Kael didn’t hesitate.

  The moment Aiko extended the core, he reached out and took it—gently, almost reverently. It pulsed faintly in his hand, warm through the rain-chilled air. Violet and green light swirled beneath its surface like storm currents trapped in glass.

  He opened his mouth.

  And bit down.

  The moment his teeth cracked through the surface, the world tilted.

  Arcane essence burst forward—not liquid, not light, but something in between. Invisible drops of pure pressure, like pinpricks of force piercing through him, racing toward his core with terrifying speed. Each one sank into him, sharp and electric, bypassing flesh and bone and thought entirely.

  His soulcore.

  Kael’s eyes flew wide. His hands trembled. The pressure within him built fast, unbearable and euphoric all at once. He could feel his core reacting—no, devouring. It wasn’t passive. It pulled, drew, drank. Greedy and alive.

  The sensation was… incredible.

  Like his entire being was being reforged. Stronger. Quicker. Sharper. He felt like he could run for miles without stopping, leap over the broken walls around them. His body was still—but everything inside him surged.

  And then the pain struck.

  A sudden twist, deep in his chest—hot, sharp, and scraping, as if something was being carved directly into the surface of his core. Kael grunted, half-collapsing forward, hand pressed to his ribs. It burned through him. Not long. Just long enough to mark him.

  Then it was gone.

  He blinked.

  The core was gone. Dissolved completely. Not even a trace left in his mouth or hand.

  He could feel the difference—something internal, expanded and volatile, but real. Kael staggered back a step and instinctively tapped his watch.

  The screen flickered. A slow pulse. Then the display stabilized.

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  He read the numbers.

  Physical Attributes

  Strength: 4 / 72 → 6 / 73

  Agility: 7 / 83 → 8 / 85

  Endurance: 6 / 65

  Dexterity: 3 / 55

  Perception: 7 / 67 → 8 / 68

  Elemental Affinities

  Fire: 0 / 0

  Lightning: 0 / 0

  Water: 5 / 12

  Earth: 5 / 14

  Air: 23 / 33 → 25 / 35

  Core Size: 15 → 18

  He stared.

  What…?

  This wasn’t right. He’d expected a point, maybe a nudge in agility, a twitch in strength. But this?

  A two-point jump in air? Boosts to both strength and perception? Even potential increases?

  And most importantly—

  His core size.

  His mind reeled. This wasn’t how it was supposed to work.

  Kael tried to steady his thoughts, digging up what he remembered from the academy. Core absorption was slow. Long-term. In the early stages, your soulcore simply wasn’t capable of digesting large quantities of essence. Weak cores gave weak growth. Strong cores didn’t help much unless you were strong enough to handle them.

  And yet…

  His body felt different.

  He dropped into a cross-legged posture, ignoring the damp stone beneath him, and focused inward. His breath steadied. The world dimmed.

  And there it was.

  His soulcore pulsed like a living thing—brighter, larger. The outer layers throbbed with a deeper rhythm, thicker lines of energy tracing through its outer shell. It wasn’t just stronger. It was hungrier.

  The growth was real.

  The watch isn’t broken, he realized. This is actually happening.

  Kael’s eyes opened.

  His pulse hadn’t slowed. His breath still came fast.

  What the hell did I just eat?