It was such a long and eventful day. The party lasted for five hours, but it felt like I was stuck in a crowded market, with people everywhere. I hate going to these kinds of parties. Even in my previous life, I was always forced to attend them, despite being an introvert.

As I lay down to sleep…

I remembered a girl. She's the reason I became an introvert when I was ten years old. I had fallen in love with her at school. She always wore glasses and looked like a nerd. But one day, after our sports period, I saw her wash her face in the women's bathroom and come out without her glasses. I was stunned. She was incredibly beautiful, like a diamond covered in mud—unpolished and hidden, not like a jade that's been overused and worn out.

She was breathtaking. But every time I tried to talk to her after school, she would disappear. Where she went, I had no idea. She had purple hair and black eyes. Strangely, whenever I thought about her at night, I would have strange dreams about a woman with the same purple hair and black eyes, crying over someone's dead body. The faces were always blurry, but the emotions were real—grief, and loss. It felt like she had lost someone precious to her.

Eventually, I mustered up the courage to ask her out. She rejected me, saying she already had a boyfriend. It stung, but I didn't let it break me. Instead, I found solace in anime. Watching rom-coms brought me some joy, even if I couldn't help but feel bad for the side characters who were never chosen, especially in those harem animes where five girls compete for one guy, and he picks the girl I didn't expect. I hated that kind of story, but I loved action anime—pirates, ninjas, soul reapers. And of course, the legendary Ball anime (though I better be careful, can't get into trouble with copyrights). Anyway, enough of that—time to get up and work out.

I jumped out of bed, rushed to the bathroom, splashed water on my face, brushed my teeth, and headed to the garden for my usual morning workout. I love exercising; it clears my mind. Plus, building muscles is cool—it's satisfying every time I feel myself getting stronger. 

My training begins with an hour of meditation under the tree. This is where I center myself, letting my thoughts settle as I focus on my breathing. It's the calm before the storm of physical exertion. Once I'm ready, I move on to the first phase: 1,000 push-ups. It's intense, but I've built the stamina for it. Afterward, I take a 20-minute break to recover, then dive into 1,000 pull-ups. My arms and shoulders burn, but I push through, knowing the break is coming. I rest again before finishing with 1,000 sit-ups, working my core until I can barely keep count. Don't ask how much 1,000 reps really means—it's a fantasy world after all. In fantasy, brains can be useless sometimes, but other times, they can make all the difference.

With the main workout done, I shift to running. The garden around my house stretches nearly seven miles, and I run the entire distance. The steady pace and rhythm of the run clears my mind, helping me prepare for the next part: swordsmanship.

Though I practice standard sword techniques to maintain form, the real challenge lies in refining my personal sword art. I've been developing it on my own, drawing from everything I've learned and mixing in my own creativity. This is where my true skill shines, and I practice it with dedication.

Before the day ends, I devote one final hour to increasing my rank. It's a focused effort, quiet but necessary. Each day, I push my limits a little further, increasing my stats one by one. In the beginning, it was hard to make progress, but that's when the mana core came into play. As my mana core grew, so did my strength. Every time my mana core rank increases, it boosts my stats—five points for each sub-rank and ten points for a main rank. And like that, I spend my days, growing stronger.

I forgot to mention something important—something about the rewards from the author's mission. The reward I received was a tower, and it's called the Tower of Elements. At first, I thought it would just be a useful tool in the beginning stages of my journey. But when I read the full description, I was absolutely stunned. Excitement surged through me, and I felt the urge to rush straight to the tower and participate in its trials. However, there was one catch—I can only enter after reaching Xerion – Initial Stage.

The real excitement comes from the fact that each floor of the tower is centered around a different element. Each level has the potential to grant unexpected powers related to the element it represents. As if that wasn't enough, the tower even hinted that it could grant me new elements as a reward for clearing each round.

With the tower now in my possession, the requirements for the Chaos Destroyer Physique have been met, except for one final condition. To fully unlock it, I need to complete the tower, obtain all the elements, and reach the highest rank, Othyr - the initial rank. Only then can I awaken the original powers of the physique. That's what the system explained to me.

Now, I'll be doing another time-skip, this time reaching age 10. I know the time-skips have been happening frequently, but don't worry—once the academy arc begins, there won't be as many. The academy arc will cover two years, and during that time, there will only be two more time-skips. After that, the pacing will slow down, and the story will dive deeper into the details. I'll chat with you guys again after the time-skip.