Regeneration System-Chapter 57:Running low on ore

A New Day, A New Strength

As the morning sun peeked through the curtains, Kain slowly opened his eyes. The fatigue from the previous day’s training was barely noticeable—his enhanced regeneration had made recovery almost instantaneous. He stretched his arms before sitting up, glancing at the system screen hovering in front of him. Level 15. He smirked. It had been a long month, but the results spoke for themselves. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Breakfast with Thorne

After freshening up, Kain made his way to the cafeteria, where Thorne was already waiting at their usual table. The Venomous Cleric was stirring a cup of tea, lost in thought.

"You’re up early," Kain remarked as he sat down with a plate piled high with eggs, bread, and meat.

Thorne sighed. "After last month, I’ve learned that sleep is a luxury when you’re constantly looking over your shoulder." He shot Kain a half-smile. "But I suppose it was a productive month."

Kain chuckled as he took a bite of his food. "I’d say so. You’ve gotten a lot stronger too."

Thorne nodded, but there was still tension in his eyes. They both knew his family was still watching—still waiting for him to give up his path.

"Whatever happens," Kain added, looking at him seriously, "we’ll deal with it. Together."

Thorne let out a small laugh. "I figured you’d say that."

With breakfast finished, it was time for their first class.

Enchanting Class – Etching Power into Armor

Kain arrived at Enchanting Class feeling more prepared than ever. Over the past month, he had collected a sizable stash of materials—monster cores, rare herbs, and even a few enchanted beast bones. While he had focused more on combat training, he had set aside plenty of resources for enchanting.

Today’s lesson focused on reinforcing equipment with elemental properties. Unlike simple mana infusion, true enchantments required a combination of monster cores, blood, and precise etching.

The instructor stood at the front of the class, holding up a metal plate. "To properly enchant armor or weapons, you need three key components: a Core, blood from a monster of the same attribute, and a proper enchantment pattern. The pattern must be precisely drawn with an ink well pen infused with both materials. Each enchantment has a unique symbol—memorizing them is crucial."

Kain was starting to get tired of hearing the same thing over and over

The students nodded in understanding before gathering their materials.

Kain pulled out his chest piece, a sturdy plate of Mana-rich Iron , and then took out a Lesser Fire Core level 12 alongside a vial of Flame Hound Blood. The Fire Core pulsed with heat, its orange glow flickering like embers.

Taking the ink well pen, Kain carefully mixed the crushed core dust and monster blood into the enchanted ink, then dipped the pen in. He recalled the fire resistance pattern from the textbook—a series of interlocking flames with a central spiral.

With careful precision, he began to etch the pattern onto his armor. The moment the ink touched the surface, it shimmered, the runes glowing a faint red. He could feel the mana in the materials fusing together, binding the enchantment to the metal.

After several minutes, the pattern was complete. The instructor walked by, glancing at his work.

"A fire resistance enchantment? Smart choice," he noted. "Your etching is clean, and the materials are well-matched. Give it a few minutes to settle, and it should be permanent."

Kain nodded, watching as the glow faded into the metal. He picked up the chest piece and could already feel a slight warmth to the touch—a sign that the enchantment was taking effect. With this, fire-based attacks would be significantly less effective.

He smirked. "Not bad."

Now that his armor was enhanced, it was time for combat class.

Combat Class – Testing His Strength

As soon as Kain stepped into the Combat Training Grounds, he noticed something different. The usual scattered conversations hushed slightly as people turned to watch him. The attention was more noticeable now.

Some students whispered about his recent victories in hunts and duels. Others eyed him warily, knowing his growth had far surpassed theirs. Kain ignored them—he wasn’t here for praise or recognition.

"Alright, students!" The instructor’s voice boomed. "It’s time to see where you stand. Kain, step forward."

Kain walked to the center of the training field, rolling his shoulders. The instructor glanced around before picking an opponent—a first-year known for his skill with dual blades.

"Let’s see how you handle someone fast," the instructor said.

The match began. The dual-blade fighter darted forward, moving quickly. His weapons flashed as he aimed for Kain’s sides, trying to exploit any opening.

But Kain wasn’t the same fighter he had been a month ago.

He raised his shield, deflecting the first strike effortlessly. The second blade came in fast, but Kain twisted his body, his enhanced agility allowing him to dodge just in time. His opponent barely had time to react before Kain swung his hammer.

BOOM.

The sheer impact sent the swordsman flying backward, landing hard on the ground. The match was over in an instant.

There was a moment of silence before the instructor nodded. "Well, that was decisive."

Other matches followed, but Kain’s dominance was clear. Most first-years couldn’t even scratch him.

Forging Class – Running Low on Ore

After combat class, Kain headed to Forging Class, one of his favorites. The heat of the forge, the ringing of metal against metal—it was as much a part of him as his hammer.

But as he reached into his materials bag, he frowned.

"Damn... I’m running low on ore."

He had been so focused on leveling up and training that he hadn’t restocked his supplies. He still had enough for today’s project, but soon he would need to head out and mine again.

As he worked, he focused on sharpening his blacksmithing skills. He reforged a dagger, making its blade sharper and more durable. Then he worked on a small shield, reinforcing it with mana to make it sturdier.

By the end of class, Kain wiped the sweat from his brow, satisfied with his work.

"I need to go mining soon," he muttered to himself.

With his new strength, the deeper sections of the academy’s cave might hold higher-quality materials. It was something to consider.

The Strongest First-Year?

As Kain left his final class of the day, he could still feel the lingering gazes of students around him. A month ago, he was just another first-year. Now, he was being watched—by classmates, upperclassmen, maybe even the academy staff.

He didn’t care about being the strongest. But he wasn’t going to stop getting stronger.

Tomorrow, he’d train even harder.

A Long Day of Study and Hard Work

Kain’s day began like any other—waking up early, stretching out the stiffness in his muscles, and heading to breakfast with Thorne. They sat at their usual table, with Thorne casually going over the notes from their last few lessons while Kain ate in silence, already planning out the rest of his day.

Once breakfast was over, the two parted ways for their separate schedules. Kain, feeling more confident than ever after his recent training and stat improvements, stepped into his Enchanting Class.

Enchanting Class – Mastering the Process

Today’s lesson covered attribute-based enchantments and how to use monster cores and blood to enhance weapons and armor.

Kain had already successfully enchanted his chest piece with a fire resistance enchantment yesterday, but today, the class was covering the intricacies of multi-layered enchantments. The instructor demonstrated the process, emphasizing the importance of choosing the correct core, drawing precise runic patterns, and ensuring the blood infusion was stable.

"Each enchantment requires its own distinctive pattern," the instructor said, etching a luminous rune into a steel plate using a blood-infused ink. "Mess up the sequence, and your equipment might reject the enchantment entirely—or worse, become unstable."

Kain had several cores and vials of blood from recent hunts, but instead of working on something new, he focused on perfecting his previous enchantment. He took out his ink well pen, dipped it into the prepared mixture of fire-aligned monster blood and a matching core extract, and carefully retraced the enchantment on his chest piece.

The moment he finished the last stroke, the rune glowed faintly before fading into the armor—proof of a successful reinforcement.

Combat Class – Holding Back

Next came Combat Class, where Kain was now regarded as one of the strongest first-years. After his relentless training and multiple stat increases, he was leagues ahead of his peers.

Today’s session involved rotating sparring partners, testing everyone’s adaptability. Kain easily countered most attacks, barely even trying, and the difference in power between him and the other first-years was obvious.

"You’re holding back," one of his sparring partners grumbled as they picked themselves off the ground.

"Not my fault I leveled up faster than you," Kain replied, offering a shrug before moving to his next opponent.

Only when he was paired against an advanced opponent—one of the stronger combative students—did he have to actually put in some effort. Their brief exchange was a blur of strikes and counterstrikes, testing Kain’s reaction speed and defenses.

By the end of the class, Kain had barely broken a sweat, though some of the students were glaring at him for making them look weak.

Forging Class – Running Low on Ore

Forging was one of Kain’s favorite classes, but today, he quickly ran into a problem—he was running out of materials.

Most of his iron, and mana-infused ores had been used up in previous projects

He spent the period working with whatever scraps he had left, reforging and reinforcing weapons rather than making anything new. His work was precise and efficient, but he couldn’t help feeling annoyed at the lack of fresh materials.

Skipping Dinner – A Trip to the Mines

As soon as classes ended, instead of heading to the dining hall, Kain went straight to the academy’s training cave.

This wasn’t his first time mining here. The tunnels were deep, winding, and completely monster-free, making it an ideal place to gather materials without any distractions. He had been mining here since he first started blacksmithing and enchanting, and at this point, he knew which areas held the best resources.

With his pickaxe in hand, he got to work.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew with each strike. Chunks of iron, copper, and small fragments of mana-infused ore broke loose from the rock walls, clattering to the ground. Kain moved methodically, his swings controlled and powerful, efficiently extracting materials without wasting energy.

He worked for hours, deep into the night, sweat dripping down his face, arms aching, but refusing to stop until his inventory was filled.

By the time he finally took a break, he was covered in dust and sweat, but the effort had paid off—he had gathered enough ore to last for several projects.

Exhausted but satisfied, Kain finally slung his pickaxe over his shoulder and made his way back to the dorms.

Tomorrow, he would put all these materials to use—but for now, he needed sleep.