The next morning, the sun rose high as the sunlight came directly on his face through the window’s curtains.
"Mmm..." Stirring slightly, he slowly woke up. Sitting up straight, he stretched his arms above his head.
[Good morning, Master! You woke up earlier than yesterday.]
’...Mmm yeah, might be my body adapting to my sleep schedule.’ He stood up and went to the washroom before Rina and Fiora came for the daily bath.
They were still amazed by the amount of parchments on the ground—which seemed to have only increased from yesterday.
Afterwards, he went to visit Seraph and talked with her as usual, giving her some breakfast.
After a while, he stood up and bid her farewell before heading toward the dining room.
[Will you create your Affinity Rune today, Master?]
Orion rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression. ’I’m still undecided about that. I still need to practice the mana circuits and runic inscription that would be required for the Affinity Rune.’
[Well, it’s only been two days, Master! No need to rush. Take your time. (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ]
He chuckled and nodded before soon reaching the dining hall. Opening the door, he saw that Eldric was seated in his usual spot.
’Still not here, huh.’ Shaking his head slightly in disappointment, he entered inside.
"Good morning, Grandpa."
"Haha, good morning, lad. You look lively today, what happened?" Eldric greeted and laughingly asked.
He came forward and took his seat before rubbing the back of his head and proudly saying, "Haha, nothing much, I just learned all the runes for my Affinity Rune yesterday."
Eldric raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Already? Hasn’t it been like two days since you got the book?"
Orion proudly looked at him and nodded. "Yes, and I learned all the runes that I decided upon."
"Oh?" Eldric curiously looked at him and asked, "So, how many runes did you decide on? Seven?"
"Haha," Orion laughed at his estimate. "Don’t underestimate me, Grandpa. I decided to make my rune with nine Primary Runes."
Eldric’s eyes widened in shock. "Huh? Brat, don’t bite off more than you can chew. I haven’t heard of anyone creating their Affinity Rune with more than eight runes."
"See? Someone has already formed eight runes, so the least I can do is nine, right?" Orion shook his head and said. He had already expected that someone might have formed eight runes, since the top students in the academy could already form seven.
Eldric stroked his beard. "Hmm, with your talent, it’s not inconceivable that you will do it. So when will you form your Affinity Rune?"
"Mm, I thought of forming it today, but I need to practice the mana circuits and runic inscription for the rune. Should I do it in the evening?" he asked.
Eldric shook his head. "No, don’t take the risk. Spend the entire day practicing and try different ways—like increasing the flow of mana or decreasing it. Also, try to form the entire Affinity Rune on parchment. Even if it will be useless outside the Sea of Consciousness, it is good for practice."
"Alright," Orion nodded in understanding. "I’ll do that then. Anyway, enough about that—did Grandma send back any news?"
Eldric shook his head. "No news as of yet. That old hag is probably out gath—"
"Who are you calling an old hag, you damn old bastard!"
The dining room’s door burst open as Selene entered with an angry expression on her face.
"Y-YOU! We decided not to speak so crassly in front of Orion!" he angrily said.
"And who started it, you bearded bastard!" She stepped toward him as both of them stood at arm’s length.
They continued bickering as Orion looked at them speechlessly. ’...The two of them really can’t live a few days without bickering.’
He inwardly chuckled, yet his heart warmed seeing Selene back after a few days.
"Good morning, Grandma," he softly said, deciding to interfere here and stop their argument.
Selene turned her head and walked toward him. "Good morning, dear. It feels like forever since I last saw you." Saying that, she gave him a hug and patted his head.
"Mm, it’s only been a few days, Grandma," Orion softly said.
"It might have only been a few days for you, but it feels like years have passed for me." She gently broke the hug, patting his head as she made him sit down in his chair and sat beside him.
"Now, what’s for breakfast? It’s been a few days since I’ve had breakfast with my dear grandson."
Eldric smilingly shook his head and sat back down. "So, did you get all the materials for his sword?" he asked.
Selene gave him a side glance. "Do you think I’m as incompetent as you? Of course I got all the elements. I will forge his sword tomorrow."
Orion nodded his head. "Yes, Grandma should rest today. You’ve been out for a few days."
"Oh, my dear, Grandma will rest later. It’s because I had Edgar fix the mansion’s smithy since it hasn’t been used in forever." Glancing back at Eldric, she continued, "Someone didn’t even bother to think about getting the smithy cleaned and only focused on stuffing his face with food."
"Cough." Eldric’s face turned slightly red with embarrassment. "It slipped my mind, really. Otherwise, I would’ve had it cleaned."
"Of course it did." Shaking her head, she turned back to Orion as they chatted while eating their breakfast.
The breakfast passed peacefully as Orion chatted for a while with Selene after finishing, sharing his recent deeds and also telling her about his Primary Rune learning progress—but didn’t tell her about the Core Runes that he had learned.
After finishing up with them, he got up and headed toward his room, deciding to practice the creation of the Affinity Rune properly this time.
The moment Orion stepped into his room, he closed the door behind him with a soft click, shutting out the world and sealing himself away to focus on learning the Affinity Rune.
The air still carried the faint scent of mana-conductive ink as his nose twitched, smelling it. A couple hundred used parchments lay in organized piles near the window, glowing faintly with faded runic remnants—witnesses to his past two days of sleepless nights.
He stretched his shoulders slightly and walked toward the desk, his expression calm yet holding a slight hint of excitement. Today wasn’t about learning new runes. It was about constructing something far more significant.
The first step to truly leaving his mortal self behind and walking the path of Awakeners. He would finally have the superpowers that he saw and read about in his last life.
[Hehehe~ It’s about to begin, isn’t it, Master? The first big step of your path as a true Awakener! And just in time—Grandma’s forging you a sword tomorrow! (≧◡≦)]
Orion chuckled, amused. ’Yeah, and I’d rather forge the rune quickly so I can try more things with the sword.’
He sat down at his wide desk and pulled out a pristine stack of parchment alongside a few crystal vials of mana ink Edgar had gifted him.
[But you’ll need to re-master that sword. Its weight won’t be something you’re already familiar with, after all.]