Riven sat at the edge of the table with the [Glass Edge] stone on the table and the fractured strand at the side of his conscience.
The fragment still carried traces of the vibrating property from the execution he witnessed in the alley. The frequencies inside it fluctuated constantly, unstable enough that the strand looked close to collapse every time he examined it closely.
At first, he tried integrating the vibration property evenly across the structure of [Glass Edge]. The modification failed immediately. The moment the oscillation spread through the skill, the internal structure destabilized and the fractured strand was violently ejected from the stone almost breaking apart into pieces.
Riven controlled it before the vibrations went on a rampage and inspected the damage quietly.
The rejection happened too fast for the two structures to stabilize together. [Glass Edge] focused on precision and cohesion while the vibration property continuously disrupted structural stability. Forcing both effects simultaneously only caused the skill to reject the integration entirely.
He adjusted the structure and tried again.
The second attempt lasted longer. This time the oscillation integrated successfully, but the vibration spread through the entire skill instead of remaining concentrated near the edges. The internal pathways of [Glass Edge] started interfering with each other until cracks spread across the stone itself.
Riven stopped the process before the skill collapsed completely. He stayed silent afterward, replaying the alley execution in his head again.
Even for a damaged one, this thing felt too unstable. The vibrations inside it never stayed still for long, constantly shifting like it was trying to tear itself apart from the inside. At first, Riven assumed just the vibration was responsible for what he witnessed during the execution. It took several failed attempts before he understood how wrong that assumption was.
It wasn't just the vibration that made the skill ignore defenses, it was the frequency of those vibrations. He now had had clear direction to work toward as he started getting a deeper understanding of it's mechanics behind it.
Riven adjusted the structure of [Glass Edge] once more, isolating the oscillation into a separate trigger point instead of allowing it to remain active continuously. The integration process became noticeably smoother afterward, though several cracks still spread briefly across the surface of the stone before stabilizing again.
The frequency synchronized. Riven stared at the completed structure for several seconds before absorbing the skill. He didn't want to wait after what the the system showed him when he looked for the rank.
Skill- [Resonance Edge]
Rank- B
A sharp smile slowly formed on his face despite himself. The breakthrough mattered far more than the skill itself. Until now, Riven had approached his ability with just upgrading skills in mind. Every modification he created followed the assumption that skills could only evolve within the boundaries of their original design.
This shattered that assumption completely. Neither source skill possessed properties anywhere near this level individually. Yet the interaction between concepts had created an entirely new phenomenon. A D-rank cutting skill had become something that could bypass defensive reinforcement altogether.
Sharp vibrations spread through his pathways immediately during the integration process. The absorption felt rougher than when he absorbed the [prism shift], almost like the modified structure resisted stabilizing inside his body. Alongside the discomfort came instinctive understanding. Timing, frequency synchronization and structural interference during impact.
By the time the process finished, sweat had formed lightly across his forehead. Riven stood from the table and picked up one of the reinforced metal plates resting near the wall. The thing was durable enough to withstand ordinary D-rank offensive skills without much trouble.
He activated [Resonance edge].
The structure forming along his two elongated fingers looked different now. The edge flickered faintly below his middle finger, almost like parts of it shifted slightly out of alignment before stabilizing again.
Riven stepped forward and slashed downward. The reinforced layer offered no resistance at all. His fingers passed through the metal plates like they hadn't even existed, there was not even a mark of an attack on the plates either.
Riven lowered his hand slowly while staring at the metal plates he just phased through. The defense had not been destroyed. It had been completely bypassed.
He tested the skill several more times afterward, adjusting the timing carefully during each strike. Activating the oscillation too early destabilized the edge before impact. Too late and the strike behaved like ordinary [Glass Edge]. But when timed properly, the vibrating frequency forced the edge temporarily into sync with the defensive structure it touched, allowing the attack to pass directly through armor, barriers and reinforcement layers before stabilizing again.
The implications became obvious almost immediately.
Against opponents relying on weaker defensive skills, the attack would ignore protection entirely. Only defensive abilities of 'A rank' or higher could stabilize themselves enough to resist the interaction properly.
Neither source skill possessed an effect remotely close to this individually. [Glass Edge] was originally a simple D-rank cutting skill while the fragmented strand itself likely came from a mid-tier destabilization technique. Yet combining them had produced something far beyond both.
A B-rank result.
He had created a completely new interaction. A skill capable of bypassing defenses would be worth an absurd amount in the current state of the underworld. Organizations would kill for access to something like this during an active conflict where ambushes and assassinations were becoming increasingly common.
Which also made selling it dangerous. A modified skill this abnormal would attract immediate attention. People would investigate where it originated from, and eventually patterns would start forming around impossible modifications appearing in circulation.
Riven had no intention of exposing himself that early even though 'B rank' skills are in whole new tier compared to the skills below them and would sell for hundreds of thousands of credits even in open markets.
More importantly, the skill suited him too well to give away. Precision timing, high lethality and minimal visibility. It matched his fighting style almost perfectly.
The following evening, Riven arrived near the restaurant district several minutes earlier than the agreed time. The atmosphere around the city had grown noticeably heavier over the past few days. Not just the back alleys of the market, the whole city was getting affected by this tense atmosphere. Territorial wars were no longer in the distant horizon anymore. He needed to move fast.
Riven leaned against the railing outside the restaurant entrance while watching movement across the street. Several minutes later, Serena appeared from the opposite side of the district dressed casually enough to avoid attention while still carrying herself with the alert posture of someone accustomed to dangerous work.
Her eyes found him almost immediately. Riven straightened slightly as she approached.
If he wanted to build something larger than himself, then independent operators like Serena were the perfect place to start.