Chapter 6: Roots Beneath the Skin
Secret training.
It sounded cool until you realized it usually involved sweating in dark places while hallucinating whispers from a parasitic mana flower growing under your skin.
Ah, the glamorous life of an extra turned overpowered wildcard.
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Location: Ruined Greenhouse – East Sector, Ordanis Grounds
Once a horticulture lab, now a collapsed relic of mana-botany experiments gone wrong. The faculty sealed it off a decade ago when a mana orchid achieved self-awareness and started demanding taxes.
Now? It was my personal gym.
Cracked glass. Twisted iron frames. The floor was overgrown with mana-reactive moss. Good footing if you don't mind occasional spontaneous combustion.
I stood shirtless, breathing slow, eyes closed. My left arm pulsed where the Parasite Seed had embedded.
Each pulse echoed through my bones like roots digging deeper.
"Begin sequence," I whispered.
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[Parasite Seed – Bloom Stage 1 Activated]
— Adaptive Counter: Warrior Trait Active
— Spiritual Anchor: Caster Passive Stabilizing
— Mutation Rate: 4.3%
My mana flared outward in jagged streaks. Not smooth like a trained mage's flow—no, mine crackled like a broken radio signal.
"Control is garbage," I muttered, stepping into stance. "But potential is sexy."
I conjured an illusion golem—basic Academy construct, programmed to mimic enemy patterns. This one was set to replicate sword styles at a mid-tier level.
I charged.
Steel clashed with shovel.
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One Minute In
I was getting stomped.
My footing was off. Mana pathways misaligned mid-swing. Adaptive Counter took too long to read and react, and the Spiritual Anchor gave me a minor migraine every time the mana flow corrected itself.
The golem knocked me back. Hard.
I hit the ground, laughing through gritted teeth.
"Alright, okay. You're good. But I've got something nasty now."
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Hidden Piece #3: Obsidian Fang (Rust-tier Relic)
Effect: Can be implanted into weapon or body. Increases penetration damage against mana shields by 40%. Sharpness adapts based on blood presence in area. Side effect: mild bloodthirst.
Where did I find it?
Under the Academy's old butcher station, buried in a crate of spoiled mana meat. No one ever went near it. I knew because it triggered a side quest in the game where a cat died from eating cursed jerky.
Now it was embedded in Karen—the shovel.
"Let's dance, rust bucket."
I activated Adaptive Counter, leaned into the golem's swing—and responded a beat faster.
The shovel gleamed black for a second.
It pierced the golem's reinforced shield like wet paper.
Sparks. Collapse. Silence.
I stood over the sparking ruins, panting, arms trembling.
The Parasite Seed pulsed again, hungrier this time. The mutation rate ticked up to 4.7%.
I stared at my reflection in a cracked panel.
My eyes… shimmered. For just a moment.
Like something else was watching me from behind them.
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An Hour Later
Training ended with me collapsing in a bed of whispering moss. Mana burned in every joint. My nerves hummed like angry bees.
I reached into my coat and pulled out a photo.
Me. And her.
My little sister. Seven years younger. Birthday hats. Ice cream.
Still in the real world.
Waiting.
Alone.
I gripped the photo tighter.
"This isn't just for fun anymore."
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Back in the Dorm
I limped in, acting like I just had extra lessons.
Reina Von Lysser passed me in the hall. She paused.
"You smell like burnt copper," she said.
"I call it Eau de Getting Swole," I replied.
She raised an eyebrow. "You're hiding something."
"I'm hiding many things. My trauma. My GPA. My illegally enchanted gardening tool."
She blinked. Then walked away, muttering, "Insufferable."
Good.
Let them think I'm a joke.
I'd rather be underestimated now than feared too soon.
Because once this parasite bloomed...
And once I unlocked the next piece—The Echo Gem hidden beneath the Tower Archives?
I wouldn't just match Eiden Ragnel.
I'd surpass him.
Quietly.
Deadly.
Like roots under a grave.