I could taste the success at the tip of my tongue—or the more accurate expression would be, at the tip of my essence threads. Covered under the blanket, I fiddled with the Arcane Knot as flickers of green and blue light shimmered.
With Arcane Acuity, Arcane Affinity and my mental a...
2025-02-20 19:18:33 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 31: Arcane Affinity
Eran moved animatedly, his cane swinging in a wild arc of Walking Mountain.
I was thoroughly familiar with the moves and was already on the move to fend him off. While my friend's techniques were executed near perfectly, they were predictable after months...
2025-02-19 22:29:11 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 30: Artifact
“Why a gift now?” I asked, weighing the small box in my palm. “My birthday's still a month away.”
“It’s tradition,” Mum said. “We give a newly awakened child a gift soon after their awakening to congratulate them. Besides, can’t I give my son a gift for accom...
2025-02-19 18:22:18 +0000 UTC View PostSorry, I spent yesterday and my early writing session making minute but important changes to earlier chapters... and now I have a stomachache...
Anyway, the changes are not so important that you'd need to read them again... Either way, I'll list them at some point for easier grasp...
With this, most of the ...
2025-02-18 21:47:49 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 29: Fire Shaping
The third sword form, Walking Mountain, was by far the most complex form among the three. It consisted of nine movements, most of them defensive, building up towards a full-blown swing.
That didn't sound all that complicated, but the difficulty lay in seamlessly moving bet...
2025-02-17 23:36:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe idea that I would be magically adept at shaping skills and casting after awakening was horribly inaccurate. Besides gaining the ability to move essence out of my body and finally utilise my Gift, the awakening had been mostly anticlimactic.
I was not complaining, merely stating ...
2025-02-16 22:26:30 +0000 UTC View PostI returned to my room, inching every step carefully so as not to disturb the engraving pen hovering between my palms. Two pairs of essence threads latched onto either end of the pen—one pair holding it aloft in the air while the other pushed it around in a continuous spin.
This was one...
2025-02-15 22:29:42 +0000 UTC View PostAs it turned out, the explanation of the test was far simpler than I had presumed. The pendant was made from a rare ingredient called Holreum, more commonly known as Halostone. It possessed characteristics of both metal and gem. However, what was important here was that Halostone coul...
2025-02-15 15:22:29 +0000 UTC View PostFather handed me a hefty sandwich as I finished recounting the surreal nightmare to Mum. I had no other choice. She refused to answer any of my questions regarding my awakening until I told her about it.
“Is this like the nightmares you used to have when you were young?”
I blinked, t...
2025-02-14 22:44:29 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 24: Nightmare
Gloomy darkness greeted my sight, as my eyes snapped open. My body was heavy, resting on something cold and hard. Groaning, I rolled to sit upright, feeling the pain raking through every fibre of my being.
I scanned my surroundings, searching for Mum—or anything to anchor me back to r...
2025-02-13 23:04:19 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 23: Awakening
Once we returned, I handed the essence bead to Mum for her to deal with it. Her eyes narrowed as she recognised what it was.
She peered over me to look at Father. “A forest fiend, out here?”
“Leecher vines,” he said. “A lone one, from what I found.”
...
2025-02-13 16:56:28 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 22: Leecher Vine
It was a rare, perfect day of summer. The temperature was mild, the sky an abstract of more white than blue, and the absence of dust storms made it ideal for an outing in the wild.
A few stray clouds swirled gently as morning sunlight filtered through the atmosphere. The w...
2025-02-12 22:44:06 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 21: Progress
"When are you going to teach us the third form?" I asked, wiping a line of sweat from my face. My wooden training sword rested on my other arm, its brown colour darkening over the past month, marking the time I had spent with it.
"When it is time," Father said vaguely.
"...
2025-02-11 21:28:20 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor Note:
Before you read this chapter, you should know I made some changes in the previous chapter ... Instead of 10 more points in the Arcane attribute, Arilyn needs it raise it to 25 points now.
Also, I have made the rewards from each way more uniform, which caused the points in each a...
2025-02-10 20:55:37 +0000 UTC View PostWhile I took my seat in Mum's workshop to practise my rune penmanship, she settled on the other side. She usually did paperwork or worked on designs for her next project, but today, she was redecorating the place.
I would have liked to watch and help out if I could, but she told me I needed ...
2025-02-09 20:22:44 +0000 UTC View PostBooks were arguably my favourite things, right on par with delicious food, but I could not eat indefinitely. Thus, books remained my most cherished leisure activity. A captivating story or a book on mystical subjects could keep my hunger at bay for hours.
Though some tim...
2025-02-08 20:06:49 +0000 UTC View Post“So, when do I begin?” I asked, a little of my curiosity returning after finishing the meal.
More than getting my primer in forging, I was excited to finally experience Mum’s workshop. She had built the forge underground when she single-handedly constructed our house...
2025-02-07 20:40:23 +0000 UTC View PostThe soothing wind curled around my thin, sleeveless vest as I swung the duelling cane in practice arcs, shifting my balance from front to back foot. My arms ached from the repeated motions. I had been moving through them for close to an hour.
I did not complain. Not abo...
2025-02-07 19:01:16 +0000 UTC View PostWondering which format is best for the readers... I have noted many posts on Patreon with pdf or epub files...
I'm fine with either of the methods...
2025-02-07 15:23:47 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 15: Natural Awakening
“Are you feeling well?” Eran asked.
“Mhm, yeah?”
“Then why are you walking so slow?”
Because I was coming up with a believable excuse about the bruise and torn cloth so that Mum wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. Regrettably, I...
2025-02-07 14:57:42 +0000 UTC View PostEran released a slow breath, following it with the release of his bowstring. The arrow cut through the air and almost struck the middle of the target. It missed by only a fraction, which was still a win.
“Did you get it?” I asked, creeping closer.
Eran waited, a shudder running through...
2025-02-07 14:56:54 +0000 UTC View PostOn our visit to Klearon, I experienced a few great things the city had to offer. We had a sitting with a true knight, the protector of the sacred tree, even if he was in his ill-fitting attire the entire time. I had glimpsed squires sparring inside the empty hippodrome, which was as impressive...
2025-02-07 14:56:18 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 12: Tree of Life
Mum wanted the whole baptism and godmother business completed as soon as possible, but she too knew the value of tradition to get it over with. Thus, at the first break of light the day after, we hurried to the local sanctum.
Cold gusts of wind blew, easily finding its way...
2025-02-07 14:55:37 +0000 UTC View Post“Oi, boy, quit making a mess of the shelf,” said a gruff voice from behind, breaking me out of my reading.
Closing the book I was holding, I turned to find a middle-aged man putting new books on the emptier part of the shelf. His movements were slow, patient, the kind that o...
2025-02-07 14:54:45 +0000 UTC View PostThe City of Klearon was the heart of the district of Dimir, even though it was situated at the intersection of four other districts. The city was not founded simply because five separate districts met at their borders—history suggested the opposite.
The city was formed first, on...
2025-02-07 14:53:53 +0000 UTC View Post“Before I teach you the process of Essence Unification,” Mum said, settling on the mat before me, “you must know that meditation is arguably the best way to train the mind and prepare for essence weaving.”
“Weaving?” I asked.
“You see,” Mum s...
2025-02-07 14:53:09 +0000 UTC View PostI observed the bearded man from behind the neatly cropped hedge fences as the sun beamed overhead. Mum was there with him in the garden, sitting close, their hands clasped together as though they had known each other for a long time. Well, that had to be true if what Mum explaine...
2025-02-07 14:52:22 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 07: Forgive Me, I'm Late
The sun sank low on the horizon, signalling the end of playtime, but I didn’t even notice, completely absorbed in solving the Puzzle Cube once and for all.
I was on Layer IX now, after solving all the word, number, and maths puzzles that had come before the final...
2025-02-07 14:51:06 +0000 UTC View Post“Now if I can get some wine,” Emi said, wiping her arms with a towel before sinking onto the couch. “I won’t even say no to some cheap ale.”
“I have a house rule against alcohol,” Ashlyn stifled a laugh. “And smoking.”
Emi snorted. “Mighty noble of you to make up...
2025-02-07 14:48:26 +0000 UTC View PostChapter 06: Birthday
[The Spell wishes you a happy birthday. May you prosper in life and be a blessing to others.]
[The Way of Self-Mastery I (1/10) is now available.]
The messages from the Spell filled my mind the moment I woke up.
"Thanks..." I whisp...
2025-02-07 14:47:01 +0000 UTC View Post
