"What?" Sia stared at me. "A new skill?"

I shook my head. "I don’t think so. It’s… hard to explain." I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. "From my body, I have the violet energy in my focal point."

Thea's gaze sharpened, her curiosity flaring like a scientist stumbling across an undiscovered element. Before I could react, she placed a hand on me, sending her energy in, examining…without permission or warning, I might add.

Kinda seems like consent should factor into this…anway.

"Whoa." She pulled back, eyes gleaming with awe. "That must be the raw form of the energy."

I shrugged as she removed her hand. "Maybe. Either way, it lets me see in a sphere around me. Highlights living creatures in red… at least, I think so."

"Is that what nearly made you pass out?" Elric asked, his brows furrowed.

I nodded. "It seems like my limit is pretty low. I was already getting a bad headache by the time you dragged me back up here."

"So ours fused with the System," Lyra murmured, thinking aloud, "while yours is inside your body?"

"Seems like it," I admitted. "But it doesn’t feel solid like the Grand Channel or internal strength." I searched for the right words, trying to pin down the sensation. "It feels… spiritual."

I thought back to the voice, the raw force of the being we all heard. "He said we devoured his will, the man, or whatever he was." I swallowed the last piece of jerky I'd been struggling to chew through.

"So… is he the Precursor?" Thea wondered, her head tilting in thought.

"No idea." I lay back, staring at the cavern ceiling. "Doesn’t really matter. If it was still his power, I don’t think he’d be this pissed."

Even now, the energy didn't feel like his. It was mine. Something I could command.

Elric clapped his hands together. "Alright, let’s get back to it."

I sat up, nudging Thea’s knee with mine. "You first?"

"Alright."

Hours passed. I could feel the changes in my body, my skin growing tougher, more resilient. Our spars became fiercer, the impact required to temper our bodies requiring more and more aggression. It was taking a chunk of energy just to land a scuff on each other.

Thea and I flew at each other with a ferocity beyond our normal matches, moving faster, hitting harder. I used the opportunity to practice Swift Stride, slipping around her movements, my footwork weaving through her attacks.

Then, mid-exchange, I activated Silencing Current

Thea staggered, her movements slowing to a crawl, her connection to the System stuttering, disrupted.

For just a moment, I had the upper hand.

And she knew it.

Thea staggered, blinking rapidly as the lingering effects of my technique faded. A breeze stirred between us, the only remnant of what had just happened, lifting strands of her dark hair.

"Wh—what the heck was that?" She looked at me, eyes wide.

I shrugged. "A weaker version of Blasting Wave."

Her mouth opened, then shut. "And it just… shuts off my abilities?"

"Seems like it."

She exhaled sharply, rubbing her arms. "And you never showed me this because?"

I hesitated. "Hmm." I tried to come up with a decent excuse. But as usual, my mouth worked faster than my brain. "Dunno. Never came up."

Her stare flattened. "I have to ask you to teach me every skill you learn?"

"...Yes."

She stared at me.

I stared back.

Her storm-gray eyes were so…shiny.

"Peter?"

"Hmm?" My thoughts scattered, broken by her voice. "Yeah, what’s up?"

She let out a slow, measured sigh. "Can you teach me the skill?"

I grinned. "Oh, yeah, sure. It’s pretty simple. Just make Blasting Wave but weaker. I think it’s just my internal force overwhelming someone’s MP or SP?"

Her smirk returned. "Are you asking me?"

Before I could answer, Elric groaned, running a hand down his face. "For all that is sacred, you two have the weirdest interactions ever."

Lyra nodded solemnly beside him, while Sia put on an exaggeratedly refined tone. "Thea… you really should stop conversing with such a brute."

I raised a brow. "What, do you want to be a professional actress or something?"

Sia gasped, placing a hand over her heart like I had mortally offended her. "And if I did?"

I stroked my chin, adopting all the knowledge I had gathered up until now. "Then we make a play. Elric’s the star, and you’re the co-star."

"What?" Lyra burst into laughter.

I nodded, fully committed. "Yeah, it’ll be a hit. We can even advertise for the guild!"

Sia blinked at me like I had grown two heads. "You think a bunch of maniacs who already have to scrounge for points will spend any on a play?"

Elric rubbed his chin, considering it. "I mean… if I’m the star."

Lyra smirked. "Won’t you be happy being his co-star, Sia?"

Sia instantly looked down, her confidence faltering as she mumbled, "Let’s get back to training."

We all laughed lightly, but we did as she instructed.

At first, things progressed normally. Each of us throwing ourselves into Body Refinement, testing limits, pushing boundaries. But then something shifted.

The process slowed. Painfully slow.

The world force I had been forcefully pushing out of my body had hit a saturation point. I could feel the energy pressing outward, sinking into my skin, but it refused to go any deeper. My muscles absorbed some, but the moment I engaged in physical movement, it faded.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

It wasn’t potent enough to stay.

"What now?" Sia asked, arms crossed, her usual sharp confidence slightly dampened by the stagnation.

I tried to think of possible avenues. Until now, things had always seemed to fall into place, the path revealing itself step by step.

But this time… something felt off.

"I don’t think purity is the issue," Thea said, thoughtful. "I didn’t feel any changes when the needle I formed dissipated."

I nodded. "Same… I don’t know… maybe we try a full core with all the energy?"

But the moment I said it, something felt wrong.

It had been pursued by countless people before us.

And more than that. It felt like a dead end.

I let out a slow breath, settling onto the cold stone floor, my gaze drifting to the garden below.

Thea sat beside me, brushing a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Maybe, just like with the Grand Carving technique, inspiration will come as we go."

I frowned, mulling over her words. She wasn’t wrong.

Sometimes, forcing an answer wasn’t the way forward.

But… what if we were missing something obvious?

"How much are everyone’s endurance and agility?" I asked abruptly.

Thea blinked, then opened her system.

"Agility first, fifty."

Her expression froze. Her eyes widened, flicking over the rest of her stats as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. "Forty endurance. Oh and thirty Precursor Energy."

She finished speaking, but everyone else had already gone rigid.

Simultaneously, as if they had practiced it, they all opened their systems and went completely slack-jawed.

Silence.

I raised an eyebrow. "Uhhh, anyone wanna fill me in?"

Sia was the first to recover. "I have the same," she said slowly. "For endurance and agility, at least."

"Same here," Elric muttered.

I turned to Lyra. She simply nodded, confirming it.

A creeping realization settled over me.

"This is what the system did," I realized aloud.

Elric frowned. "What do you mean?"

I exhaled, gathering my thoughts. "You guys told me Thea’s stats were high for agility, but not unheard of outside our age group." I paused, choosing my words carefully. "The system let you break the natural limits of the body."

Thea’s expression tightened. "You mean… we’re done? Our missions are different now…”

"I don’t think the system is controlled by that maniac," Elric said, voice steady. "I mean, we still have it. We might still get stats as mission rewards."

I nodded. "I bet those five free points you have can still be put anywhere, Thea."

Rather than reassured, she looked even more concerned. "Th—then what about you?"

I took a slow, steady breath. "I don’t know… but there has to be a way to move forward."

My hands curled into fists.

"I mean, we’ve already pushed past the limits of what I thought was possible." My voice steadied as I thought aloud. "All we need to do is find a way to increase our natural limits."

Elric tilted his head. "Any ideas on how to go about that?"

I exhaled. "Maybe you guys would be better at figuring that out." I gestured around. "This world has elixirs that close wounds when you pour them on—"

"Though you really should drink them," Lyra chipped in with a small giggle.

I cleared my throat, remembering my mistake from days ago. "Yeah… drink them. Then there’s the glowing blue grass, the green water that shines like emeral—"

"In our defense… I’ve never seen water like that before," Sia added, before I cut in.

"My point is, this place is filled with all sorts of miraculous items, flora, and fauna." I looked at each of them. "There has to be something here we can use. Something that can at least give us a clue on how to unlock our next step. To break our limits."

Thea nodded. "If the system can force us through, then we have to be able to do it ourselves."

“Soooo,” Sia stretched out the word with exaggerated longing. “Who wants to burn down some trees?”

I raised my hand.

“I can even spare the ones that aren’t terrifying monsters,” I added helpfully.

"Oh." Sia’s face fell slightly.

Wait was she… disappointed?

“Elric, your subhuman girlfriend likes setting things on fire,” I warned, shaking my head.

Sia turned to me, slowly adopting a grin that, while unnerving, didn't quite match Elric’s level of menace. She clasped her hands together, her expression unsettlingly sweet. “Who wants to burn some Peters?”

To my utter shock and betrayal, everyone raised their hand.

I turned, scandalized. "Thea!"

She blinked at me innocently. "What?"

"Why is your hand up?" I clutched my chest in mock heartbreak, putting all my effort into looking wounded.

"Because if she’s subhuman, so am I." She pursed her lips, adopting a pair of steely, almost pitiful puppy-dog eyes.

I groaned, dragging myself toward the ledge. “You’re all subhuman. Let’s just take care of these things and see if we can find an exit.”

I started climbing down the rock without waiting for a response, though I heard them following close behind. When my feet touched the ground, right outside the edge of the blue grass, I focused inward, circulating my power around the flame, preparing for the layered sight.

A deep breath.

I heard my friends settle beside me.

“I’m ready.”

When I opened my eyes, the world burst into layered hues. The crimson glow surrounded them. The same pulse of life that coated the shifting, retreating grass in my sphere of awareness.

"I don’t know how much time I have, but it isn’t long. Let’s move quickly," I warned, stepping forward onto the dirt. The grass recoiled at my approach.

“Ready your techniques,” Elric ordered as Lyra muttered an incantation over Sia. My guess? She was boosting the speed at which Sia could sling her beloved flames.

I stepped forward, eyes scanning the ring of trees. My hands filled with energy, a Blasting Wave forming in both palms. At the edge of the circle, two masses of red pulsed within my range, just a couple of meters away.

“Those two,” I pointed.

I froze mid-step.

They hadn’t reacted yet.

Sia’s flames moved first.

The orbits of fire around her shifted, three blazing spheres, two launching forward with deadly precision.

The moment they struck, a familiar shriek tore through the cavern.

The creatures burned away in an instant. Flesh and bark curled and blackened before they disintegrated entirely, nothing left but smoldering ash.

I stared.

…Maybe I should tease Sia less. That skill was ridiculous.

"Did you use Precursor Energy and internal force?" Lyra asked, eyeing the flames that still flickered in the air.

Sia smirked, flicking a glance in my direction. "That’s right."

Before I could respond, movement caught my eye.

Further into the ring of trees, two figures stirred, branches creaking, limbs twisting as they reshaped into monstrous forms.

I moved before I even registered it.

One second, I was standing at the edge of the circle.

The next, I was in front of them.

My hands lifted. Blasting Wave surged from my palms, obliterating the creature before me in a flash of sinew and splinters.

Beside me, a terrifying wave of fire swallowed the second.

The fight was over before it had even begun.

“Peter…” Elric’s voice carried an edge of astonishment. “Did you just use Swift Stride and your attack skills at the same time?”

I blinked.

"I—" I hadn’t even noticed. My body had acted before my mind. "I did."

“Could it have to do with your new ability?” Thea asked, stepping forward.

I didn’t answer right away.

Instead, I focused inward.

I could feel it, energy flowing in multiple streams at once, dividing seamlessly. When I’d attacked, I’d split my force. Two circulations. One in my feet, one in my hands.

It moved like ink bleeding into paper. Spreading, shifting, forming shapes before I even willed it to. Effortless. Intuitive.

I can control it.

My mind was clear. My body felt light.

I wanted to take it further.

I turned my focus to my fingertips, directing my internal force outward, splitting it, guiding it, threading it into five separate branches.

Delicate. Controlled.

A spark of excitement shot through me. Just before the pain did.

A sudden, blinding pressure swelled in my skull.

The world tilted.

Everything blurred.

…

I opened my eyes to canvas.

A tent.

I exhaled, shifting upright. My head ached, but the clarity of what I’d felt still lingered.

“Thea?” I called.

She wasn’t inside.

But a second later, her voice came from just outside. "Out here."

I stepped forward, ready to describe what had just happened. The control I had felt, how my Precursor Sense had expanded.

Though, maybe I’d also mention…

Some minor side effects.