A New Ability

Chapter 63 — A New Ability

The cave fell silent after Kael collapsed.

Aether immediately carried him toward the back of the cave and placed him against the stone wall.

"Seris."

Seris knelt beside him and checked his pulse.

"He's unconscious, but stable. His breathing is normal."

Aether nodded.

"Keep watching him."

His attention shifted toward the enormous Origin Beast lying near the entrance.

The creature was still unconscious.

Its black crystalline scales were covered in blood, and the wound in its chest remained open.

Lyra looked at it cautiously.

"That's the beast you found in the north?"

"Yes."

"It's huge."

Aether crouched beside it.

"More importantly, it's still alive."

He placed his palm against its scales.

A small amount of Origin Energy entered its body.

The beast's scales immediately absorbed it.

Aether's eyes narrowed.

"It can absorb Origin Energy directly."

Seris looked over.

"Is that unusual?"

"Very."

Aether slowly increased the flow.

The bleeding began to slow.

The system appeared.

[Origin System]

[Unique Origin Beast detected.]

[Potential: S]

[Condition: Critical but stable.]

[Foreign Origin Energy detected.]

[Assimilation Compatibility: 81%]

Aether stared at the final notification.

"Assimilation compatibility?"

This was new.

His eyes moved toward the black crystal embedded in the beast's chest.

He already had a suspicion.

Aether placed his palm beside the crystal instead of touching it directly.

He carefully guided his Origin Energy through the beast's body.

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The crystal immediately resisted.

Aether stopped.

"Just as I thought."

Lyra looked at him.

"What?"

"That crystal isn't part of its body."

Aether followed the flow of energy around the crystal.

"It's attached to the beast's Origin Core."

A faint golden line appeared beneath the creature's scales.

It connected the crystal directly to its core.

"The crystal is influencing its energy."

Seris frowned.

"Can you remove it?"

"Probably."

Aether glanced toward Kael.

"But I'm not doing that yet."

Kael had a similar crystal.

Removing the fragment from the beast without understanding what it did could create another problem.

Aether withdrew his hand.

"For now, we keep it alive."

Several hours passed.

The beast eventually moved.

Its enormous head slowly lifted.

Gorn immediately stood between it and the others.

Aether raised one hand.

"Don't."

The beast looked around.

Its crimson eyes stopped on Aether.

There was no immediate hostility.

Instead, it lowered its head.

Aether approached carefully.

He extended his hand.

The beast sniffed it.

Then something unexpected happened.

A small black fragment fell from between its teeth.

It landed on the ground.

Aether stared at it.

The fragment was only the size of a fingernail.

He picked it up.

[Foreign Origin Fragment detected.]

[Assimilation possible.]

Aether looked at the beast.

"You gave this to me?"

The beast simply watched him.

Aether wasn't sure whether it understood his words.

But the timing was too strange to ignore.

He placed the fragment against his palm.

The crystal dissolved.

Dark energy immediately entered his body.

Aether remained still.

The energy traveled through his Origin Core before settling inside him.

Then the system appeared.

[Foreign Origin Energy successfully assimilated.]

[New Ability acquired: Shadow Step.]

Aether's eyes sharpened.

[Shadow Step]

[Effect: Allows the user to merge with nearby shadows for rapid movement.]

[Current Range: 8 meters.]

[Current Duration: 1.5 seconds.]

[Restriction: Cannot pass through living targets.]

Aether looked toward the cave entrance.

A patch of shadow stretched beneath a nearby tree.

He focused.

His body suddenly blurred.

Whoosh!

He disappeared.

Lyra's eyes widened.

Aether reappeared eight meters away.

He looked at his hands.

Interesting.

He tried again.

This time, he disappeared into one shadow and emerged beside Gorn.

Gorn turned around in surprise.

Aether smiled slightly.

"Useful."

Lyra crossed her arms.

"That's all you're going to say?"

"It's useful."

"You're impossible."

Aether ignored her.

He already understood the biggest weakness.

Eight meters wasn't far.

The duration was even shorter.

But in close combat, one and a half seconds could be enough to completely change the outcome of a fight.

He could dodge attacks.

Change positions.

Appear behind an opponent.

Or escape a fatal strike.

With enough development, the ability could become extremely dangerous.

Aether checked his cultivation.

[Origin Awakening — Stage 6]

[Origin Points: 0 / 650]

Nothing had changed.

The fragment had granted him an ability, not cultivation.

Aether wasn't disappointed.

Power didn't always have to come from another breakthrough.

He needed more abilities like this.

Abilities that complemented his fighting style.

That evening, Aether stood outside the cave.

The forest had become strangely quiet.

Gorn suddenly raised his head.

"Someone's coming."

Aether looked toward the trees.

Three figures slowly emerged from the darkness.

They weren't wearing Blackridge uniforms.

The woman at the front stopped several meters away and raised her hands.

"We don't want trouble."

Aether didn't lower his guard.

"Then tell me who you are."

"We're traveling with the Verdant Caravan."

She pointed toward the road behind her.

"We saw Blackridge soldiers moving through the western forest."

Aether's expression changed.

"How many?"

"At least fifteen."

"Which direction?"

"Toward this area."

Aether's eyes narrowed.

Blackridge had already found his territory once.

Now they were returning with more people.

The woman continued.

"They weren't alone."

Aether waited.

"We saw a man leading them."

"What did he look like?"

"Large. Black armor. He carried a spear."

The Blackridge Commander.

So he hadn't gone far.

Aether turned toward the forest.

His expression became calm.

"How long ago?"

"Less than an hour."

Aether nodded.

"Understood."

Lyra stepped beside him.

"What are you going to do?"

Aether looked toward the western forest.

"They're coming for Kael."

His hand rested on his weapon.

"This time, they won't reach the cave."

He stepped forward.

Gorn followed.

Lyra and Aria exchanged glances before following as well.

Aether stopped at the edge of the forest.

He looked back at the cave.

Kael was still inside.

The injured S-rank beast was recovering.

His territory was behind him.

His people were behind him.

Aether turned back toward the darkness.

"Let's meet them halfway."

The forest swallowed his figure.

And somewhere beyond the trees—

Blackridge was already approaching.