he start over.

  From the core, up through the chest, around the shoulder, and through the arm to the blade. Repeating the steps from the manual he had studied within his head like a mantra, Rayne did his best to follow along. Each attempt brought him a little closer, and in a way, he found it fun, not even noticing the time as it flew by.

  An hour later, Rayne held his sword aloft, watching in awe as the blade glowed with a faint blue aura. This was the physical manifestation of his mana, and for a moment, Rayne forgot himself as he leaned forward to inspect it. This lapse in concentration was all it took for the skill to collapse, his control over the mana faltering as the steel lost its glow and returned to normal once more.

  Shaking his head to dispel any negative thoughts, Rayne attempted to use the skill again. This time, it came to him much faster, the mana responding to his call as it flowed outwards to cover the blade and enhance its sharpness.

  Suddenly curious, Rayne reached out to test whether or not it was actually working, only to wince and shake his left hand quickly as he withdrew it. Yup, it’s sharp all right. Sucking his finger to stem the flow of blood from the small cut on his fingertip, he turned to the training dummy, a much better test subject for his new skill.

  After several weeks of training under both Syra and Leon, Rayne was now familiar with just how much damage he could do to the self-repairing straw dummies in the guild training yard. In perfect condition, he could embed his sword a good three inches into their shoulder, or two inches into the thicker straw on the arm.

  Taking a proper stance, he lifted his blade high, the blue aura glowing faintly in the bright sunlight. Then with a light shout, he brought it down, swinging hard into the dense packed straw shoulder of the dummy.

  For a moment, the sword cut through like butter, encountering no resistance as it slashed the straw. Then friction reasserted itself, and it slowed, stopping around where the sternum would be on a person.

  Rayne exhaled sharply. Even from afar, it was clear to him that he had cut a good bit further than usual. Perhaps four inches? Or maybe five? Moving closer, he left the sword inside the dummy, watching the straw regrow around it as he examined his work.

  Looks like five inches. Rayne blinked. It was only the most basic of skills, but before today, his record had been three inches. Now with the addition of the lowest level skill, he had nearly doubled that. A seventy percent increase in cutting power against an unarmored target.

  Yanking the blade from the dummy, Rayne took his stance and called his mana forth once more. This time, he aimed for the arm, where the straw was thicker to prevent adventurers from cutting through it too easily.

  As the blue glow washed over his blade, Rayne brought it down hard, slamming it into the target’s arm. Like lightning, it descended into the straw, and a moment later, it emerged from the other side, the arm dropping to the ground as it was severed from the main body.

  A grin washed over his face, and Rayne couldn’t help but let it spread as he let the skill dissipate and bent over to pick up the arm. Holding it to the dummy, he watched as the straw extended to reconnect with the main body, repairing itself before his very eyes.

  The mechanics of the training dummy were interesting, but Rayne had no desire to dwell on them right now. Keen Edge was the real deal, and he could already feel the possibilities it unlocked for strategical planning. With this, he too could be a powerful combatant. Obviously not on the level of Syra or Leon, but enough that he would not drag them down. If he could learn more skills, and raise his actual skills with regard to swordplay and combat…

  You’re getting ahead of yourself. With that quick reminder, Rayne calmed down. A skill was one thing, but there was a long road ahead before he could call himself truly powerful. For now, he should focus on figuring out absolutely everything about this skill.

  Lifting his sword, he resumed his practice, swinging alone in the training yard with only a pale blue glow for company.