Chapter 93 Chapter 22.3 - The Chrono Grove
First Week of the Training:
During the first week, I found myself grappling with the peculiarities of Chrono Grove's mana. The dense and fluctuating mana density made it challenging to control and harness.
My initial focus was on acclimatization and building the foundational elements of mana control into a much better stage, as well as increasing my understanding of [Lunar Enigma].
However, I often felt frustrated and overwhelmed as I grappled with the unfamiliar mana environment.
My progress was slow, marked by erratic bursts of energy followed by periods of depletion; the fact that the environment and the mana were constantly changing made it almost impossible for me to get used to it.
This made it incredibly more challenging since that meant I needed to start from scratch whenever the density of mana psions changed.
I reduced my sleep up to four hours alone, and the remaining 18 hours were filled with training. Since my mana was depleting when I used my trait, I needed to improve my physic as well.
It was frustrating, filled with failures. I couldn't even feel mana at first.
However, small improvements began to emerge. I noticed that my mana circuits became steadier and more coherent, a sign of my growing control over both the unique mana here and my own Lunar Mana.
Second Week of the Training:
In the second week, I shifted my attention to combat training.
I faced off against the Temporal Shifters and Eon Specters, using their unpredictable movements to refine my combat skills and adaptability.
Even though I knew both of the monster's weaknesses from the game, I didn't utilize any; I simply fought with my body and mana alone to improve my combat-related skills.
Initially, the creatures posed significant challenges, often catching me off guard with their erratic movements. Thanks to the time-related affinity of Temporal Shifters, I needed to be on guard, and my reflexes needed to be quick. But, I injured quite a lot of time while fighting them, though thanks to the potions I brought with me, I was fine.
However, with each encounter, I gained a better understanding of their patterns and mine as well. My reflexes sharpened, and I became adept at predicting their attacks.
While I was fighting in the dungeons and hunting monsters, I realized one thing.
I didn't know how every monster fought since the game couldn't possibly cover the countless possible life forms in the world. Therefore, my knowledge was bound to be limited.
And when I looked back, I realized whenever I fought, I utilized my knowledge quite a lot. So far, most of the time, the foes I had faced were in my knowledge, but what if, in the future, I would need to fight with something I didn't know about?
Leaning on my knowledge of the game was a double-edged sword, and it was necessary to nullify the part that would wound me.
Which is what I am doing by developing my combat sense and my body. Not relying on my knowledge, but rather finding my own ways to deal with the monsters, observing other weaknesses, their small patterns, every minor detail.
This newfound confidence marked a significant milestone in my training.
Third Week of the Training:
The third week was dedicated to meditation and introspection.
I aimed to deepen my understanding of the connections between Chrono Grove and the environment. How this phenomenon occurred, and what is the principle behind it?
Even though it may look advanced and odd while I was observing the nature and rules of this place, I felt like I was able to understand the principles in a much better way.
[Perceptive Insight]
The trait that is not directly usable in combat, but at the same time, the trait that is what makes me who I am along with [Lunar Enigma]. Thanks to [Perceptive Insight], my understanding of the place increased, and I reached a conclusion.
<Relativity and Four-Dimensional Theory>
Four-dimensional theory was a theory that was represented by the physicists on Earth, a theory saying Time and Space are related and can't be severed, and relativity is a term that the rules of physics can change according to [Frame] one belongs.
In this space, thanks to time-psions surrounding the space, the constants of each equation representing the relations are changing.
I took notes of my observations and what I have understood from this space; I might need it in the future, and I might even sell this to the mages.
Also, I focused on my Lunar Energy and the enigmatic warrior from my vision. Even though I had been training my art the whole time, thanks to the help of Senior Maya and my own efforts, my understanding of my mana increased, which made me understand better how the figure moved.
It was as if before, it felt like watching a college professor teaching while still being at the level of middle school; now, I am at the level of a high-school student.
At the very least, I can pick up some concepts.
During meditation, I also experienced moments of déjà vu, leaving me with a lingering sense of connection to the Chrono Grove and the warrior. I also discovered quite a lot of symbols that I had no knowledge of.
Those cryptic symbols I discovered while exploring added to my sense of intrigue.
These moments were brief but profound, suggesting that there was more to uncover.
Final Week of the Training:
In the final week of my month, I refined his combat skills further, with an emphasis on precision and efficiency.
I also continued my exploration.
To be honest, filling my whole day with training was a lot more tiring than one would think. My body and my mind would sometimes crumble; after all, tempering my body was something painful and uncomfortable, and I was cycling it with my mana control training and my aim.
Therefore, it actually made me need to relax my mind, and I did this by wandering around using my shadows and masking my presence.
I discovered a lot of different symbols, each having a different type of inscription. It felt ancient and ethereal. Considering how this space looked, it made sense as well.
My battles against the creatures became more controlled and strategic. I no longer relied solely on prediction and my knowledge but incorporated calculated maneuvers into my combat style.
My accuracy and timing improved significantly, and I could anticipate and counter the creatures' attacks with greater confidence. It was mostly thanks to the changing rules of the space.
We humans are adapting creatures. Whenever a change occurs, we would adapt to it and make the new situation our home.
However, this everchanging place, with its rules constantly changing in quantum space, made this specific property of ours challenged.
And once something is challenged, it is bound to improve.
The gravity, the acceleration constant, the air friction, the mass of each material, the volume, density, etc.…
Every physical property here is changing. Therefore, I needed to make myself better every time.
My connection to the Lunar Energy deepened, creating a sense of resonance with the grove's temporal energies.
Throughout this training, I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, from frustration and confusion in the early days to feelings of improvement and curiosity as I made progress.
And just like that, the 28 days of my stay in this place reached its end.
*******
"Haaah...How hot this is…."
In front of the dummies, I put the place I created under the scorching sun; I was breathing heavily while looking at the sweat I was pouring from my body.
Just yesterday, it was snowing, and now it feels like I am inside a desert.
"Certainly, a crazy place."
My breaths came out in heavy pants as I surveyed the results of my month-long training.
The dummies before me bore the brunt of my efforts, their special wooden frames marred with countless marks and mana traces from my precise strikes and mana-infused attacks.
'Status.'
I spoke in my mind, calling the status window I hadn't even opened once in this whole month. I wanted to wait and see my collective progress of whole month.
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?Name: Astron Natusalune
?Occupation: Weapon Master (level 1)
?Talent Limit: 6
?Passives:
-? Vengeful Bane
?Attributes:
Variable Attributes:
-? Strength: 1.92 --> 2.33
-? Dexterity: 2.32 --> 2.79
-? Agility: 2.30 --> 2.73
-? Constitution:? 1.73 --> 2.09
-? Intuition: 2.51 --> 2.91
-? Magical Power: 2.7 --> 3.02
-? Mana Capacity: 1.9 --> 2.3
?Traits:
-? Perceptive Insight (Unique)(Unchanging)
-? Lunar Enigma (????) (Growth Type) (Stage 0)
-? Shadowborne (Legendary) (Growth Type)(Stage 1)
?Arts:
-? Lethal Arsenal Ascendancy (????)(%19)
?Skills:
-? Dash
-? Keen Eye
?Body Imprints:
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"Hmm….Certainly not bad."
Looking at my stats before me, I released a sound of acceptance.
Certainly, dedicating my whole month to training myself paid off—not more than I expected, but it was still good.
Finally, one of my stats reached the parameter of 3, and it was my magic power.
In fact, in the last month, the most improvement I acquired was in my [Lunar Enigma] and my archery.
I grabbed my arrow from my bracelet and knocked an arrow into the string.
"Huff…."
Releasing a small breath, I focused on my eyes and my mana on the arrow.
The blue-golden-colored mana covered the arrow, and I felt my mana sucked in.
SWOOSH
The moment I released the string, the arrow flew towards the dummy.
BOOM
And the moment the arrow met with the dummy, it exploded, destroying the weakly attached dummy and making it fall to the ground.
"Indeed, the firepower of blue-colored mana is strong."
In fact, this was the characteristic of the blue-colored mana I observed. Incredibly high firepower. An area of effect attack that spreads when it hits a target.
However, there was also a disadvantage: its range is short.
The moment I imbue my arrows with this attribute, the arrows would become unstable, making it very hard to control their trajectory unless it's at close range.
I also tried to imbue bullets with blue color, but since the bullets are small, it is very hard to compress the energy into such.
At the very least, the medium needs to be slightly big, like an arrow.
Just like this color, I experimented with all of them and got their own characteristics.
I became almost incredibly proficient at handling my mana and imbuing it on my arrows and bullets, if possible, and made a sketch of each one's characteristics.
Green – Lets me lock to a target I attacked with this mana marking them. This color is most consistent on the long-range, and it mostly doesn't affect the trajectory of the attacks. This is the mana that I am using with my bow most of the time since it is a fairly consistent and non-risky color.
Blue/Gold – Mana contains a lot of destructive energy, making it very hard for it to use in a long range. However, the firepower is very high. Basically a high-risk firepower type of mana.
Red – This mana is mostly suited for my daggers and my close combat style. Whenever I imbue my dagger and my body with this color, I can feel my power increasing proportionally to the amount of injury I have.
It also lets me sustain my wounds the more I attack, basically a life-stealing mana.
White – I am still experimenting with this type of mana, but from what I figured, whenever I imbue this color, my precision of attacks and my attack speed increase the closer I am to the target.
If I am away from the target, this mana is practically useless, but if I am close to it, it becomes deadly.
However, I have yet to find a suitable weapon for this mana since none of my weapons are suitable for it.
Purple/Black – This color is the latest color I discovered, and it also has a weird characteristic. This one doesn't provide a damage-related effect but rather provides a utility effect.
Crowd Control.
Whenever I attack someone using this mana, I can manipulate this mana to increase the gravity that person feels, making them slower and even making them stop for a second. However, the mana consumption is fairly high, and it is even harder to control the output.
This is the basic template of my mana, and it is fairly complex; even now, I am sure I have yet to explore the whole extent of things.
This is not even the first stage of my trait.
In any case, aside from this, I also used [Shadowborne] quite a lot. Since my focus was on [Lunar Enigma], it didn't improve much.
And now, my stay is about to reach its end.
"Let's start preparing to face the boss; the month is about to finish."
With those words, I started getting ready to leave this place….
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