The process was still monotonous. Matt had tried giving it his undivided attention, but he had caught his mind wandering off a few times, trying to come up with contingencies, preparing for the worst, or even planning a to-do list for what came after.

  The problem arose when, a few minutes later, he noticed something. The engraving itself was exactly the same as it had been for the last few hours. His mana, however, was getting infused at a much slower rate. His natural regeneration was even keeping up with the expenditure once more. If something had happened, he had missed it, which he hoped wasn’t the case. Mistakes were costly, and he couldn’t afford any.

  Unfortunately, nothing could be done other than chalking it up to distraction while pushing more mana into the engraving.

  The skill sign greedily accepted, but he encountered more resistance, requiring him to be more forceful as he infused it with mana. It was contradictory in a strange way. The engraving pushed back against his mana, up to a point, before accepting it all with open arms.

  This time he didn’t let his thoughts wander, though, keeping a close eye on the entire process. His [Advanced Mana Control] was doing wonders, the mana following his commands and flowing into the engraving as if of its own volition, and the engraving showing no will to deny it entry… for another few minutes, before once more, less mana was being infused.

  Matt had been laser-focused during those short few minutes, and he felt the shift as the mana infusion slowed down, the engraving letting less mana through.

  His brows furrowed. Nothing had changed, outwardly or on his end, yet the engraving had simply decided to accept less of the resource. Did that mean it was getting full?

  A battery would take longer to charge the more energy it held, which was why the last 20% took longer to recharge than the first 50%, it was simply harder to fit the energy in the less room there was.

  Was the engraving acting in a similar manner? And did that mean he was getting closer?

  He hated not knowing. Too many unanswered questions were now weighing on his mind. It was another distraction he couldn’t afford, especially if the difficulty kept on rising.

  Refocusing on the task at hand, he forced more mana in to compensate. The problem wasn’t with the mana being infused, it was the effort it took to do it. Like stuffing a turkey, the more stuffed it was, the more difficult it became to, well, stuff it. It was slightly concerning, but nothing could be done other than attempting to keep up. He hoped it was a sign he was on the right track, but he wasn’t counting his chickens just yet.

  An hour went by, the same thing repeating three more times; the engraving would start resisting the mana infusion and Matt would compensate by being more forceful. He was keeping up for now, but it was starting to take its toll. If before he had been using the equivalent of a finger to push the mana in, now he was using both hands along with the entire weight of his body. Still doable, but his limit was fast approaching.

  He could feel the strain on his body, his sweaty brows, contracted muscles, and stamina slowly being depleted once more even with [Revitalize] being active the entire time.

  The engraving was putting up a fight, yet nothing seemed to have changed. The lines, the glow, the mana itself, everything was exactly the same, yet different. It was subtle, but the glow appeared to take on a hint of green. He wouldn’t have noticed if it weren’t for the flood of light blue mana he was pushing into the engraving. It was a change, but not a good one, because it signaled that his mana was the one being influenced by the engraving, not the other way around.

  Was he not pushing enough mana? Was he being overly cautious? Did he need to be more forceful? Could he even?

  It was only a matter of time until he reached his limit, and he didn’t know how forceful he could be without breaking something, whether in the engraving or himself.

  Many worst-case scenarios kept playing in his head. Whether it was a good sign or not, he had no idea, and it was proving to be detrimental. The overthinking, the ‘what ifs’, the self-doubt, were all working in tandem against him. Thoughts of disaster kept playing in his mind. Seeds of doubt festering and growing. Whispers of impending doom shaking his resolve, which was all slowly creeping through his defenses.

  It was ironic in its own messed up way. Willpower was his second highest stat, and yet, in that moment, it felt as if it wasn’t even present. If 80 points were that meaningless, then he worried for the rest that were all sub-50.

  The intrusive thoughts were slowly getting the better of him, but fortunately—or unfortunately—the mana infusion slowed down once more, forcing him to put more effort in, and dragging his mind back, but this time for good, as even the errant thought was finding it difficult to make its way in.

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  The only thought on his mind right now, was the strain, pain and exhaustion, and he was fine with that. Stopping now might’ve made things worse, and he’d rather just continue with his plan and live with the consequences than stop, never knowing what could’ve been.

  It took a few more minutes of constant mana infusion for the glow to turn completely light green, mimicking the engraving’s original color.

  It was now at the point where Matt was actively struggling to keep infusing mana. He could feel his muscles spasming, and his mana core and pathways stretched to their absolute limit. He doubted he could handle another cycle, he was barely keeping up as is. If the mana infusion slowed down once more, that was it for him. Game over.

  His mind and body were both beyond their limits by now, putting him on an even shorter clock as he struggled to maintain the force necessary to keep the mana going. It was now or never, and there was no use holding back. If this was his last cycle, then he was going all out.

  Deciding he couldn’t wait any longer, he pushed every ounce of mana his body could muster into the engraving.

  His body started spasming uncontrollably as he lost command over all his muscles. His soul wasn’t faring any better, as its light dimmed considerably, showcasing how close to collapse it was. Blood and mana were leaking out of every orifice in his body. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel the blood pooling up underneath him, and the mana leaking out of his soul, with some finding their way into his physical form, further damaging it, but so could the engraving, as its resistance spiked higher than ever, its glow increasing in intensity once more as it pushed back against the influx of the blue resource he was forcing upon it.

  Matt had long dropped [Revitalize] and [Repair], with his mind unable to focus on any task other than the one on hand. He was gritting his teeth hard enough that he could feel them crack. Everything felt as if on fire, like his limbs were being pulled from every direction, pushing him further towards his breaking point. He was screaming inwardly. From the pain. The strain. How tired and drained he felt. Too exhausted to even muster enough energy to put a sound to the agony. The taste of iron filled his mouth, the smell of blood his nose, and even his ears weren’t spared as the warm liquid pooled in them, blocking the sound once more as everything was coated in it.

  Time moved as if through molasses. It could’ve been minutes, or mere seconds, yet it felt like a lifetime as every part of his body screamed, begging for release. For relief. For death. Any outcome that would end the torture he was feeling. Even his mind was slowly losing the fight, Matt struggling to remain conscious as the last vestiges of energy were leaving his waning body.

  His mana infusion had already slowed down to a trickle with his body and soul struggling to keep up. The load was heavy, the demands extreme, and no part of him had anything left to give as they finally reached their breaking point.

  Was this it? Is this how it ended? Did he fail? Was he this weak? This powerless?

  Was he even close? He had no idea. It felt like he was, like his hand was wrapped around it, gripping it tightly only for it to slip right through his fingers.

  But… was it even true? The glow looked dimmer than when the skill was active, its color the usual light green, as if his mana had made no difference.

  As if this had all been… for naught.

  Anger filled him. At his weakness. His inadequacy. His inability to push through. He had been close. It was doable, and yet he failed. A crushing failure that was sure to haunt him. It was like back in the mansion, he just wasn’t good enough, he never was. Everything he said was wrong, everything he touched was ruined, a fact they made sure to ingrain into his mind, and this served as further proof of his limitations. How lacking he was. How weak, because even after all the mana and time he had spent and all what he had been through, it all amounted to nothing.

  It was okay. Today he would fail, that much was obvious as barely any mana was being infused into the engraving anymore. But he wasn’t gonna take it lying down. He would fall on his sword, because he’d be damned if he didn’t go down swinging.

  He tried to yell out into the world, a warrior’s cry of defiance, but his shouts wouldn’t come out as his mouth and lungs were now drowned in blood.

  Without a care in the world, he pushed every last ounce of energy he had left, forcing more mana into the engraving. His resources were all below 15%, yet it didn’t matter. Anger blinded him. Frustration guided him. And adrenaline dulled the worst of the pain. What he had left in the tank wasn’t enough, far from it, even Matt knew that. And yet, in that moment, it didn’t matter. He’d throw everything and the kitchen sink at the engraving, the damage being done be damned, as his vision finally began to fade.

  It might’ve gotten the best of him this time, but Matt was good at holding grudges, and whether it was a day, a month, or a year, he would come back, and he would do it with a vengeance.

  Guess I’m gonna be blind for a while longer, he thought as he pushed his last mana point into the engraving, preparing for darkness to take him.

  And yet, as soon as he did, a slight light shone in the distance.

  Thin, ethereal-looking objects appeared out of nowhere, destruction in their wake as they made their way towards the engraving.

  The chains. The ones he had used when unlocking his mana, were coming down like the wrath of god, smashing into the fault line like a hammer smashing onto glass, shattering it utterly and completely just as well, as it was unable to withstand the destruction brought on to it, causing it to explode in a shower of light and blue.

  The last thing Matt saw was the blue of his mana filling his fading vision before the final vestiges of consciousness left him, as darkness took over, drowning all else.

  Patreon page is finally live! You can read up to 12 chapters ahead on there which means you'll be an entire month ahead! Right now I have 10 chapters on there (including one of my most favorite in book one, Chapter 69: A life long gone) and the remaining 2 will be posted later today.