Days of slaying through the mass of locked memories finally unlocked the next piece of Synexus’ past. When the light started to form into figures, he had to lean against a wall to not fall over.

  He had been in a damaged building making his stand when the last locked memory fell and now, he could see it was some sort of staging area for the defense of the city. What he assumed to be a general was standing at the front and talking to about thirty people about what their duties were. One familiar figure was among them, and it was his father.

  “I know none of you are formally part of the military, however, the fighting has left us thin. We have decided along with the Greater Minds that all class chosen will be divided amongst key points in the city that we believe the enemy will be after. Your group will be joining a full defense deployment at the Aether Forge. It must be protected!”

  One of the members of the group spoke up when the general was done. “Great Mind, the Aether Forge is rather narrow for the numbers being sent to defend it. We are all from the Research Sect. Will we be down in the Archives or up in the main forge?”

  “That is a good question, Blistonne. You will all be down in the archives with a deployment of soldiers. We aren’t sure what the enemy will be after or if they even know about where we keep most of our information, but we need to try and defend it.”

  “Thank you for the clarification, Great Mind!”

  When all the researchers finally marched out of the building and toward the forge, the general turned to a soldier standing near him.

  “I can’t believe we are pulling from the Research Sect for defense. This is looking like it will end in disaster. Most of us don’t even know what brought this war to our planet and yet, we are the ones paying the price.”

  “Great Mind, I know this isn’t an opportune time, but my wife is giving birth. Is there any way I could have an hour to go see her and the baby before the fighting starts?”

  The general sighed and looked at the poor soldier, requesting such a reasonable request. War protocol is clear, and the request should be denied, but at this point he wasn’t even sure if it mattered. “Yes. Meet me at the council chambers in an hour. This is an official order to check on the defenses of the medical facility, soldier.”

  “Yes, Great Mind!”

  Soon after that the memory faded and sadness was left in Synexus’ heart. He knew he was now getting glimpses of the final days of his home planet and his people. Over the course of this trial, he had seen how imperfect they were even with their technological superiority. Now, he was further seeing how normal the society truly was, and no one deserved what happened to them.

  Gene and Synexus fled back to the forge to rest after days of fighting. Once secured in the bottom of the forge tower, they finally spoke.

  “I understand that this is a trial, and you needed to face what happened to your people, but I do wish my sibling would have shown you more of the good times. It wasn’t always tragic in this city.”

  “It’s okay, Gene. Seeing people at their lowest point often reveals their true selves. I’m getting the truth of who they were both at the top of the society and at the bottom.”

  The owl nodded in understanding before Synexus continued.

  “I do have a question though. What did the researcher mean about the Archives?”

  “Ah, yes. I’m surprised you hadn’t found them yet and I was certainly not going to give away any answers. The Archives are a series of bunkers under this very tower that hold our knowledge. They decided to put it under the Aether Forge as a smokescreen of sorts.”

  “So, I can safely assume that the entry is somewhere in here? I feel like having the knowledge of my people would be beneficial.”

  “That it is, however, I will not tell you how to access it. It’s clear that the System will be showing you soon.”

  With that Synexus swiveled his head around the tower looking for any sign of an entrance but didn’t find anything even with his enhanced perception. After a few moments he decided to simply wait until the answers were revealed to him. Right then, he needed to rest.

  Morning came without incident, and the two rested dungeon explorers took off towards the ponds for the daily attempt to create a skill. It had now been a little over three and a half years since Synexus started to attempt the feat and surprisingly he had started making some progress.

  Thanks to Gene’s advice and guidance, each day he was inching closer to the achievement. Each morning, he would wake up and tell himself that it would be the day that everything came together and his new skill would be formed.

  Between the fighting and the constant practice, his skills had gained a few levels, and he was finally able to hit level 21 in his class level which meant he officially surpassed Kumo. Getting over that hurdle felt earned, and he would continue to push in the remaining years of his trial.

  Genome Refinement, Genome Library, Matter Database, Extreme Growth, and Body Transmutation were already over level 25. Some were sitting at level 28, and he still hadn’t gotten any further skill evolutions. Mana Sense was sitting at level 23, and Enemy Transmutation was at level 21. Both Matter Modification and Extreme Repair were at level 24. Overall, Synexus was pleased with his progress, but now he had to push for more.

  Mana started to flow around him as it was pulled from the atmosphere, and his mind began to visualize the skill. When Gene gave him this advice, it hadn’t stuck. However, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. His will needed to have a clear path for the mana to follow and simply compressing it down inside his body wasn’t going to be enough.

  Compression started to fold the mana down into a denser state, but right before it became aether was when Synexus learned to stop. At this point visualization and his will took over to direct the compressed mana into his soul.

  In his mind, he visualized the space mana wrapping itself around the other affinities like the skill would do. After all, he wanted to create a spatial dimension inside his soul to hold a vast living space for his creations. He pictured an infinite garden surrounded by a primal forest that one could never truly get to. Animals, plants, technology, and himself were in harmony in this place. Progress was stuck in the middle of the ground surrounded by plants that he had created, and power was pushed out and then pulled back in like Progress was breathing. Then something new happened.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  He had gone this far before, but now something clicked and in the center of his body a sharp pain almost shook him out of his focus. It continued to build and build before a burning sensation radiated throughout his body. Still, he continued to push his will upon the visual he had created, and the mana compressed within himself.

  ***

  Gene was keeping watch as usual while Synexus tried for an unknown time to create his spatial skill. It was an ambitious undertaking as space mana was notoriously hard to work with, but it would be a great boon to his combat potential even if it wasn’t technically a direct combat skill.

  Days had passed this time as the mana compressed further down and then something caught their eyes. A piercing light started to form and then grow right in the center of Synexus’ being. This spot transcended his body, and Gene knew that he had finally connected with his soul. That meant the skill was finally taking form.

  They had expected it to take about five years, but Synexus had, of course, accomplished it above their expectations. His friend was quite talented and much more intelligent than he thought of himself. A genius in the making and Gene was glad they could be there to help set a direction for his abilities even if it was always in suggestions rather than concrete answers. Pride filled them as they continued to watch the light get brighter until it flashed in completion and Synexus passed out.

  ***

  Gentle sounds of water falling into the ponds woke him up, and even though he was sure he had been out for a while, the exhaustion persisted. His vision cleared and Gene was standing next to him.

  “What happened, Gene?”

  “You, once again, pushed too hard because you always feel like you have to beat expectations. However, congratulations are in order. You have successfully completed your skill.”

  His memories came flooding back as he remembered the pain that had tried to overtake him. He had been in his mind trying to solidify the garden for the new skill when a burning sensation started within himself. No matter what he did, the burning got worse until a notification made him lose focus and then everything went black. Checking the notification, he was excited.

  New Skill Created!

  Progress Garden (Legendary): Drawing from deep within your soul, you created a spatial dimension centered around your class path. With this skill, you can now store any plants, animals, and technology that are willing to enter the garden in your soul. Instantly summon anything within the Progress Garden with a thought. Distance at which you can summon from your garden scales with the level of this skill. Your other skills can be used within this garden. An accurate inventory of this garden can inherently be felt. Visual representations of your collection skills can be found within the garden.

  Warning: This skill was too powerful to be created at your level. Your nature dimension bag was consumed by the Progress Garden to stabilize. All within the bag can be found in the Progress Garden.

  Mana Weaver achievement fragment has been unlocked. (2/3)

  Synexus tried to shout in excitement after reading through his notifications, but pain shot through his entire body, and it came out as a yelp.

  “Would you be careful! You strained your soul creating the skill. You’ll be immobile for days.” The owl shook their head in disapproval.

  Synexus spoke in a strained voice. “I did it, Gene! It’s a legendary skill. Apparently, it had to consume my bag though. I am kind of sad about that since it was a gift from the Elder Branch, but now it’s like it’s a part of me permanently.”

  Gene winced at the word legendary. “On your first try? First the sword, and now your skill too. You really don’t know how to ease into things. No wonder there was such a backlash.”

  “What can I say? I must be legendary myself.” He laughed at his own joke except it ended up in intense pain.

  “I’m serious, Synexus. This isn’t remotely usual. Even my creator couldn’t create legendary skills until he was at least the equivalent of a level 70.”

  “But then why was I offered legendary skills at my last skill selection?”

  “He designed the class path for others through my sibling after he had already created the skills. That had to have been when he was close to level 200, but levels are tricky since levels weren’t a thing until he created System.”

  “That makes sense. Well either way, you told me that I had to get more powerful if I’m going to survive those that hated my people. This skill will help me get to that point.”

  “Indeed, it will. You have officially diverged from the class path which is quite the feat at any level, but especially yours. I do believe that the last part of my trial to you won’t nearly be as difficult.”

  “Really? I figured that would be the hardest step.”

  “It was for my creator, but of course, he started with what were common skills when Mana Weaving skills. Don’t think I will let you try for at least a month though.”

  “That’s okay with me. Once I can move, I’d like to start leveling up this new skill. Something tells me that it can get even better.”

  “It will. Legendary skills are especially malleable to one’s will. You will update your will pathways simply by gaining more experience in the skill.” Synexus smiled at the comment but didn’t reply. “It’s settled then. We will let you rest for a few days before making our way back to the tower. When you feel 100% again, you’ll make more progress on the actual trial. In a month’s time or whenever you’re satisfied with levelling, we will begin your Aether Forge training. After you complete that, then you are free to complete the trial.”

  He tried to nod at the solid plan, but pain shot through him once more before he passed out again from sheer exhaustion.

  Name: Synexus

  Race: Zaxillian

  Class: Progress Architect

  Level: 21

  Health Points: 1555/1555

  Mana: 3165/3165

  Stamina: 1655/1655

  Stats

  Intelligence: 280 (+28)

  Strength: 140 (+14)

  Endurance: 142 (+14)

  Vitality: 134 (+13)

  Agility: 138 (+14)

  Perception: 190 (+19)

  Skills

  Race: Sensing Touch, Enhanced Cognition, Perfect Memory, Silver Blood, Devour Sunlight

  Class: Genome Library LV 27, Genome Refining LV 25, Extreme Growth LV 28, Body Transmutation LV 28, Matter Database LV 27, Matter Modification LV 24, Extreme Repair LV 24, Mana Sense LV 23, Enemy Transmutation LV 21, Progress Garden LV 1

  Achievements

  Slayer of Monsters: You will now be able to see the remnant magical material of slain monsters.

  Ullashtt Ender: You bested one of these massive, fabled beasts taking some of their vast power for yourself. +10% to all stats.

  Evolved: All resources have risen by 100.

  Mana Weaver (2/3)