Chapter 21
That night.
After everyone in the dormitory had fallen asleep...
Theron sat alone on his bed, staring at the bracelet around his wrist.
A silver ring blackened by age.
During the day, it had behaved exactly as Bengle described.
Nothing more than a piece of junk producing faint warmth.
But from now on...
It would be different.
Let's confirm it.
Theron rubbed away the dirt with his sleeve.
Fine patterns appeared in the darkness.
A single continuous line wrapped around the bracelet like tangled vines.
Theron closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.
The Dark Tempelst mana inside his heart awakened.
It began flowing through the pathways of his body.
During ordinary cultivation, following the established route would have been enough.
But the key to opening the bracelet was the opposite.
The reverse order of the Mana Method.
Exhale where one should inhale.
Release where one should gather.
Reverse a flow that had been engraved into the body for an entire lifetime.
His mind understood it.
His body instinctively rejected it.
"...Ugh."
The first attempt collapsed before the mana even reached his wrist.
The reversed mana scraped through the pathways of his arm.
A numb pain shot all the way into his shoulder.
Theron held his breath and checked the nearby beds.
Perka was sleeping while facing the wall.
Renil's snoring remained perfectly steady.
...Good.
Even Theron, who had handled countless Mana Methods in his previous life, felt this much pain.
An ordinary trainee would probably damage their mana pathways from the first attempt and spend several days bedridden.
No wonder ordinary people couldn't unlock it.
Even knowing the method was not enough.
Without knowing it at all...
The bracelet would remain a hand warmer forever.
Theron swallowed the pain and steadied his breathing again.
Second attempt.
Third.
He slowly trained his body to accept the reversed flow.
Then, on the fourth attempt...
He drew out the reversed mana until it became thinner than thread.
That thread finally touched the beginning of the engraved pattern.
Slowly...
Along every curve.
Following the vine-like path.
Half a circle.
A full circle.
Then the mana thread reached the end of the pattern and touched its beginning.
Hummm.
The bracelet trembled quietly.
The pattern hidden beneath years of dirt began glowing faintly from within.
A soft light resembling moonlight.
It was not bright.
Soon, even that glow disappeared.
But the bracelet now felt completely different.
The mild warmth vanished.
Instead, a cool, living pulse wrapped around Theron's wrist.
It's open.
Theron immediately sat cross-legged and began cultivating properly.
The moment the Dark Tempelst Mana Method circulated through his body...
"...!"
He almost opened his eyes in shock.
Mana from the surrounding air entered his body at nearly twice the usual density.
That was not all.
The rough mana entering him passed through the bracelet and became smooth and refined.
It joined the flow of his Mana Method like water entering a river.
One full circulation.
At the end...
Twice as much mana as usual settled inside the mana hall in his lower abdomen.
This...
The rumors had not exaggerated it.
If anything, they had understated it.
Climbing in three years what should take ten.
Theron was finally experiencing the weight of that statement himself.
The Blood Jade Fruit expanded the container...
And this bracelet doubles how quickly I can fill it.
Things Theron had never possessed in his previous life...
Were now gathered at the very beginning of this one.
All he needed was time.
There was only one important concern.
I absolutely cannot let anyone notice.
If his mana grew too quickly, someone would eventually realize something was strange.
He had to grow stronger while maintaining the appropriate appearance.
That was the most important thing right now.
And later...
When I leave this place...
Theron closed his eyes.
Now was the time to hide his anger and keep accumulating power.
He cultivated deep into the night.
Until the moon outside the window began sinking...
Until the sounds of snoring in the dormitory faded...
A faint light resembling moonlight silently pulsed around the boy's wrist.
The next morning.
The Section Five trainees entered the dining hall and doubted their own eyes.
"W-What is this...?"
Food filled their trays.
Stew with actual meat.
Freshly baked bread.
Boiled eggs.
Until yesterday, they had received thin porridge and hard scraps of bread.
Now steam rose from real food.
"First-place meals..."
"This is what Section Three ate every day?"
Someone swallowed loudly.
Someone else's eyes nearly filled with tears.
"Eat! Before it gets cold!"
At Renil's shout, spoons began striking bowls like a storm.
"Ughhh... Meat. I'm actually chewing meat."
"Slow down. You'll choke."
Perka said that while moving his own spoon faster than anyone else.
"Tioren, if you don't want your egg, give it to me."
"I'm eating it."
"You haven't touched it!"
"I'm saving it."
Even usually quiet Tioren was arguing over a single egg.
Amid the noise, Theron quietly ate his stew.
Warm broth slid down his throat.
Meal grades...
It was not merely about food.
For growing trainees, nutrition directly affected their bodies.
The body became the vessel for mana.
As long as Section Five maintained first-place meals...
The growth rate of the entire section would increase.
They had gained far more than honor from the Token Defense Test.
Even the dining hall atmosphere had changed.
"Hey... Section Five."
"Is that the guy who supposedly beat Isaac?"
People kept glancing toward them.
Yesterday's mockery had been replaced by wariness and curiosity.
On Hell Island, changing gazes meant changing hierarchy.
But not every gaze was curious.
Near the exit...
Three large trainees blocked Section Five's path.
Section One symbols.
The trainee in the middle had scrapes across his face, probably from the rolling logs during the previous night's battle.
"Hey, Section Five."
He glared at Theron.
"One lucky first place and you're already acting proud?"
He sneered.
"You cowards hid and stole tokens during the test."
"..."
"You better understand it won't happen again next time."
