“Lucius?” Vivi asked, shocked by what she was witnessing. “I can see it.”

“Huh?” Lucius asked, lifting his head. “See what?”

“The skill!” Vivi said. “It’s… Beautiful.”

“Vivi, what are you talking about?”

Vivi wasn’t certain on how to explain the view. She was deep in her consciousness, having tried to interact with her skill wisp for hours now, trying to tickle the skill in weird angles. Her attempts didn’t gain much progress.

Until she zoomed in closer.

Instead of trying to tickle the wisp, Vivi focused her consciousness deeper, as if entering the skill wisp. Nothing happened, but Vivi saw the wisp more clearly now. More specifically, she saw the wisp’s ethereal structure.

She saw the branches and pathways, as if she was looking at a wisp of ether with a microscope. The skill looked different from a regular wisp, but it was still a wisp. Its branches and pathways looked like a huge collection of runes. All of the skill’s functions were visible in the very structure that formed the skill.

The skill was far more complex than the runes that Vivi carved. But the skill was still shaped like a collection of ether’s elements. “Lucius, I think I can see how the skill was constructed.”

“That makes no sense,” Lucius said.

“That’s a wind element,” Vivi said. “And it’s connected to a flow rune. What’s that supposed to do?”

“Vivi, what are you talking about?”

Vivi kept staring at the skill wisp. The complex network of branches was nearly indecipherable. Vivi would have required a lot more time and some help from professionals if she wanted to study the skill’s insides. She wasn’t knowledgeable enough at the science of ether to truly understand every intricacy her skill had within it.

But she could tell that she was looking at a very complex network of functions, as if the skill was a piece of engineering.

“Vivi?” Lucius asked. “What do you mean you can see how the skill was constructed?”

“I can see its runes,” Vivi said. “It’s complex.”

“Skill don’t have runes,” Lucius said. “It’s a skill wisp.”

“No, these are definitely runes,” Vivi said. “I can tell. The skill works exactly like my runeswords do. It has a function that translates ether. Except, it has hundreds of functions connected together. It’s insanely complex.”

Lucius stared at her. “Um, Vivi, are you sure you’re okay?”

“I am positive,”Vivi said. Her heart was beating from excitement. “Let me try something.”

Vivi activated the skill, while watching it from the inside.

The skill’s runes quickly filled up with ether, starting from the middle, moving upward. It started with everything

runes at the bottom, moving to amplify runes from there. It moved through tens of different runes, the functions of which Vivi struggled to identify.

The skill began swirling. Vivi’s vision of the runes got hazy. With active ether in there, she struggled to gain a good look at the runes.

But this confirmed what she was seeing. The skill wisp worked with runes.

As the skill calmed down and became inactive, Vivi saw the runes again. Upon activation, ether had flowed into the skill, filling the runes at the top. Those runes then shaped ether to perform the function of turning her weapon into a mess of weird perspectives.

However, when Vivi activated the skill, only its upper part became active. The lower part was left untouched.

Vivi had an idea. She activated the skill again. This time, however, she nudged the ether to move to the lower part. The skill became active.

“Oooh!” Lucius gushed. “Vivi? Did you just do it?”

Vivi opened her eyes and focused on her javelin. The skill was active, eating up her ether. But instead of coating her weapon with the weird aura, Vivi’s javelin was silent. As if it didn’t exist in the ethereal realm at all.

“You elevated the skill, Vivi!” Lucius said excitedly.

“No, I didn’t elevate anything,” Vivi said with a grin. “I understand the skill now. The skill has two functions with different runes for each function.”

Lucius stared at her. “I don’t know about that. But it looks like you made it work.”

Vivi let out a chuckle. “I’ll need to draw this. We need to show the skill to an ether scientist. Maybe someone can make sense of the functions.”

Lucius’s look grew more concerned the more Vivi spoke. “Can you really see the skill?”

“I think I can,” Vivi said. “It did work, did it not?”

“Well, yes…” Lucius said. “This is exactly how the variation works.”

Vivi was grinning wide. She doubted this was a new discovery, but the progress felt good nonetheless. Fundamentally, ether was just a collection of elements that could be shaped. It made sense that skills used the same elements in runic form to perform actions.

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Vivi also wondered if skills could be artificially crafted. If skills were all just runes… Perhaps it could be possible.

“The skill works now,” Vivi said. “We can defeat the skeleton. Wake me up and let’s fight.”

* * *

Vivi had slept for seven hours. That was a lot longer than she had wanted to spend crashed out, but seven hours was the minimum to recover Lucius’s dimmed wisps. If either of them was still tired in a fight against a monster with seven thousand wisps of ether, it could very well mean the end of their journey.

Eem cuddled tight around her chest. Vivi couldn’t tell whether it was morning or night. The dungeon looked exactly as it had seven hours ago. The skeleton went back to its rhythmic patrol, while the waterfall flowed in the distance.

Vivi moved to prepare right away. She tested that Shadow Swipeworked as she’d practiced. Everything seemed to be the same as in Paradise. Vivi could still zoom in and see the skill’s ethereal structure.

Vivi hid as close to the brick path as she dared without alerting the skeleton.

Eem woke up to watch. Vivi told her to hide further back. The fiend, of course, didn’t want to leave. Eem argued with funny expressions and stubborn noises, but after a few more promises of good meals and exploration after the skeleton was defeated, Eem agreed to hide in the back while Vivi prepared to fight.

Vivi’s plan was as simple as plans could get. But it was precise. Vivi’s timing had to be impeccable.

A minute and twenty-six seconds… Vivi thought. The timing was still the same as it was yesterday. The skeleton’s steps were consistent, perfectly precise every time. Vivi could use its patterns to her advantage.

Just counting seconds wouldn’t be precise enough. If Vivi’s count was even a third of a second off, the skeleton’s reactions would allow it to see an attack coming.

So Vivi went into rhythm. She tapped her finger on her chest at the pace of the skeleton’s steps—twice for one step to make her rhythm easier to keep up with. Instead of counting seconds, Vivi counted her taps. When the skeleton disappeared into the dungeon, she started the count from zero and continued her rhythm.

Lucius watched from the side with a bewildered expression. “Vivi? Is everything okay?”

Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine…

“Vivi?” Lucius asked.

Vivi continued counting. Her count reached over a hundred and kept going. Keeping rhythm this precise was surprisingly difficult. When her count reached 198, the skeleton appeared from the doorway.

I’m keeping track of its steps, Vivi said. Just watch. I’m going to land a javelin in its head.

She counted again when the skeleton disappeared behind the corner. The number stayed consistent. Exactly 198 taps. She practiced for a third time, making sure she could stay in rhythm without fail.

The fourth time the skeleton appeared on the brick path, Vivi summoned her javelin and thought, Stay quiet now. Don’t move. Fill my weapon with ether when my count hits 196. Understood?

Lucius appeared concerned, but said, “Okay.”

The skeleton disappeared behind the corner, and Vivi began her count.

This time, she was positioned to the left of the doorway. If this went wrong, Vivi was a long way off from the lake. The skeleton would have more than enough room to catch her. Things could get ugly.

Seventy-nine… Eighty…

But she had an idea. A simple one, but it could work.

Hundred-six, Hundred-seven…

Hundred-sixty, hundred-sixty-one…

When her count hit a hundred and eighty-eight, Vivi activated the skill. Ostensibly, nothing happened. Her javelin didn’t change its color, and no weird auras enveloped it.

Internally, however, Vivi felt a change in her body. The skill wisp started pulling at the ether within her weapon. There wasn’t much ether yet. Only whatever was still left from yesterday’s fishing sessions. But the skill was still adamant in keeping that ether contained.

Hundred-ninety-four, ninety-five, ninety-six…

Ether pushed through the runes into her iron javelin. Immediately, Vivi’s skill tried to suck that ether back in. Really, the skill didn’t contain the aura through magic at all. It simply pulled at the ether to dissuade it from escaping. In the process, some of the ether escaped back into Vivi’s body.

She readied the javelin, and at the count of ninety-seven and a half, she threw.

A few fractions of wisps escaped into the air. The concealment wasn’t perfect. The further the javelin flew from Vivi, the more ether it leaked. Vivi could only hope the skeleton wouldn’t sense the javelin coming.

Her count hit a hundred and ninety-eight, and the skeleton stepped onto the brick path.

A loud crack reverberated across the cavern. The javelin pierced the skeleton’s right shoulder, nearly to its spine. The blow knocked the skeleton a foot to the side. Wisps of blue ether rapidly escaped from the wound.

But the skeleton stood. It turned to Vivi. With the javelin poking out from its shoulder, it picked up its spear with its left hand and charged Vivi.

She summoned her runesword, filled it with ether and activated Shadow Swipe’s main function. Lucius, full power!

Ether flowed within her, preparing her for combat. Lucius was fully recharged and at his peak. Vivi’s runesword blazed with flames of weird perspectives, ether coating it. Her feet felt strong.

And her opponent was injured. She should stand a chance. Vivi lifted her sword and swung at the charging skeleton. The exchange of weapons began.

The skeleton’s stance was off. It limped with the javelin poking out of its shoulder. The more it moved, the more ether it leaked. It fought with one hand.

Even still, it easily kept up with Vivi. The tip of its spear poked at her. She had no idea what she was supposed to do with her sword. She awkwardly pushed the spear’s shaft out of trajectory with her sword, only for the spear to come right back.

“Push!” Lucius shouted. “We need to be on the offensive! You’re useless when you defend—attack its injured side!”

Vivi gritted her teeth and thrust her sword forward. A part of her expected to immediately die to a counterattack. Instead, her sword hit the skeleton in its upper ribs.

Her runesword cut right through bone. But it wasn’t a clean hit. A crack appeared, but nothing more. The skeleton recovered and the battle continued.

The skeleton’s aim was perpetually slightly off. Vivi thought this was because of its injuries. Then she realized her opponent was staring at her weapon. At Shadow Swipe’s aura.

The skill is working! Vivi thought. The skeleton is confused. It doesn’t know where my weapon is!

A slight rush of confidence flowed through her. She waited for the skeleton to blunder an attack. Her skill made it aim away from her skin, into a direction that would never cause her damage. The skeleton totally missed.

Immediately, Vivi realized she had another opportunity. She swung, this time harder.

The skeleton blocked with its ethereal spear. Their weapons were at a bind.

“My claws!” Lucius shouted. “Just like you did with Andre!”

Vivi freed her left hand from her sword and quickly swiped. Lucius charged ether while her hand was in mid-motion. The claws released, hitting the skeleton right in the ribs. Red claw marks appeared.

She attacked again. The skeleton couldn’t move. Its strength was slipping away. More and more claw marks appeared on its face as it slowly lost its footing.

Until eventually, the skeleton lost too much ether, and it collapsed on the ground.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep