He read slowly.
Skills were not abilities gained freely. They were constructed through attuned nodes, and each skill permanently occupied a fixed number of those nodes once formed.
The logic was simple.
A Basic skill required a minimum of 3 attuned nodes, with most stabilizing between 3 and 6. An Intermediate skill required at least 7, extending up to 15.
He paused there. That meant no one could use skills without first attuning at least three nodes. It also meant every decision mattered.
If someone attuned three nodes immediately, they could form a Basic skill and gain immediate strength. But those same nodes would remain locked. They could not be reused for something else later.
He continued reading.
A Basic skill using four nodes would leave only twenty available before reaching Initiate requirements. But if someone waited until seven nodes were attuned, they could construct an Intermediate skill directly, gaining a stronger and more efficient ability at the cost of delayed growth.
The difference was not just strength. It was efficiency. Four nodes for Basic output. Seven nodes for Intermediate output. The Intermediate version did not simply add strength. It refined it. Reduced waste. Improved control. He understood the implication immediately.
Someone with twenty-four attuned nodes could have six Basic skills. Or three Intermediate skills. Or a mixture. But the total output would not be equal.
Fewer, stronger skills could surpass many weaker ones. It was about quality.
He unrolled the second scroll.
This one described specific applications.
Umbra-aligned Basic Skill | Shadow Reinforcement | Nodes Required: 4
This skill allowed the user to reinforce their body using condensed umbra-aspected mana. It increased physical strength and stability temporarily, allowing greater force output during strikes and improved resistance against external impact.
The Intermediate version followed below it.
Umbra-aligned Intermediate Skill | Shadow Convergence | Nodes Required: 7
Instead of reinforcing only the physical body, this skill allowed umbra mana to converge along specific points of movement. This increased not only strength but also precision and acceleration, allowing faster directional changes and stronger controlled strikes with significantly reduced mana waste.
He could see the difference clearly. The Basic version strengthened. The Intermediate version optimized.
He opened the third scroll.
Umbra-aligned Basic Skill | Shade Step | Nodes Required: 4
This skill enhanced short-distance movement by reducing resistance between the user and surrounding mana. It allowed faster bursts of motion, useful for repositioning during combat.
Below it, the Intermediate evolution.
Umbra-aligned Intermediate Skill | Shade Shift | Nodes Required: 7
This version refined movement further, allowing controlled displacement over short distances with minimal delay. The user's motion became smoother, harder to predict, and required less recovery between movements.
Just as he was about to continue, the pain struck.
It came without warning, far sharper than before, tearing through his skull with such force that his vision shattered into white for a brief instant. His grip failed immediately. The scroll slipped from his fingers and fell onto the branch beside him.
His hand rose instinctively toward his face, but it never reached.
The pressure behind his eyes surged violently, spreading through his head and down his spine, overwhelming everything else. His breathing broke apart, his body unable to endure it any longer.
Then the strength left him.
His body slumped sideways against the trunk, his head tilting forward as consciousness slipped away from him completely.
For a few moments, nothing moved.
Then, slowly, the mana around him began to shift.
It gathered first in faint, uneven currents, drawn toward his body without command or structure. The flow was unstable, hesitant, as though responding to something it did not yet understand.
A faint warmth pulsed once beneath his skin.
Tiny embers bloomed briefly in the air around him, no larger than sparks, appearing and vanishing before they could fully form. They drifted without heat, without flame, dissolving into the stillness as quickly as they appeared.
The leaves around him trembled softly.
Their dull green surface deepened, veins darkening as vitality pulsed through them in quiet response. The bark beneath his back darkened slightly, its texture tightening as if bracing under an unseen weight.
Then, just as suddenly, everything stilled.
The embers vanished.
The mana settled.
And the forest returned to silence. Unaware, Ivor remained unconscious.
********
The next morning had long settled over the Scar.
Light filtered through the forest canopy in pale shafts, illuminating a clearing where nine boys stood forming a wide circle. Each bore the marks of recent combat—faded bruises, torn clothing, and dried blood still clinging to fabric.
Yet their bodies had healed.
The injuries Ivor had caused were completely gone, as if they had never existed.
Inside that circle stood three more boys.
They did not stand with the others.
They stood apart.
At the center of those three was the tallest among them.
He held a naked blade loosely in his hand, its edge clean and unmarked, the metal catching faint light as it rested at his side. His posture was relaxed, but all nine boys around him kept their eyes fixed on him.
He did not speak.
He listened.
"He came out of nowhere," one of the injured boys said, his voice tight with restrained anger. "He waited until we finished the skeletons. He didn't say anything. Just attacked."
Another nodded. "He was fast and brutal. Did not use any skill though."
"He robbed us," someone added bitterly. "Crystals. Frostvine. Scrolls. Everything."
The tall boy's gaze moved across them slowly.
"Did any of you recognize him?" he asked.
None of them answered immediately.
Finally, one shook his head. "No."
Silence followed. The tall boy's grip on the blade tightened slightly.
"You let a single person disrupt the entire day," he said.
There was no shouting.
No visible anger.
But the words carried weight.
"Because of your failure, no one gathered properly. No progress was made. Everyone scattered. The entire day was wasted."
None of them met his eyes.
"And you still don't know who he is."
No one spoke.
He exhaled once, slowly, as if pushing the frustration away.
"Spread out," he said.
They looked up immediately.
"Search every section. If you find anyone from our side, tell them to join the hunt. No one moves alone anymore."
His gaze hardened slightly.
"And when you find him," he continued, his voice quieter now, "do not engage."
He lifted the blade slightly, letting its edge catch the light.
"I will punish him myself."
No one questioned it. They turned and began moving immediately, disappearing into different sections of the forest as the hunt began.