Chapter 7
Cael collapsed onto his dorm bed, every muscle screaming protest. The ceiling blurred slightly as exhaustion settled into his bones like lead. His injured shoulder throbbed with each heartbeat, a persistent reminder of Mercenary gauntlet-enhanced punch.
Worth it though.
The auction house chaos felt distant now—replaced by the quiet sanctuary of his room where shadows pooled in corners and moonlight filtered through half-drawn curtains.
Energy reserves at fifty-eight percent, Odin reported. Recommend rest before attempting new skill acquisition.
"Later." Cael pushed himself upright, ignoring his body's demands for sleep. The skill book materialized in his hand—heavier than expected, bound in dark leather with silver runes etched across its surface. They pulsed faintly, responding to his touch with warmth that spread up his arm.
Barrier Arts
The title gleamed on the cover, elegant script that seemed to shift and move when viewed from different angles. Cael traced one finger along the runes, fascinated by how they hummed with contained power. This was what the princess had bought for five million coins. What those mercenaries had been willing to kill for.
Now his.
He opened his mouth to ask Odin about proper learning procedures when reality stuttered.
A translucent blue window materialized before his eyes, text scrolling across its surface in sharp, mechanical precision.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Skill Book Detected: Barrier Arts
Would you like to learn this skill?
[YES] / [NO]
Cael froze. His grip tightened on the book as confusion sparked through his exhaustion. The system had never done this before—never offered direct skill acquisition from physical objects. Usually knowledge came through practice, through Absolute Assimilation copying techniques after observation, through his own desperate experimentation.
"Odin." He kept his voice level despite the questions racing through his mind. "What is this?"
Standard skill integration protocol. Odin's tone remained calm, almost casual. The system recognizes compatible knowledge sources and can facilitate direct absorption. More efficient than manual study.
"Since when?"
Always. You simply haven't encountered properly encoded skill books until now.
Cael stared at the glowing prompt, weighing risks against rewards. The system had never steered him wrong before—its guidance had kept him alive through situations that should have killed him a dozen times over. But direct absorption of knowledge...
"Any side effects?"
Temporary disorientation. Possible headache. Nothing permanent.
The book pulsed again in his hands, almost eager. Cael's exhaustion made the decision easier—spend hours manually studying complex barrier formations, or let the system handle it instantly?
He sighed, running his free hand through sweat-dampened white hair. "Yeah, alright. Yes."
The skill book erupted with light—brilliant silver-white that flooded his vision and painted shadows dancing across dorm walls. Heat surged through his palms where he gripped the leather cover. The book trembled, runes spinning faster and faster until they blurred into continuous rings of power.
Then it dissolved.
Everything broke apart into glowing particles that swirled around Cael's hands like luminescent snow. They rose higher, circling his arms, his chest, his head in a miniature galaxy of captured knowledge. Each particle hummed with information, with technique, with understanding condensed into pure magical essence.
Cael gasped as the particles rushed inward.
They poured into his skin, his mind, his very essence—flooding neural pathways with new information that burned itself into memory. Barrier construction principles. Energy flow calculations. Defensive formations from basic shields to advanced multi-layered constructs. Hundreds of hours of study compressed into seconds of overwhelming sensation.
His vision whited out.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Skill Learned: Barrier Arts
When awareness returned, Cael found himself on his knees beside the bed, breathing hard. His head pounded with phantom pressure—too much information absorbed too fast. But underneath the discomfort...
Knowledge. Real, practical, his.
Cael pressed his palms against his temples, willing the pounding to subside. "Damn. That was a lot of information. And pain. You said nothing permanent."
Don't be childish.
"Childish?" Cael glared at nothing. "My brain feels like someone crammed an entire library through a keyhole."
Odin didn't respond.
Cael pushed himself upright, still breathing heavily, and let the knowledge settle. The initial flood receded into organized understanding—layers of technique and theory that no longer overwhelmed but integrated. Barrier construction principles branched into subcategories. Energy distribution patterns formed clear diagrams in his mind's eye. Defensive formations stacked themselves according to complexity and application.
He flexed his fingers, watching mana respond instinctively to his intent. A faint shimmer coalesced around his hand—translucent, barely visible, but undeniably there. A basic barrier, formed with casual effort.
"Wow."
The word slipped out unbidden. This wasn't just theoretical knowledge or memorized technique. He understood. The way mana crystallized into solid defense, how to layer multiple barriers for redundancy, where to place reinforcement nodes for maximum efficiency—
Reality stuttered again.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Absolute Assimilation Activating
Analyzing Barrier Arts...
Integration Complete
Heat bloomed behind Cael's eyes as his talent engaged. The already comprehensive knowledge fractured and reformed, deeper connections forming between concepts. He saw how barrier construction mirrored his spatial distortion field—both manipulated reality's fabric, just from different approaches.
His mind raced through possibilities.
The distortion field deflected attacks by warping space around him. Barriers stopped attacks through solidified mana. But if he combined them... layered spatial warping with barrier reinforcement...
An iron-clad defense. Attacks would hit warped space and crystallized mana simultaneously. Nothing short of overwhelming power could penetrate both.
Excitement surged through exhaustion.
Then reality reasserted itself as understanding deepened further. Creating such a defense required precise mana control he hadn't achieved yet—threading barrier formations through active spatial manipulation without destabilizing either. The calculations alone demanded split-second accuracy. One mistake and both techniques would collapse.
Cael exhaled slowly, tempering enthusiasm with practicality.
"Might take a while to pull off."
Accurate assessment, Odin confirmed. Estimated mastery timeline: three to four weeks of dedicated practice. Possibly longer.
"Better start now then." Cael straightened despite his body's protests. The evaluation loomed tomorrow, but this... this changed everything.
Cael rolled his shoulders, working out residual tension. "Looks like I should check my other gifts too."
The system answered before he finished speaking.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Gifts Copied via Absolute Assimilation:
1. Enhanced Speed (A)
2. Earth Manipulation (B)
Integration Available
[YES] / [NO]
Cael blinked at the notification, memory catching up. Right—during the fight, when he'd intercepted Mercenary One's dagger strikes and deflected those stone spikes. His talent had been working the entire time, analyzing and copying their gifts even while he focused on survival.
I had copied both gifts during the fight but because I was more occupied I didn't have time to integrate them.
The realization settled with quiet satisfaction. Absolute Assimilation never stopped working, cataloging abilities in the background until he had breathing room to properly absorb them. Now he stood in his dorm room with three new capabilities waiting—barrier construction, speed enhancement, and earth manipulation.
Tomorrow's evaluation suddenly seemed less daunting.
Cael focused on the glowing prompt, considering the implications. Enhanced Speed would improve his mobility, complement his spatial techniques with raw velocity. Earth Manipulation offered defensive versatility—walls, barriers, terrain control. Both useful. Both worth integrating.
"Yeah. Yes."
The system responded instantly.
[INTEGRATION INITIATED]
Processing Enhanced Speed (A)...
Processing Earth Manipulation (B)...
Power flooded through him—different from the barrier knowledge, more physical, more primal. His muscles tightened as Enhanced Speed wrote itself into his body's memory. Neural pathways adapted, reflexes sharpened, perception expanded to process faster movement. He felt lighter somehow, coiled tension waiting for release.
Earth Manipulation followed with grounding weight. Connection to stone, soil, minerals buried beneath academy foundations. Understanding of density, composition, how to shape terra with will and mana. The gift settled into his bones like accumulated sediment—solid, dependable, ready.
[INTEGRATION COMPLETE]
New Skills Acquired:
• Enhanced Speed (A) - Passive/Active
• Earth Manipulation (B) - Active
Cael exhaled slowly, processing the changes. His body hummed with contained energy despite exhaustion. The gifts integrated seamlessly—no disorientation, no adjustment period. Just instant capability.
He tested Enhanced Speed first, channeling mana through newly formed pathways. His perception sharpened immediately. Seconds stretched longer, gave him more time to think, react, move. He crossed to the window in three steps that should've taken five, movement smooth and controlled.
The world snapped back to normal speed when he released the gift.
"Not bad." Cael examined his hands, flexing fingers that now held earth-shaping potential. "Though I'll need practice before I can use these properly in combat."
Recommended training regimen: alternating speed drills and earth manipulation exercises. Two hours daily minimum.
"Starting tomorrow." Cael moved toward his bed, finally acknowledging how completely drained he felt. "After the evaluation."
You have approximately seven hours before mandatory wake-up.
"Then I better use them." Cael collapsed onto the mattress, not bothering to remove his jacket. His eyes closed almost before his head hit the pillow. Tomorrow would bring professors, tests, probably more attempts to figure out his capabilities.
Let them try.
* * *
To be continued