[Status Window – Ciel Nova]
Class: Unique – Realm Holder
Level: 3
Awakening State: 1st Awakening
World Power (WP): 1
Mana Stones: 1140
Health Points (HP): 825 / 825
Mana Points (MP): 1420 / 1420
Stats:
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Endurance: 14
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 18
Luck: 12
Free Stat Points: 10
Ten unspent points blinked at him like impatient reminders.
Where to put them…
He let the numbers hang in his head, weighing each option against the path he knew he was carving. Swordplay demanded balance—agility for speed, strength for impact, endurance for lasting longer than his opponent’s patience. But his realm changed the equation. Wisdom wasn’t just a number to him; it was leverage. A higher wisdom meant dragging stronger foes into his realm and turning their strength into his advantage through Realm Seize and the talent that bound it—Realm of King.
After a pause, he nudged the allocations into place:
- +2 Wisdom
- +3 Strength
- +3 Agility
- +2 Endurance
The moment the points settled, his body answered. Muscles pulled tighter under his skin, balance shifted just a little sharper on his feet. A clarity bled into his mind—threads of thought untangling faster, his perception stretching wider.
His window updated.
[Status Window – Ciel Nova]
Class: Unique – Realm Holder
Level: 3
Awakening State: 1st Awakening
World Power (WP): 1
Mana Stones: 1140
Health Points (HP): 945 / 945
Mana Points (MP): 1520 / 1520
Stats:
Strength: 13
Agility: 13
Endurance: 16
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 20
Luck: 12
Not bad for one Awakening.
With a thought, he flipped to his skills.
[Skill Window – Ciel Nova]
Basic Skill
Domain (Beginner Lv. 9)
– Creates an 18m domain with the caster at the center. Hostile or marked entities within suffer -1% to all stats.
– Cost: 1 MP per second.
Basic Skill
Shift (Beginner Lv. 6)
– Allows instant teleportation up to 15 meters.
– 3 Charges, 10-second cooldown per charge.
– Mana Cost: 5 MP per meter.
Normal Skill
Mana Craft (Beginner Lv. 9)
– Manipulates ambient mana into basic constructs. Continuous mana drain increases with complexity.
Extra Skill
Realm Seize (Beginner Lv. 1)
– Allows transport of targets into Ciel’s Realm.
– Consent allows instant transfer without cost.
– Forced transfer requires target’s Wisdom ≤ 1.1x Ciel’s Wisdom.
– Mana Cost: 100 per target.
Unique Skill
Time Flow (Beginner Lv. 2)
– Controls time flow inside the Realm.
– Current Ratio: 1 hour outside = 3 hours inside.
– Cost: 1 WP per hour beyond 1:1.
The words glowed faintly before fading into the background of his vision. Mana Craft was already brushing against its first milestone; Domain wasn’t far behind. He’d push both into Novice soon.
Ciel dismissed his windows, then looked between them.
“Let’s make this clear before we dive in—what skills do you both have? Not what you’re training, what you actually awakened with.”
Veldora went first, as expected. “Four in total. The basics: Taunt—forces enemies on me, gives me a bit of a defense bump. Shield Bash—good for staggering. My Normal is a passive skill called Knight’s Heart; as long as I’m defending my allies, they get a defensive buff just by sticking close to me and I soak in some percentage of their damage. Finally my Extra skill which I gained from the skill book” he flexed his arms, the grin tugging at his lips, “Iron Skin. Ten seconds of hardened defense. Only Beginner One, but I’ll get it climbing soon.”
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“Solid skill set for a knight,” Ciel said, and meant it.
Then his gaze slid to Sora. “And you?”
She fiddled with the hem of her sleeve. “Well, I have Chaos bolt my primary damage spell then I have a passive skill surge of disorder it randomly applies effects on my attacks sometimes increasing power sometimes applying a debuff on targets it is all random.”
Veldora snorted. “That’s two. And they’d be higher than that already—you should have at least three, Sora. Every Awakener does.”
The silence that followed was damning.
Ciel didn’t push hard—just tilted his head, voice low. “You’re hiding something. What is it?”
Sora’s eyes darted between them. Her shoulders tensed, and for a heartbeat she looked like she might shut down completely. Then she exhaled, a bitter edge in her tone. “…Fine I will tell you but don’t go telling everyone about it. I have an Extra Skill. But it’s unstable. Every time I call on it, the mana rips loose like it’s trying to tear me apart.”
“What’s it called?” Veldora asked.
Her answer was quiet, almost reluctant.
Sora’s answer was quiet, almost reluctant. “...Cataclysm Ray.”
The name alone seemed to hang heavy in the air.
Ciel and Veldora exchanged a glance.
“It’s exactly what it sounds like,” she admitted, her voice tight. “A beam of pure chaotic energy. When it holds steady, it can cut through just about anything. But the moment it slips…” She clenched her fists. “It shatters. Splinters into wild arcs that don’t care who they hit. Enemy, ally—me. The last time I tried, it nearly burned a hole through my arm.”
Her jaw tightened, shame flickering across her face. “So don’t expect much from me until I can control it.”
Veldora let out a low whistle. “That’s not just ‘something,’ Sora. That’s insane. You’ve got Chaos Bolt, Surge of Disorder, and then this? It all makes sense now you have an epic class, but your power was nowhere near one. It was for your best you hid it otherwise half the guilds would’ve tried to recruit—or muzzle—you on the spot. Even Ciel is safe after getting his unique class only because Aastha guild leader of one of 21 stars is protecting him from anything that might harm him.”
She flinched at his words, but Ciel cut in, steady. “Thanks for trusting us and talking about your skills we promise we won’t tell anyone about it. Your skill It’s dangerous because you’re unpracticed, not because it’s worthless. Power like that doesn’t belong in the shadows—it belongs in your hands, sharpened until it answers you and only you, always remember it is but a tool you determine its usefulness.”
Veldora grinned, leaning on his shield. “And if it goes haywire while you’re figuring it out, that’s why you’ve got me. I’ll tank all the friendly fire until you can aim straight.”
That dragged a reluctant smile from her. “You’d really risk getting fried for me?”
He smirked. “Already signed the Oath of knighthood, didn’t I? What’s a few extra burns.”
Ciel’s voice broke through, calm and resolute. “All the more reason we train as a unit. We’ll put together a schedule: forty percent of our time, we work as a team—build coordination, learn each other’s limits. The rest, sixty percent, you grind your own skills. The Monument will do its part; the rest is on us.”
The words seemed to settle into the soil itself. The runes on the Monument of Training pulsed faintly, as though acknowledging their pact.
Veldora chimed in, leaning back with a grin.
“Alright, but tell me—what will we name our team? Don’t tell me you’re planning to go around as an unnamed team.”
Sora raised an eyebrow. “Unnamed doesn’t sound that bad. Mysterious. Cool.”
Ciel chuckled. “It sounds lazy. We’ll need something better.”
Sora tapped her chin, pretending to think. “How about ‘Chaos and Company’? You know, because of—” she waved her hand, a little spark of unstable mana fizzling between her fingers, “—me.”
Veldora smirked. “No way that’s bullshit. A name needs some weight. It’s what people will remember when we stomp through dungeons or climb the ranks. Can’t just be ‘that random trio’ or ‘chaos and company.’”
Sora twirled a strand of her hair thoughtfully. “Then it should be something…natural. Something that grows stronger with time.”
Ciel’s gaze drifted toward the horizon, where the faint outline of the World Tree touched the sky. A strange pull tugged at his chest. “What about something connected to the World Tree?” he murmured.
“The World Tree?” Veldora tilted his head. “Not bad. It’s eternal, unshakable. I like the sound of that.”
Sora smiled faintly. “Branches, maybe? Every branch reaches out differently, but they’re all part of the same whole. Like us.”
Ciel nodded slowly, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Then it’s decided—Branches of Eternity.”
Veldora leaned back with a grin, clearly pleased. “Branches of Eternity, huh? Has a nice ring to it.”
Sora crossed her arms, smirking. “Don’t get used to it. A name’s only as strong as the ones carrying it.”
Ciel let out a quiet chuckle, watching the two bicker with familiar warmth. He didn’t say it aloud, but something about the name settled into him like it was meant to be. Branches of Eternity—it wasn’t just a title. It was a promise.
The three of them exchanged glances, no words needed. From this moment onward, they weren’t just friends walking the same path. They were a team one that will grow infinitely.
And though none of them could know it yet, that simple choice of a name would one day echo far beyond Amber City throughout the wide world.