My heart was beating stronger than ever, but now... there was something else inside.
Suddenly, the system went ding and I saw the notification.
[Skill Level Up!]
[Essence Manipulation – Level 2 → Level 3]
I ignored the message and checked my Essence store.
7/10.
I narrowed my eyes. I hadn't used any Essence, so where did the extra space come from?
Focusing on the semi-solid sphere, I willed it to dissolve back into its gaseous form. The Essence dispersed, and I checked the store again.
10/10.
A grin spread across my face.
A hack.
I called that a hack.
A cheat in my talent.
My mind raced with the thoughts of this new discovery.
By compressing the gaseous Essence into a denser, semi-solid form, I freed up space in the store.
The actual amount of Essence remained the same, but by condensing a portion of it, the system registered the extra space.
So, if I kept compressing more Essence, I could keep freeing space and storing far beyond the limit?
My heart pounded with excitement.
I closed my eyes and activated Essence Manipulation again.
Slowly, I gathered the Essence flowing inside my heart core. The familiar hum of energy filled me as I focused on compressing the Essence once more.
It resisted at first, slipping through my mental grip like smoke. But I kept pushing, applying pressure from all sides.
The gaseous Essence began to swirl, tightening, twisting into itself.
My heart thumped in sync with the Essence's movement, and finally, it compressed into a smooth, semi-solid sphere.
I checked the store.
7/10.
It worked.
I grinned wider.
This wasn't just a hack. This was my path forward.
If I could keep compressing and stacking Essence like this, I wouldn't need to worry about running out of space.
I could absorb way more energy, increase my stats without leveling up, and push my talent to evolve faster.
I had another thought.
I focused on the semi-solid sphere of Essence and tried to channel it out of the heart to circulate it through my body.
But the moment it was about to leave, it dispersed back into its gaseous form.
"Alright, not an issue. I just need to compress it better."
I understood then.
I was close, but not quite there yet. If I could level up [Essence Manipulation] one more time, I'd be able to compress the Essence further and maintain its solid state while moving it through my body.
I stretched and stood up.
It was time to get back to work.
Fight, kill, and level up.
I moved forward and soon came across another lava pool.
It bubbled for a moment before two orcs emerged from it.
I scanned them. Both level 24.
I cracked my neck and stepped forward.
I whispered.
"Power Up"
My generator core activated and it started absorbing energy.
I welcomed it.
The two orcs, both towering over me at level 24, grinned viciously as they stepped out of the bubbling lava pool.
Their muscles bulged, and their molten weapons dripped with heat. I was only level 18, but that didn't matter.
I charged forward.
The first orc swung its massive club horizontally.
I ducked under it and closed the distance, driving a punch into its ribs. My fist connected with a dull thud, barely making the orc flinch.
The second orc roared and brought down its club from above. I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding having my skull crushed.
Before I could recover, the first orc's foot crashed into my side, sending me flying across the rocky ground.
My body skidded against the burning stone, but I clenched my teeth and stood up. I felt the energy from their attacks being absorbed into my body, generating Essence inside my core.
I moved in again, dodging and weaving between their strikes, but their coordination was brutal.
One attacked high while the other aimed low. A fist slammed into my stomach, followed by a club strike to my back that sent me face-first into the ground.
Blood dripped from my mouth as I pushed myself up.
"Alright... enough warm-up."
I activated [Psynapse Boost].
In an instant, the world sharpened. The fast, heavy movements of the orcs became clearer, almost sluggish.
The first orc lunged at me, swinging its heavy club. This time, I stepped to the side with ease, letting the weapon pass harmlessly.
I countered with a sharp elbow to its jaw and followed up with a knee to the gut, making the orc stumble back.
The second orc rushed in with its club, aiming for my head again. I sidestepped and slammed a punch into its ribs, making it buckle.
My movements flowed, precise and efficient.
But I needed more.
I activated [Essence Manipulation].
The Essence within me stirred and flowed through my muscles, enhancing my strength and speed. I felt the energy surging through my veins.
I waited for the right moment.
The first orc roared and charged at me, raising its weapon high. I dashed forward, closing the distance faster than the orc expected. My hand clenched into a fist as I activated the skill.
[Seismic Burst].
I slammed my fist directly into the orc's abdomen. The compressed strength, combined with the Essence-infused shockwave, exploded on impact.
A concentrated burst of energy shot out from my fist, punching a hole through the orc's stomach.
The creature staggered back.
But I didn't give it time. My legs bent as I jumped upward, my body rotating, and my leg shot forward, severing the orc's neck from its head.
The second orc roared in fury and swung its club with full force. I twisted my body to avoid the strike and launched a kick to its ribs, sending it stumbling to the side.
I surged forward, pouring more Essence into my arm.
[Seismic Burst].
My fist crashed into the second orc's chest, sending a shockwave that cracked its ribs and sent it flying backward.
The orc collapsed with a heavy thud.
I dashed forward, closing the distance before it could react.
With one final [Seismic Burst], I drove my fist into its skull. The shockwave shattered its head from the inside.
The orc's massive body crumbled to the ground.
I exhaled slowly.
Level difference?
Didn't matter.
I turned around and walked forward.
The semi-solid sphere I created earlier was giving me new ideas.
Would it be possible for me to push Essence out of my body and use it to fight?
I was already doing that when I used [Seismic Burst], but that was more like an uncontrolled explosion.
What I wanted was control.
The ability to shape the Essence outside my body and use it however I wanted.
Maybe coat my fist in Essence...or create an Essence bomb.
My mind spun with possibilities.
And then there was my talent itself. I needed to speed up the leveling process of [Generator]. That required absorbing as much energy as possible and generating more Essence.
Suddenly, my feet stopped.
This thought had been lingering in my head for days, but now it was time to act. Leveling up could wait.
I scanned the area and found the largest lava pool I could. Without hesitation, I started walking toward it.
The moment I reached the edge, two orcs, both level 24, crawled out of the molten surface.
Unlucky for them.
I activated both [Essence Manipulation] and [Psynapse Boost], and within a minute, their bodies hit the ground, lifeless.
I heard the notification this time.
[Level Up!]
[Level 18 -> Level 19]
I ignored the newly gained stats for now and stepped closer to the pool.
The heat distorted the air around me, waves of pure energy radiating from the molten rock.
My plan was simple, absorb the energy directly from the lava and generate Essence.
I'd been passively absorbing heat energy this whole time.
This entire volcano was a generator. A heat generator. And instead of relying on passive absorption, I was going to forcefully draw in the energy and level up [Generator] before hitting level 25.
I closed my eyes and pushed almost all my stored Essence into Constitution to handle the temperature.
My muscles tensed as my body adapted. My skin flushed red, veins pulsing as my cells absorbed the raw heat from the environment.
I stepped closer and knelt down near the pool.
The heat was unbearable. Even with my Constitution boosted, the sheer pressure of the temperature made my skin tingle and my muscles tighten.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before slowly dipping my entire arm into the molten lava.
Pain exploded through my nerves.
It wasn't the kind of pain that would burn my flesh off, my body was far beyond that now, but it was raw.
The sensation of my skin being cooked alive still reached my brain, like thousands of tiny needles piercing my arm at once.