"I was completely scammed!"
Sam groaned aloud, dropping a plastic grocery bag of fresh fruit onto his small table before collapsing heavily into a wooden chair.
"My total monthly expenditure is now sitting at a ridiculous 37,500 U.C."
The sheer weight of that number almost gave him a heart attack. Between the outrageous 30,000 U.C. fee for the Sword Training Center, his daily diet, rent, and the cost of raw materials, his wallet was bleeding.
His projected maximum monthly income—assuming he didn't take a single day off from his six-hour refining sessions—was roughly 48,000 U.C.
His body slumped forward against the table, the adrenaline of the day completely draining out of him.
'So, there's no way around it. It is an absolute necessity for me to refine Spiritual Fire Ganoderma every single day without fail.'
The fear of his inventory not selling never really bothered him; he understood the market demand perfectly.
One Round Invigoration Rune Pills were foundational consumable items used by F-Rank warriors to forcibly increase their attribute levels.
While there were other methods to grow stronger—like hunting dangerous rune monsters in the wilderness—there would always be wealthy or cautious people willing to buy safe, reliable pills.
"Tomorrow marks a new beginning," he declared softly into the empty room.
His azure eyes sharpened with resolve. He still remembered the terrifying, insurmountable wall of pressure the bearded instructor had projected. If he wanted to overcome that gap in power, he had to pour his absolute heart and soul into his training.
Clearing his chaotic thoughts, he moved over to his bed and sat cross-legged, gently closing his eyes.
He focused inward, commanding the refined energy within his body. Almost instantly, he felt a cold, soothing breeze begin to swirl in the center of his palm.
'First step done!' he cheered internally.
He attempted to force the rune energy to behave, trying to encapsulate his loosely clenched fist within a glowing aura. However, the energy violently deviated from its intended path. It slipped through his metaphorical grasp, scattering into the air and withering away before it could fully manifest.
Refusing to be bothered by the unsuccessful attempt, he tried again. He visualized a continuous stream of water flowing out from a singular point in his palm, attempting to force it to defy gravity and wrap around his knuckles.
After numerous failed attempts, Sam's face grew deathly pale, looking as if his body had been drained of all its blood.
His eyelids fluttered open, his vision slightly blurry.
Reaching out with trembling hands, he pulled a cold energy drink out of his grocery bag, popped the tab, and took a long, desperate sip.
Gurgle...
Despite his physical exhaustion, his mind remained crystal clear, rapidly processing the data from his failures.
'Did I take the wrong approach?' he wondered. 'What exactly is Rune Energy?'
According to his academy textbooks, it was the physical manifestation of an otherworldly energy that had flooded their dimension.
The history books stated that eons ago, during an era when human civilization was so technologically advanced, they could effortlessly travel between galaxies and traverse the edges of the universe, a bizarre, brazen black hole had inexplicably manifested in the cosmos.
This anomaly induced massive waves of alien energy into their reality. After simulating and combining with the natural laws of their universe, the ultimate cosmic power known as 'Rune Energy' was born.
The prevailing scientific theory suggested that the black hole still existed somewhere out in the deep cosmos, acting as both the cradle of new, magical civilizations and the graveyard of ancient ones.
Many advanced human fleets had invaded the anomaly, but the only things that ever returned were mysterious, pristine weapons—artifacts completely untouched by the rot of time. Many philosophical theories even suggested the black hole was the literal incarnation of Death, designed to reap the lives of the arrogant.
Grasping the sheer, cosmic scale of the energy he was dealing with, Sam realized he needed a more grounded, practical approach to control it.
'If I were to simulate this energy in a physics engine using C++ code, how would I structure the algorithm?'
His fingers absentmindedly stroked his chin as his engineering background took over.
"First, I would have to understand the core Instance of the rune energy," he muttered to himself. 'Fluidity like water, serenity like ice, circulation-like blood...'
Various properties of the energy aligned in his mind, and he made a definitive choice. He would treat it using the laws of dynamic fluid mechanics.
"My willpower acts as the external force—the gravity or the pump—that affects the rune energy, forcing it to change its position," he deduced.
"I just have to use my will to establish a continuous flow, moving the energy in free motion without any rigid constraints so I can properly study its baseline properties."
Dynamic fluid mechanics would serve as his mental compiler, helping him grasp the real-world execution of this magical force.
With his thoughts perfectly aligned, he closed his eyes once more. His vision faded to black.
Taking a slow, calming breath, he focused his entire concentration on a single, microscopic point-source in the center of his hand, imagining the rune energy welling up from his pores like an artesian spring.
Slowly but steadily, he felt the ambient temperature in his hand plummet. This localized freezing meant dense chunks of rune energy were successfully pooling in his bowl-shaped palm.
He slowly uncurled his fingers, feeling the biting cold spread across his skin. The temperature remained constant at the center of his palm, confirming that the current of rune energy was successfully flowing outward toward his fingertips.
A subtle, triumphant smile crept across his face.
Keeping his eyes shut tight, he remained entirely focused on the flow, carefully monitoring the minute temperature fluctuations across his hand to track the energy's path.
'The rune energy behaves exactly like a pressurized fluid. It rushes toward the path of least resistance when the volume passes a certain threshold, flowing naturally without resisting its own nature.'
'My assumption was correct. But it's still too early to celebrate.'
He slightly elevated his tightly clamped fingers. Instantly, the cold sensation on his fingertips decreased, while the freezing pool in the center of his palm grew heavier.
Subtly, he tilted his hand by just a few degrees.
He felt the cold spill over the side of his palm, confirming that the rune energy was seeping over the edge, sliding down his wrist, and dissipating harmlessly into the air like spilled water.
All the while, the intense concentration was taking a massive toll. His face grew paler by the second, and his lips cracked and dried out as if a severe drought had paralyzed his body.
Drip. A heavy bead of sweat rolled down his neck, soaking into his collar, while another was already forming on his brow, ready to fall.
Despite the agonizing physical strain, the smile on his face only grew wider. He looked like a mad scientist who had just discovered the ultimate truth of the universe.
His eyelids quivered, and he slowly opened his eyes, letting his vision adjust to the dim room.
"Confirmed. Rune energy absolutely possesses fluid properties."
His crystal-clear eyes shone with a new layer of profound brilliance. Having theoretical knowledge from a textbook was one thing, but running a practical, successful experiment to prove a hypothesis was another entirely. He had successfully mapped out his foundation.
Shaking his head, he wiped the sweat from his brow and whispered to himself, "My total capacity for rune energy is still severely lacking, though."
Thud! With his body utterly exhausted, he slumped backward onto the bed. Despite the bone-deep fatigue, a faint smile lingered on his lips. He was one massive step closer to accomplishing his ultimate goal.