I returned home without hesitation. The house was quiet, sterile, familiar, perfect for calculation and preparation.
I opened my status window immediately, letting the numbers greet me.
STATUS WINDOW
Name: Adrian Kaelthorn
Race: Human Class: Swordsman, Assassin
Rank: F
Stamina: 8 (F-rank)
Strength: 8 (F-rank)
Speed: 9 (F-rank)
Intelligence: 18 (E-rank)
Endurance: 8 (F-rank)
Charm: 102 (C-rank)
Luck: 8 (F-rank)
Mana: 9 (F-rank)
Title: Transmigrator, Regresser, Survivor
Skills: -
Shadow Blade (Lv 1) S
Shadow Veil (Lv 1) S
Scarlet Execution Sword Codex (Lv 1) SS
Quick Step (Lv 1) S
Eight. Nine. Eighteen. Pathetic, but expected. I didn't flinch. The weakness was the data. Data could be improved.
I trained with precision. Push-ups until my arms trembled, sit-ups until my abs burned, sword and dagger drills repeated hundreds of times.
Every movement had a purpose. Every swing, a calculation. Sweat burned my eyes, my muscles screamed, but I never paused.
This pain was nothing compared to what I faced in my previous lives.
The first month ended with my reflection in the mirror. Muscles were defined, posture solid, movements sharper.
I opened my status window again.
STATUS WINDOW
Name: Adrian Kaelthorn
Race: Human
Class: Swordsman, Assassin
Rank: E
Stamina: 27 (E-rank)
Strength: 29 (E-rank)
Speed: 31 (E-rank)
Intelligence: 30 (E-rank)
Endurance: 32 (E-rank)
Charm: 130 (C-rank)
Luck: 34 (E-rank)
Mana: 36 (E-rank)
Title: Transmigrator, Regresser, Survivor
Skills: -
Shadow Blade (Lv 2) S
Shadow Veil (Lv 2) S
Scarlet Execution Sword Codex (Lv 2) SS
Quick Step (Lv 2) S
Better. Not sufficient. Data improved, but the results were incomplete. Practical experience was necessary.
The E-ranked dungeon waited at the edge of the city. I presented my identification to the guard and stepped inside. The air shifted immediately. Shadows moved.
The forest was alive, but I didn't look around. Observation without hesitation. Analysis without emotion. Efficiency was the only goal.
Five goblins appeared first. Their stance, distance, and attack patterns were all predictable.
I didn't panic. I calculated. Quick Step. My body blurred. One fell before it even realized I existed. Two lunged together. I sidestepped, letting their own momentum work against them, and drove my dagger between their ribs. The last two froze. One swing, one kill. Silence. Efficiency complete.
I collected their cores and moved on. Other adventurers mistook me for weak. They attacked recklessly.
Their underestimation of me cost them their lives. One after another, I executed. No hesitation. No mercy.
By the end of the month, I had broken through to D-rank. Aura, a growth-type skill, began to respond to my will.
STATUS WINDOW
Name: Adrian Kaelthorn
Race: Human
Class: Swordsman, Assassin
Rank: D
Stamina: 58 (D-rank)
Strength: 61 (D-rank)
Speed: 64 (D-rank)
Intelligence: 57 (D-rank)
Endurance: 60 (D-rank)
Charm: 234 (C-rank)
Luck: 54 (D-rank)
Mana: 65 (D-rank)
Aura: 95 (D-rank) Growth Type Skill
Title: Transmigrator, Regresser, Survivor
Skills: -
Shadow Blade (Lv 4) S
Shadow Veil (Lv 3) S
Scarlet Execution Sword Codex (Lv 4) SS
Quick Step (Lv 4) S
Mountains came next. The elixir for foundational strength lay at the peak. The path was lethal: jagged rocks, hidden pitfalls, and monsters testing every step.
Wolves lunged from the shadows, spiders dropped from the trees, and stone beasts blocked the path.
I didn't hesitate. Every strike, every movement was precise. Quick Step to avoid a falling boulder.
Shadow Blade to sever a wolf mid-leap. The mountain demanded attention, but attention was what I gave it, cold, unwavering, perfect.
Hours later, the elixir waited. I consumed it. The foundation solidified. Recovery measured. Nothing wasted.
Dungeon grinding resumed. Each encounter refined speed, precision, and killing intent. Traps activated. Poisonous spores wafted through the air.
I anticipated, calculated, and acted. No mistakes. Each month, the dungeon grew less threatening, and my Aura grew stronger.
After four months, I reached a C+ rank. Perfect Memory (A-rank) joined my arsenal, instantly recording everything observed.
STATUS WINDOW
Name: Adrian Kaelthorn
Race: Human
Class: Swordsman, Assassin
Rank: C+
Stamina: 491 (C-rank)
Strength: 493 (C-rank)
Speed: 497 (C-rank)
Intelligence: 490 (C-rank)
Endurance: 492 (C-rank)
Charm: 503 (B-rank)
Luck: 490 (C-rank)
Mana: 496 (C-rank)
Aura: 504 (B-rank) Growth Type Skill
Title: Transmigrator, Regresser, Survivor
Skills: -
Shadow Blade (Lv 6) S
Shadow Veil (Lv 5) S
Scarlet Execution Sword Codex (Lv 7) SS
Quick Step (Lv 6) S
Perfect Memory (A-rank)
Nova Island awaited—exams, rivals, aristocrats, potential threats. I moved deliberately.
The skill for the written exam was in an old shop. The location is known, the process calculated. Transaction completed. Skill absorbed. Instant comprehension. No wasted time.
Two days of study followed. Every topic internalized, every strategy simulated.
I anticipated rivals, their probable actions, and every scenario that might arise. Fatigue was noted, but irrelevant. Preparation was calculation, and calculation was survival.
The inn was quiet. I lay down, eyes open, mind active. Every move of tomorrow, every question, every opponent already accounted for.
Tomorrow, precision and execution would speak. Mistakes were unacceptable. Hesitation was irrelevant. Every action would be deliberate.
And I would be ready.