I opened the martial arts book.
The title read:
Exploding Rock Fist.
"Oh..."
"So it's a fist technique."
The first few pages were filled with drawings of basic stances and movements.
There were no explanations.
Only illustrations.
With nothing else to do, I copied every movement.
It felt ridiculous.
I was simply imitating drawings without anyone to correct my posture or explain their purpose.
Still...
I continued.
Day after day.
I punched stone walls.
Repeated the forms.
Again.
And again.
The first form.
Feet shoulder-width apart.
Shift your weight into your waist.
Step forward.
Throw a straight punch.
The second form.
Leap forward with one foot.
Use the weight of your entire body.
Drive your fist downward.
The third form.
Raise both arms to protect your face.
Guard your front.
Move your feet from side to side.
There were ten forms in total.
To me...
They all looked simple.
Almost useless.
Until I turned to the next chapter.
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Circulate your mana throughout your body while performing the forms. Concentrate additional mana into your fists before striking.
"I can do that."
I focused.
A faint green glow wrapped around my fists.
I punched the stone target.
Nothing.
No explosion.
No extra power.
Not even a crack.
I let out a long sigh.
"Maybe this martial art works better with elemental runes."
A grin spread across my face.
"A flaming fist would look pretty cool."
"Or maybe lightning."
The thought amused me enough to forget my disappointment.
Exhausted, I collapsed onto my stone bed.
The next morning...
I trained again.
I wasn't expecting results.
I simply had nothing else to do.
Days became weeks.
Weeks became months.
Every day followed the same routine.
Train.
Hunt.
Eat.
Sleep.
Repeat.
The only noticeable change was the green light surrounding my body.
It slowly became brighter.
My control over the Storage Rune also improved.
I could store and retrieve objects much faster than before.
Items could now appear much farther away from me.
My mental space continued expanding as well.
Then...
One day...
"Aghhh!"
An unbearable pain exploded inside my head.
It felt as if my skull were being torn apart.
I immediately drank Miracle Water.
The pain remained.
I hadn't done anything unusual that day.
So why now?
When I looked into my mental space...
I froze.
It was splitting apart.
Instinctively, I tried to keep it together.
Then a thought crossed my mind.
Maybe... that's exactly what I'm not supposed to do.
Even through the agony, I relaxed my mind.
Instead of resisting...
I imagined the space separating.
Hours passed.
Hours of unbearable pain.
Finally...
It split.
Two separate storage spaces floated before me.
One was enormous.
The other was much smaller.
Both glowed green.
But the smaller one shone with a far deeper, denser shade.
The moment it was over...
Everything went black.
When I woke up, hunger hit me immediately.
I reached into my storage and pulled out a piece of Ravihen meat.
Something felt different.
The original storage space had become much dimmer.
Before, its green glow had been vivid.
Now it was faint again.
Curious, I examined the second storage.
The smaller one still radiated a deep green light.
"What can you do?"
I stored a small rock inside.
Nothing happened.
I released it.
BOOM!
The stone shot out like a cannonball before shattering against the wall.
My eyes widened.
"Oh..."
"So that's your ability."
I tried again.
This time with a larger boulder.
The moment I released it...
It blasted forward with incredible force.
A smile slowly spread across my face.
"If I control the angle..."
"...and the timing..."
"I can turn anything into a projectile."
I laughed.
This was exactly what I needed.
From that day onward, I hunted even more aggressively.
Stonecrawlers.
Ravihens.
Occasionally, a Mine Mole.
The creatures became less of a threat with each passing day.
I also noticed changes in myself.
My body had become broader.
My muscles denser.
I had even grown taller.
I had no idea how long I'd been trapped inside this endless cavern.
But one thing was certain.
I was no longer the frightened boy who had fallen into this place.
Sometimes I crossed paths with the Cavetroll.
Whenever that happened...
I ran.
Its massive body made it impossible for it to catch me.
Not yet.
Every day I continued practicing the Exploding Rock Fist.
Every day I refined my mana control.
Every day I learned a little more.
Eventually...
There was nothing left in the book that I hadn't mastered.
I closed it.
Took a deep breath.
Then smiled.
"This..."
"...is the day."
"The day I kill the Cavetroll."