My sword movements feel more fluid. No—it's more like I now have information about the most practical movements for different situations. It feels as if I had always understood all of this, as if new information had already taken root within me.

  I could intercept attacks in different ways; the skill helps me choose better options at the exact right moment. I’ve trained for so many years and I know how to attack and defend, but now my mind helps me choose better options. It’s wonderful.

  My Fast Step skill allowed me to quickly close the distance to the training dummy and pull back immediately after striking. I can feel the mana consumption with every movement, but with my mana reserves it shouldn’t be a problem to use it multiple times in succession. The skill gives me a powerful boost; I shoot forward the moment I think about activating it.

  “You have leveled up the skill: Sword Mastery by two levels.”

  “You have leveled up the skill: Fast Step by one level.”

  I didn’t notice the notifications while I was training; I was completely immersed in using my skills and avoiding mistakes.

  While sitting and resting, I remembered how in my previous world, in every video game, characters had a status screen where you could check their progress. If this really works, then—

  Maki: 8 years old – Basic Amethyst.

  SKILLS:

  Sword Mastery – Level 3

  Enhanced Senses – Level 1

  Fast Step – Level 2

  They leveled up quickly. I expected it to some extent; I was told that the more you practice and demonstrate skill, the faster they level up.

  I don’t think I’ll see my family until dinner today. I’ll go to my room to train some magic. Sitting in my room, I try to recreate the types of shapes Ritmo demonstrated.

  “Why is this ridiculously difficult?” Calling this shape a ball is being generous—it’s tiny. At most, it’s about four centimeters in diameter.

  “I’ll try making a rod, maybe I’ll have better luck.” Making a rod worked better, up to three centimeters, but beyond that I had to use all my concentration just to keep it stable and straight.

  It’s time to practice. I might have been a little lazy in my childhood in my previous life, but this time will be different. I learned the hard way about consistent effort during my adolescence. If I put in enough effort and enough hours each day, I’ll start seeing results in the future.

  Without further worries, it’s time to train. My mana reserves are large enough to practice these mana constructions; they barely consume any mana at all.

  After a few hours, I went to eat lunch. It was already prepared, and I devoured it immediately. Before returning to my room, a brilliant idea occurred to me: asking for snacks and drinks with a puppy-eyed expression.

  It worked perfectly. They prepared everything right away, and I returned to my room with renewed energy.

  “TRAINING NEVER DISAPPOINTS!” My coach used to repeat that phrase every day in the middle of my training sessions.

  I miss my coach. I hope his life is going well and that he doesn’t regret my premature death…

  It’s time to block out these feelings like I’ve been doing for a while and focus on training. If I get lazy, he’ll probably find a way to come to this world and punch me.

  I don’t know how many hours I practiced without feeling any improvement. My mana reserves dropped to 20%, and everything felt the same. It was optimistic of me to expect progress in a single day.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  It’s almost dinner time; I should get ready. I took a quick shower, put on some comfortable clothes, and headed to dinner.

  “Hi Sers, hi Ritmo. How was your day?” My brothers started telling me about their days one by one.

  Ritmo went to our other village to assess priorities and begin allocating funds. Apparently, the issue isn’t really a problem—there’s just a lack of variety in products from other regions. They’ll start sending a caravan every few weeks to trade, though they haven’t decided the exact schedule or who will go yet. Everything needs to be planned this week.

  Sers, on the other hand, accompanied hunts for loose monsters or small groups near the village. That’s another growing issue in both villages; apparently, more monsters have been appearing nearby, and the citizens are anxious about an unexpected, devastating attack.

  According to both of them, this isn’t just a regional problem—it’s happening throughout the entire empire.

  Our villages are relatively close, only eight kilometers apart, with a massive forest spanning hundreds of kilometers beside us. We’d be in serious trouble if it weren’t for the fact that the forest is bordered by Count Weri to the north, Count Housen to the west, and our marquisate to the south and east. Thanks to those three major territories and their frequent purges, there hasn’t been a monster wave.

  “Why do you think there’s an increase in monsters, Ritmo?” I’m very curious; if it’s regularly cleared, this shouldn’t happen.

  “I don’t know the exact reason. According to our grandmother, there might be a portal relatively deep in the forest, increasing ambient magic around it and attracting monsters. We’re not entirely sure; it’s just the most plausible hypothesis.” A portal in the forest causes that?

  “I remember Dad always telling us stories as kids about fighting in a dungeon in that forest.” A dungeon? Sers joins the conversation.

  “Yeah, Father always takes pride in telling his dungeon-clearing stories” Ritmo agrees.

  “What’s a dungeon?” I’m completely lost on this topic; I’ve never heard of anything like it.

  “You don’t know? Dungeons or portals, are places where monsters appear and treasures can be obtained once they’re cleared. They vary in grade up to Rank 6, with Rank 1 being equivalent to Amethyst.” Sers explains proudly.

  “Yes, many territories have several portals. Great noble houses, schools, and groups also use them to train soldiers and armies,” Ritmo adds.

  “Why don’t they just clear them? Wouldn’t they gain more benefits by obtaining the treasures?” If a portal generates monsters, wouldn’t it be better to eliminate it as soon as possible?

  “Yes and no. They’re a good training option if you already know the type of monsters in a specific portal. They’re useful for new students or cadets to gain experience and improve skills without facing unexpected situations,” Ritmo clarifies quickly.

  “Then wouldn’t it be better for us to maintain this portal, clear it periodically, and gain experience?” His words make sense—it sounds like a profitable business.

  “In our case, as a minor noble house, it’s impossible. And since the forest is far from the three major noble houses, it’s not worth keeping under constant surveillance or sending people periodically for training. The benefit isn’t great enough—it’s better to clear it and obtain whatever treasure there is,” Ritmo explains.

  I could only nod. It makes sense from a business perspective—if there’s no long-term benefit, it’s better to take the immediate gain and eliminate the problem.

  “According to my dad, it’s probably a Rank 3 portal at most. It’s easy to clear for one or two Ruby-ranked individuals; the problem is finding its location,” Sers says with his mouth full after shoving a large piece of meat in.

  “Why does my father assume it’s only Rank 3?” I’m not doubting their words; I just want to understand the reasoning.

  “Because of the monster increase—it’s only a small percentage above the usual rate, and most are Rank 1 or 2. It’s no problem for the counties or the marquisate. For us, it just means paying closer attention to security near our villages. That’s why our parents haven’t been home much lately or haven’t been dining with us,” Ritmo explains.

  Interesting. Having Ritmo and Sers around is incredibly beneficial; they always give me information I lack, and it’s essential to understanding this world better.

  “Let’s forget about that topic, Maki. Did you train any magic today?” I can see both his concern for our territory and his interest in my progress.

  “Yes, I trained for about six hours. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel any improvement…” I answer honestly, hoping for advice.

  “Six hours? That’s a lot, Maki. When I awakened, my mana reserves only allowed three hours.” Sers comments without looking up from his stew.

  “That’s impressive. If you keep being this diligent, you’ll obtain the ‘Mana Control’ skill soon. Once you do, manipulating ambient mana will become much easier, and it’ll be the starting point for your magic-related abilities. When the notification appears, accept it without hesitation—you’ll notice the difference immediately.” Ritmo says excitedly, breaking his serious fa?ade.

  We continued talking late into the night in Ritmo’s room after dinner, discussing my solo training and everyone’s future plans.

  “It’s time to sleep. See you tomorrow, brothers.” I said goodbye and went to bed. I feel a new motivation to train; I want to fight monsters and clear some portals in the future.