After finishing his protein and taking in the view, Zaro decided it was time to play with his new skills. He spotted a place just outside the city to use. When he arrived, he noticed a crab apple tree with some apples on it. He picked a few and started juggling them.

He focused on temporal dilation and activated it on one apple. An odd shimmer surrounded the apple as he thought about it slowing. Minus fifty mana. The apple slowed by fifty percent. He willed it to almost stop. Slowed ninety percent. Backing up, he watched as it hung in the air while burning through his mana. He could keep this up for six seconds until his mana was gone.

He tossed a dagger at the apple and it slipped through, sticking in the tree behind it. He walked up and grabbed it out of the air as his mana depleted. The headache wasn’t as bad as he expected. He stood and entered meditation for a minute and was mostly recharged.

While his eyes were closed, something was different. He could see where his dagger was in his mind. He could see and feel it. He remembered will of the void, which was just unlocked, and that his void sense had leveled up. There must be synergy in void skills. He tried to place the void element in the system based on what he had learned and his gaming knowledge. Void seemed like time and space. It was the absence of anything, like in space. But his time ability suggested that the void was related to time and space. His void sense showing him the fabric of reality supported that idea.

He opened his eyes and looked at the dagger. He opened his hand and held it out, willing it to come to his hand. It wiggled a little. He imagined the feeling of it touching his hand and willed it to come to him. It pulled out of the tree and flew into his grip.

The void was blowing his mind.

He tried it with the apple but nothing happened. It must be a void thing, hence the name.

He practiced throwing his daggers at the tree, getting a feel for them. It was almost like an out-of-body proprioception, the sense of their weight and position in the world. Kind of like walking with his eyes closed. He could feel them and was drawn to them. He relaxed his void sense and let it run rampant. When he threw a dagger, he could will its trajectory to bend. He could even recall the daggers to his hand.

He decided to test void storage. He opened void storage and a portal-like hole appeared in his palm, slipping the dagger inside until it vanished. Closing his eyes, he could see it or feel it in his storage. It felt alive, as if it chose to store the dagger. He thought about it in his hand and a small void portal formed in his palm. The dagger was suddenly there.

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He realized he had tears on his face from excitement. He stored everything he had on him—his extra set of clothes, his bag, his daggers, potions, food, void items, and lock picks. Back in his room, he stored everything he owned in void storage. He even tried storing the clothes he was wearing, and they faded into the void. He selected another set, which appeared on him almost instantly.

He paused for a moment of deep gratitude for the powers he had gained and the void itself. Then he realized he was going to be late.

He activated temporal dilation on himself, setting his intention to speed up time by one hundred percent. He started running toward the forest. In six seconds, with his new stats and running at double speed, he only covered about half a football field. He recalled the world record for a 5k being just over twelve minutes back home. If thirty stamina represented peak human levels, his thirty stamina and twenty five agility put him at Olympian levels. He had to stop as his head felt like it would explode from burning through his mana to empty. Without focusing on the pain, it was rough. He decided surprise brain pain was worse than expected.

He realized that even though he could command time to speed his body up, he still needed the physical stats to handle the effort or pay the price. Physically, he had sprinted a full football field in six seconds and felt the toll it had taken. He knew with more mana, he could do much more.

He activated Eye of the storm to rebuild his mana and recover his stamina. He easily jogged the rest of the way to the forest. He felt like he could jog for miles but guessed he could only sprint six or more. With temporal dilation, all sped up actions doubled the toll on his body. He decided to practice the skill and work on building his stats.

He met up with Ezra in the forest. Focusing his void sense, he could feel her presence and knew which direction she was in. She met him, and they searched for a secluded clearing where they could focus without distractions.

He told her to meditate with him. He wanted to see how her void energy was tuned. They sat cross legged, closed their eyes, and delved into the depths of their connection to the void. Its energy swirled around them, vast and unseen, waiting to be harnessed.

Zaro focused on the void, seeking guidance and knowledge. He made sure to feel the void energy and move it through his body as he meditated. He explained to Ezra what it should feel like and described what he was doing. He concentrated on his connection with Ezra. Adding her to his family had forged a link between them, a shared awareness that transcended physical boundaries. He could sense her in the world.

He told her to begin training and said he would catch up. As Ezra practiced her new Void Flash abilities, Zaro felt gratitude for everything that had happened to him. Whatever this accident or glitch was, it had changed his life.

Ezra struggled through a learning curve but adapted quickly. Zaro guessed it was her Elven blood. Void Dash turned her into a blur of motion, letting her traverse the clearing in half a second, about three meters at most. Shadow Direct created a small ripple in the shadows, allowing her to redirect an attack up to ten feet away. She used it to fire an arrow in front of her, which entered a small shadow and emerged behind her, hitting a target without turning around.

She wasn’t just redirecting arrows but her own strikes, creating a disorienting and deadly fighting style. Phantom Flurry, combined with her natural agility, made her a whirlwind of attacks. She could loose six arrows as fast as one, raining them down with blinding speed and pinpoint accuracy.

They trained for days, sharpening their skills and deepening their bond. Zaro felt a growing sense of responsibility toward Ezra, protectiveness rooted not only in their friendship but in the connection forged by the void. She was his first Void Family member, his trusted ally in uncharted territory.

It was time for them to fight. They needed to test their skills against each other. Zaro had a few potions on hand just in case. He asked Ezra if she was ready. She flashed a mischievous grin with a slight eyebrow wiggle and agreed. Zaro tossed her a crimson potion, and they moved to their starting positions.