I gave the crystal lamp from Lumis one last stink eye, sighed, crossed the task off my list, and set the lamp near one of the seating areas in the mezzanine above the living room. With that done, I reviewed my list and moved on to the next task. Mind splitting.

My four usual splits came easier than ever, taking less than a second without the slightest strain. Good. The fifth, though, was a different story. The moment I pushed for it, my mind trembled, groaned, and rebelled, feeling like Atlas trying to lift the heavens. I gritted my teeth and held on. Sweat poured down my face, and my body shook as if caught in an earthquake, but I refused to give up. I didn’t keep track of time, but eventually, it got a little easier. When I finally released the fifth split, my clothes were soaked, and my head throbbed like a war drum. Unfortunately, my personal information still showed Mind Split: X4.

Maybe I need to actually cast something or use the splits to raise the number?

It was an excellent opportunity to clean my house. I rested until the headache subsided, took a deep breath, split my mind into five again, gritted my teeth, and cast the Clean spell from three splits and Purify from two splits, covering my entire bedroom. It definitely sped up the cleaning process, but my mind raised a white flag. This time, the headache was ten times worse and felt like it was drilling deeper into my skull. Ugh.

Rest, let the headache subside, rinse, and repeat. My house was so clean by evening you could eat off the floor. Mahya was ecstatic since I cleaned her workshop, but Al was staring daggers at me for cleaning his greenhouse too thoroughly. Apparently, I stripped the soil of all its beneficial microorganisms and erased some mineral buildup from the surfaces on which his plants relied.

Oops!

On the bright side, the fifth split was still hard but not a killer anymore, and on my profile, I now had Mind Split: X5. I was sure Al would get over it. Eventually.

Success!

I tried to progress to six splits, but gave up almost immediately. Just from the attempt, I nearly fainted, and it was obvious I had a long way to go before it would be possible. It wasn’t a surprise, so I shrugged and moved on to creating the next spiral.

The spiral was both easier and harder. Creating the fourth spiral was a struggle because I still had trouble holding the fourth split needed for compressing it, but now that part came much more easily. However, the spiral itself presented an entirely new challenge. There was far less space within the orbs to construct it, and the mana resisted me at every turn, bucking and fighting like a wild horse. Each step required precision and force. By the time I reached the end of the first orb going down, I had to grit my teeth and pour every ounce of focus into holding it steady, desperate to stop it from unraveling.

The connections between the orbs were slightly easier to manage—until it came time for compression. That part felt like trying to force a storm into a bottle. The rest of the way down wasn’t better, but I succeeded. On the way back up, I pushed past the navel orb with significant effort, but without too much trouble. However, when I reached halfway into the diaphragm orb, I lost control. The spiral slipped out of my grasp, unraveling in an instant.

I collapsed onto my back, heaving, drenched in sweat, and gasping for air. My head throbbed with a killer headache, my whole body shook like I’d been through a hurricane, and worse, everything felt... off. My body just felt wrong.

Checking my profile explained why.

Health: 2,182/8,100.

Rue came over and licked my face, his large tongue slobbering over my cheek in what I assumed was concern.

“How long was I doing it?” I asked, wiping off the drool.

“John shaking and doing bad sounds all day and night. Rue have trouble sleep,” he replied, his ears drooping. He sent me a strong feeling of annoyance.

“What is it now?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Rue’s breakfast,” he said, sitting back on his haunches and giving me an expectant look, his tail thumping lightly against the floor.

After feeding the bottomless pit and the rest of the gang, I slept for the whole day. The fifth spiral was exhausting. The sleep brought my health to full, at least.

It took me two days to feel back to normal and gather the courage to attempt it again, and it wasn’t any easier. This time, I kept my profile open while building the spiral, determined to figure out why there was a drop in health. Slowly but steadily, I made it past the diaphragm orb on my way back up. After each connection line to the orbs, I checked my health just before the compression phase—and there was no change.

I lost the spiral when I started to build it in the mind orb, and the aftermath was even worse this time. My whole body ached like I’d been run over. I struggled to lift my arms or stand up, and blood trickled from my nose and ears. It felt like my body had reached its absolute limit.

Health: 712/8,100.

Multiple casts of Healing Touch brought my health up to 3,500, but then it stopped climbing. Remembering the hell dungeon, I cast Fortify Life Force, which finally restored my health to full. It still took me five days to feel normal again.

I had no idea how to prevent such severe backlash from happening again, so I finally decided to create a less compressed spiral. In the past, I was able to improve the quality of my spirals after maintaining them for a while, so I hoped the same approach would work this time.

The third attempt was the charm—sort of. I successfully created my fifth spiral, but it was only at 82% quality. It still showed up as Mana Regeneration x 5 on my profile, and my regeneration increased to 54 units a minute, but I couldn’t shake a bit of disappointment. It was better than killing myself with the backlash, sure, but the feeling of defeat lingered.

At least Al, after witnessing what I went through, finally forgave me for “ruining” the balance in his greenhouse. Small mercies.

I crossed the mind split and spiral off my list and moved on to the next task. Since three other items on the list relied on me learning more runes and magic scripts, that became my new focus.

I sat cross-legged on the mezzanine, flipping through the next book of runes—this one focused on embroidery for fabrics. The delicate shapes and flowing lines felt different from the rigid forms I’d studied before. I was just starting to sketch one into my parchment notebook when Mahya’s boots clunked up the stairs behind me.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“What are you working on now?” she asked, leaning over the railing with a curious look.

“Runes for embroidery,” I replied, holding up the book. “The one you studied for the balloon.”

“Why?”

“I figured I’d study everything I haven’t touched yet. Even if I don’t use them right away, knowing more runes means more tools for my spells.”

She grinned, her eyes sparkling with approval. “Good luck. Al and I are heading to the southern part of the city to clear out some monsters. Want to come along?”

I shook my head, settling deeper into my seat. “Nah, I’m good. I’ve got all these books of runes and magic scripts to get through.”

She tilted her head, considering my response, then nodded. “Fair enough. Makes sense.” She took out two small, leather-bound books and handed them to me. “Here. These are mine—runes for working with wood. Thought you might find them useful.”

I blinked at her, surprised. “You’ve been holding out on me.”

She smirked, her tone teasing. “You never asked. Have fun with your studies. I’ll let you know if anything interesting happens.”

“Good luck with the clearing,” I called after her as she turned to leave.

Not long after, Al appeared, his expression thoughtful as he approached. “Mahya said you were studying runes,” he said, holding out a thick tome.

“Still am,” I replied, taking the book he offered and glancing at the cover.

“Thought this might help.”

“What is it?” I asked, curiosity piqued.

“Runes for Alchemy,” he replied with a slight shrug.

“Thanks, Al,” I said, grinning as I added it to the growing pile beside me.

He gave a slight nod before turning and walking away. I glanced at the books surrounding me, feeling a faint smile tug at my lips.

Friends are awesome.

After two clearing operations in the southern part of the city, Mahya approached me. “Can you ask the wind to show you all the dungeon locations?”

I nodded. “Sure.”

This time, I brought her along as the wind guided me to each site. She took notes as I pointed out the locations, her sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.

“We’ll handle the cleanups while you study,” she said confidently, her tone leaving no room for argument.

I didn’t argue. It seemed like the most efficient use of time.

It took me nearly two months to finish studying all the books. In total, there were four rune books from Lis, two books from Mahya, and the book from Al. On top of that, I had nine books of spell scripts to work through. Each one was dense with information, filled with intricate diagrams, obscure notes, and challenging concepts that often made my head spin.

By the time I closed the last book, my mind felt like an overstuffed bookshelf, crammed with runes, spell scripts, and countless ideas. The sheer amount of knowledge swirling around in my head was staggering. Whenever I thought I’d grasped something, another connection or application would pop into my mind, demanding attention.

Despite all that, one thing eluded me. No matter how much I studied, I still didn’t have a solution for fixing the Clean and Purify spells. It annoyed me, a persistent frustration, but I pushed it aside for now. Sometimes, solutions only came when you weren’t actively chasing them.

During this time, Mahya, Al, and Rue cleared seven dungeons in the southern part of the city. Five yielded gold, so they harvested them the normal way—none of the dramatic, all-consuming magic my core used to “eat” everything. They took what they could and the new cores and moved on.

The other two dungeons offered more intriguing rewards, so they left those for me to explore and enjoy. One of them gave a spell scroll, which they casually mentioned. But when they told me about the other one—the one with the skill scroll—their mischievous expressions and the suspicious glint in their eyes immediately put me on edge.

“Why do I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Mahya shrugged, her face the perfect picture of feigned innocence. “You’ll see,” she said, but the barely hidden smirk on her lips made me wonder if I was walking into a trap or a practical joke.

I tried to ask Rue, but got only a feeling of smugness in return and no answers.

The dungeon that gave the skill scroll wasn’t particularly remarkable. It was a maze of tunnels infested with rodents of all sizes, ranging from tiny mice to dog-sized beasts. Either way, they weren’t much of a challenge. My lightning spells took care of them quickly, and I cleared the dungeon in under five hours.

When I touched the core to receive the reward, I understood why Mahya and Al seemed so pleased with themselves.

Meal Presentation

Grants the ability to arrange any dish into a visually appealing presentation. This skill can enhance dining experiences, or impress others during formal or ceremonial occasions.

It was kind of useless—but not completely. And now, I was really curious about what they got.

When I asked them about it, the results didn’t disappoint.

Mahya got:

Perfect Paper Folding

Grants the user the ability to fold any sheet of paper into flawless shapes or designs, from simple creases to intricate origami. Ideal for creating notes, decorative pieces, or precise folds for maps and plans.

Al got:

Shoeshine Mastery

Enables the user to clean and polish footwear to a flawless, mirror-like shine in a matter of seconds. This skill is especially useful for maintaining appearances in formal settings or gaining favor in high-society environments.

And Rue got:

Temperature Perfect

Allows the user to precisely control the adjustment of a beverage or liquid’s temperature to the exact degree desired. This is achieved through external means, such as heating or cooling methods, guided by the skill’s exceptional accuracy and control. Whether cooling a hot drink or warming a cold soup, this skill ensures the desired temperature is reached with perfect precision.

“What did you get?” Mahya asked.

I grinned and unrolled the scroll for them to see.

Mahya threw her hands up, her voice rising in exasperation. “Of course it is! Of course, you and Rue get something you can actually use. Unbelievable.” She crossed her arms, muttering under her breath. “Why does your Luck have to be so disgustingly good?”

Al shook his head, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I do not know whether to envy you or despise you.”

Mahya glared at me and pointed accusingly. “You better share some of that luck, John, or I’m going to start cursing it for real!”

Rue wagged his tail and let out a huff of approval, clearly pleased with my find. I shrugged, still grinning. “What can I say? Luck loves me.”

The second dungeon they left me was a little harder, but not by much. It was another dungeon with golems, though they stayed in human form this time rather than shapeshifting. As a distraction, they launched various elemental attacks.

The water golem shot a powerful stream of water, the fire golem hurled fireballs, and the wind golem fired off wind blades—though weaker than the ones we could produce. Dodging their attacks in the air was almost too easy, so it wasn’t much of a challenge.

When I finally touched the core, it was a disappointment

Back at home, I held up the spell scroll for Mahya and Al to see. “Really? A wind blade spell? I already have this,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

Mahya smirked, clearly unfazed. “Yeah, we got the same one.”

“Then why even bother?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

She shrugged, crossing her arms. “Because it’s not gold, and I figured it would stop you from whining about the dungeons that only give gold.”

Al chuckled softly, adding, “Consider it a favor, John.”

I rolled my eyes, tucking the scroll away. “Fine, but at least find me something interesting next time.”

The hailstorms were happening less frequently now, and when they did, they were shorter. It seemed like winter was finally coming to an end, and soon, it would be time for us to move on. Mahya seemed pleased with the number of cores we’d gathered—40 in total, including 2 small ones.

As she put it, “We’ll come across more dungeons in our travels.”

I didn’t complete all my planned tasks, but I made good progress. Soon, it was time to resume our travels—though not before dealing with one pesky Mana Occurrence.