Arin hovered in space, watching his own molten body turn slowly beneath him.
The endless eruptions, oceans of lava, and roaring flames gave his surface a terrifying beauty.
He wasn't just hot—he was burning every second of his existence.
Suddenly, the familiar chime of the system echoed in his mind.
[Notice: Host is continuously burning.]
Arin blinked—mentally.
"Uh… yes? That's kind of obvious."
But the system continued.
[Enough burning-related records accumulated.]
[Generating skill…]
[Skill generation successful.]
[Skill Generated: Burning]
{Effect: Host burns 1% more efficiently while reducing fuel consumption by 1%}
Arin froze.
"…That's my first skill?"
A silence fell—well, as silent as space could be.
Then he exploded.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"
"Burning!? I'm a planet made of FIRE! I burn EVERYWHERE! ALL THE TIME! And my first skill… is burning better?!"
His outrage resonated through his entire planet-sized body.
A hundred volcanoes erupted at once, spraying magma skyward like fountains of anger.
Lava waves crashed along molten coastlines.
Firestorms intensified, swirling wildly.
Even the tectonic plates groaned.
"It's like giving a fish a skill called 'Swimming Slightly Faster!' Or giving a bird 'Flap Wings But More Efficiently!'"
He waited for the system to correct him.
To explain.
To say he misunderstood and that actually this was the first step to some god-tier primordial fire law.
But nothing came.
Total silence.
"HELLO?! System? You there? Say something!"
Still nothing.
Arin's frustration slowly simmered down, like magma cooling from red-hot to a dull orange.
Finally, he sighed.
"…Alright, alright. I guess it's better than nothing."
He stared at the status window again.
Skills:
— Burning (Level 1)
His first skill.
Not glorious.
Not powerful.
But it existed.
"Well…" he muttered, "at least I got my first skill. Skills can upgrade, and new ones will form. I'm just a newborn planet, after all."
Though his pride was wounded, a spark of excitement still glowed in him.
If burning could become a skill…
Then what about eruption?
Planetary rotation?
Tectonic collisions?
Asteroid impacts?
Atmosphere creation?
Ocean formation?
A planet's evolution was full of events. Full of records.
Full of potential skills.
Arin looked down at his blazing surface again.
"Fine. I'll take this stupid Burning skill. But I'm getting better ones soon."
He didn't know it yet…
but this tiny skill was the very first step toward becoming a planetary god.