I stopped laughing, though I couldn't wipe the grin off my face.
My eyes stayed locked on the core as it continued its work, quietly, steadily, generating that strange, violet Essence. The whole thing was mesmerizing, like watching a living engine hidden inside my chest.
I had no idea how it worked under the surface, what kind of mechanisms or energy systems were running behind the scenes. But I didn't care. Whatever it was, it was incredible.
It didn't take long before I noticed the number slowly ticking up. Bit by bit, the Essence level rose.
About thirty minutes later, the storage was full.
It might've filled even faster if I hadn't spent some time experimenting with the absorption rate.
But it was worth it, I learned something important.
I could actually control the speed.
It all came down to my Psynapse and the channels I had carved through my body.
The stronger the Psynapse, the faster and more refined the absorption. And my Psynapse was already far above what someone at my level should have. It was only going to get stronger.
Once I was satisfied, I activated the new ability.
[Essence Engine]
The moment I did, a rush of knowledge hit me. My mind buzzed with instructions, patterns, flows, circulation routes. The whole blueprint of the ability downloaded straight into my brain.
"This makes it easier," I whispered.
I gave the command, and Essence surged. It rushed out from the core and started flowing through the channels I'd carved, heart to spine, spine to limbs, limbs to brain, looping through every organ and muscle before cycling back.
It was like blood. A second circulatory system. One I controlled.
Then I activated the next function. Condensation.
The Essence began churning, coiling into itself within the core. The violet light deepened, growing darker as it thickened.
It didn't form a sphere this time.
Instead, it compacted into a refined, more concentrated form. I could feel it growing denser, stronger. The total amount of Essence had decreased, but the unit count remained the same.
I glanced at the panel again.
55 / 55
I smirked.
I reactivated the core, started absorbing again. This time it filled faster. Twenty minutes later, the panel changed.
110 / 55 (+55)
Double storage. My first successful compression with the skill.
I dismissed the panel and turned my attention inward.
Essence moved smoothly through the channels, cycling, condensing, refining—everything at once. The system was working perfectly.
But the core had shut itself down now. No space left for more generation.
Only one thing left to try.
Essence Shift.
I narrowed my focus and followed the flow of Essence moving through my body. It looked like tunnels, rivers of violet light passing through invisible veins.
I gave the command.
Essence responded instantly.
It shifted into fire.
A sudden burn prickled across my right hand.
I snapped out of my inner vision and looked down.
My palm was cloaked in orange-crimson flames. The fire danced, but it didn't hurt. Just a slight sting, nothing more.
I could feel it, this fire was mine. Not just because I willed it into existence, but because of the Sovereign's Mark. It was made from generated Essence, meaning it bore my imprint. It wouldn't disobey me. It couldn't.
A wild thought crossed my mind. I glanced at my uniform.
"No… This is the only one I have."
But my boots? That was different.
I kicked them off, stepping barefoot on the rocky ground.
The fire around my hand vanished with a thought, converted back into Essence and dispersed.
I bent my knees. My legs tightened. The Essence flowing through them pulsed in response.
I activated [Seismic Burst].
Boom.
The ground behind me shattered as my body shot upward like a missile.
Wind tore past my face. My hair whipped behind me as I soared.
I didn't stop there.
Boom.
Another burst. I accelerated, climbing higher into the sky. Like a fish through water, I cut through the air.
Over two hundred feet up, I gave another command.
This time, I shifted the Essence into water.
Then, with another thought, compressed it into ice.
A small platform formed just below my feet, freezing solid in mid-air. I landed on it, balancing easily.
It wouldn't hold for long. My control over complex elements still wasn't perfect.
But it was enough for now.
I looked down at my hand, then at the lightning dome, then reached for my storage ring.
With a flick, I summoned my staff and stood tall on the ice platform, staring down at the cratered pool far below. The surface shimmered under the sun, calm and silent.
A grin crept onto my face.
Without another thought, I bent my knees and kicked off the ice.
Fire burst out of my legs.
Boom.
I shot downward like a bullet, the air splitting around me. The crater below zoomed closer, the wind howling past my ears. I rotated my body mid-fall, arms tightening, staff held firm in my grip.
Another [Seismic Burst] from my feet.
Boom.
My speed spiked. My body spun in a tight spiral, the world around me blurring into streaks of color. The staff gleamed in my hands, and I brought it up over my head, both hands gripping it tightly.
The center of the pool rushed up to meet me.
"Blitz Hakai," I whispered.
Essence surged into my arms like a river breaking its dam. My heart pounded as power bloomed inside me. Muscles compressed, veins swelled, and I felt a sharp snap of pressure coil through my right shoulder, down to my wrists.
At the last second, I stopped spinning, my body now leveled above the water by just inches. My arms whipped down with all the speed and strength I had gathered.
The staff struck.
Not the water, just the air above it.
Crack.
Boom.
The impact didn't make a splash.
It made steam.
The surface of the pool exploded into vapor, vanishing in an instant. The blast punched into the water below, widening the crater with a deafening roar.
A wave of heat rolled out, followed by the force of the compressed strike tearing into the earth.
I dropped straight into the center of the crater, where water had once been. My feet struck hot stone, and steam surged upward in thick, twisting clouds. The heat clung to my skin, and the mist curled around my legs like smoke escaping a fire.
I raised the staff slowly, looking around at what was left of the pool and couldn't stop smiling.
The vision I'd seen, the one where the woman evaporated an entire ocean with a single swing of her staff, I felt like I was getting closer to it.
"From pool to ocean," I chuckled to myself.
My legs bent, and with a small burst of power, I jumped out of the crater.
Steam still swirled behind me as I landed on the rocky edge. I stored my boots in the ring and began walking further into the sealed zone, barefoot.
The ground was warm under my feet, but it didn't bother me.
I could still feel the Essence Engine humming inside me.
Everything moved in a perfect rhythm, circulating, refining, flowing and I didn't need to force it anymore.
It just worked. The only thing I noticed was a faint tug at the edge of my mind, like there was a thin thread tying my thoughts to the core.
A strange but exciting idea flashed through my mind.
I pulled off my shirt and placed it into the storage ring.
Then I looked down at my chest. Right over my heart, the gear-shaped tattoo pulsed faintly, now surrounded by a glowing green circle.
"Looks cool," I muttered.
The mark felt alive, like it recognized what was happening inside me. Maybe it did. Maybe it was reacting to the core or the channels or the energy itself.
I crouched low, bare feet gripping the warm earth, and took in a slow breath.
The Essence core pulsed inside me, steady and strong. I focused, willing the violet stream to flow faster through my legs. My muscles tensed, energy coiled like a spring.
Then I ran.
My feet pounded the ground, speed building instantly as Essence surged through my limbs. Wind roared past my ears, the terrain blurred but I wanted more.