NOVEL NEXT Chap 220: Dimensional Step.
When I got up, I had a terrible headache. Yesterday I overdid it drinking—Susan's fault again. I fall for her provocations too easily, and Brendu didn't help much in keeping me sober either.
Without my mental ability, I wouldn't even be able to move right now. I could take the day off… but I won't. That sting of defeat from yesterday is still stuck in me. I can't stop thinking about whether I would've won if I had a better movement skill.
Brendu stayed the night at my apartment and will later attend a meeting, so I probably won't see her all day. I'll dedicate today to training until I finally obtain the skill. I've got these two days for full immersion in intense training.
When I arrive at the specialized dome, I sit on the floor to review my status. I've gained a few levels over the past weeks, especially from fighting the ogre lord and from my duel with Areci yesterday.
Maki: 12 years old – Intermediate Sapphire
ABILITIES:
• Death Sharpness (IV) – level 9 → level 10
• Warlike Architecture (IV) – level 3 → level 5
• Deadly Arcane Construction (IV) – level 3 → level 5
• Personal World (IV) – level 4 → level 5
• Thundersnow (IV) – level 1 → level 3
• Electrifying Charged Steps (III) – level 12 → level 15
• Advanced Vital Synthesis (IV) – level 1
• Crushing Zone (III) – level 7 → level 10
• Electrifying Fierce River (III) – level 3 → level 5
• Gravity Burst (II) – level 1 → level 3
Laws and Pseudo Laws:
• Celestial Domain Law: Space
• Pseudo Law of Ice
• Pseudo Law of Sharpness
• Pseudo Law of Electricity
Banner (Special) – Rank 1
I've gained a lot of levels these past weeks—mostly from that rank-4 monster and from my duel yesterday. Lately, I gain fewer levels from regular training. I miss the days when I could level up several times in one go.
My Banner has also improved slightly—I can feel it's stronger. The change is tiny, almost imperceptible; I only noticed because Glia pointed it out. I don't know how long it'll take to level it up. Since it's a special-grade Banner, it'll take longer than normal ones.
It weighs on my mind that I haven't evolved my Pseudo Law of Ice or Sharpness into full Laws yet. I can feel they're close to changing—just a small push, a bit more understanding and practice, and they'll evolve.
But I can't focus on that while I have my movement skill stuck in my head. I need to tackle one thing at a time. This isn't like when I was a kid and could work on several skills at once—now, every ability is far harder to obtain and improve.
I move precisely to the position I want using the bracelets. The minimal damage doesn't stop me, and I use them again. I don't like having to recharge them with mana and align Imra with exact precision—it's not very useful in a high-speed fight, only for repositioning or catching an opponent off guard.
I keep using the bracelets while healing minor injuries as quickly as possible. Stamina consumption skyrockets as I increase the distance. At first, I could only move five to ten meters, but beyond that, the damage increases significantly—almost enough to lose an arm.
That's not the only issue—mana consumption rises with distance too. A few extra meters cost nearly fifty percent more mana. I can only use the bracelets about twelve times at fifteen meters... I don't even want to think about how much mana it'll take to adapt this to my entire Personal World. Would I burn all my mana just to move to the edge of it?
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Just thinking about it gives me a headache. But I'm already here—there's no giving up now.
Hours pass and pass. I've used the bracelets dozens—no, maybe hundreds—of times. I glance at the clock near the control panel… almost twenty-one hours have passed since I began training.
In between, I practiced swordsmanship, mana, and Imra exercises—I didn't want to waste downtime while my mana pool refilled.
"Why is this so complicated?" I lie flat on the floor after using almost all my mana again. After hundreds of uses, I can feel some improvement beyond the ten-meter barrier. Precision must be millimetric—I have to think exactly about the point I want to teleport to. Even the position of my body affects the skill.
The space around me feels slightly different after more than thirty hours of continuous practice. No, not all space—just the diameter allowed by the bracelets. It feels sharper, like I exist within that space or could move freely inside it.
That clarity keeps growing the more I use it. Now, when I run out of mana, I meditate and try to better understand this singular space. My Personal World is like a projection of my senses in all directions—when I use it, it's as if I can see everywhere at once, as if my sight spreads across the air.
But this space feels different, as though I could exist or move through it with a thought—or by using the bracelets. It's not just getting clearer—it feels like my movement skill is transforming into something completely different. The electric affinity is fading, and the spatial affinity is taking over.
It's a strange sensation, like letting go of something I've always been used to and having it replaced with something new. Could there be a way to keep my electric movement skill and still gain a new one?
I dismiss the idea after a few minutes of thought—it would take up two skill slots. Both abilities serve the same purpose: moving from one point to another. And I don't have that many slots available. When I first awakened, I thought eight was plenty—now even ten feels too few.
The refreshing feeling of obtaining something new in my core builds up after the final few uses of the bracelets. Finally, on an attempt at maximum range, something happens—I come out completely unscathed, and the bracelets' radius expands to almost twenty-five meters.
The Electrifying Charged Steps skill begins to change within my core, and a few seconds later, a notification appears.
"Skill modified. Do you wish to mutate: Electrifying Charged Steps (III)?"
I freeze for a moment, staring at the message. "Finally… finally, I did it!" I shout in joy, collapsing to the floor exhausted. My mana pool is empty again, and my mind is drained from so many hours of effort.
I accept the notification after a few seconds of hesitation.
"Calculating conditions…"
"Mana amount and control: Approved."
"Imra amount and control: Approved."
"Compatible Pseudo Law or Law: Approved."
"Skill modified: Dimensional Step (IV)."
The floating sphere on the wall of my core begins to shift rapidly, and the new skill appears in my status.
I feel the difference immediately—the knowledge flows into my mind and body. The usable radius is now fifty meters. I can move freely within that space if I wish—no, I can teleport whenever and wherever I want.
I want to use it immediately, but my mana reserves won't allow it. The urge nearly wins over reason, but I restrain myself from pushing my core past its limits. After resting for almost an hour, I decide to test it.
I teleport about four meters upward, exactly where I intended. Before hitting the floor, I use the skill again, reappearing thirteen meters from where I was. I stand unharmed—no damage, no missing limbs. My brain automatically adjusts the Imra coating, and the mana output is perfectly balanced each time.
"What a mana-hungry skill!" It consumed a massive amount of mana—the first use felt like using all my old charges, and the second like spending dozens at once.
I don't care how much mana it eats—I finally did it. Weeks of training and thousands of bracelet uses led to this. The excitement bursts out of me; I can't stop smiling. The joy of self-improvement is incomparable. I move to the corner of the dome to test the skill's maximum range. I appear exactly where I wanted—but nearly faint from mana exhaustion.
"I need to level it up… Right now, it's only useful for short distances." I let myself fall completely, vision blurred. "Time for a quick nap."