Edric’s first job was finally over and he couldn’t believe it.

  I’m Exhausted, I need to take a nap.. Edric lets out a deep yawn, stared at the sun ,it was almost about to be night time.

  “Your place next to the west guild” Kael said, trying to fill the silence.

  “Yes, I’m guessing yours is next to the East guild” he replied.

  “Ya, there’s a carriage service nearby. We can travel together” Kael points at the end of road, “We can separate in between”

  Edric grew tired of Kael’s energy– but he wasn’t a bad guy. He wouldn’t have completed this job without a major injury without him. Edric reluctantly nodded and followed the path.

  They reached a stable, carriages came and some left. They fond a public carriage– big carriages that are like bus stopd at a station. There’s a map of the route on the outside of the carriage.

  Edric looks at the route, So if I drop here, I can reach the inn in 10 minutes… not bad. The map’s were surprisingly well articulated.

  Kael hopped in the carriage, gesturing Edric to come along. The inside, similar to a bus, had two seats beside each window. They sat in the middle getting comfortable , the carriage waited for five minutes before departing.

  The carriage was largely empty except for maybe five other passengers except themselves.

  Kael as usual tore the silence between them. “So what’s your plan now?” Kael said

  Edric thought for a moment. “Don’t know yet. Ideally , I would try to find a way to leave but based on yesterday's bout. I would probably not survive at my current level”

  “You right about. You should have seen your face, your entire body was a pile of sweat whenever you shot with that thing” Kael chuckled softly subtly pointing at his holstered flintlock.

  Edric wasn’t amused but he wasn’t wrong. He then realized he hasn’t checked his status after completing his job. He opened the status window, thankfully it’s invisible to everyone else.

  [Job Completed]

  [Reward : Experience gain on all skills]

  Experience gain…hmm.. So theoretically If I do more missions, I would grow more. Edric thought that doing more work would give him a gain but none of his skills gone above a level since yesterday.

  Edric didn’t want to do more work with little gain, if only he could ask someone— Edric looks at Kael with a serious expression.

  Kael surprised,“Woah what's with the look Ed”

  “How do I learn?” Edirc said bluntly

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Learn what?”

  “You know everything- fighting, mana everything”

  “Well, I had a master growing up in the temple to learn martial arts. My adoptive father was a scholar so I read mana cultivation books.” Kael said in a warm voice, almost like he was relcollecting his past.

  Kael’s an orphan? But at least he has family, unlike a certain someone...

  “If I were you, I would go to the library. Many mercenaries pass through here for training , so you could find some useful books” Kael added, fiddling his hands on his staff.

  Edric tapped his chin Not a bad idea

  It would take another twenty minutes for Edric to reach his destination. In the meantime, he learned more about Kael. He had been found and raised in a temple, where he was taught martial arts, reading, and writing. Eventually, he was adopted by an academic scholar. Now, he lived in Magnus with his adoptive father, who worked in the city.

  When the carriage came to a stop, Edric hopped off, giving Kael a final nod of farewell.

  He had a hunch that their paths would cross again, but that was a thought for another time. For now, he focused on the road ahead, making his way back to Lester’s Inn.

  As he walked, he kept an eye out for a library. Based on what Kael had told him, Edric’s biggest weakness wasn’t a lack of mana—it was his inability to control it. His natural reserves were large, likely due to his genetics of the so called pillars of the nation, but his usage was inefficient. Every time he fired a shot, he burned through more energy than necessary. Add to that the additional energy isn’t used on the shot itself, or else those thief torso would have burst open with a single shot. Edrc gulped from the thought of that.

  If he could learn to cultivate mana properly, his experience gain would improve as well. Atleast he hoped it will.

  His gaze flickered between the wooden signboards lining the street. Eventually, his eyes landed on one in particular: Public Library Alazcar . According to the sign, it was located farther down the road, past the inn.

  I’ll check it out tomorrow.

  With that decision made, he continued on his way, eager to get some food and a deep sleep.

  Morning light streamed through the window, Edric’s body still aches, but the sleep helped. He dressed quickly and left the inn.

  The streets of Magnus bustled with activity. Merchants called out their wares, armored mercenaries strolled through, and street vendors sold skewered meat and pastries. The smell was aromatic. Edric made a mental note to grab something later.

  When he reached the library, Edric expected it to be a tall polished building but– in reality it was a two story building made of stone and dark wood. The wooden sign in the front read .”Public Library Alazcar,”.

  Edric gulped and made his way in. Don't judge a book by its cover they say. Edric thought.

  The first floor had a receptionist desk to borrow books, only a bald man slept at the counter. The rest of the library was largely empty except a few kids, mercenaries sleeping for free and ladies gossiping about who cheated who.

  He checked the aisles on the first floor– no luck. Only books were about sword, blacksmithing, and weaponry science. He decided to look the 2nd floor, similar the first floor it was lined with aisles of book .

  He wandered through the aisles, scanning the spines. He needed something on mana cultivation, something that could help him–

  Thud.

  A book tumbled from a shelf and landed infront of him. He frowned and looked around. No one was nearby. From the movies his seen, this was either a trap, pure luck, plot armor or someone is behind the scenes.

  He knelt down and picked up the book. The title wasn’t in the common language, he thought for a minute and pulled up the system.

  [Transalting]

  [Title:"The Art of Mana Cultivation: A Guide for Beginners."]

  His breath caught.” The Frick–”. That was convenient … too convenient.

  He glanced around again, half-expecting someone to be watching. Nobody.

  He took a deep breath. His fingers tightened around the book; whatever it was, he wasn’t about to ignore it.

  He carriend the book to a quiet corner, settled on a chair and flipped it open.

  As he read the translated text, a strange feeling settled over him. It felt familiar, almost like remembering something he used to practice. The book had techniques, exercises and ways to control mana. All curated based on types and other details.

  He read the first exercise:

  “Focus on your breath….. Feel the surroundings….”

  After reading the instructions and carefully examining the illustrations. He closed his eyes and focused on his breath. The instruction felt a bit to simple, Edric didn’t really believe it at first. It sounded easy, a bit too easy. The fact that somethign as powerful as mana can be controled with this almost convinced him the book was a scam.

  He continued meditating for a minute, then– a strange energy started flowing, it was warm, powerful, and comforting. It was like a warm river started streaming through his veins, as the current passed through his body. He felt something in him, he felt stronger with each passing breath.

  For the first time, Edric felt mana