I took a deep breath, pulling my scattered thoughts into line, and activated [Psynapse Boost].
My senses expanded outward. I reached for the Essence in the air.
But something was wrong.
Most of the Essence around me was rigid. Not neutral, not free.
Almost all of it was tainted, its flow weighed down by darkness, warped into dense, locked formations. The kind of interference that resisted both movement and control.
I extended my will, trying to draw in the Essence, but it pushed back hard.
Each thread I pulled felt sluggish, like dragging chains through wet cement.
Then—
A flicker.
A shift in the air behind me.
I spun, but not fast enough.
A beam of light slammed into my lower back, sending a sharp jolt through my spine.
Pain radiated outward, but I didn't stop. I triggered my Generator Core. A low hum spread through my body as it kicked in, producing Essence, slowly filling my inner storage.
No time to waste.
I turned back to the front and stretched my palm outward.
I focused on drawing in Essence, just the clean threads I could find, even if they were few.
As they gathered in my palm, I activated [Essence Shift] and began shifting their state mid-draw, weaving fire into the form before it could fully stabilize.
The result was a chaotic blend, volatile but raw with potential.
I stared at the unstable sphere hovering over my hand, its fire-born glow fighting against the lingering dark energy around it.
The goal was simple—Form something compact. Something volatile. Something fast.
But nothing about this place was simple.
The darkness here…It was alive.
My perception swept through the dome, brushing against every flicker of Essence lingering in the air.
I felt it, the Essence was trying to reach toward me as well. Probably the effect of my class.
But almost all of it had already been seized, tightly wrapped in tendrils of dark energy. Edgar's trap wasn't just effective. It was suffocating.
The fire-state wasn't struggling to breathe. It was being strangled before it could even form.
I clenched my jaw and tried drawing raw Essence near me, attempting to shift it into fire. But the moment I did, resistance surged through my Psynapse like a wall slamming into my mind. Heavy. Drenched in darkness. Every thread of Essence I touched was already half-frozen, locked down.
Dragging it was like yanking a boulder through knee-deep mud.
Then came the first beam.
A sharp white spear of light tore through the dome and slammed into my chest.
My body rocked backward, pain flaring through my ribs. It didn't pierce through, but the impact was enough to throw off my focus.
'No time to hesitate.'
I pulled again, trying to gather enough Essence and shift it quickly into a tight cluster of fire over my palm. My will dug deep, trying to force stability, force motion—anything.
Nothing.
The moment the fire began forming, the surrounding darkness reacted like a snare, choking it back into stillness.
A second beam carved across my thigh.
I grunted, but my body held. I had enough willpower and Constitution to take these hits—for now.
The problem I faced was that the Essence here flowed in two separate streams—darkness and fire. The darkness dominated, thick and heavy, and by Edgar's design, it was actively constricting the fire element.
That's when I understood the training he wanted me to undergo.
It wasn't just about Essence control. It was about refining my will, building my Psynapse like a muscle, by pulling fire from under the crushing weight of darkness.
I grinned.
I liked squats. Heavy ones. The kind that made your legs scream. This was no different, except now, the weight was on my mind.
Sure, I could've taken the easier route. I could've used my generated Essence and skipped the hard part. But I had a different plan for that reserve. A smarter one.
Right now, I wanted to wrestle with the atmosphere itself. The ambient Essence. If I could train with that, I'd be sharpening all my innate skills at once.
There was something else, too. The darkness.
I'd practiced with fire. I knew its rhythm.
But darkness? That was still a mystery. And if I wanted to free the fire stream, maybe I didn't have to fight for it directly. Maybe I could push the darkness away, carve out space, then pull the fire in.
I exhaled, focused.
There were dozens of ways I could approach this. And I wanted to try them all while the training lasted.
In my heart, I thanked Edgar for the opportunity.
A sharp whoosh cut through the air to my right.
I stepped forward, letting the beam crash into the ground behind me.
Training had officially begun.
The best way to build muscle? Break it hard, then build it back stronger.
First, I had to break it.
I took a deep breath and raised both hands to my sides, slow and deliberate, like a performer before the final act. I could almost picture the wind pausing, waiting for what came next.
Then I activated [Psynapse Boost].
A rush of Essence surged toward my brain. I felt it hit like a wave sharp, clear, and alive. My perception sharpened. My will became focused. The world around me pulsed with Essence, and I could feel every strand of it dancing in the air.
Without wasting a second, I gathered all the Essence still swirling inside my core and pushed it toward my brain. Every bit. No hesitation.
I let out a roar, loud, raw, and from the gut.
And then, I forced my will outward, pushing it into the Essence around me. Demanding it to obey.
A rotating sphere began to form right in front of my chest, pulling the Essence into its center like a magnet. The glow was a deep, vibrant green.
I activated [Essence Shift] and [Essence Shaping] at the same time.
The green hue flickered… and then started turning red like fire caught in motion.
I roared again, pouring more of myself into it. The sphere spun faster, vibrating with power. It grew larger, inch by inch.
Then I felt it, that cold pressure.
The darkness pushed back.
A sharp resistance pulsed against my will. My head throbbed. Veins bulged in my eyes. I was overloading my brain by channeling too much Essence too fast. And that was the goal.
Then, out of nowhere, a beam speared through the air and slammed into my chest. It felt like being punched by lightning.
I staggered back. The sphere wobbled, its form threatening to break apart.
"No, you fucking don't," I growled through clenched teeth.
I reached deep and slammed my will onto the Essence again. The sphere steadied, flickering but holding. I pulled more Essence from the atmosphere, every wisp I could reach.
The sphere spun faster, brighter, growing a little more. I felt my grip slipping. My control was fading.
So, once again, I sent more Essence rushing toward my head.
The boost from [Psynapse Boost] held me together—barely.
The sphere's size was dangerous now. Nearly unstable.
I gritted my teeth and compressed it.
The flames of the sphere reflected in my eyes, and I stared at it, refusing to blink, refusing to let go.
Veins throbbed on my forehead. I was using everything I had, every ounce of skill, will, and instinct.
I shaped the Essence with [Essence Shaping].
I controlled the surrounding with [Psynapse Boost], now burning hotter from all the reckless channeling I had done.
And I changed the very nature of the Essence with [Essence Shift].
The blazing fire sphere hovered just a foot from my chest. It spun so fast it hummed, a deep, vibrating sound that filled the air. Its size now nearly matched my head.
And I held it there: my creation, my control, my will made real.
But that wasn't how you truly broke muscle.
To break it, you had to overload it. And that's exactly what I did.