Night had already settled over the city when Zael slipped through the gates.
The outer districts were quieter now, the usual chaos of caravans and mercenary squads replaced by scattered lantern light and distant footsteps. The wilderness dust still clung to his boots, and the faint scent of blood and metal lingered on his cloak.
He didn't stop.
He didn't look around.
He walked straight home.
Only when the door of his apartment closed behind him did Zael finally release the breath he had been holding since the moment he handed in the Ironhide Ravager proof.
The lock clicked.
Silence wrapped around him.
Zael leaned back against the door and laughed under his breath.
"…So it really worked."
The Awakener's Guild had accepted the proof without question.
No interrogation.
No exposure.
No suspicion.
Just a stamped confirmation and the quiet notification that followed:
[Awakening Task: Completed.]
[Level Restriction Removed.]
[Second Talent Awakening…]
He had ignored the rest then.
He had forced himself to.
Because curiosity in the wrong place was how secrets died.
Now, in the safety of his apartment, Zael straightened and let his smile fade into something sharper.
"Alright," he murmured. "Now you can talk."
He removed his cloak, set his sword carefully against the wall, and walked toward the center of the room. The faint mana-lamps embedded in the ceiling glowed softly, illuminating the simple but well-kept interior Kael had arranged for him.
Desk.
Bed.
Bookshelf.
Window.
A place to think.
Zael sat down and focused inward.
> [General Awakener System: Online]
The familiar blue interface unfolded before his eyes, no longer hazy or incomplete.
It was… stable now.
Not the fractured framework it had been before the task.
Not the locked shell it had worn during the trials.
A full system.
Zael swallowed.
"Status."
Light shifted.
> [Name: Zael Nightshade]
[Level: 10]
[Profession: Combat Scholar (Common)]
[Talents:]
• Supreme Blessing (Mythical)
• — New Talent Detected —
The second slot pulsed faintly.
Zael hesitated for half a second.
Then he selected it.
> [Talent Awakened: Clone Manifestation (Uncommon)]
Zael blinked.
"…Clone?"
That was it?
After everything?
After the awakening task?
After the Talent Bank's interference?
A clone-type talent was useful, sure—but uncommon grade meant strict limitations. Fragile constructs. Short duration. Heavy mana drain.
Hardly worthy of the word miracle.
But then—
The interface flickered.
Once.
Twice.
And changed.
> [Talent Bank Detected Compatibility]
[Upgrading Talent…]
[Rewriting Structure…]
Zael's breath caught.
The words rearranged themselves, glowing brighter with each line.
> [Clone Manifestation → Ascendant Echo]
[Grade: Mythical]
The room felt colder.
Zael slowly sat up straighter.
"…Ascendant Echo?"
Another panel unfolded.
> [Talent: Ascendant Echo (Mythical)]
Creates autonomous clones of the user.
• Clones possess 100% of the user's base stats.
• Clones can use profession abilities and talents (excluding Supreme Blessing).
• Clones develop independent combat instincts.
• Damage and experience are shared between host and echoes.
• Maximum active echoes: 1
(Increases with level and system development.)
Zael stared.
Then he laughed.
Not loudly.
Not wildly.
Just… softly.
"…So that's what you turned it into."
A clone that wasn't a fake.
A clone that wasn't disposable.
A clone that grew with him.
A second Zael.
His mind raced instantly.
Training.
Scouting.
Combat misdirection.
Sacrificial positioning without losing real progress.
And worst of all—
It shared experience.
Which meant…
He wasn't leveling alone anymore.
Zael exhaled slowly.
"This is… dangerous."
Not in the sense of unstable.
In the sense that if anyone ever learned what this talent truly was—
He would never be left alone again.
Soldiers would want him.
Guilds would want him.
Nobles would want him.
Or kill him.
He dismissed the panel and leaned back on his chair, eyes drifting toward the window.
Beyond the glass, the academy's distant towers pierced the night sky.
Somewhere out there—
Seraphina was walking beside another awakener now.
Someone with a legendary-grade talent.
Someone "worth her time."
Zael didn't feel angry.
Not anymore.
If anything, the sting felt… distant.
Muted.
Like something from another life.
His life now had lines drawn on it.
Carefully.
Precisely.
He opened the system again.
> [System Functions Unlocked:]
• Status Viewing (Self)
• Status Viewing (Targets ≤ +5 Levels)
• Beast Analysis
• EXP Gain Enabled (Level 10 → 20)
Zael smiled faintly.
"So now I can see the world properly."
No more guessing.
No more blind fights.
No more pretending he was ordinary while walking through danger.
He stood and walked toward the mirror near his bed.
The boy reflected back at him looked the same as always—dark hair, pale eyes, calm face.
But Zael knew better now.
He lifted his hand slightly.
"Come out."
Mana stirred.
The air beside him warped.
And then—
Someone stepped out of nothing.
Same height.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Another Zael stood beside him, expression neutral, posture identical.
For a heartbeat, they stared at each other.
"…That's unsettling," Zael muttered.
The echo tilted its head.
Zael did too.
They mirrored each other unconsciously.
After a moment, Zael waved a hand and dismissed it.
The clone dissolved into motes of light.
His heart was still beating faster than normal.
Not from fear.
From possibility.
Tomorrow, the university entrance exams would begin.
New rankings.
New rivalries.
And new chances to see just how far he could go with this.
Selvig would be watching.
Seraphina would be walking beside someone else.
And Zael—
Zael would be walking a different road entirely.
Quietly.
Carefully.
With two talents no one understood.
And a system no one could see.
He turned off the interface and lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
"…Level twenty," he whispered.
That was the next threshold.
And beyond it—
Another awakening.
Another secret.
Another step away from being normal.
Outside, the city slept.
And inside, Zael Nightshade planned.
Not like a prodigy.
Not like a hero.
But like someone who knew the world would never forgive him if he was careless.
Zael couldn't fall asleep.
He lay on his back, staring at the faintly glowing lines in the ceiling as mana-lamps pulsed in slow rhythms above him. The room was quiet, but his thoughts were anything but.
The moment he had left the Awakener's Guild, the weight of what had happened finally settled on him.
A second talent.
Not just awakened—
Rewritten.
An uncommon-grade clone ability had been born… and then immediately dragged beyond its limits by Supreme Blessing, reshaped into something mythical.
Ascendant Echo.
Zael exhaled slowly and rolled onto his side.
"So this is what you do… you don't just make things stronger. You change what they are."
He raised his hand and summoned his status.
Now that he had registered as an awakener, the general awakener system had unlocked for him. Status viewing was no longer a vague feeling—it was a structured interface. He could see his own information clearly now, and with focus, he could view the basic status of others within range, so long as they were not too far above him in level and so long as they were visible.
No special insight.
No cheating vision.
Just a refined extension of what all awakeners used.
Which meant hiding was still possible.
Very possible.
That thought made him relax slightly.
The danger was not the system itself.
The danger was being noticed.
Zael closed the interface and turned his attention inward.
To the new talent.
Ascendant Echo did not feel like summoning.
It felt like… division.
Not creating something separate.
But splitting something whole.
Information flowed into his mind—limitations, parameters, rules.
An echo could be created.
One at a time.
It would be a complete physical body, sustained by mana, linked directly to him.
Memories synchronized.
Perception shared.
Growth mirrored.
But—
He could shape it.
Not endlessly.
Not into anything.
There were limits: age range, general build, facial structure within human norms, hair, eyes, and surface traits. He could not make a dragon or a monster. He could not give it wings or unnatural forms.
But within those boundaries…
He could design a person.
Zael sat up in bed.
His heart began to beat faster.
"…A second identity."
Not a disguise.
Not an illusion.
A real, walking, breathing individual who could exist in the world as someone else.
Most people would think of combat first.
Scouting.
Fighting from two angles.
But Zael didn't.
His mind went somewhere far more dangerous.
Reputation.
If Zael Nightshade rose too quickly, every eye would turn toward him.
If someone else rose instead…
Zael could remain invisible.
His clone would be the one standing in the light.
The perfect shield.
Zael stood and walked to the window, looking out over the city lights.
"I don't need Zael to be powerful," he whispered.
"I need someone else to be powerful… publicly."
A figure began to take shape in his thoughts.
Not him.
Different posture.
Different face.
Different expression.
A boy slightly taller than Zael, with sharper features and lighter hair. Eyes a brighter shade, almost playful. A smile that looked confident—borderline smug.
Not cautious.
Not restrained.
Someone who would draw attention instead of avoiding it.
Someone who would fit naturally into the role of a rising star.
"…You'll be loud," Zael murmured.
"Talented. Flashy. Annoying."
He imagined how that person would speak.
A little arrogant.
A little flirty.
Too clever for his own good.
A genius type.
The kind nobles would want to recruit.
The kind teachers would praise.
The kind rivals would hate.
A contrast to Zael's own quiet, analytical presence.
And then came the background.
He couldn't make the world accept a clone with no history.
He needed a story.
A believable one.
"A small village," Zael said softly. "Far from the capital."
A place with few awakeners.
Where talents might appear without ceremony.
Where no one would investigate too deeply.
A natural awakener.
Someone who had awakened without academy crystals, without noble resources.
Rare.
But not unheard of.
And in this world, rare did not always mean stronger.
Some legendary talents were born in slums.
Some heroic talents were wasted in villages.
Power was potential.
Not guarantee.
Which made the lie believable.
Zael leaned his forehead against the glass.
"You'll be Zane."
The name felt right.
Zane.
From nowhere.
With a strange talent.
Too capable to ignore.
Perfect.
Zane would gather what Zael could not.
Resources.
Information.
Connections.
Training opportunities.
Zane would take risks.
Zane would draw hostility.
Zane would stand in the spotlight.
While Zael stayed in the dark.
"…And if someone targets you," Zael whispered, "they won't be targeting me."
A slow smile formed on his lips.
It was meticulous.
Dangerously so.
A dual existence.
One life for survival.
One life for growth.
And both feeding the same core.
He returned to his bed and lay down again, but this time, his mind was calmer.
The system had not given him a weapon.
It had given him a strategy.
Tomorrow, Zael Nightshade would return to the academy as an unremarkable Combat Scholar.
Soon…
Zane would appear.
A genius from a small village.
A naturally awakened prodigy.
Arrogant. Flirtatious. Brilliant.
And the world would watch him.
While Zael prepared for something far greater in silence.