"Curse… huff… huff…" I opened my eyes quickly, breathing unevenly.
I quickly checked my body for any light or fatal injuries, but luckily I didn't find any.
"Huff…" I let out a relieved breath.
Although I knew I was inside a virtual world, this was my first time, so the situation wasn't guaranteed.
After taking a little time to calm myself, I lifted my body from the wooden floor of the cabin.
I looked around the cabin and fixed my eyes on my watch to check the time.
7:13
I smiled slightly in relief. Good thing I didn't stay too long inside the illusion cave.
I looked around the cabin again, then turned my gaze to a small table where a small box was lying.
The box looked very old and seemed to be made of copper.
My smile widened when I saw the copper box.
This was what I came for.
I quickly ran toward it.
Just as the author mentioned in the novel, the box had no lock or anything like that.
I extended my hand to the box and opened it. When I did, three items appeared inside, neatly placed.
The first item was a skill book, or rather a paper with a golden eye drawn on it.
The second item was a black ring that looked like it was made from coal, with no decorations or gems—just a simple black ring.
And the last item was a small notebook, or maybe I should call it a diary? I'm not sure.
I looked away from the notebook and focused again on the first two items.
I reached for the skill book and, after holding it with both hands, I carefully tore the paper.
A small amount of golden light came out of the paper and went directly into my body, focusing in my eye.
I started feeling something strange in my eye as the golden particles gathered.
I quickly closed my eyes and opened them again, but then I started seeing particles of different colors.
This was mana.
Red mana was for the fire element.
Light green mana was for wind.
Dark blue mana was for water.
Dark brown mana was for earth.
There were also a few black particles, which I assumed were for the dark element, and white ones, which I believed were for the light element.
I stared blankly at the particles in front of me as they seemed to float like in the sea.
It was beautiful.
Like a global masterpiece painting.
I started feeling drawn to it, wanting to reach out and touch it, but suddenly the mana disappeared, and I felt something like liquid running from my right eye.
I moved my hand to my eye and touched the warm liquid.
I raised my hand to check it.
Red color.
Blood.
Seeing mana directly, one of the foundations of the world, had injured my eye and caused bleeding.
"Damn… I feel like my head is going to explode."
A sharp headache hit me, even stronger than when I absorbed those memories.
I quickly closed my eyes and lay down on the cold floor.
I was stupid.
No, stupid is not even enough.
I was extremely foolish.
I gritted my teeth while covering my eye to stop the bleeding.
The bleeding lasted a few minutes, then stopped, but the pain remained for longer.
After a few minutes, only a light headache
remained, one that didn't really affect me.
I sighed in relief. Seeing mana directly is different from just sensing it.
It feels like seeing a king or something like that, and the huge gap in existence can seriously damage the mind—and sometimes even kill a person.
The author already explained this, but I forgot it. I almost got killed because of it once in the novel.
I pushed my thoughts away and sat up straight. I started circulating the mana inside my body to heal my eye, which had become almost blind.
After about half an hour, I opened my eyes.
Although it still hurt, it was better than before.
"Oh… thank you, luck. I almost died because of my stupidity." I ran my hand through my hair, thinking that if I had stayed a few more minutes like that, I might have died.
I thought about the pain I experienced and how bad my mistake was, which made me realize I shouldn't use this skill easily again.
And it would be even more impossible to use it in battle.
I pushed my hair back and wiped the sweat falling from me.
Anyway, now I need to check the other item. I stood up and went back to the box.
I reached in and took out the black ring, which looked like it was forged from dense darkness.
Just a simple ring with no gems.
I put it on my little finger, even though it was a bit large.
A few seconds passed… nothing happened.
I tilted my head slightly, looking confused.
.
.
.
.
After a few seconds, I hit my forehead again and ran my hand through my hair.
I closed my eyes, controlled the mana inside me, and sent it into the black ring.
The ring's shape adjusted perfectly to my little finger.
I imagined turning it into a liquid form, and the ring followed my thoughts.
The image in my mind kept changing as I tried to picture the katana I used.
A pitch-black blade.
Not too heavy.
Not too light.
I opened my eyes after forming the image I wanted, and the black liquid followed my thoughts.
It started changing into a vertical shape, then formed into a black katana.
A pitch-black sword, seemingly made of coal.
Not heavy and not light.
I swung it slightly toward the old cabinet.
"Swish."
The small cabinet was cut easily without any resistance.
It felt like I was cutting paper instead of wood.
I smiled while looking at the result.
And in the end, I couldn't hold it in.
I laughed out loud.
My laughter echoed throughout the forest