I summoned my blades and swung them around me as I prepared myself to test my new skills. Let's start off with the first sequence, then. I mentally activated it, and my feet took control of my body and pushed me up into a jump. My body spun as I coasted through the air, and the familiar sensation of fleeting steps echoed through my body. I hovered for a moment before my body floated down, and I landed. So this sequence made me untouchable as well as getting an evasion in. I can appreciate this skill.

I swung my swords back around the starting position and activated my second sequence. My blades shifted around my body and expanded outwards at varying intervals. They started to orbit me, and the metal heated up and began to be enveloped by orange star fire. The fire began to extend outwards from each blade into a thin sything arc of vibrant power. The ground lit up as the fire shot out and began to incinerate everything in its radius. The blades kept rotating around me as the sequence followed through; the best part is that I didn't have to move and still retained control of my body. I placed my hand on the blade that I held on my hip and drew it from my sheathe; if my blades were going to be indisposed, then I better learn how to use this one.

It felt perfectly balanced in my hand, and I gave it a few test swings to get used to it. As I did that, the fire around me slowly dissipated, and the blades returned to their starting positions. Alright, now it was time to test the next sequence. I activated it, and the blades rushed from my side and up into the sky. They spread out at even intervals and began emanating an ethereal power. Lightning cracked and jumped towards the ground, and giant gouts of flame would follow suit in a ten-meter radius around me. An obscene amount of wind rushed from the blades and cut into the ground tearing vast swathes of cement and throwing it into the air.

I dismissed the skills, and my blades gently floated down and took their place by my side once more. This felt nice; I should have accepted this race a long time ago. There was so much that I could have done differently. For the longest time, I was an idiot. I stared at the ground as I thought over everything that has happened. I was stupid, and I rushed into things head-on. I didn't take the time to prepare. Instead, I am so far behind, even with the head start that I got. I don't deserve any of this, and it was beyond embarrassing to even think about it. I hated myself for the choices I made up to this point.

As the thoughts swirled around my mind, my mood darkened. Why was I so stupid? Maybe that's why I was cheated on. I was risking my children's lives and that of my mortals simply because I have been rushing headlong into things without thinking about it. I felt something in me shift, and I held onto it as I closed my eyes.

I'm done. This fight with that Administrator showed me that I wasn't ready. I refuse to watch the people I care about die due to my actions. No, from this day forward, I will do whatever it takes to get stronger. I will do whatever it takes to correct the problems that I caused for myself and my family. I refuse to live my life another day like this. I swear this on everything holy. I will succeed, no matter what it takes.

The sound of stone shattering tore me from my thoughts, and I looked around. Stones hovered in the air while others slowly sank into the ground. I looked around and let go of that feeling that was in my chest. In an instant, all the stones that were floating dropped to the ground. A second later, a notification started to blink in the corner of my vision.

You have unlocked the gravity magic tree.

I clenched my fist and stared at it for a moment as I tried to find that feeling in my chest once more. Once I found it, I messed with it and saw that I could control the local gravity. I could ramp it up to monstrous levels or just erase it completely. If I could smile in this form, I am sure it would look like something out of a nightmare. Oh, how things are about to change.

However, I got off track. I wanted to see what my other sequences did. I mentally activated sequence four, tango de la Muerte. Once activated, my legs took control of my body. Unlike the other sequences, this skill set was slow and filled with absolute purpose and a hint of intimacy mixed in there. My body twisted and turned as if I had a dance partner that was guiding me. Every few seconds, I would feel my hand graze the soft curve of a hip as I danced around. My other hand felt the phantom presence of fingers interlaced in mine as I danced to the silent rhythm. I spun around, and the blades followed suit cutting deadly swathes through the air as they matched my movements with deadly precision. Slowly but surely, however, my body slowed, and I took control of it once more.

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That sequence felt nice and was a complete change of pace compared to the intensity of the others. It felt romantic, though it was beyond a shadow of a doubt, exceedingly deadly. Now let's do the final sequence before I start to mess with the half ones. I brought all of my blades back close to me and activated sequence five. Each blade broke away from my control and took a position at equal intervals around me. Magical energy began to visibly form around each handle, and very light blue, almost translucent figures appeared and gripped each handle. Each one wore a cloak that hung low and barely grazed the ground and obscured their face with impenetrable darkness. One by one, more figures appeared and grasped the handles of my blades.

Two stepped forward and brandished their weapons, and began a solitary dance. The swords' tips cut through the air with masterful precision as they lead the dance, and slowly each figure followed suit. They danced around me slowly, each strike filled with confidence and power as they moved as one unit. I stepped forward, and they moved gracefully to match my movement. Their steps were barely visible as they seemingly glided across the destroyed ground. I glanced at my resource bar and saw that this sequence was activated continuously as long as I had the resources to match it. I canceled the skill, and the figures froze and straightened up. They pointed the swords down and slowly vanished. The swords returned back to me, and I nodded my head.

I like this skill. While I was down all of my weapons, it created entities based on the number of swords at my disposal. I could max out at twelve physical, which means twenty-four total with the ethereal copies, but I wasn't skilled enough to wield that many just yet.

With that thought passed, I decided to switch over to the half sequences. I looked through the list and saw that ejection was an upgrade from the lunge skill. I sheathed all my swords and rolled my neck. Alright, let's see what this one does. I glanced around to make sure that the area was partially cleared. I didn't want to smash into a wall or anything. That would suck. Once I was satisfied, I activated it, and I jumped forward with an immediate burst of speed and power. A searing wave of star fire rushed out from behind me as I shot forward and landed on the destroyed ground softly. This was a powerful gap closer, one I could appreciate once I mastered it.

Next on the list was the fleeing reality half sequence. I activated it, and I felt my body flicker. It was almost the same sensation as fleeting steps, but my movement was faster and more fluid. Where fleeting steps let me glide across the air, this move allowed me to move more of my free will, and the movements themselves felt cleaner and more lubricated. I quickly opened my menu to find fleeting steps and saw that it had disappeared.

I guess it was folded into the new skill, which actually didn't bother me all that much. This skill should serve me much better than the other did.

Now all that was left was the Pirouette. I activated it, and much to my surprise, it was a simple skill. I spun in place on foot, much like a ballerina would. It seemed kind of a letdown, though I was sure that there was a reason for it. Let see if I could combine this with other skills. I activated ejection with Pirouette. I launched forward, and I spun in the process, and it dawned on me. This skill was used to combine others together. Oh, this was very nice. I have so much to test out later. But I had other things to worry about first.

"Good job Kairos." Cassius materialized behind me once that thought passed and landed on a pile of rubble.

I turned around and looked him over for a moment. He changed into a set of body armor that looked like lorica segmentata, the armor of the Romans. But this was something that looked fresh out of a sci-fi novel. The armor itself was painted purple with black undertones and had purple lights that flickered faintly on all the joint pieces. He had a helmet attached to the lower part of his armor that had a single purple crest that traveled the length of the helm. "Thank you. However, I do have a question, who was that I just fought?"

Cassius cleared his throat and shifted his helm slightly, "That Administrator doesn't really have a name. I know that he was once a very powerful Administrator, but he fell well before our time. However, before he died, he transferred his soul into the system."

I see, so he was alive at one point, that raises a whole host of questions that I will have to have answered. But that can be later. "Thank you, Cassius. Anyways, what's next on the list?"

He looked around the area again and summoned a hologram, "Next, we are going to do a small combat exercise with some simulated units. Once the other three finish their fights. It should help you prepare for the coming war." The city around us slowly started to repair itself, and I quickly teleported back to the starting area. This time there were a few seats around a projector. "Take your seat; I will be teleporting them as they finished." As usual, he left no room for me to talk, but that's not something that surprised me. I brought up my menu and quickly read through some stuff.