The training grounds were quiet under the silver glow of the moon. The torches along the stone walls flickered faintly, casting long shadows across the empty field. Kaelen stood alone, his hand resting over his chest as he whispered inwardly.
"Founder… I want to know the best way to obtain Degenerate. Its abilities—Synthesis and Separation—are vital. But how do I awaken it?"
The familiar, resonant voice replied from the depths of his soul.
"Degenerate is not a skill you can inherit. But its something you can forge it. To wield Synthesis and Separation, you must first understand them. Attempt the acts themselves—try to mimic the principles. If your body and soul accept the logic, I can awaken it within you. It will manifest automatically."
Kaelen frowned, his blue eyes narrowing as he considered. "So… I must first achieve what seems impossible."
"Exactly. Magic, matter, even skills—all of them are woven from threads of essence. If you can learn to weave and unweave those threads, Degenerate will awaken." Founder responded.
Kaelen nodded firmly. "Then let's start."
He extended his hand. A small fireball, no larger than his palm, flickered into existence. With his other hand, he conjured a tiny vacuum sphere—an absence of air, a force that devoured. He let them circle each other like twin comets, their trails intertwining.
Slowly, carefully, he drew them together.
Activate: All-Seeing Eye: Chrono-Dissector.
The world shifted. Ratios, flows of magicules, minute details of energy balance—all of it became clear. He adjusted them, reducing, feeding, compressing until—
Fwoosh!
The vacuum and flame merged, the small fireball suddenly roaring in intensity. Its heat was comparable to a fully charged fireball spell, despite its size. Kaelen clenched his fist, extinguishing it with a grin.
"Not enough. Let's push further."
He raised his arms again. This time, several chains of ice erupted from the space behind him,it looks like its coming from multiple portals, shimmering under the moonlight. Into them, he carefully wove threads of lightning magicules. His eyes glowed faintly as Chrono-Dissector guided him. He aligned each element, stabilizing the delicate fusion.
The result was a set of five sharp, arrow-tipped ice chains crackling with lightning. With a snap of his wrist, he launched them.
CRAAAACK!
The impact tore into the ground. The earth split open, ice spreading in jagged spikes while arcs of lightning erupted outward, tearing into the surroundings. The air quaked with the sound of an explosion, leaving a smoking crater in its wake.
From a distance, hurried footsteps approached. "Kaelen!"
It was Lyra. She skidded to a halt, her eyes wide at the devastation. "What in the—what happened here!?"
Kaelen wiped the sweat from his brow. "I was… testing. Trying to learn a new skill."
"Testing?" Lyra blinked in disbelief. "No one tests by making explosions like this! And—'learn a new skill'? What do you even mean by that?!"
Skills, after all, were still an unknown concept to most. But Kaelen didn't answer—because in that moment, Founder's voice echoed inside his head:
"Synthesis achieved. Half of Degenerate has been awakened. Now, only Separation remains ."
Kaelen's heart raced. He looked back at the smoldering crater. "…Separation, huh?"
He conjured another set of ice-lightning chains and, this time, hurled them directly toward himself.
"Kaelen!" Lyra screamed, panicked.
His All-Seeing Eye flared to life, tracing the flow of magicules as the attack surged toward him. He focused on separating the lightning essence from the ice, attempting to redirect the construct. For a moment, it seemed possible—then everything collapsed.
The attack hurtled toward him at lethal speed.
"KAELEN!" Lyra cried, terror in her voice.
But in that instant, Kaelen's body blurred. Activating Godspeed, he vanished from the attack's path, reappearing safely at the side. The chain struck the ground, erupting in another crackling explosion behind him.
Breathing heavily, Kaelen muttered, "Damn… it didn't work."
Founder's calm voice followed."You failed because the construct had already left your control. Once magicules are outside your body, you cannot control them—unless you have a way to manipulate external mana itself."
Kaelen's mind clicked. "Then what I need… is Mana Manipulation."
"Correct. Learn to command the magicules of the world around you. Then you can learn Separation."
Lyra, seeing he was unharmed, huffed with relief. "You're insane, Kaelen. Do what you want—I'm going back. Don't blow yourself up." With that, she returned to her studies, leaving him alone again.
Kaelen sat down on the ground, closing his eyes. Slowly, he activated Magic Sense. The world opened—tiny spheres of energy swirled around him like stars in the night sky. He reached for them, trying to bend them to his will. At first, they slipped through his fingers. Minutes turned to hours. Sweat dripped down his forehead, but he persisted.
Then—
VOICE OF THE WORLD: "Extra Skill: Mana Manipulation has been acquired."
Kaelen's eyes shot open, a grin spreading across his face. "Finally."
Rising, he conjured the ice-lightning chains once more and launched them at himself. This time, with Magic Manipulation, his control extended beyond his body. His All-Seeing Eye guided him as he reached into the magicules of the construct—tearing the lightning apart from the ice.The chains destabilized mid-air, their force redirected harmlessly aside.
Then a voice resounded within him:
VOICE OF THE WORLD: "Unique Skill: Degenerate has been acquired."
Kaelen froze, stunned. Then he burst into laughter, jumping around the training ground like an excited child. "Yes! Yes! I finally did it!"
Unbeknownst to him, his mother passed by a nearby window and paused. She saw her son leaping about joyfully under the moonlight. Smiling warmly, she let out a soft giggle before walking on, not disturbing him.
Still giddy, Kaelen experimented further. Using Degenerate's Synthesis, he combined Magic Sense and Enhanced Perception.
VOICE OF THE WORLD: "Extra Skill: Universal Perception has been acquired."
Information flooded his senses—the hum of mana, the heat radiating from distant torches, the faintest sound of an owl flapping its wings in the night. Killing intent, vibrations, sound waves—all were clear as daylight.
"…This is incredible."
Finally, Kaelen turned his focus to Founder. He decided to test its Conceptual Creation. Channeling magicules, he envisioned a simple object
A dagger materialized in his hand—solid, sharp, perfectly real. He created another, dual-wielding them, and slashed at a training dummy with a flourish.
His mind sparked with an idea. He used Conceptual Creation again, this time forging a weaker skill: Spirit Touch—a simplified form of telekinesis, meant to fling his daggers around.
The new skill activated instantly—his daggers flew from his hands and then returned to him. But then Founder's voice interrupted:
"Warning: Master, an unexpected error occurred. Conceptual Creation's Skill Creation ability is currently on cooldown for unknown period of time. Cause unknown… an external force interferes."
Kaelen froze. "An… external force? Someone can restrict even you?"
"Affirmative. I cannot determine the origin."
His grip tightened on the daggers. After a moment, he sighed, storing them in his dimensional space. "Fine. I'll deal with that later."
He looked up at the moon, his reserves nearly drained. His path was becoming clearer, yet darker, with every step.
"…Tomorrow, I'll test Annihilarch."