As the tip of the quill met the parchment, Kaiden hesitated.

  Not because he didn’t know how to use it—that part felt instinctive. He understood that injecting mana into the quill would make the "ink" appear on the parchment.

  What made him pause was controlling that mana.

  That part was proving to be much harder than expected.

  He drew a simple line, watching as it wavered, the thickness shifting unpredictably depending on how much mana he unconsciously released. Some sections came out too thin, barely visible, while others swelled awkwardly, uneven and inconsistent. To make matters worse, the line wasn’t even straight.

  It reminded him of someone from back on Earth. He had never used a fountain pen before, but he once had a teacher who was a fanatic about them. The man had collected them obsessively and would always talk about how difficult they were to use—how they could spill ink everywhere if you didn’t apply the right amount of pressure.

  Kaiden was beginning to understand the struggle.

  He was about to continue building on the line he had just created when it suddenly disappeared.

  "What the f—" he muttered, but then quickly activated Arcane Vision and let out a small sigh of relief.

  There it was. The line still existed, just invisible to the naked eye.

  "Interesting," he murmured.

  It seemed like the mana lines had a short delay before vanishing from the visible eye. Writing with his ability active would probably be easier in the long run. He had more than enough mana to keep it going for extended periods, especially now with the boost to his regeneration.

  With that in mind, he returned to his work, this time focusing on something specific.

  A complete rune.

  Of all the runes he had memorized back at Camp Thorne, one stood out. It was among the simplest, seemingly easy to write—or maybe draw was the better word?

  Or at least, it should have been easy.

  What he ended up creating looked… awful.

  The proportions were wrong, the angles inconsistent. An expert in runes might barely recognize what it was supposed to be, but to anyone else, it was just a messy collection of lines.

  Kaiden frowned at the results, feeling a mild disgust with his first attempt.

  It was also way too large.

  He had no idea if size mattered when it came to rune functionality, nor did he know what this particular rune even did. He barely knew anything about them.

  What he did know, however, was that he needed practice.

  Out of curiosity, he placed a hand on the completed rune and fed a small pulse of mana into it.

  Nothing happened.

  He had expected as much, but it was still worth trying. Maybe runes didn’t work unless part of a complete structure, or maybe only certain runes could function on their own.

  Again—things he didn’t know.

  For now, it was time to focus on the fundamentals.

  He set the quill to the parchment again and began practicing his penmanship.

  Kaiden took a steadying breath and focused on the parchment, determined to improve. If the first attempt had been awful, then the second should at least be less awful.

  He carefully drew the first stroke of the rune, keeping his hand steady and his mana flow as even as he could manage. The quill glided smoothly at first, but as he reached the curve, the line suddenly thinned out.

  He cursed under his breath and adjusted, but by the time he reached the next segment, the mana control had already slipped again.

  He exhaled sharply.

  This was going to take time.

  Kaiden set the quill down, flexing his fingers. It wasn’t just about learning to write—it was about controlling every detail of his mana flow. Too little, and the line would be too thin. Too much, and the strokes would swell unnaturally.

  It was a balance he needed to feel rather than just understand.

  After a moment of rest, he tried again.

  This time, he focused less on speed and more on consistency. He let the quill move naturally, his hand following the motion rather than forcing it. His mana control was still rough, but better. The lines were still uneven, but at least they weren’t as erratic.

  Again.

  And again.

  For over an hour, he repeated the same rune dozens of times.

  Each time, the lines became smoother, the proportions more recognizable. At some point, he realized that he wasn’t struggling quite as much anymore.

  His movements had become more precise, his mana flow more controlled.

  That’s when it hit him—Mindforge.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  The ability was doing what it always did, accelerating his adaptation. The muscle memory, the fine adjustments, the ability to recognize mistakes and fix them—Mindforge was quietly improving all of it.

  Kaiden smirked. “I knew I chose the right ability.”

  At first, he had thought it was odd how quickly he was adjusting, but now it made perfect sense. He wasn’t suddenly good at it, but he was getting better at a rate that felt quicker than it should.

  But he wasn’t about to complain.

  Hours passed, he looked at his most recent rune and compared it to his first attempt.

  The difference was night and day.

  The original was jagged, inconsistent, and almost unreadable. The latest version wasn’t perfect, but it was structured, with each line properly connecting. If someone familiar with runes saw it, they would at least recognize what it was supposed to be.

  Kaiden leaned back and rubbed his temples, feeling the strain in his hand and wrist. It wasn’t like he had been gripping the quill tightly, but working with such fine control for so long made him want to stretch them.

  Before he could decide whether to keep going or take a break, a knock at the door broke his focus.

  "Come in," Kaiden called, flexing his fingers.

  The door opened, and Aldric stepped inside. His expression remained composed as his gaze flickered to the parchment in front of Kaiden, then back to him.

  "Mistress Marigold asked me to check in on you," he said. "Are you ready to depart?"

  Kaiden smirked. "Can you come back in like two to three hours?"

  Aldric said, “Of course, sir.” He bowed slightly and took his leave.

  The time flew by in almost a blink.

  Kaiden had been completely locked in for those past hours, focused on every stroke of the quill. By the end of it, he felt satisfied with his progress. His penmanship had improved considerably, and he had added a few more runes into his practice—similar in design but equally simple.

  They still weren’t perfect, but it was more than acceptable in his eyes.

  A knock at the door pulled him out of his concentration. “Come in.”

  "Your carriage is ready, sir," Aldric said as he stepped inside.

  "Thank you," Kaiden replied, standing up and making his way toward the door.

  He stopped just before leaving, his eyes drifting back to the parchment filled with runes.

  "Sir?" Aldric prompted.

  Kaiden hesitated. He had been about to ask if he could take a few sheets with him to practice back at the barracks, but in the end, he decided against it. He would be back tomorrow anyway, and tonight he needed to catch up with Davick.

  "Oh, nothing," he said. "Just thought I forgot something for a moment."

  "Very well," Aldric said before leading the way toward the estate entrance.

  Once there, Kaiden bid the man farewell and climbed into the waiting carriage. It was already dark out, but he hardly noticed.

  The ride back was quiet, giving him time to reflect on everything that had happened. It was only when he stepped out at base that he realized just how late it had gotten.

  Engrossed in his practice, he had completely skipped lunch, and now his stomach was reminding him with loud, insistent growls.

  Thankfully, the mess hall was still open. He learned that they kept long hours since Dungeoneers could return from a dungeon at any time, day or night. After grabbing a quick but much-needed meal, he made his way toward Davick’s room.

  As he reached the door, he was about to knock when he noticed the lack of lamplight through the window.

  Davick must have already gone to bed.

  That was fine. He’d catch up with him later.

  The next morning came a knock at his barracks door.

  Kaiden yawned, stretched, and walked over to open it.

  Davick stepped inside with barely contained excitement. "Now tell me everything! Was it really the Perennial Petal asking for you?"

  Kaiden chuckled as he grabbed his clothes. "Yes, it was actually."

  Davick’s jaw practically hit the floor as Kaiden dressed quickly. "Why did they want you again? Was it because of Zinnia?"

  "Slow down," Kaiden said, fastening his boots. "I’ll get to that in a moment, but I have to start at the Velvet Chalet."

  As they stepped out of the room and began walking toward the base entrance, Davick’s eyes lit up. "Oh right! You said you met someone."

  "Right," Kaiden said, smirking. "And I didn’t even get to tell you how the evening went. It was incredible."

  He launched into the whole story about his encounter with Selise, and Davick was grinning the entire time.

  "Damn, you’re so lucky!" Davick said. "Wish I could’ve seen what she looked like. Sounds like it was just some random stranger looking for fun which is common enough. They’re not all the working type you meet there, y’know."

  Kaiden smiled. "I guess I got lucky, but I’m really glad you brought me there."

  "Any time," Davick said with a grin.

  Kaiden smirked. "Great."

  Davick rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, any time I have coin, so we might need to wait a bit for that," he laughed.

  Kaiden shook his head and chuckled. He’d treat his friend next time, he thought to himself.

  As they neared the gates, the conversation finally shifted to yesterday’s training.

  For the second time that morning, Davick’s jaw hit the floor.

  "Marigold Petal!" he shouted, nearly stumbling. "Damn, doesn’t get any higher than that—other than nobles, royals, and Legendary-class holders."

  Kaiden laughed. He‘d already told Davick most of what had happened between him and Zinnia, but he hadn’t mentioned that he‘d met Marigold before.

  "So why’s the top Petal sister interested in you now?" Davick asked as they reached the gate.

  "I haven’t told you the best part yet," Kaiden said, unable to hide his grin. "It’s because I got a new class."

  Davick looked at him curiously. "New class?"

  "Yeah," Kaiden nodded. "Remember back in dungeon town back on Thorne when we found out what non-combat class we could get from the tome at that bar?"

  Davick’s eyes widened. "Yeah," he said slowly.

  "Well, turns out, I made a deal with her and became a Spell Scribe."

  Davick repeated the words as if trying to recall something. "Spell Scribe…" He paused, his expression shifting.

  Kaiden raised an eyebrow. "You remember, right?"

  Davick blinked, then suddenly smiled. "Yeah, that’s what it was. Of course, I remember. And congratulations! I can’t wait to hear the details about all that, but…" He trailed off, his expression changing as if he were debating something.

  "You okay?" Kaiden asked, noting the hesitation.

  "Oh yeah," Davick said quickly. "I got something to tell you, but we’ll talk about it when you get back. Looks like your ride’s already here."

  Kaiden glanced ahead and saw the waiting carriage.

  "Sure thing. Talk to ya later," he said, before heading out the gate and into the carriage.

  Kaiden walked up to the carriage driver and asked, "This for me?"

  The driver, a middle-aged man with a gruff appearance, gave him a glance before asking, "Kaiden Hayward?"

  Kaiden nodded.

  "Yes, sir. Hop on in."

  Kaiden stepped inside the carriage and was slightly surprised to see an occupant already sitting there.

  The man looked to be in his late thirties, with neatly combed dark brown hair and sharp eyes. He wore a well-fitted dark coat over a simple tunic. Sitting with one leg crossed over the other, he carried himself with confidence.

  "Welcome, Mr. Hayward," the man said smoothly, offering him a small muffin wrapped in cloth. "This was made special for you this morning."

  Kaiden hesitated for a brief moment before taking it. "Oh, thanks."

  The warm, sweet aroma immediately brought a smile to his face. He had gotten used to skipping breakfast, but something about the inviting scent made it impossible to resist. Besides, it would be rude to refuse.

  He‘d been told that breakfast was for rich people and nobles, and now, sitting in a luxurious carriage being handed freshly baked food, he was starting to understand why.

  Taking a bite, he was surprised at how good it was.

  The soft texture, the rich taste—it was the first muffin he had eaten since in Aterra. He took another bite, then another.

  Then, suddenly, something felt off.

  His head grew light, and his limbs felt sluggish.

  His eyelids drooped, heavier with each passing second.

  A notification popped up in his vision, but he was too drowsy to even bother reading it. His mind barely registered dismissing it.

  His vision blurred, and his body felt like it was sinking into the seat.

  The last thing he saw was the man's face morphing into a triumphant grin.

  “Oh shi—”