“The 185th time!” Mu’en’s bloodshot eyes glared at the clock on the wall, and a faint glimmer of joy broke through his exhausted face.
“Finally, I can last more than thirty seconds against that assassin!”
No matter what, that assassin was a powerhouse at least three tiers above him in the warrior hierarchy, while Mu’en was just a little noob who had barely scraped his way to late-stage Tier 1 by throwing money at the problem. The gap between them was massive. For Mu’en to go toe-to-toe with the assassin for thirty seconds, he had suffered hardships that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine.
At least the nearly 200 deaths he’d experienced felt painfully real.
“Guess I can’t keep training like this without limits,” Mu’en muttered, massaging his temples to relieve the brain-piercing pain from being mentally drained to the extreme.
“Otherwise, I’ll collapse before I even get stronger.”
“Using the Black Book definitely has its price. Even though I don’t really die, the mental toll is just too much.”
“But hey, it’s worth it!” Mu’en excitedly flipped open the Black Book.
In the section recording his personal information, two new entries had appeared that weren’t there before.
[Dagger Combat LV2]
[Shadow Step LV1]
“I’ve finally got the hang of it,” Mu’en said with a mix of pride and relief.
Nearly 200 deaths had allowed him to bridge the gap between tiers, glimpse the assassin’s moves, and—in the face of life-and-death terror—make them his own.
“It’s just the beginning, and I’m still far from matching that assassin, but once you’ve got the basics down, the rest gets easier.”
With enough time, Mu’en was confident he could turn all of that assassin’s moves into his own power!
“Heh, I can’t wait. Let’s see how this works in real life.” Mu’en hopped off the bed, moved the furniture aside to clear some space, and nervously rubbed his hands together.
Sure, he’d used Shadow Step plenty of times in the Black Book’s constructed space, but he wasn’t sure if he could pull it off as smoothly in the real world.
“Whatever, the only way to find out is to try.” Mu’en took a deep breath, focusing his energy like he’d done in those 200 practice battles.
All his attention zeroed in on his feet—the soles, the heels, the ankles.
He felt a heat gathering in his soles, as if something was about to burst out.
Now!
Mu’en’s eyes flashed with determination as the energy in his feet erupted like a volcano.
In an instant, the world around him blurred. The table, which had been a good seven or eight meters away, suddenly appeared right in front of him.
He’d done it!
“I did it…” Mu’en murmured in disbelief, before his excitement exploded like, well, another volcano.
“I DID IT!” He was practically bouncing with joy.
Ever since he’d inexplicably been tossed into this dangerous, magical world—and worse, as a cannon-fodder, trashy, yellow-haired villain—Mu’en had been living on edge. Especially when the plot had deviated completely from the original story, and his “transmigrator” advantage had gone up in smoke, he’d often been paralyzed with fear.
But now, at least, things weren’t set in stone. With the Black Book in hand, even a useless playboy like him could get stronger through his own efforts!
This was just the beginning!
Mu’en clenched his fists, fired up.
“If I work hard enough, even fate can be changed!”
……
……
“But my feet hurt like hell…”
“Ouch… Ugh, no one told me this technique would make my feet feel like they were shattered.”
Moments after his grand declaration, Mu’en was already sprawled on the floor, whimpering in pain.
He hadn’t expected Shadow Step to have such a brutal side effect. Just one use, and his feet felt like they’d been pulverized.
“Wait, this can’t just be a side effect.”
“It hurts this much—I refuse to believe that assassin, who’s probably killed thousands, would just shrug it off.”
Mu’en quickly pieced it together:
“It’s because my tier’s too low. This isn’t a technique for Tier 1. It’s meant to be used with Battle Aura!”
The first tier of a warrior, known as Body Forging, was all about strengthening the body through relentless training to become stronger.
As such, the bar for entry was laughably low—basically nonexistent.
Wealthy nobles could easily reach the peak of Tier 1 with the right combination of rare herbs and proper training.
Ordinary folks could get there just by lifting weights, doing push-ups, and eating protein.
The real turning point came at Tier 2.
Once Body Forging reached its peak, a warrior’s body would produce an energy called Battle Aura. Learning to refine, temper, and use Battle Aura marked the second tier, Qi Forging.
Wrapping Battle Aura around weapons increased their power, while channeling it into the body significantly boosted physical strength.
For warriors, having Battle Aura made all the difference.
“In simple terms, Shadow Step is about concentrating all your power in your feet and then unleashing it in a burst. Of course, that puts a massive strain on your feet.”
“You need Battle Aura to strengthen your body enough to handle it.”
In the Black Book’s space, it was just his consciousness, so his physical limits didn’t matter. But in the real world, his body’s weakness was a glaring problem.
“I’m still way too weak,” Mu’en sighed, feeling a bit down.
But this time, he didn’t stay discouraged for long.
Sure, he’d been reminded of his frailty, but it was still a decent start.
At least he’d confirmed that the skills he’d honed through the Black Book could be applied in real life.
“Time to revise the plan!” After the pain in his feet subsided a bit, Mu’en stumbled to his desk.
He pulled out the “Master Plan” he’d drafted not long ago, thought for a moment, and then set it on fire with a candle.
“Forget about the distant future—it’s just stressing me out. Right now, I need to focus on the present.”
He grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and started drafting a new strategy based on his current situation.
“First things first, I need a teacher.”
Mu’en picked up his quill and wrote:
1. ‘Find a teacher.’
The nearly 200 battles with the assassin hadn’t just shown Mu’en how weak he was—they’d also highlighted the limitations of pure, unguided brutal training.
Sure, the battles had helped him improve quickly in other areas, but the one thing he really wanted to learn, Shadow Step, hadn’t budged until he’d finally figured out the assassin’s moves.
If he’d had a teacher to guide him step by step, maybe he wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.
“Speaking of which, St. Maria Academy is starting soon.”
Mu’en suddenly remembered this important fact.
And St. Maria Academy was practically overflowing with top-tier teachers.
But a few seconds later, he mentally tossed the idea aside.
“Nah, who needs school? Being a homebody is way better.”
“Right now, I definitely don’t want to run into the protagonist!”
“Plus, Celicia’s there too.”
And when it came to martial arts teachers, didn’t he already have a better option right here?
Mu’en smirked and added a name after “teacher”:
Long En Campbell.
His cheap, not-so-loving father.
