The morning on the mountain was cold and damp.
The mist hung low like a curtain, blocking out the world, while the sunlight only penetrated in thin streaks that looked like golden threads in the air.
I stood on the dirt platform in front of the small wooden house where I lived with the old man.
Today I decided to begin my first training—not as Bumantara, and not as the old Astryan… but as someone who must survive in this world with a body that wasn't my own.
I took a deep breath, recalling all the basic techniques Eras had taught me in the fragments of Astryan's memories.
Body Breathing Technique — Basic Cycle.
The simplest exercise, but the foundation of them all.
I imagined the world's energy—or mana, as they call it—entering through the pores of my body.
I took a slow breath.
…and immediately felt the first problem.
"So slow…"
The mana entering was too thin.
It was like trying to catch rainwater with a cracked bowl.
Slowly, very slowly, the energy flowed to the center of my body.
There… I felt it.
Seven points.
Seven cores.
Seven Elementalist Cores.
Fire.
Water.
Wind.
Earth.
Lightning.
Light.
Darkness.
They were like seven tiny balls pulsating in different colors—all bright, but dim, like tiny flames about to go out.
When the energy entered…
"…divided equally?"
I was shocked.
The energy that was supposed to strengthen one core was instead split into seven smaller streams and entering all seven cores at once.
"This… is messed up."
If a normal person absorbs one portion of energy and pours it into one core…
I absorbed one portion of energy, but had to divide it into seven smaller portions.
And that… hasn't even touched the core of the problem.
I focused again.
Each of the Astryan cores flickered faintly.
Core Level: Warrior.
All seven.
Warrior Core is the lowest level—the initial foundation that most people spend months or years advancing to the next level: Elite, then Master, and so on.
But with 10% talent, and with sevenfold energy…
Astrian's progress was nearly impossible.
Or at least, it should have been impossible.
I let out a long breath, feeling the energy I'd been taking in drain away, leaving nothing behind.
"At this rate… I'll lose to even a village kid."
I tried again.
And again.
And again.
Each breathing cycle took a long time, yielded little, and the benefits were barely noticeable.
I noticed the light core—the most stable.
The darkness core—the wildest.
The lightning core—the fastest-heating.
But all were only Warrior Core level.
None of them showed any superiority.
"I have seven doors… but no key."
I pulled at my hair, frustrated.
This wasn't like anime or novels where having many elements meant great power.
No.
In this world, it was more like a punishment.
This body had immense space, but no depth.
All the elements were present, but none of them stood out.
I grimaced.
"So… this is why the original Astryan barely developed."
10% talent was just a number, but the meaning was clear:
the ability to absorb energy was the worst.
Made worse by the fact that that energy had to be distributed in seven directions simultaneously.
A beautiful structure of power, but fragile.
Perfect in form… pathetic in performance.
I stared at my palms.
"How am I supposed to fight in this condition…?"
There was a moment of silence.
The wind carried the scent of cold earth.
The fog shifted slowly.
But beneath that frustration, something was pulsing softly.
Not from those cores.
Not from my body.
From much deeper.
From where the mask had fused.
Like a small, barely audible whisper:
…you haven't used me yet…
I paled.
That mask—I still didn't know what it was for, but it was definitely not just an accessory.
Something lay dormant inside me.
Something waiting.
I swallowed, deciding to ignore it for now.
I had to focus.
My first training session felt like a complete failure…
but this was the reality of this new body.
"I have to find a way to harness these seven cores… before they destroy my future."
I regained my breath.
Today's training might not have yielded great results, but it had given me one very important thing:
Understanding.
And from understanding… maybe I could build something.
Even if it was slow.
Even if it was painful.
Even if it was nearly impossible.
I paused, taking a deep breath.
"Okay… one more time."
I stood up straight.
Then I began to absorb the energy of the world—this time with the full awareness that I was walking on the most rugged path in the world.