Rael had always thought of magic as something like code.
Or at least block coding.
If you were to cast a fire ball, all you needed was an affinity for fire and the ability to be able to complete a minimum of four simple commands.
[Gather]
[Compress]
[Aim]
[Bang!]
Well, maybe not [Bang!] precisely but something along the lines of shooting the mana outward.
Though, studies of different power systems showed that there were more than one way to use a spell or skill.
And that got him thinking of something else.
'Just what exactly is magic?'
There were many answers to that but just one was needed to apply what he had in mind.
Magic is the usage of an energy to affect the laws of the world.
Through that definition, you could say that electricity and science was, in a way, some form of magic.
But all in all, one thing that every power system had in common was the presence of these basic elements:
The source energy, the conduit and the sequence.
Some used conduits that also served as their power source, while some had extra steps before it could be cast.
While he could not claim to be a genius capable of dissecting every magic spell in existence, he could at least be confident in his unbelievably vast amount of manga.
And that was telling him that Slash storage was a good way to go as a first skill.
But still, that didn't mean he could craft the skill by himself.
Self made skills are rare for a reason. For a mortal, it takes an impossibly unfiar amount of magical talent, centuries of training under an ancient wizard or a simply convenient cheat to be able to craft an authentic skill instead of learning one.
And most often, those who manage to do so are beings of an elite cadre known as protagonists.
Ender wasn't one. At least he hoped he wasn't.
But that didn't mean he couldn't bend the rules a bit and do it.
After all, he had a supposed Divine-tier Contract System.
"So...what do you think?" He grinned, obviously proud of his choice.
Koe, from her high vantage point was dumbfounded.
"Huuu, I can't even tell if you're smart or dumb at this point."
"What, it's a good skill. Not too complicated too."
"Yeah sure, but to build it would have to take even more of your existence. And you're kinda running low on that right now. Unless you're willing to use something else~." Her voice took on a teasing lilt at the end.
Ender winced at the memory of having to use Life force to assuage the damage from staring at Koe's true form. Even if using too much existence would cause him to literally cease to exist, he would rather that than use Life force to make a payment again.
"Hard pass."
"Aw...well that's too bad. I guess I'll have to use your existence again."
She hopped down from the pillar, landing gracefully on the surface of the dark water. Considering the height she dropped from, Ender expected a large splash, yet all that spread was a single small ripple spreading out from her landing point.
Her eyes suddenly turned an eerie red as she smiled at him.
"So, another contract it is. Are you willing to pay the price for power, even if it is your soul."
Ender nearly cringed.
"Stop it with these cringe-ass lines. You're making me feel like I made a deal with the devil.
This caused Koe to chuckle darkly, a hint of her true personality showing forth.
"Hmm? That's rich coming from the guy whose soul resembles hell's thirty-sixth layer. Of all the souls I've seen, your's ranks in the top five hundred for plain creepiness."
"Ouch? Thanks? I don't even know at this point." He sighed in defeat, stretching his hand forward.
As Koe took his hand, the massive crimson ring circling the black pool seemed to glow a bit brighter in the background, causing the black pool to churn violently.
[Equivalent Exchange]
Koe's voice suddenly changed slightly, echoing loudly through the expanse.
[In exchange for the creation of the skill Slash Storage, the user Hollow End shall sacrifice a portion of his existence.]
CLICK-!
As she finished speaking, a mechanical sound like the ticking of a clock echoed through the realm, causing the pool to churn violently as it abruptly shrunk in size until it became three-quarters of it's original size.
Ender felt a piercing pain in his chest, causing him to nearly collapse into the water as Koe let go of his hand. Gripping his chest, he felt as if a stake bathed in acid had been plunged into him, twisted and heated molten while inside him, leaving him no choice but to deal with the pain the usual way.
By cursing. Really loudly.
"AARGH! FUCK! SO FUCKING STUPID!"
He groaned in pain, doubling over at the familiar yet unbelievably painful process of having a price of his existence devoured while inside his soul. Due to his excitement, he had forgotten to never try making a contract with Koe while within his soul. It it were outside, all he'd feel would be a slight discomfort or at most a minor heart failure, yet trying to do it inside amplified the pain a thousand times more and then some.
Though his mind was flooded with agony as he writhed, half submerged in the dark waters, he still managed to look up at Koe who was smiling sweetly down at him and weakly raised a middle finger at her. Soon, his arm lost all strength, falling into the water as she walked away calmly on it's surface like his agony was an afterthought.
"Your skill should arrive in five to fifteen minutes."
Ender's eyes flew open as he gasped for breath. Instead of dark, thick water, he was wrapped in thick warm sheets. Instead of the eerie red light that expelled no heat, everything was black but he could feel the cold in the air.
He was awake.
"And...I'm blind again."
He was about to decide to get some real sleep when he heard the creak of the door opening and someone rushing in on small feet.
"Oh, is that you, Rina-" he said slowly, trying to sound sleepy.
"Master, master. This isn't the time for sleeping. Your older brother is here!" She said as she tried to pry him out of bed.
"Oh, okay. I guess I'll go see my older bro-" His head snapped towards Rinae, startling her as he suddenly leaned towards her, his voice sounded genuinely confused and a bit annoyed.
"Wait a minute, since when did I have an older brother!?"