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Name: Leonard Runesforth

Age: 19

Mana: 20/20

Status: Beginner Merchant

Wealth: 21 gold coins & 41 silver coins.

Luck: 1

Mystery Box: 0

Skills:

[Golden Fingers (Active Skill) - Your hands possess unnatural dexterity, capable of working on their own instinctively if you wish to. Whether crafting, repairing, gambling, or handling delicate tasks, your hands will move with precision beyond normal human limits. Even in chaos, your fingers will know what to do.]

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Leonard froze, staring at the glowing blue text hanging in the air before him. His lips parted, but no words came out for a moment.

"…what the hell."

When everything sank in his mind, he whispered at last. A second later, he laughed out loud as if he was getting crazy.

"Woah… Did that just happen?"

He rubbed at his eyes, thinking that he was just dreaming. But when he opened them again, the panel remained.

"Damn… golden fingers…"

For a moment, he simply stared at his fingers. They were pale under the lantern's light. They looked the same as always, slender, calloused from his body's years on the streets.

They looked the same, but his hands magically felt lighter.

Leonard dragged both his hands through his hair, then he let out a deep breath followed by a loud laugh once again.

"Hahahah! This… This is insane!"

His laughter faded into a grin that refused to leave his face. Leonard grabbed a silver coin from the table and tossed it lightly into the air.

The coin flipped once, twice, then his fingers snapped upward, catching it with precision. He hadn't even thought about reaching for it. His hand just… moved.

"Wait… wait, wait." He fumbled for another coin, placing three of them in his palm. Before he could even decide what to do, his fingers began to dance. It rolled the coins across his knuckles, spinning them between each finger like a street performer.

Leonard's eyes widened. His hands blurred, faster than his mind could follow.

"I—I'm not even controlling this…" he muttered, his voice trembling with excitement.

The coins slid and twirled in his hand as if they were alive. It was mesmerizing. It was like his hands had been trained for years under some master juggler.

Then, just as suddenly, his hands stopped. The coins stayed inside his palm. Leonard sat there, his chest rising and falling. In his body, he could feel it. He could feel the mana thinning slightly as if a part of it had disappeared.

"Right, it eats up mana." He sighed when he remembered.

Getting tired of it, Leonard dropped the coins back onto the table. He smiled and lay down once again properly.

"Golden fingers…" Leonard whispered, chuckling under his breath. "Hah. The world just handed me a weapon. No… more than that. A chance."

He blew out the lantern on his side. The room became dark because of it. For once, he slept with a smile, his dreams were full of coins, cards, and futures he had only dared imagine.

- - -

After a few hours, the sunlight spilled through his window. Leonard sat up at once. His body felt refreshed after a good night's rest.

"Time to train again." He clenched his fists before he stepped out of his room with renewed determination.

The morning sun was already bright when Leonard stepped outside. He would usually start his routine before the sun appeared. However, with how tired he was yesterday, he couldn't bring himself to wake up early today.

But still, since it was still early, the street was still quiet. There was only the sound of merchants setting up their stalls in silence. Food stalls were also starting to get packed by customers who wanted breakfast.

But for Leonard, that's for later.

"I still have 2 weeks left to go…" he muttered under his breath as he readied himself to run. "Right, no slacking for me."

With that, he started to jog. The first mile was easy. The second one on the way back was not so much.

"Two miles… done," he exhaled out loud. His chest rose and fell rapidly, but the faint smile on his face didn't waver.

After that, he dropped onto the dirt patch beside the road, where the grass was still damp with morning dew. His palms pressed to the ground.

"One… two… three…" he counted with clenched teeth. He lowered his body and pushed up again. His arms trembled after thirty, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself onward. By the time he hit fifty, his arms were starting to ache already.

"Alright," He rolled onto his back without pause. "Sit-ups next."

His stomach burned with each pull forward. But still, he pushed through. He didn't stop until he hit the fiftieth. He collapsed, falling back with a loud groan. His chest rose and fell rapidly.

Then, standing up again, he braced his thighs.

"Squats."

Each descent of his felt heavier than the last. His knees wobbled halfway through, but he pushed through the shaking, focusing only on himself. Down. Up. Down. Up.

By the end, his legs screamed in protest, but the fire in his eyes burned brighter than the pain.

"Fifty…" he muttered hoarsely, sweat dripping onto the dirt.

Finally, he lowered himself into stretches, pulling his arms across his chest, bending forward until his hamstrings pulled tight.

When he finally straightened up, Leonard wiped his face with the edge of his shirt. Sweat dripped down his forehead and back. Yet, he couldn't stop the smile on his face from spreading wider.

This had become his daily routine in the morning now.

Every morning, he ran, pushed, pulled, squatted, and stretched until his body gets tired. At first, he remembered that it almost killed him. His arms would give out halfway through, his lungs would burn as if on fire, and he'd collapse on the ground, unable to move.

And now?

Now, he could feel it.

His movements were smoother now. His breathing has also started to stabilize. Of course, the exhaustion never went away. He was still human, after all. Still, even if he was exhausted, he didn't collapse anymore, just like he used to.

"I can feel it…" Leonard muttered to himself, flexing his hand before clenching it tight. "I'm really changing."

His stamina was better. His recovery was faster. His body was starting to shape into something stronger and fitter, too.

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