The early rays of sunlight bled through the small window above Ethan's bed, warming the wooden walls of the apartment perched atop his family's cozy café. The scent of brewing coffee and fresh pastry dough wafted up from below, teasing his senses. But Ethan had more important things on his mind than breakfast.
Today was the day he upgraded.
Not his bank balance. Not his dungeon-clear speed. But his survival.
Yesterday had taught him valuable lessons. Fast monsters like the Whisperlings could surround and overwhelm. Durable brutes like the Rustborn could wear him down. He needed more than agility. More than a high mana pool and spell spam. He needed durability—and not just the kind that came from dodging everything perfectly.
He sat up and checked his system interface. Still over $42,000 in his bank. Just enough to grab something decent. Initially, he had planned to visit the small spell shop down by the market—the same one where he had picked up Surge Step. But this time, he needed options. He needed filters. He needed something specific.
The Awakeners Hall.
It was the biggest spell archive in the city—not just a market stall, but a whole institution, filled with magical knowledge, training rooms, and a digital archive of nearly every known spell in the registry. It was pricier, sure. But this wasn't about saving a few bucks. This was about finding the spell that would keep him alive.
…
The sleek metal doors of the Awakeners Hall hissed open as Ethan stepped inside. The lobby was immaculate, with marble floors that gleamed under ambient mana-light panels embedded in the ceiling. A receptionist sat behind a curved desk, her uniform as crisp as her polite smile.
"Welcome to the Awakeners Hall. What can I help you with?"
"I am looking for a defensive spell. D-Rank."
The receptionist nodded knowingly. "Of course. Please follow me."
She led him through the hall, past rows of mages and knights in robes and battle gear, until they arrived at a room filled with holographic terminals. She gestured to one.
"Our archive interface will allow you to search by type, rank, mana cost, or function. Good luck."
Ethan sat down and activated the terminal. A blue interface sprang to life, awaiting his queries.
He began his search:
Category: Defensive
Type: Toggle
Rank: D
Keywords: Subtle, Long-Duration, Skin, Shield, Continuous
Dozens of entries populated the screen. Most were garbage for his needs.
Mana Shield: A floating shield visible to everyone and their grandma.
Reactive Barrier: Only activates after you're hit. Too late by then.
Ironhide Shell: Turns your skin metallic gray. Effective? Sure. Subtle? Not remotely.
He sighed and scrolled further.
Page after page of flashy garbage, unnecessary visual effects, or simply inefficient mana usage.
Then, finally, one caught his eye.
Manaskin
Rank: D
Type: Toggle
Mana Cost: 5 / sec
Effect: Reinforces the user's skin with a thin layer of mana. Reduces all incoming physical damage by 20 flat at base. At higher mastery, it becomes more efficient.
Visuals: Only a faint shimmer when hit. Invisible otherwise.
Notes: Great for subtle use.
"This... is perfect."
It was exactly what he had wanted. Continuous protection. No obnoxious aura. Low mana drain. Trainable. This was a spell he could use in public, to make use of his talent and train spell mastery.
Then he saw the price.
$30,000
"Ghk."
It wasn't cheap.
He winced, hand hovering over the purchase confirmation. Was it worth eating up nearly three-quarters of his total funds?
Then he remembered the Rustborn's hammer slams. The Whisperlings' claws. The Direfang boss...
He pressed "Buy."
A prompt appeared, requesting his bank credentials. Ethan sighed, pulled up his banking app, and entered the authorization details. After a moment of confirmation and a soft chime, the screen changed.
"Please wait. An Awakeners Hall representative will deliver the spell shortly."
A few minutes later, a young employee in a gray robe entered the room, holding a sealed mana scroll.
"Ethan Vale? Here's your spell," she said, handing it over with a nod.
He accepted it eagerly, breaking the seal and letting the mana-infused knowledge flow into his mind.
[Spell Memorized: Manaskin (D-Rank)]
[New D-Rank Spell Detected]
[STATS GAINED FROM D-RANK SPELL: Manaskin]
+20 Mana
+10 Spell Power
+5 Agility
+3 to All Other Stats
His body hummed briefly as the mana settled into his core. He activated the spell immediately.
No change. No glow. Just a faint hum across his skin.
He threw a weak jab into the air. Still felt like himself.
"Hell yeah."
Still, with only $12,350 left, he decided to browse offensive spells. After all, if Lena really did team up with him after asking her, Fireball might end up being more of a hazard than a help, because of the AoE.
He toggled the search filters:
Category: Offensive
Type: Single Target
Rank: D
A list of results popped up. He skimmed quickly.
Piercing Flame: A narrow burst of fire focused like a lance. Decent damage, but way too flashy.
Stone Dart: Shoots a fast shard of rock at the target. Meh. Too slow.
Chilling Ray: Slows the enemy and deals minor ice damage. Interesting utility, but not really Ethan's style.
Wind Slice: A sharp blade of wind launched from a hand motion. Almost cool, but lacked power.
Then, finally, one caught his attention.
Lightning Needle
Mana Cost: 30
Cooldown: 3s
Range: 50 Meters
Base Damage: 300
Casting Method: Finger snap or flick
Visual Effect: Thin bolt of white-blue lightning
Sound: Sharp crack like a mini thunderclap
$37,000
Ethan groaned. He was $24,650 short.
But this spell was perfect. Subtle. Fast. Clean. No massive blast radius.
He stood up, resolve hardening.
"Guess we're farming again today."
…
By noon, Ethan was already deep into Whispering Hollow.
Manaskin active. Fireball blazing.
He noticed the difference instantly. A Whisperling managed to graze his arm with its claws. Before, he would've felt the sting and seen his HP drop. Now, just a glancing hit and not even a tick off his health.
Flat damage reduction. Beautiful. With my spell power it blocks around 55 base damage.
He cleared the dungeon faster than ever before. Same for Broken Foundry. Rustborn blows that would've staggered him before now felt like nothing.
And with each boss cleared, he emptied his mana pool again. Twice per run.
He repeated the loop. Whispering Hollow. Broken Foundry. Over and over.
+8 Mana, +8 Spell Power by the end of the day.
By dusk, he had cleared each dungeon twice, netting him a total of $20,800.
His new balance sat at $33,150. Still short of the lightning spell.
But tomorrow was another day.
He entered the café from the backdoor, the scent of stew and baked bread greeting him warmly.
Alice looked up from her drawing in the café corner. "You look like you got hit by a vending machine."
Ethan chuckled and dropped into the seat across from her. "It's called progress."
She raised a brow. "Is progress supposed to come with eyebags?"
He smirked. "Real progress does."
She held up her drawing. It was of him again. But this time, he had lightning crackling from his fingertips.
He blinked. "Wait, how did you—?"
"Felt like it fit you," she said nonchalantly, reaching for another colored pencil. "Plus, lightning is really cool," she added with a grin.
She glanced up again. "By the way, when are you taking me shopping? You're making decent money now, mister awakener."
Ethan raised a brow. "Is this about fashion or are you just trying to get me to take a break?"
Alice grinned. "Can't it be both?"
Ethan smiled and leaned back, letting the tension of the day ease off. He saw through it—she just wanted him to rest a bit. And maybe... she was right.
Tomorrow, he'd get that lightning spell. Tomorrow, he'd complete the loadout.
And soon, he'd be ready for the next tier of challenge and maybe a break with Alice.