**"The 185th time!"**

Moen stared at the clock on the wall, his reddened eyes tinged with exhaustion yet betraying a hint of joy on his weary face.

"Finally, I managed to hold on more than thirty seconds against the assassin!"

After all, the assassin was a powerful warrior at least at the third rank, while Moen was merely a fledgling on the last stage of first rank—the gap in strength so vast that it seemed insurmountable. Enduring for thirty seconds in such a fight had already come at a cost unimaginable to most people.

Not to mention the nearly two hundred times of death—each time excruciatingly real.

"It seems I can't keep training like this frequent anymore."

Moen massaged his temples to relieve the sharp pain in his brain caused by intensely drained mental energy.

"Otherwise, I'll end up breaking down entirely before I get stronger."

"Using the Black Book truly isn't entirely free of cost. While I don't die for real, the mental strain is overwhelming."

"At least it was all worth it!"

Excitedly, Moen took out the Black Book.

He flipped to the page with his personal information, and, to his surprise, there were two new entries under his record—entries that hadn't existed before.

**[Dagger Combat LV2]**

**[Shadow Step LV1]**

"Finally got somewhere."

Nearly two hundred deaths allowed Moen to breach the chasm between ranks, glimpse the assassin's skill, and transform the terror and adrenaline of life-and-death combat into usable techniques for himself.

"While this is just the beginning and I'm still far from matching that assassin, as long as I've crossed the threshold, it becomes much easier from here."

With enough time, Moen felt confident he could absorb all of the assassin's techniques and turn them into his own!

"Hehehe, I can't wait to see how effective this is. Let's give it a try."

Moen hopped off the bed, moved the table and chairs to clear space, and nervously rubbed his hands together.

Although he'd used this move numerous times against the assassin, that was within the dark space of the Black Book. He wasn't entirely sure he could execute it as smoothly here in reality.

"Well, whatever—let's find out if it works."

Moen steadied his breathing, sinking his energy into his core.

Channels his thoughts based on the insight gained during his two hundred battles. He focused everything on his soles, heels, and ankles.

He felt a sliver of warmth pooling in the soles of his feet, as though something was waiting to erupt in the next instant.

Now!

A gleam flashed in Moen's eyes, and the energy gathered in his feet burst forth like a volcano.

In the blink of an eye.

The objects in Moen's field of vision shifted rapidly—what had been a table seven or eight meters away just appeared right in front of him.

He did it!

"I... I actually did it..."

At first, Moen murmured in disbelief. Then, as the excitement overwhelmed him, it surged like a volcanic explosion.

"I did it! I really did it!"

His joy was uncontainable.

Having been transported to this perilous magical world and waking up in the body of a trash villain who was always on the brink of ruin, Moen had never felt truly at ease. Especially now that the storyline deviated completely from the original book, his identity as a transmigrator rendered useless—he often found himself gripped by inexplicable fear.

But fortunately, it wasn’t the end. With the Black Book in hand, even as a spoiled and useless noble, he could still grow stronger through his own effort!

This was only the beginning!

Moen clenched his fists excitedly.

"If I work hard enough, I can even change fate!"

…

…

"But the pain in my foot..."

"Ow... Oh hell, no one told me this move would make my feet hurt!"

No sooner had Moen declared his lofty ambitions than he had collapsed to the ground, crying his eyes out.

He had never expected that using Shadow Step would come with such a steep price—after a single use, his feet felt like they were shattered.

"Wait, maybe it’s not a side effect."

"This pain... There’s no way even an assassin experienced in killing could ignore something this intense."

Moen immediately realized:

"It’s just that my rank is too low. This isn’t a first-rank move at all. It’s supposed to be paired with battle energy as a martial skill!"

The first rank for warriors was also known as the Body Refining stage—essentially, strengthening one’s physique through rigorous training and enhancement.

Because it focused entirely on the body, the first rank had no real threshold. Anyone could enter this stage—an affluent noble could simply invest in precious herbal supplements and light training to quickly reach the peak, while an average person could manage steady progress with weights, push-ups, and a solid diet.

The real watershed happened at the second rank.

After refining their physique to the peak of the first rank, warriors would begin to generate an energy called "battle energy" from within. Learning to refine, temper, and use this energy defined the second rank: Qi Cultivation.

Battle energy, when infused into weapons, amplified their power. When embedded within the body, it significantly enhanced its resilience and strength.

The presence of battle energy marked a vast difference between ranks for warriors.

"Shadow Step, simply put, is an art of concentrating all energy into the feet in an instant and bursting forth. It’s natural for this to place immense strain on the feet."

"Only battle energy can reinforce the body enough to bear this strain."

"In the Black Book’s dark space, it’s just consciousness; physical limitations don’t matter. But now, in reality, the strength of my body makes all the difference."

"It's true that I’m still too weak."

Moen let out a quiet, somber sigh.

But this time, he didn’t wallow in frustration for long.

Though it was another reminder of his weakness, it was still progress—a promising start at least.

At the very least, he could confirm that the skills honed through practice with the Black Book could still be used in the real world.

"Time to rewrite my strategy."

When his foot pain subsided a bit, Moen staggered to his feet and approached the desk.

He opened the drawer and took out the "comprehensive plan" he'd drafted recently. After a momentary thought, he placed it over the candle and let it burn away.

"No need to worry about long-term goals. Focus on the present moment instead."

Moen picked up a fresh sheet of paper and began drafting his plan from scratch based on current circumstances.

"First, I need a mentor."

Moen lifted a quill and scribbled down:

**1. Mentor.**

The nearly two hundred battles against the assassin hadn’t merely deepened his understanding of his weakness; they had also highlighted the limits of self training.

While fighting repeatedly had accelerated his growth in certain areas, his most desired mastery—Shadow Step—had made no progress until he could clearly observe the assassin’s movements.

If he had someone to personally guide him through the techniques, perhaps all this pain wouldn’t have been necessary.

"Speaking of which, Santa Maria College's term is opening up soon."

This important detail just popped up in his mind.

Santa Maria College was renowned for its plethora of excellent instructors.

But within moments, he dismissed the thought entirely.

"Go to college? Why bother? Staying home sounds way better."

"I definitely don’t want to meet the protagonist right now!"

"Not to mention, Celicia will be there too."

Besides, when it came to martial arts tutors, wasn’t there an even better option right under his nose?

Moen smirked deviously, then added a name beside "mentor."

**Ron Campbell.**

His father.