Eron sat shirtless in the mana chamber, lines of blue light pulsing slowly around his body. His breathing was deep, slow — as if the world itself had narrowed into rhythm.
The system whispered gently:
[Create Concept Activated]Intent: Regenerative FocusReference: Martial breathing, qi cycling, mana flow theory
Skill Name: Aether BreathType: Passive (Meditation / Recovery)
Effect: While stationary and focused, regenerate 2% of total mana every 10 seconds.Bonus: During deep focus state, mana recovery increases by 100%.
Cooldown: NoneActivation: Must be still, conscious, and unthreatened.
[Skill Created: Aether Breath – Lv. MAX]
He inhaled… and the recovery began. A golden ring pulsed at the center of his chest.
"I'll never be dry in a long fight again."
But the system pulsed again, strangely.
Without activating Create Concept again, a second window opened — automatically.
[Warning: Deep-Coded Instinct Trigger Detected]
Emergency Protocol Engaged
Source: Fear of Isolation – "What if they can't reach me in time?"
Creating Skill Based on Core Survival Intent…
Eron blinked. "Wait, I didn't—"
[Skill Created: Arc Ruin – Omega]
Type: Emergency Burst / Area DevastationActivation: Automatic – only triggers when:▸ All summons are 15+ meters away▸ HP falls below 20%▸ Mana ≥ 90%
Effect: Unleashes an arcane-detonation infused with your weapon's core and current magic essence.Range: 30 metersDamage: Lethal to most targets
Post-Use: Mana drops to 0, HP drops to 10%
System Tag: ONE USE PER DAY ONLY
Eron stood slowly.
"…A nuke. My own panic button."
He whispered: "You really are building me into a war machine."
A wide open battlefield unfolded — a floating island with terrain nodes pulsing with fire, ice, and storm elements. Rifts crackled in the distance.
The Elysium Order stood across the stone bridge:
▸ Raikus Dorne – Elemental Knight, Lv. 19 (with Lightning-Earth Armor Fusion)▸ Celvi Ashray – Beast-Song Summoner, Lv. 17 (summoned Griffin: Kyros, Wind+Light Type)▸ Draven Korr – Storm-Tuned Caster, Lv. 18 (Field Disruption Mage)
All three wore custom light-plate battle uniforms, crests glowing.
Raikus pointed. "You, Valemere. This won't be another storybook win."
Celvi's griffin roared, wings spreading like crescent moons.
Team Valemere Enters
▸ Eron Valemere – Lv. 20▸ Neha Veyra – Lv. 10▸ Seryn Caelis – Lv. 11
Summons:• Primordial Slime – Lv. 15• Blade Hound – Lv. 9• Bonecore Vanguard (Veyrix) – Lv. 2
From the crowd, whispers:
"That's… three summons again. No way."
"His slime's glowing with dual cores…"
"He's calm. Like he's already run the fight in his head."
Eron turned to his team.
"No risks. Seryn, watch the rifts. Neha, if Kyros flies high, chain him down."
He tapped his sword.
"If we get split... don't panic. I've got the fallback."
[3… 2… 1—]
[MATCH BEGIN]
Rifts exploded. Lightning flashed. Both teams surged forward—
And Eron didn't move.
Instead, he inhaled slowly.
[Aether Breath Activated – Recovery Initiated]
A golden ring swirled around his core.