Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

and set it down on the surface in front of me. Turning it in place I let it rest with the engraved runes facing up at me, the only marks on an otherwise unblemished surface. I ran my thumb across them, admiring my own craftsmanship. Agility. Thought Acceleration. Sharpening. Heighten Senses. Windstep.

Two smaller runes sat adjacent to the main column, reading Greater and Lesser. The idea of adding modifiers to my combat runes had come later, after engraving the main abilities themselves. It had taken some practice to perfect using enhancements with the modifying runes, as they weren’t written directly next to each other, but now it felt like second nature. I moved to Lia’s bag and dug the newly acquired dagger out, then tossed the leather sheath onto the work surface. Time to expand my horizons.

I spent a moment examining the new weapon in my hand, taking note of the imperfections in the blade and the leather wrapped grip. Probing out with my mana, it was a simple task to suffuse the dagger with energy. Having used weapons as my sole implement for casting combat enhancements for all my lives, even a foreign blade felt familiar in my hand. “Greater Sharpening, Lesser Fire Blade,” I intoned aloud. The blade flashed a dull red for a moment, then rippled with tiny crimson flames.

Although I had already created fire multiple times through various means, I was still surprised when the invocation worked. I thought back to the fire I had created in my fight with the dungeon guards. The flames had shot out in a controlled pillar perfectly in the direction I had wanted them to go, completely scorching the man in front of me but leaving my sword hand unharmed. The memory puzzled me for a moment, but I shook my head and returned to the task at hand. One thing at a time. Unravel the mysteries of the universe later, engrave the runes now.

The dagger’s blade began to glow a dull red as it was heated by the dancing mana-fueled flames. Carefully guiding the pointed tip down to my bastard sword with both hands, I drew out a small curve of my first planned rune as a test. Between the heated metal and the spell-sharpened point, carving a shallow cut into the manasteel was easier than I had anticipated. Well, it’s not as clean as the engraver in Ashedown’s shop, but I can make do. With a slow practiced hand, I began to inscribe the new runes along the face of the blade.

As I worked, I could hear Lia panting from exertion behind me. The sound from her routine fell into a simple rhythm that I unconsciously followed in my head. Swish. Exhale. Reposition. Inhale. Swish. Exhale. Reposition. Inhale. Time passed quickly as I worked, and soon enough I found myself finished with the first set of runes. Fire and Healing had been added to the main column, while Sustained, Self, and Blade were engraved in the smaller column. I cut the mana supply to the dagger and let out a satisfied sigh of relief from the constant concentration.

Tossing the dagger down to the crates I turned to observe Lia’s practicing. She was facing away from me, currently engaged in a series of methodical overhead slices. After a few swings she stopped, bending over with her hands on her knees as she breathed heavily. Turning to look back in my direction with her face red and drenched in sweat, her eyes widened when she realized I was watching her casually from my spot back on the crate workbench. “Gah! How long have you been watching me?”

I grinned. “Not long, really. Just a few swings. Your form still looks good! How are you feeling?”

Lia fell back to land in the grass with a soft thud. “Exhausted! The sword isn’t that heavy...but swinging it over and over again...it’s hard work!” She set the blade down beside her and flopped back into the grass, letting out a long, low grunt. “I’m only halfway done!”

“Oh, you’ve done more than enough already. Fifty was way too high of a goal, to be honest.” Her head popped up from the ground to glare at me, but I just laughed. “Now that you’re done, why don’t we try meditating for a bit? I find the best time to meditate is right after a hard workout.” I moved over to the grassy area and sat down next to Lia, crossing my legs into a comfortable position.

She sighed as she pushed herself up and rolled her eyes. “But you didn’t get a hard workout. I did.” Begrudgingly, Lia moved to imitate my pose. Her eyes narrowed as she looked over at me. “I think you might be enjoying this a little too much.”

“Maybe!” I closed my eyes and settled my breathing. “Alright, deep breaths now. Close your eyes. Breathing through your nose, down into your core, and out through your mouth. If your muscles are aching, focus on that feeling and the rhythm of your breath, clearing everything else out of your mind.” As I spoke, I channeled mana around my body, extending it down to the tips of my fingers and toes, then back to pool in my core. It was an exercise I had found helpful back in Alderea both for increasing my control over the energy and for expanding the total pool of mana I had access to.

“Once you’ve cleared your mind, try looking inward to see your own energy. Picture a river, flowing out from your core in all directions, slowly trickling down to your fingers before it loops back in again.” I cracked one eye open to peek over at Lia. She was still red faced from her workout with strands of dark hair stuck to her forehead. The rest spilled down behind her in a loose braid, almost reaching the ground. She was still dressed in her white sundress which, although fashionable and flattering, was not particularly well suited to combat and