The flame danced across Kael's fingertips unsteady, awkward, but undeniably real.
For seventeen years, he'd known only cold. Hunger. Shame. Now? A warmth pulsed beneath his skin, curling through his arm like fire waking in an ancient furnace. It wasn't just heat. It was strength.
And for the first time in his life, it was his.
[Skill Acquired: Flame Grasp (E)][Skill not yet bound. Would you like to equip it?][Warning: Unstable Control. Recommend immediate practice.]
Kael's eyes flicked over the floating message, even as the tension in the alley thickened. The red-haired brute in front of him Branon was frozen mid-step. His usual arrogant smirk had twisted into confusion.
"W-What did you do?!" Branon barked. His hand, once engulfed in flame, now sputtered with weak sparks. Smoke rose from his fingers, but the fire was gone ripped from him like it had never belonged.
Kael said nothing. His breathing was heavy. Not from fear, but from the sheer shock of what just happened.
[Skill Equipping… Sync 47%… 63%… 81%…][Flame Grasp (E) Equipped.]
Something clicked.
He felt it like an invisible switch turned in his chest. The warmth he'd stolen solidified, coiling in his palm, pulsing in time with his heartbeat.
Kael lifted his hand slowly, palm open. The flame obeyed his will forming a flickering ember in the center of his skin. Rough. Untamed. But alive.
The other two boys behind Branon flinched.
"You freak!" one of them shouted. "That's Branon's flame! How the hell did"
Kael moved before they finished. His instincts surged forward faster than thought. His arm snapped outward, and a thin stream of fire lashed from his palm, hissing through the air.
It didn't hit them, not directly but the heat blasted past their faces, forcing them to stumble back.
Branon cursed, stumbling over a crate as he grabbed his chest, pale-faced. "Y-You stole it! You really stole it!"
[Combat Action Registered: Basic Flame Discharge][+5 XP][New Title Unlocked: First Flame]
Kael lowered his hand, eyes wide. He hadn't known what he was doing. The skill responded not to muscle memory, but to intention. His will had shaped the flame.
The fire was gone now, fading from his palm, but its presence still lingered inside him like a heartbeat waiting to quicken.
"I didn't steal anything," Kael said quietly. "I just... took it back."
"You're dead," Branon hissed. "Do you know who my brother is? He's in Silvercrest Academy. You're gonna pay for this."
Kael's voice was calm, too calm for someone who had never fought before. "Then tell your brother the powerless rat he ignored finally got a bite."
Branon's face contorted in rage, but fear was winning. They backed away, vanishing into the bustle of the plaza.
Kael stood alone again, his breath fogging in the morning air.
He stared at his hand. Then up at the sky.
It had stopped raining.
[System Notice: Skill Successfully Integrated.][Flame Grasp (E) – Active][Skill is unstable. Recommend training to improve mastery.][Skill Shard Bank: 1 stored]
[New Function Unlocked: Skill Fragmentation]— Break down a stolen skill into energy shards.— Shards may be used to:→ Enhance existing skills→ Fuse with other skills→ Store for future trade or crafting
[Warning: Fragmentation destroys the base skill permanently.]
Kael's mind raced. He could break the flame down? Turn it into pieces? Or use it... trade it?
He touched the "Shard Bank" tab.
Only one glowing red-orange shard hovered inside a condensed fragment of Flame Grasp. It pulsed faintly like a living ember.
[Stored Shard: 1x – Flame Essence (Low Tier)]
"Not yet," he muttered, closing the window.
He'd need it later. Not for selling. Not for trading. For evolving. For building something that no one else had.
And he needed more. One skill wasn't enough.
The Academy Evaluations were happening today. Everyone his age would be tested and ranked publicly. If he showed up with just one flickering ember of power? He'd still be written off. A joke. A Drift trying to fake nobility.
But if he showed up with three or four skills?
Then maybe they'd start to notice.
Or fear.
[New Objective Unlocked:Attend Academy Evaluation – Today before sunset.][Bonus Reward: System Expansion – Organization Module (Locked)]
[Side Objective: Reap 2 More Skills (Progress: 1/3)]
Kael clenched his jaw. He knew what he had to do.
He stepped out of the alley and into the morning crowd. The city of Veyrum bustled as if nothing had happened. Nobles in clean robes escorted their children to testing halls. Merchants barked prices over carts. Guards marched by with polished spears and lazy eyes.
None of them looked at the boy with scorched fingertips and a storm building in his eyes.
Let them ignore him.
They'd remember soon.