Willpower

Once Noir entered the dungeon, Noir wanted to review his strength before heading to fight against the King Rock Slime. He had levelled up a few the last time he was here, but felt like it was getting difficult to level up so he wanted to try something out.

He looked for a Rock Slime by itself first before gritting his teeth and launching a sneak attack. His first test was to cover his leg in mana before kicking the Rock Slime with a full swing.

'Time to see how painful this will be.'

He was curious to see how much progress he'd made. If he wants to venture deeper into the dungeon, he needs to build a strong foundation. One that's suitable enough that this floor won't give him any problems. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any reason to continue staying on this floor.

"Chrriii!"

As soon as he landed the kick, the Rock Slime screamed in pain after its exterior shell cracked, before being pushed back several yards. It wasn't a mana-exhausting kick, but it was still able to cause this much damage to the Rock Slime's shell, which gave him some confidence in tackling the King Rock Slime.

'Alright then. It would be nice if I could kick those Slimes into the Giant Rock Slime but I figure its shell is tougher than the others. Not to mention gathering these guys up would be a hassle.' Although his options were limited, he kept kicking the slime until it shattered. At this point, most of the slimes were fodder so it was time to take the next step.

"Now that I know for sure my strength has increased, let's try to learn the habits of that thing," Noir explained after collecting the Slime Core and proceeding immediately to the King Rock Slime.

It wasn't far to get to its location, but because he wanted to improve his stealth, he carefully walked around the dungeon and avoided large groups of slimes. He was able to accomplish just that as he tried to get closer to the King Slimes before he suddenly felt the ground shaking.

"CRHIII....! CRHIIIII...!"

"Fucking hell is that an earthquake?"

As Noir struggled to remain standing, he could hear a loud slime sound vibrating his body every time it snored. He tried forcing himself to remain upright, but his legs gave way as he fell backwards onto his butt. Though interestingly enough, his upper body wasn't shaking anymore; instead the lower parts of his legs were.

'What the hell?' Noticing the peculiarity, Noir quickly pulled his body away as the tremors finally died down, much like the sound. In the wake of that experience, Noir held his chest as he felt his heart beating and sweat pouring from his face.

'So that's a boss monster. I haven't even started fighting it yet, and it's already imposing.'

All the confidence he had earlier was wiped out, but instead of feeling scared or anything negative, there was a slight grin on his face.

'I wonder if that's some kind of space distortion? That'd explain why I don't feel it now or before,' His forced optimism kicked in as he began focusing on something else to help calm himself and regain his bearings. Once he got back into a better state of mind, he placed his hand on the floor before slowly inching it closer to the Slime's direction until he felt his fingers vibrating.

'Yup, there's something that's causing the separation.' Thinking about that, he moved his head just above his hand as he once again heard the snoring of the slime king before immediately pulling back.

'Goddamn, I wonder if that area is considered a boss room. How kind of them to set up an invisible barrier to differentiate it.'

Noir sighed inwardly before marking the ground with his sword. The distance between him and the Slime was around the size of a football pitch. It was too far away for him to get close without losing his footing. He could hardly maintain his stance, let alone construct a trap for it.

While he did consider creating a trap outside the Slime's snoring range, he figured that the Slime could not leave its area since it was a boss monster.

'This makes things a bit annoying. I gotta figure out how to defeat that thing without a trap, huh?'

After taking a moment to sigh, Noir reverted to his first plan but with a few tweaks now. Honestly, he wasn't looking forward to it, but he couldn't just remain on the dungeon floor and slowly level up.

The first thing he did was check his pouch to see the different slime cores he was carrying. Excluding the cores he gained from fighting the previous slimes, he brought 100 cores and divided them among the four elements. These are the only long-range attacks he has so he had to make them worth it in an environment where his footing is unstable.

But fortunately, his situation was not as much of a disaster as he initially thought it would be. He was feeling a bit bored doing the same things in the dungeon and now something that could change his pace had finally arrived.

'Alright, let's get used to the earthquake.'

With a new way of getting stronger in front of him, Noir took a deep breath and took a step forward. He could immediately feel the effects of the earthquake, but he didn't waiver as he slowly tried to adjust to it and brought the rest of his body inside the field.

"CRHIII....! CRHIIIII...!"

It was a unique sensation. Feeling everything shake, but only you were truly shaking. The nearby boulders weren't trembling, and neither did the tiny pebbles on the floor. Was it because it was part of the dungeon's domain? He wasn't sure but all he knew was that he needed to get accustomed to the feeling quickly.

A couple of seconds passed and he was already sweating just standing there. He'd never experienced an earthquake before but he pictured it being similar to this without the falling buildings and the citizens screaming.

Fortunately, that means he won't have to worry about things falling on him and accidentally getting squished to death.

'Fuck!'

But even with all that, it didn't even take him 10 seconds before he fell to the ground. It wasn't something that could be easily adjusted, so he thought maybe he was rushing things a bit too much.

'Let's sit here first.'

As he changed his plans once more, Noir sat behind a nearby boulder that was tall enough to block his vision of the Kind Slime, sat down with his legs crossed and closed his eyes. In an intense environment like this, he wanted to practice gathering mana to increase his proficiency, but didn't want to get spotted by the Slime if it woke up.

The location wouldn't be suitable for a Mage to practise this. Their bodies were usually weak, so unless you were a combat mage, the shockwaves would just obliterate their concentration and leave them dazed. That was part of the reason they usually don't perform well during surprise stampedes since they have the hardest time adapting to the ground shaking like this.

However, it was said that the opposite was the case for martial artists or those who practise Aura. Their natural ability to move around, get hit constantly and calculate their objectives while maintaining their Aura made them better suited to these kinds of situations. It only took a small amount of mana to maintain it, so unlike a mage who may focus on having multiple spells, aura users would focus on refining their craft to the utmost tee.

However, Noir wasn't focusing on either of them. Instead, he was experimenting with something he had asked the Great Sage the night prior.

'When you are under extreme stress, breathe in, circulate the mana around your abdomen, then swirl it towards your limbs and veins and continue to release it. Keep doing that until you reach your limit. When a flow of mana surges through and you almost forget you're meditating but the mana was still flowing, then you've achieved your goal.'

The goal was to focus on his mana recovery, which was doable thanks to the scene in front of him. Maintaining Aura was an easy task for most people but for Noir who was self-taught, he didn't know the proper way to be efficient with his mana. Sure he could ask the Great Sage for advice, but if it's something he isn't aware of, then the number of important questions he should be asking would be limited.

It would be akin to watching a tutorial for a PC build but realising you have different components with their own annoying specific properties that can throw you for a loop.

Back to mana recovery. The benefits of passively absorbing mana and recovering during battle made it appealing to him. Humans normally absorb mana from their surroundings or from the food that they eat when they rest, but it's much slower than the meditation technique that Noir learned. Neither of those options can be used in the midst of battle.

'Alright, let's give this a shot,' After a quick pep talk, he began swirling the mana inside of him. It was a routine he was normally comfortable with in the comfort of his room, but now he was doing it in the screeches of hell. His ears and body were already aching from the snore shockwaves so he activated some of his Aura to protect himself.

Doing both at the same time was weird for him. It was like typing with one hand and using the other to play a game with only mouse input. Despite the fact that he could clumsily do both, every snore would shake his body, immediately disrupting his concentration and dispersing his mana, negating both of his skills.

And in his greedy attempt to get stronger, Noir added the extra challenge of using the least amount of mana needed to maintain his Aura. In addition to increasing his mastery of Aura, he would also gain the mana control skill, which would make learning magic possible for him.

And just like the mana recovery skill, the mana control skill has similar requirements.

"CHRRIIII...!"

It wasn't satisfying progress, but Noir was lasting just a fraction of a second longer than the previous times. He felt a heavy burden on his mind after getting his mana disrupted and his skill broken, but he was just about able to handle it as he continued.

It was a cycle of repetition while feeling your heart pounding and body sweat that would test the average person to their limits. Even on his best days, Noir would have to think twice before attempting something like this, but he was desperate to get the skills that he needed.

This would be the least that he'd need if he wanted to fight bosses like these after all and explore further into the dungeon. It wouldn't be a stretch to imagine what kind of nightmare he'd have if the bosses were able to utilise their elements or themes effectively so he had to be prepared.

"Ugh..."

And while he did feel he was making decent progress, there would be times when he would suffer from the mental fatigue of having his skills broken over and over again. Because of this, he would take breaks from the boss room to refresh himself.

As a side effect of the experience, whenever he left the zone, he would feel his mana becoming easier to manipulate and his body would feel lighter and less restricted. He was making steady progress and the small results he got from the few minutes he was inside made him continue this kind of training.

The sun was halfway up when Noir arrived, but it was already midday. He had no idea what time it was since his family couldn't afford something fancy like a watch. So Noir had no choice but to rely on his internal clock and the sun's position whenever he left the dungeon to figure out what time it was.

However, thanks to the six hours he spent sitting with the organ-shaking snores keeping him company, Noir managed to achieve part of his goal.

'!!'

He didn't know how long he was out for, but he was unconscious for a moment before regaining himself. Without skipping a beat, he stood up and left the boss' room to test it out. Walking around, his legs were numb from pins and needles as he tried to gather mana. It was an awkward feeling at first, much like rubbing your head while patting your head, but he could feel the mana gathering inside him. Success!

"I did it!"

Noir clenched his fist as he looked at the dungeon sky. It was rocky as always, but he was finally feeling confident about his progress. So much so that he almost forgot he was still in the dungeon room if not for the abnormally large slime sleeping in his peripheral vision.

"I'm still not done yet, just you wait," As Noir wiped off the sweat from his forehead, he grinned at the Slime that wasn't aware of his existence and for what was going to happen to it in the near future. But before any of that could happen, Noir took a ten-minute break to prepare for the next phase of his training.

The first part of his training was to enhance his mana, and the second part was to familiarize himself with his techniques in such an uncomfortable setting. Although he didn't seem to have gained the mana control skill just yet, he figured if he practised with Aura more in that area, he should be able to gain the skill soon.

But while something like this would usually motivate Noir, something was interfering with his mood.

"I'm gonna hate this..."

There was some despair in his tone when he said that. His second phase was to practice swordsmanship in that area, but his phobia kept him from being sure of himself. In his previous life, he suffered from Basophobia, the fear of falling over.

To some, it might be a fear to laugh at. After all, if you fall down, you just have to get back up. If it was the fear of heights or falling off a building, most people could relate. However, for Noir, who's scared about losing his stability, it was a mental strain he carried since the loss of his legs.

"I guess it was stupid of me to think I'd be fine even after coming into this world."

He initially thought he had gotten over it because his sister would usually hug him with enough force to make him fall on his bed and he never thought twice about it, but when he took a step into the zone his heart started pulsating. His mind was full of fear that he hadn't felt in a long time.

"But... I can't just stand still here..."

He knew that it was irrational, but it couldn't be changed without taking extreme measures. Just like how someone with arachnophobia could overcome their fear once they eventually willingly picked up a spider barehanded. As you can imagine, the steps to reach that process would cause your hair to fall out, but there weren't many options for Noir to overcome his fear other than what was in front of him.

So, with his head still full of anxiety, he took a step forward, feeling the floor shake once again. His heart was already beating like crazy as he began sweating again, but he shook it off as he drew his longsword. Just standing there was enough to make his legs turn jelly again. Added to the fact that it was troublesome holding a sword here, the unbalanced feeling felt even worse.

Part of him wanted to run away from this place, but he gritted his teeth as he pep-talked himself.

"You got this Noir. Come on, lad."

It was a little sad doing it by himself, but he was somehow able to push through as he raised his sword. It was tinged with a slight blue colour as Noir covered it with his aura before performing a vertical slash. Something like that was common in his normal training and even a novice would be able to perform it to some degree, but for the current Noir, it was worse than a novice.

'Just swinging it once shakes me off course.'

Something like this makes it ten times more challenging for Noir. The discomfort of falling was still on his mind as he wiped his cheeks again. His clothes were already damp from the few seconds he was in there, but fortunately, he brought some backup clothes.

But his clothes weren't a concern as he took another swing forward while trying to maintain his stance.

With each swing, he would feel the fear overwhelm him as the constant reminder of falling would dominate his thoughts.

There were times when it was too much for him, and he would fall over. Sometimes he would get back up immediately, other times he would stay on the ground contemplating the meaning of his actions as his will wavered.

Whenever it happened, he would shakily get back up, feeling like he had an asthma attack. He was struggling just to breathe as the pain gripped his body, but he didn't want to fall back down when his goal was close to him. Every time he struggled, he would unconsciously look at the King Rock Slime with hatred building up.

In spite of the Slime minding its own business, Noir couldn't help but become enraged by it. Despite having chosen the path himself, he couldn't help but put the blame on the creature, which further anchored his goal as he pushed himself further.

Despite that, his first 100 swings were awful. His form was terrible and he took too long a pause between swings. Not to mention his numb senses caused him to topple over during the snorequakes or he would lose control of his sword mid-swing. Nevertheless, he kept swinging and falling as his body slowly became accustomed to the motion.

It was needless to say that fatigue was catching up to him as he performed his 200th swing. Despite Aura helping him perform better than the average human on earth, he still hadn't mastered it yet.

But something happened as he was heading towards his 300th swing. His focus became sharper as the fear of falling slowly subsided. It felt like a strange feeling was guiding his body as he wobbled less until he stopped falling altogether. He had achieved his first achievement milestone but he didn't want to stop now that he was in a rhythm.

At the 500th swing, he started using his breathing techniques once again, using his pseudo-passive mana recovery skill to gather mana in his abdomen and spread it out to reignite his dying Aura. Although the efficiency of the skill is now a tenth of what he could've gotten while meditating, it was still progress in the right direction, even if he was ignoring his body's plea for rest.

His mind slowly started to drift as he began to lose count of the number of swings. The number must have been more than a thousand by now, much more than he had ever attempted before.

Instinct was controlling him. He didn't understand why he was still swinging even though he knew he could rest. He still had time. If he manages his time properly then he could've made it before the deadline, but something was driving him to keep swinging.

It didn't matter how many swings he made or how worn out his body became. His eyes that were focused and sharp were starting to become heavy as exhaustion set in. Even his grip on his sword was beginning to loosen, but he could feel it. He was almost there.

He continued on for who knows how many swings as more sweat covered his body. His eyes were getting heavier as exhaustion kicked in. Even his once firm grip on the sword was losing its strength as his grip loosened. He could feel it. He was almost there.

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