I started chuckling to myself. The possibilities were endless. A skill that could streamline everything: circulation, condensation, reinforcement of the Essence generated by my Generator Core.
My lips curled up as the chuckles grew louder.
And then, another beam shot through the air.
Pain lanced through my right shoulder, jerking me back a step. I looked down at the smoldering hole, flesh burned, blood sizzling.
And I laughed.
Full-on, unhinged laughter.
"This is it. This is the path to the Mythic class."
My laughter grew louder as I let myself go in the moment.
Essence flooded my body. My right arm trembled, but I lifted it anyway.
My Psynapse flared.
"Blazing Sfera."
The sphere formed just above my palm, spinning faster than ever before, blazing with restrained fire. Flame coiled inward, condensed, a miniature sun gathering in front of my eyes.
I kept laughing, ignoring the pain, the fatigue, the pulsing heat of the dome around me.
The fireball grew. Two feet. Then three. Its surface rippled with streaks of orange, the glow reflecting in my eyes as I stared at it.
"Beautiful."
My will encompassed the spinning fireball and launched it toward the dome.
The sphere obeyed.
It surged through the air and slammed into the dome with a heavy, echoing thud.
For a moment, nothing happened, then it expanded.
A blinding bloom of flame erupted outward the moment the fireball collided with the dome. The explosion didn't just detonate, it spread, like a dam bursting open. Fire surged forward in a molten flood, roaring in every direction, waves of heat crashing against the walls of darkness.
The dome shuddered under the pressure. Then it groaned, as if the very air inside had turned heavy.
Crack.
The sound I'd been waiting for.
Cracks webbed out across the dome like lightning across stormy skies, thin at first then deeper, wider, faster. The flood of fire pressed into every fracture, eating through the darkness like it had been starving for it.
The pressure snapped.
The dome's defenses gave in.
Walls of shadow collapsed inward, torn apart by the sheer force of the blast. Darkness screamed as it was devoured, consumed by the unrelenting tide of flames.
I stood there, bleeding and grinning, eyes wild, heart pounding with triumph.
Fire still danced across the floor. My skin burned with pain, but I couldn't stop smiling.
I did it.
And to me it looked beautiful.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of clapping.
It was Edgar, smiling as he walked toward me, hands still coming together in slow, deliberate applause.
He looked different from when he'd left me here. Now he wore a proper navy-blue suit, complete with a tie.
"Kid, did you go crazy at the end there?"
I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head.
"Ahh, I apologize. Sometimes I get a little too excited."
Edgar shook his head, still smiling.
"I could see that. But great work. I think we got what we wanted."
I tilted my head.
"We?"
He winked.
"Go to your room and get some rest. Your body needs it. You've been here for three days."
My mouth dropped open.
"What? Three days? How?"
"The darkness messed with your senses," Edgar said. "Anyway, you missed your first day but I doubt Arkas will even let you join the regular training sessions. You're too far ahead of your peers."
I smiled.
"Thanks for the compliment, Edgar."
He smiled back.
"Let me take you to your place."
He placed a hand on my shoulder, and just like last time, space blurred and the next moment, I was standing inside my room.
I heard his voice behind me.
"All right, kid. I'll see you just before your next mission."
I nodded.
Shadows swirled around him, starting to consume him and I watched, fascinated.
Just before he completely vanished, I heard his voice again, distant and echoing.
"Remember, Billion, the Emperor is watching."
My eyes widened.
'The Emperor?'
I stood there for a moment, stunned, his words echoing in my head. My thoughts went back to when Edgar said, "we got what we wanted."
Did he mean the Emperor by "we"?
My eyes narrowed.
This wasn't something I could brush off.
The Emperor wasn't just any leader. He was the ruler of the entire world, the head of the Ralyeigh family.
While they had a good reputation overall, I wasn't naive.
At the end of the day, he was still a ruler. A powerful man like him was bound to have personal goals, secrets, and plans most people would never know about.
And a ruler like that? He would want to know everything that happened in his world, especially when it involved strange skills or powerful talents.
My mind went back to my upcoming mission.
Arkas had mentioned I needed a skill that only the Ferans could give. That wasn't something that could happen quietly. If the Emperor was really watching me, then there was no way a mission involving the Ferans wouldn't already be on his radar.
I let out a long breath.
'The Emperor….Maybe someday I'd meet him face-to-face.'
I shook the thought out of my head and glanced around my room. Everything was just as I had left, untouched, quiet.
I walked over, picked up my phone, and checked the date. Three whole days had passed. It was just past midnight again.
A few notifications blinked on the screen. Missed calls. Steve and North.
That made me smile.
I opened up my contacts, created a group, and added both of them. Then I sent a quick message:
"Sorry for the silence. Was caught up in training. I'll be joining tomorrow's session."
Keeping the phone aside, I headed for the washroom. It took me thirty full minutes to feel like a human again.
I washed off the dried blood, scrubbed the soot from my skin, and stood under the warm water until my muscles stopped twitching.
My shoulder still ached where the beam had hit me, but the pain felt distant now like a fading bruise from another life.
When I was done, I changed into fresh clothes and dropped onto the bed, letting out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
The silence in the room was oddly comforting. No fire. No shadows. No whispers. Just the soft hum of the fan spinning above.
I stared at the ceiling.
Everything felt... still.
No more giant explosions, no cracked domes, no Edgar popping out of nowhere with cryptic messages. Just my old room, my old bed, and a faint scent of soap still clinging to my skin.
My stomach rumbled.
I sat up and picked up my phone. Calling the cafeteria, I ordered all the same dishes North had ordered for herself.
As I waited, I pulled up my status to take a look.
[Status]
----------------------------------------------
Name : Billion Ironhart
Race : Human
Class : Essence Noblesse
Laws : N/A
Rank: Mortal
Level : 25
Talent :
- Generator 4
- Essence : 25/35
Attributes :
- Strength: 86
- Constitution: 86
- Dexterity: 82
- Psynapse : 114
Unused Stats: 0
Skills:
- Essence Shaping (Innate) Level 2
- Psynapse Boost (Innate) Level 5
- Essence Shift (Innate) Level 3
- Seismic Burst Level 2
- Blazing Sfera Level 1
Abilities:
- Apex Body – I (Passive)
--------------------------------------------------
I scrolled through each of my attributes, taking my time to go over the new upgrades I had gained.
My lips curled into a small smile. Everything was finally starting to come together. My stats had improved, my control had gotten sharper, and for once, I felt like I was moving in the right direction.
Then my eyes landed on the Ability section.
There it was, Apex Body [Passive], still untouched. I hadn't trained it even once.
I leaned back and exhaled slowly.
"Right... I need to get started on this too."
A bunch of thoughts swirled through my mind. How exactly was I supposed to train a passive like this? Would regular physical training work? Or did it need something more extreme, like near-death situations or constant stress on my body?
My fingers tapped the side of the bed as I thought.
I'd have to experiment.
Thirty-five minutes later, a knock echoed at the door.
I opened it, grabbed the tray, and brought it back in.
The aroma hit me instantly—warm, sweet, and spicy all at once. Just as I imagined.
Smiling, I set the tray down, grabbed my phone, and took a quick picture of the dish from above.
Then I opened the group chat and sent the photo with a simple message: "Guess what I'm eating."
I finished the food quickly, enjoying every bite.
Then I transferred all 25 units of Essence into my Psynapse. After that, I activated the Generator Core so it could start producing Essence overnight. With everything set, I lay back and finally let myself drift off to sleep.