Ren was reborn into a family in the far edge of the human territory. He became 4 years old and with a sister that was 3. He would be glad to start again in this new life.
Ren remembered all, and he was glad to be human again. He could breathe air, eat and drink. Having to taste once again was very nice for him to feel. He could be teary sometimes as being a skeleton has no more feeling of pleasure.
He could feel and touch anything. Making him regain such things made him did not regret his death as the Skeleton King.
He was far away from his Castle but he still felt the presence of danger. The war was still in a stalemate and he could not regain his past prowess immediately. Or if he could still tap again his powers again, then he would immediately do so.
But right now, he was a good for nothing kid. He would have to make do for what was given to him.
He trained with a sword which was his favourite weapon. As he reached his birthday, he was gifted with a Demon Slayer Sword and he put it on always with him. It was by far the most cherished and thoughtful gift one could ever get in this world. A weapon to protect your loved ones and kill the enemies that would harm you.
With that, he draw the said weapon from it's scabbard. Gripping it firmly, he practiced with a few swings. It was light for him but was heavy for a normal person in his age. It seemed he inherited his father's Warrior constitution. It was by far a good advantage and huge boost in his growth. He could be a good swordsman if he would imagine.
He immediately sheathed his weapon and his sister was praising him.
"Brother could become a great swordsman! Brother is the best!" She yelled.
Ren then patted her head and then smiled. She in turn was annoyed by it. Then she walked away.
He put his sword on his room and made a sling in the scabbard of the sword and then tested to put it on his back. Fits perfectly!
He went outside to test his sword if he could draw and slash it fast enough. But to think it was slower compared to the draw speed of scabbard on waist.
Though still, he choose the back side for it was more comfortable with him. He immediately went to his parents to show it to them. His parents were happy and they clapped their hands. "Oh, looked good on you." Said his father then made a thumbs up.
Afterwards, he saw that his parents were exuding auras and he knew them immediately, it was called mana and stamina. He remembered that this world has cultivation and breathing methods. They were the energies used for skills. Such as Stamina, Mana, and Willpower. As such, it meant everything for a job classed person to have. And so, he went to practice all.
As for the breathing method, it was called basic apprentice breathing method under the Warrior breathing methods one could find common in the realm. As for the higher tiers, they were hidden from the common folk. They were family heirlooms of wealthy families and preserved as secrets of each house or families.
That one was a bit slow compared to other methods but it was the one that has stable and fundamental effects on the stamina core. Even this kind of trashy method has it's usefulness. With that, Ren tried to practice it.
He read the manual and then it said that you need to control your breathing, while inhaling the energies in the air and exhale the impurities from your body. He inhaled and then felt the energies floating around him . His pores opened and then he absorbed it slowly. He immediately caught up with what the manual told him and so it was just the beginning. He could feel the impurities gathering and he exhaled it.
A huge puff of black smoke was emitted and then he felt lighter with each breathe. It was refreshing to his part and he felt lighter than before. To think that it was this good and amazing. Making him feel relief from such burden. He managed to circulate his vitals and then the impurities from his blood vessels were exhaled. The muscles started to react and became more firm as the energies nourishes the muscle fibers and the old and broken cells were replaced. This could even lead to regeneration if one could reach it in the highest form.
Then, in a flicker, he felt a strong pulsing power. He felt an awakening of his stamina core. A burst of energy was felt and his core felt alive. He could tell that his core was circulating by now. As for the current pace, it will be slow, but foundations first, none needed to skip the process. Even with the current one, he could still reach first stage in few weeks with it. Still better than nothing. The kids his age were all playing toys and there he was, practicing breathing techniques.
One could tell he was a genius and his parents were still not aware of it. By the time he ended with his breathing practice, he went directly to mana cultivation. He immediately went to read the manual and the instructions were almost the same with the breathing of warriors. As such, he would not have difficulties later on.
He must start with mana sense, where he would sense mana molecules in the air. Or if it was difficult then a mana crystal would suffice as an entry level practitioner. It was a condensed crystal that were extracted from mana rich environment. He tried to sense mana in the air and felt the difference between energy and mana.
Mana felt heavier than energy from stamina and mana was more palpable and more felt when it was absorbed. The thing was, they were both same energies but different in forms. One would differentiate the difference easily if you experienced its absorption.
Ren started absorbing the molecules from the air and then felt tingling sensation as the mana molecules entered his pores. He has to open up his cores to easily absorb the mana and then he finally got the gist of it. The thing was, he only have to circulate his core to awaken it. Since the stamina core has been awakened, he needed to make his mana core to be the same.
And so, he absorbed more and the core felt a spark that ignited within. He felt it awakening from the inside out. Making a small pulse felt by him and it made him shocked. He could now feel the two cores activated and working.