Inside the dim apartment, Noah Vale stared at the glowing blue interface with undisguised excitement.
The changes on the panel were even better than he had expected.
His endurance increase had triggered a chain reaction.
Strength had risen.
Charisma had risen.
Even his reserve attribute points had increased slightly.
Just earlier that day, Noah had been wondering whether he could raise his mental attribute before returning to school.
Instead, less than twenty-four hours later, he had pushed every single attribute up by 0.1.
Hard work had done most of it.
The system had simply helped convert that effort into results.
Still, one thing puzzled him.
"…Why did my charisma go up?"
Strength made sense.
Endurance made sense.
But charisma?
What did that have to do with anything?
Curious, Noah switched on the light and walked toward the bathroom.
The moment he looked into the mirror, he stopped in his tracks.
The teenager staring back at him looked… different.
Subtly, but unmistakably different.
His posture seemed more balanced.
His skin looked clear and bright.
His features had always been attractive, but now they carried a sharper sense of symmetry and vitality.
His eyes seemed deeper.
More focused.
More confident.
Noah blinked.
Then he sighed.
"…Alright. I get it now."
Before this, he had always been pretty confident about his appearance.
If he had to describe it honestly, he'd say he was already above average.
Now?
Now he understood what the system meant by a charisma increase.
Apparently, version 1.4 looked like this.
Noah studied his reflection for another moment before turning off the light and returning to the living room.
With both his body and mind restored to peak condition, Noah reopened the Violet Dawn Energy Manual uploaded by The Noble Blade.
This time he studied it seriously.
Something had changed.
Ever since his mental attribute increased, his memory and comprehension felt noticeably sharper.
The dense instructions and diagrams that had looked intimidating before now seemed far easier to understand.
Within two hours, Noah had memorized the entire manual.
Word for word.
He sat cross-legged on the couch and slowly closed his eyes.
Clearing his thoughts, he began following the breathing patterns described in the manual.
According to the instructions, energy inside the body could be guided through specific internal pathways using controlled breathing and focused attention.
At first, nothing happened.
Ten minutes passed.
Fifteen.
Still nothing.
Noah remained patient.
The notes left by The Noble Blade had included an interesting observation.
Some people were exceptionally gifted.
Those individuals could feel internal energy almost immediately.
Most talented practitioners needed longer.
And ordinary learners could take hours before noticing anything at all.
Noah opened his eyes briefly and checked the time.
Thirty-five minutes had passed.
Then suddenly—
He felt something.
A faint stream of cool energy stirred somewhere in his chest.
Noah's focus sharpened instantly.
Carefully, he guided the subtle current along the pathways shown in the manual, circulating it slowly through his body before settling it into the lower center of his torso.
When he finished, he opened the system panel.
A new message appeared in the analysis field.
Training Analysis
You completed thirty-five minutes of focused internal energy circulation.
A small amount of Violet Dawn energy has been generated within your body.
Noah leaned back against the couch, thinking.
"So internal energy doesn't directly boost physical stats."
That conclusion made sense.
If he remembered correctly, characters in martial arts stories often became ordinary people once they lost their internal energy.
But according to the manual's annotations, internal energy still had valuable uses.
It could extend lifespan.
More importantly, it could restore stamina.
If someone had enough of it, they could continue training long after their body would normally give out.
Noah smiled slightly.
That was more than enough reason to keep practicing.
He closed his eyes again and repeated the process.
Every half hour or so, he managed to generate another faint thread of energy.
The night passed quietly as he continued cycling the energy through his body again and again.
By the time dawn arrived, the single thread he had formed earlier had grown noticeably stronger.
Roughly twenty times stronger than when he started.
When Noah finally stopped practicing, a faint trace of violet color briefly shimmered across his skin before fading.
He opened his eyes.
They were bright and alert.
Surprisingly, after staying awake the entire night, he didn't feel particularly tired.
The internal energy seemed to support his stamina.
Noah stretched his stiff muscles and headed to the kitchen.
He grabbed food from the refrigerator and ate quickly.
Then he changed clothes and prepared to head out.
A few minutes later, Noah was running through the streets of New York City on his way to Meinze Fitness.
The system quietly analyzed his run.
Compared to yesterday, his pace had improved dramatically.
Nearly a full minute faster per kilometer.
The improvement was obvious even without the system's feedback.
Noah could feel it.
His movements were smoother.
His breathing steadier.
But the analysis also suggested something else.
The stronger he became, the harder each additional improvement would be.
Progress was still possible—but it would require more effort than before.
Noah didn't mind.
The challenge only made the process more satisfying.
When he entered the gym, William Smith looked up from the front desk.
The trainer stared at him for a few seconds.
Then he frowned.
"…Hold on."
Smith squinted.
"You're Noah, right?"
"Of course."
The trainer leaned closer.
"You sure you're not his twin brother?"
Yesterday Noah had looked like a corpse after training.
Now he looked refreshed and energetic.
Not to mention—
Unbelievably handsome.
Smith crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"You know," he said honestly, "I don't know why you're so obsessed with training. With that face, you could walk straight into the film industry and do just fine—even if you couldn't act."
Noah sighed.
"Coach, you talk too much."
He stepped toward the workout mats.
"I'm here to train."
Smith raised both hands.
"Alright, alright. If you're feeling fine, we'll start today's session. What do you want to work on first?"
"Bodyweight squats."
Noah kicked off his shoes and stepped onto the mat.
After a quick warm-up, he began the exercise.
One repetition.
Then another.
Five minutes passed.
Smith rubbed his eyes.
"…What the hell?"
Noah had already completed nearly four hundred squats.
Yesterday he had looked like he was dying after half that number.
Now he was still going.
Smith stared at him in disbelief.
For a moment, he even wondered if the exhausted performance from the previous day had been an act.