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Legacy of Chaos [English]
Chapter 4: I Shouldn’t Have Done This…

Chapter 4: I Shouldn’t Have Done This…

I opened my eyes. For a moment, I just lay there, listening to the silence of the shelter. Humidity hung in the air, and somewhere in the distance, I could hear the heavy, measured breaths of the Hungry Ogar. My body felt different. Too light. Too fluid in movement. I clenched my fingers, feeling the unfamiliar slenderness of my hands. I knew what I had done. But it was only now that it truly sank in.

Slowly, I sat up. Strands of hair fell across my face, longer and softer than I remembered. I ran my hand over my skin—it was smoother, more delicate. It wasn't just a structural change. My body was different on every level. I breathed differently. My muscles contracted differently when I moved. I felt a sense of alienation, but there was no fear—only the awareness that I would never return to who I was.

I sighed and looked at my own hands. They were slimmer, fingers longer, more dexterous. I slowly clenched them, examining each movement. The skin was smoother, almost foreign to the touch, but not weak. I lowered my hands and ran them over my shoulders, down my torso, across my hips. The body was different.

Not just the shape, but the way it moved, the way it breathed. I tensed my muscles, relaxed them, rolled my shoulders. Everything seemed more flexible, more fluid. There was no discomfort, only an unmistakable sense of alienness.

I couldn't see it, but I could feel it. I knew that if I looked at my reflection, I would see someone entirely different. Someone I had never been, but who I had now become.

At least I was lucky that my body wasn't drastically different in terms of structure. My movements still felt natural; I didn't feel any significant burden. My chest was small, meaning it wouldn't overly affect the way I moved. That gave me some relief—I wouldn't have to relearn how to navigate my body in the most basic aspects. At least, that's what I thought.

However, my long hair could become a problem. In a fight, it might obscure my field of vision, get tangled, or even become an easy target to grab. Should I cut it short? It would be practical, but right now, I had more important things on my mind. I would deal with it later, when real difficulties arose. For now, I would leave it as it was. Perhaps, over time, I would learn to style it appropriately or find a way to keep it from interfering in combat.

Was this a better body? Worse? I didn't know. It didn't matter. It was the price I paid for my power, and power was all I needed now.

Time to analyze yesterday. I closed my eyes, recalling the events of the past several hours. The first summoning of the Hungry Ogar, searching for food and water, initial experiments with energy manipulation. All of it was a step forward, but still not enough to call it true progress.

“Status.”

Name: Unknown

Level: 1

Talent: Legendary – Eye of Chaos

Experience: 15/100 (To next level: 85 EXP)

Stats:

* Strength: 5

* Agility: 6

* Endurance: 4

* Intelligence: 8

* Magic Energy: 10

* HP: 100/100

* Mana: 50/50

The displayed panel immediately caught my attention. My mana had fully regenerated. I furrowed my brows. That meant one thing—it had fully regenerated during my sleep. I analyzed this discovery for a moment until something obvious dawned on me.

“I'm an idiot…” I muttered to myself, resting a hand on my face. “I could have used all my mana before sleep, and it would have still fully recovered.”

I was wasting potential.

Mana was simply regenerating on its own. It didn’t matter when I used it—and that was the key takeaway. It meant I could use it at any moment, and sooner or later, it would return to full.

Now that I had this knowledge, I needed to develop a plan. Since mana regenerated on its own, I should start maximizing its use every day. If I used it all before sleep, I would recover it without loss. This meant that each day I could safely test my abilities, train my control over energy, and gradually increase the efficiency of my skills.

“At the end of each day, before going to sleep, I will use all my mana.”

I stood up and left the shelter, immediately stopping in my tracks. At my feet lay dozens of scattered roots. They weren’t arranged in any particular way—just a pile of uprooted plants, chaotically spread across the ground. Next to them, curled into a ball, slept the Hungry Ogar. Its chest rose and fell calmly with each breath, and a lazy stream of saliva dripped from its mouth.

There was no hiding the fact that it had followed my command. Maybe even too literally.

I watched the scene for a moment, then sighed and approached closer. I gathered the roots and moved them to the Resource Depot. After placing them in the system's storage, I looked at its capacity—out of the available 100 units, only 99.9 remained. I furrowed my brows. That was strange. Dozens of roots, and I only used a tenth of a unit?

“So one unit is about a kilogram...” I mumbled under my breath, recording the information in my memory. It might prove useful in the future.

I shifted my gaze to the Summoning Tower. It was time to move on to the next step.

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“System, summon a unit.”

The air around the Summoning Tower thickened, and the pulsating stones flickered with a faint purple light. I felt the flow of energy through the structure, converging at a central point.

The process was exactly the same as before. I saw the same signs, felt the same pulsating energy. There was no difference. This confirmed that the summoning worked on the same principles, regardless of the day.

And then appeared… the Hungry Ogar.

I furrowed my brows. Was this a system error?

The creature looked exactly the same as before. Scruffy fur, the same cold, gleaming eyes. It stared at me, waiting for a command. For a moment, I tried to find another explanation, but there was no mistake. It was the mechanics.

Does this mean I can only summon this unit? My talent and affinity are tied to chaos—the system clearly stated that I didn’t have set parameters for unit types. This should mean I could summon a variety of creatures. So why does only this Ogar appear? Is there some hidden rule I haven't discovered yet?

I clenched my teeth. What if I try again?

“System, summon a new unit.”

Summoning Limit: 1 per day.

I felt a slight irritation, but it was quickly replaced by cool analysis. So that’s how it worked. Once a unit was summoned, it remained available, but the system didn’t allow me to increase the number of creatures in a single day. This surprised me—chaos shouldn’t have such limitations. Since my talent allowed flexibility in summoning, why did the system restrict me to one unit per day? If I wanted more units, I would need to find a way to upgrade the Summoning Tower or discover if there were any hidden mechanisms I didn’t yet understand.

I glanced at the Ogar. The creature didn’t look surprised. It was the same as before—ready to follow orders, unnaturally calm, almost passive. At that moment, the first summoned Ogar moved, slowly lifting its heavy head. It sensed the new arrival. It stood up cautiously and approached the freshly summoned counterpart.

It began to sniff the other Ogar, moving its nose in short, quick motions. The second Ogar showed no reaction, as if the presence of its identical copy was completely natural to it. After a moment, the first Ogar sat down, as if accepting the situation, and its tail lightly tapped the ground. It evidently concluded that the new arrival posed no threat.

I sighed and shook my head. This meant that, at least for a while, I would rely solely on it. It wasn’t bad, but it imposed limitations.

I looked at both Ogars, now sitting before me, staring at me with their gleaming eyes. If I couldn’t increase the number of summons, at least I should make effective use of what I had.

“Go and bring more food to the shelter. Search for anything edible.” I gave them the command.

Both Ogars sprang to their feet immediately. The first, already familiar with the task, immediately headed toward the forest, while the second stood still for a moment, as if processing the command, before following its counterpart. Now I could focus on the next steps.

I took a deep breath. Now I had a clearer picture of the situation. At least for now.

Since mana regenerated on its own, why should I limit its use only to the end of the day? If I used it now, in the morning, it would partially renew before nightfall. This meant I could increase the efficiency of my training and experience gaining.

“So I can train twice a day… Morning and evening. Use all available mana, let it regenerate, and use it again before sleep. This should significantly accelerate my development.”

I headed toward the place where I had found water the previous day. If I was to start using my energy more efficiently, it was worth ensuring that I had enough resources. When I reached the stream, I immediately noticed the familiar, dark stones. Basalt Boulders.

They were identical to the ones I had used to create my first water-carrying bowls. I picked up one of them, analyzing its structure. At that moment, a system window appeared in my mind:

Object: Basalt Boulder

Energy Type: Neutral

Status: Durable

Properties:

* Hardness: High

* Water Resistance: High

Possible Uses: Construction, energy barrier (with the right manipulation)

Before I proceeded with my actions, I decided to check how much mana I had left after the analysis.

“Status.”

Name: Unknown

Level: 1

Talent: Legendary – Eye of Chaos

Experience: 15/100 (To next level: 85 EXP)

Stats:

* Strength: 5

* Agility: 6

* Endurance: 4

* Intelligence: 8

* Magic Energy: 10

* HP: 100/100

* Mana: 45/50

I looked at my status and furrowed my brows. Mana had only decreased after using the analysis skill, but I hadn’t noticed any depletion from summoning the Hungry Ogar. That was strange. The description of the Summoning Tower clearly stated that actions consumed mana.

“Could the mana cost be hidden, or is it using a different form of energy?” I wondered. This meant that either I didn’t yet understand all the system’s mechanics, or the summons were functioning based on principles I couldn’t perceive. I needed to investigate this more thoroughly in the future.

Since I had more mana to utilize, I could immediately create several new containers—this would increase my storage capacity and ensure better control over the water.

I focused the energy in my hands and selected four suitable fragments of rock. I used Basic Energy Manipulation, concentrating on shaping them. The energy flowed through my fingers, resonating with the stone. Slowly and carefully, I formed them into sturdy bowls capable of holding larger quantities of water.

When I finished, I felt exhausted. My mana had dropped by 40 points, leaving me with only its remnants. I felt a slight heaviness in my body, as if the effort had weighed on my concentration.

However, I noticed something else—each subsequent container formation was slightly easier. My movements became more fluid, the energy flowed more freely, and the final product seemed increasingly better. This only confirmed my earlier theory—skills need to be practiced to gain full control over them and to use them more efficiently.

“The more I use this, the better I’ll be able to harness my abilities…” I thought, looking at the four completed containers.

I checked my status again—only 5 mana points remained. Not much, but suddenly a question arose in my mind. What would happen if I tried to use a skill, even though I didn’t have enough mana for it?

It was an opportunity to find out.

I focused once more on one of the stones and attempted to activate Basic Energy Manipulation to form a fifth container. The energy began to flow, but almost immediately I felt a sudden, sharp pain in my head. It was as if something had ripped away a part of my consciousness. My body suddenly weakened, and dark spots danced before my eyes. I felt myself losing balance, and the world around me began to blur.

The last thought that flashed through my mind before darkness engulfed everything was: I shouldn't have done this…