Chapter 39: Gaining a New Skill

She clearly expected him to become flustered, maybe even take a step backward in shock. Instead, Declan simply rolled his eyes.

"You’re supposed to look down while coiling your hair."

He calmly explained.

"Hold the hem of your skirt, blush, close both eyes, then whisper, ’Maybe because I’ve fallen for you!’"

"That’s how it’s acted. Yours was a poor performance."

Evie slapped a hand against her face.

"Shoot."

She sounded genuinely disappointed.

"I practiced it all through the night yesterday."

She froze.

Her eyes widened.

"Wait..."

She had said that out loud.

"How did you know I wasn’t being real?"

Declan shrugged and moved toward the railing.

"Maybe because I, myself, wouldn’t possibly fall for the only ordinary human and naturally weakest guy in the school after a less-than-ten-second encounter."

He paused.

"Especially when that encounter ended with me getting tricked."

"But I guess the notes would be nice."

Declan pulled out his device.

"You use Xendee, right?"

He began searching through the applications, unaware of Evie staring silently at the side of his face.

Then Declan’s neck shifted upward.

She immediately turned down at her own device.

"I do."

She opened Xendee and began pulling up the notes.

A moment later, both devices connected, and Declan received the notification of the incoming files and accepted them.

"Got it. Thank you."

He turned toward his dorm door, swiping the green card across the scanner.

BEEP.

The door unlocked, and Evie silently watched as he stepped inside, the door shutting close behind him.

She remained standing there.

"Is...Is he for real?"

________________________

The moment Declan entered his room, he dropped his device and the booklet he’d received onto the living room table.

He was already heading toward the shower when he suddenly stopped.

"Initiate System Protocol."

The system immediately responded.

[Congratulations, Host has completed the mission: Slice the beaded chain on the Weapon Instructor’s neck.]

[Rewards:]

[+3 Level Up Cards]

[+5,000 EXP!]

[ SYSTEM INTERFACE ]

[▸ Name: Declan Ezra ]

[▸ Race: Human ]

[▸ Age: 19 ]

[ ▸ Level: 10 ]

[▸ EXP: 5,000 / 5,000 ]

[ Does Host Wish to Level Up? ]

Yes.

[ Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 11. ]

[ +20 Attribute Points Obtained. ]

[ Level Up Cards: 3 ]

[ Does Host Wish to Use Level Up Cards? ]

Yes.

[ -1 Level Up Card! ]

[ Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 12. ]

[ +20 Attribute Points Obtained. ]

[ -1 Level Up Card! ]

[ Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 13.]

[ +20 Attribute Points Obtained. ]

[ -1 Level Up Card! ]

[ Congratulations, Host has leveled up to Level 14. ]

║ +20 Attribute Points Obtained. ║

═══════STATS═══════

[ Strength: 60 ]

[ Agility: 60 ]

[ Endurance: 50 ]

[ Intelligence: 55 ]

[ Charisma: 40 ]

[ Attribute Points: 80 ]

═══════════════════

"Even though I got my hand cut off, missed a class, and lost ten points..."

Declan glanced at the attribute points.

"I’d still say this was a win."

He didn’t waste any time distributing them.

"Add 20 points to Strength, 25 points to Intelligence, 10 points to Agility, 20 points to Endurance, and the rest to Charisma."

The moment he finished speaking, blue light illuminated his eyes as his neck jerked upward and blue veins surfaced beneath his skin.

It felt as though a volcano had suddenly erupted inside his chest, with scorching heat surging through his bloodstream and spreading rapidly throughout his body.

The sensation was intense, yet strangely soothing.

For nearly a full minute, Declan remained rigid as the warmth continued to spread before, without warning, the heat vanished and a sudden chill replaced it.

[Points Have Been Successfully Distributed.]

═══════STATS═══════

[Strength: 80]

[Agility: 70]

[Endurance: 70]

[Intelligence: 80]

[Charisma: 45]

[Attribute Points: 0]

═══════════════════

Declan immediately reached for his left shoulder and began peeling away the bandages, only for his fingers to freeze when he realized there wasn’t even a cut beneath them, let alone a scar or any other trace of the injury that had nearly cost him his entire arm.

The wound had completely disappeared, leaving behind perfectly restored flesh, and when Declan slowly rotated his arm, he felt no pain or even the slightest discomfort.

A satisfied smile crept onto his face.

This was one of the greatest advantages of leveling up.

Any injury he suffered was completely regenerated the moment he gained a level.

With that taken care of, Declan headed into the bathroom and turned on the shower, the sound of running water quickly filling the room.

___________

After a quick shower, Declan changed into a simple shirt and pair of trousers before checking the time.

6:15 PM.

He glanced through his schedule and found that there were no more classes for the day, with his next one not beginning until 5:20 AM tomorrow, which left him with plenty of free time, and surprisingly, he wasn’t tired at all.

There were certainly plenty of things he could do outside, since the academy wasn’t solely focused on academics.

There were numerous recreational activities available to students, including Gravity Arena battles, Elemental parkour courses, Neural simulation games, and plenty of other attractions.

The last time Declan had checked the academy map, he’d even been stunned to find an Orbital sky dive venue.

But entertainment wasn’t really his thing.

Instead, he returned to the living room and picked up the book the weapon instructor had given him before grabbing one of the solo seats and carrying it into the bedroom, then moving through to the training room on the other side.

Once seated, he opened the manual.

The book focused on precise strength control, and surprisingly, it wasn’t exclusively a technique for Nexians.

Most combat arts were conventional battle techniques designed specifically around a Nexian’s body, which was naturally more specialized than an ordinary human’s due to the presence of bionic fluids, but this manual was different because even an ordinary human could practice it.

The instructor must have taken Declan’s current condition into consideration, knowing that he hadn’t undergone fusion yet.

The technique focused on controlling one’s strength with extreme precision, turning every movement into an efficient and accurate strike.

Page after page contained illustrations of figures standing in different stances, each demonstrating a specific attack sequence, and Declan quietly studied every single one, going through them again and again until the movements became increasingly clear in his mind.

Eventually, the illustrations no longer felt like static drawings; in his imagination, they flowed together like a holographic recording, every movement connecting seamlessly to the next.

By the end of the third hour, Declan had gone through the manual more than twelve times, and only after he was confident that he understood the sequences did he finally stand up and attempt to reproduce them.

That was when he discovered a problem.

Understanding the movements was one thing, but actually performing them was another.

His mind knew exactly where his body was supposed to go, yet getting into certain stances and transitioning between them was an absolute nightmare, and more than once, he twisted his ankles while several other attempts ended with him nearly falling over.

After another four hours of relentless practice, Declan finally collapsed onto his back, his clothes soaked with sweat as it gathered beneath him while his chest rose and fell rapidly from the effort.

[You Have Used 2 Broken Bones Cards.]

The system panel appeared before him.

Declan had indeed used them.

Twice, he’d managed to completely crush his own ankle while attempting the final sequence.

Then another notification suddenly appeared.

[Congratulations on Learning a New Attack Art!]

[Attack Art Being Re-Processed!]

[Congratulations, Host Has Awakened a New Skill!]

"A... a new skill?"

Declan’s exhausted expression instantly changed as he quickly opened the Skills and Abilities section, his eyes widening at the information displayed before him.

[ SKILLS & ABILITIES ]

COMBAT ENHANCEMENT SKILLS

— Gained from studying Attack Manuals. —

════════════════════

🔹 [APEX STRIKE] 

  [Level: 1]

Description: A system-processed version of the manual Art of Control. When activated, every attack aligns perfectly with intensity, no time is ever wasted, and no strike is ever misplaced.

EFFECTS:

Increased accuracy and control.

Attacks automatically follow the most efficient path to the target.

Note: Higher skill levels grant near-perfect precision, seamless strike transitions, and the ability to adjust attacks mid-motion, making each blow efficient beyond human capability.

══════════════════════════════════════════

Declan remained frozen.

A new ability was surprising enough on its own, but how he’d obtained it was even more shocking.

"You never told me you could absorb the skills from manuals I learn and turn them into system abilities..." he muttered beneath his breath.

He quickly calmed his racing heart, and if this was real, there was only one way to test it.

Declan m]oved into the basic stance described in the manual, drawing his hands backward before thrusting them forward with his fingers folded together like the tip of a spear, the air around his arms beginning to whistle.

"Activate Apex Strike."

The moment he spoke those words, neon-blue runic patterns appeared across his arms, stretching from his fingertips all the way to his shoulders.

Then the world seemed to fall silent.

Declan’s hands pierced through the air without making a sound, and when they reached the end of their motion...

VROOOOM!

The air quaked precisely half a meter in front of him.

Each strike moved almost silently, storing its energy until the exact moment it reached the end of its trajectory before the accumulated force exploded outward.

The violent rush of air made Declan’s eyes gleam as his hands became faster and faster, the whooshing growing louder with every movement until even the heavy training bag nearby began to vibrate from the force.

This...]

This is insane.

Then his hands suddenly stopped, his body stiffening before...

BAANG!

The floor trembled as Declan collapsed onto his back and exhaled heavily.

The system panel appeared.

║Energy: 1/60║

Declan stared at it, realizing that he’d been so fascinated by his new ability that he’d completely forgotten one important detail.

Activating it consumed energy.

"Truly a combat enhancement ability."

He lay there for a moment, exhausted, before a sudden vibration came from nearby.

DRIIIING!