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When his chakra flowed and touched his bones for the first time, it felt overwhelming.

It was pain mixed with pleasure.

His bones certainly weren’t prepared for a sudden influx of chakra. It yearned for the energy after taking its first sip, yes, but its bones were not yet ready to process so much. This is where the pain came from.

As for the pleasure, it came from the same source. His bones were cleansed of their impurities and nourished. The chakra infusion felt pleasurable, like a hidden weight suddenly disappeared from his shoulders.

His bones creaked and popped as they absorbed the influx of chakra. It felt comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time.

And this was happening while Ren continued cycling through his stances, by the way. He never stopped moving since, and he can’t since chakra production demands it.

Similar to muscle forging, bone forging means cleansing the bones of impurities and nourishing them with chakra. Of course, this makes the practitioner stronger along with the process, of course.

But more importantly, Bone Forging allows a practitioner to begin storing little bits of chakra in their bones, further slowing down the decay of chakra over time. This also increases their capacity for chakra, obviously.

With their muscles and bones capable of storing chakra and a further delay to the chakra decay, practitioners of this stage are capable of lasting longer in battle and being ready for more demanding and dangerous environments.

This is also why the Bone Forging stage is the minimum requirement for dungeon exploration.

Eventually, Ren’s breakthrough began subsiding. His body was once again caked with foul impurities, making him smell absolutely horrible.

However, despite the horrid smell on him, Ren’s eyes were bright and exuberant. He felt spent but also too energetic.

He could still feel the new buzz on his body. It’s like there’s an electric current running through his bones. He felt a constant tingling sensation in his arms and legs, coming from his bones, of course.

It’ll take some time to get used to, but it’s not completely horrible or crippling. It just felt weird for now.

Once his breakthrough subsided, Ren went to the nearby faucet and began cleansing off the dirt and grime that was forced out of his bones and body. He drenched his entire body, including his clothes, and he also washed the spot where he trained to get rid of the dirt and smell.

After he was clean enough, he made his way to the showers and began cleaning himself thoroughly. Once he’s satisfied, he wraps himself dry and wraps a towel on his waist.

When he looked at himself in the mirror, he paused for a bit.

Ren noticed that he got a little bit taller after his breakthrough. He’s originally around 5’7", but now, he has shot up to 5’9". He grew two inches at once, which was solid. And this won’t be the end of that.

Bone forging is also where most martial artists grow taller. It’s not unusual for somebody to grow more than five inches as their real advances in this stage.

Of course, height isn’t the main priority of reaching this stage, but it’s a nice bonus anyway.

Ren also noticed that his frame was denser yet maintained its lean form. All his practice and hard work sculpted his body really well.

The gym rats on earth would definitely be envious of his physique. And Ren doesn’t even need to go on a ’diet’ to achieve this.

What really caught his attention were his ’tattoos.’

’It’s like they’ve grown again,’ he muttered to himself.

They do grow. Ren could remember that when he was young, at most, it only covered his arm up to his elbows. It grew slowly as he aged, but it accelerated when he began practicing martial arts.

Now, it extended halfway through his pecs, and some tendrils reached the base of his neck. It had been like this for a while, but after this breakthrough, Ren felt like they’d grown again for some reason.

It might be an optical illusion; he honestly couldn’t tell right now. Especially since if he started inspecting the ’tattoos,’ they started moving in his vision, and with how dense the detailing was, there were too many things to pay attention to, which gives him a headache.

It’s not like Ren had completely surrendered to this curse. He still felt optimistic that he might be able to make his own solution for it.

But every time he tried to inspect it, this always happened, forcing him to give up for now.

To him, this sounds like he’s still too weak to do something about it, which does make sense, actually. That’s why he’s not too mad about it.

Anyway...

Another perfect breakthrough. Even though he just literally stepped into this level, Ren could already say that he could confidently defeat a late-stage Bone Forging martial artist without any problems.

Others’ limit was Ren’s starting point. And that’s thanks to the Limitless Martial Physique.

Done admiring himself in the mirror, Ren borrowed the spare martial gi on the lockers and made his way out of the showers to return home.

He feels lighter. He still felt the tingles on his bones, some in his spine. Actually, it tickles now, which made him squeamish. He hoped that his body adjusts to this sensation pretty soon because he certainly doesn’t want to squirm as he moves around or as he talks to other people.

Now that he has reached the bone-forging stage, it’s time for him to truly explore this world.

Well, not full-on exploration just yet. He’s too weak for that.

What he meant was dungeon exploration.

Now that he’s a Bone Forging martial artist, he could now register with the GMU and apply for a dungeon license, which will allow him to explore dungeons solo or with a party.

He could enter dungeons and truly see what they’re like with his own eyes: the different biomes, climates, and even hazards...

He could also fight real monsters now. He used to make do with virtual ones just for a preliminary experience, but now, he could see and feel the real ones.

It’ll be more dangerous, sure, but at least it’s real.

And drops! Of course, he can’t forget about the drops. He will get the chance to see how slain monsters turn into raw materials to gather and process in human civilization.

He’d get to see the kind of lifestyle most martial artists led since it deeply involves the dungeons. He’d get to participate in activities, festivities, and competitions, all avenues for his continued growth.

This means that, over time, Ren had to say goodbye to his reclusive lifestyle so far.

It’s time for him to start going out on adventures to gain experience. It’s time for him to experience all manner of hardships this life has to offer and grow from them.

He could inform Mikel of this right away. That he had broken through the Bone Forging stage and asked for his help to arrange something for him. Knowing Mikel, he’d be more than happy to do so.

But that’s not what he did, for now, at least. He’d do that tomorrow.

Right now, Ren was making his way to the clan’s cemetery.

He figured that if there were people who deserved to know it first, it’d be his parents of this life, even though they weren’t physically here anymore.

"Hey, guys..." Ren greeted as soon as he sat down and placed the flowers he had bought with him.

Ren began with his story, speaking in a hushed tone as if only allowing the wind to hear his words.

It might’ve been an illusion, but the breeze felt warmer and here and more comfortable when he started talking.

Although he doesn’t believe in ghosts, at least not in the same manner as earthlings knew them, Ren still felt comforted at the idea that the ghosts of his parents might’ve been here listening to him earnestly as he told them his story.

Even though he couldn’t see them, the warmth around him felt like a hug, and it made him comfortable.

"I probably won’t be able to visit as frequently as before," he whispered. "As soon as I receive my license, I’ll start frequenting dungeons, not necessarily for drops, although that would be nice, but for the sake of my practice."

"I can get any real experience and combat pressure within the clan, and I need those to maintain my practice speed and to hone myself into something that I really wanted to be."

"It’ll be hard, that’s for sure. But I’m not afraid of hard work. I’m more afraid of stagnation."

"..."

"I know what kind of world this is..."

"I know the horror that awaits all of us."

"Things are fine on the surface, but I know that they’re not."

"The human race is in peril, a grave crisis. One that could potentially wipe us all out."

"The monsters beyond the stars are not satisfied with us, and now we’re on a deadline." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"For the whole race, that deadline was too soon. But for me, it should be enough..."

"...enough time for me to grow and be someone with a voice."

"I’m here for a reason, and I can’t slack off, so...yeah, I’m going to be busier for a long while. Sorry in advance."

"I love you, guys. I’ll visit again when I can."