NOVEL WEB Chapter 96: Skill Fusion To Evolution
That night, long after the others had fallen asleep, Ryuzen stood alone inside the Fusion Lab. The dim glow of the crystalline chamber pulsed softly, as though sensing what was to come.
Tonight, he was going to extract his own skills.
He called up his current list:
[Skills: Devour's Hand (D), Alpha Instinct (D), Cicada Veil Mirage (E), Permafrost Spiral Lance (E), Glacial Fortress (E), Frostfang Blitz (E), Sun Dragon's Gaze (E), Frost Armor (E), Twin Eclipse Ascent (E), Sunflare Glacier Roar (E), Night Berserker (E), Phantom Claw (E), Windleap Dash (E), Tunnel Gore Strike (E), Shell Sense (F), Water Resistance (F)]
For any ordinary evolver, leveling up or restructuring a skill was nearly impossible. But Ryuzen had something else—the Dragon God Codex.
With it, he could extract skills not only from monsters and enemies, but even from himself.
Including his bloodline.
Though extracting a bloodline was akin to committing suicide, and he wasn't desperate enough for that. Not yet.
He exhaled slowly, gathering his focus. The air within the Lab grew denser, as if time itself was holding its breath. He extended his hand.
"Codex," he whispered.
Instantly, the surroundings began to shift. The lights dimmed. The walls faded away. And above the Fusion Lab, an unseen phenomenon stirred—the massive celestial eye of the Codex opened, hovering in the endless void beyond space.
Ryuzen couldn't see it, but he could feel it.
Then it began.
The moment the Codex latched onto his essence, a surge of unbearable agony tore through him.
"Arghhh... painful... it's too damn painful..." he groaned, staggering back. His body trembled, sweat pouring down his face. It felt like invisible claws were ripping into his soul, peeling away layer after layer.
Each skill was being forcefully detached from his being, not as mere data, but as fragments of his soul.
The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. As if his nerves were being shredded. As if his spirit was being skinned alive.
But still... he endured.
Skill by skill, the Codex pulled them out and sealed them into its vault. Glowing runes floated around him, each one representing a skill now available for fusion, mutation, or enhancement.
Ryuzen clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. His vision blurred, and his breath came in ragged gasps.
"I have to…endure."
This pain meant progress. This suffering was the path to becoming stronger. And if this was the price of surpassing his limits, then he would pay it tenfold.
After tens of minutes, the Extraction process finally came to an end.
Ryuzen collapsed onto the cold ground of the Fusion Lab, his limbs twitching from the aftershocks. His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, and his eyes stared blankly at the ceiling of shifting void. He couldn't even scream anymore. He had done it, but at a cost.
He felt… hollow.
As if something had been torn from within him and never returned. A gnawing emptiness now lingered in the pit of his soul.
The skills. All sixteen of them. Gone from his body. Gone from his core.
But not lost.
Above him, a surreal sight unfolded.
Sixteen radiant books hovered in mid-air, circling slowly. Each one pulsed with its own hue, reflecting the nature of the skill it contained. Crimson, sapphire, silver, obsidian, gold. Their pages glowed faintly with energy inscriptions, as if whispering ancient spells.
These were his skills. Now externalized.
A system prompt glowed dimly in the corner of his vision:
[Skill Extraction Complete]
[Sixteen Skills Available for Fusion]
Ryuzen slowly sat up, his muscles aching. His breath was ragged, but his eyes burned with renewed purpose. The pain had faded, but his ambition had not.
"Now... it's time."
Wobbling slightly, he stepped forward toward the books.
All of this—the agony, the extraction—had only one goal. To forge something greater. To evolve beyond what he was.
To create D-Grade Skills.
His hands extended, fingers trembling as he summoned the Codex interface. The skills began aligning before him in a semi-circle, waiting for his selection.
He began analyzing them, one by one. Only after categorizing them he started the fusion.
1. Devour-Type Fusion:
[Devour's Hand (D)] + [Shell Sense (F)] + [Tunnel Gore Strike (E)]
The moment the fusion began, the three books twisted and merged violently. A black hole formed at the center of the triad, sucking light, air, and even the whispers of the Lab. The Void trembled.
From the darkness emerged a jagged obsidian tome, bleeding shadows.
Skill Acquired: Abyssal Grasp (D)
Type: Devour / Corruption
Effect: Host can manifest a demonic hand from the void that consumes a target's flesh, armor, and energy. If it kills, it restores HP and Mana. Grows stronger in areas with death energy.
Ryuzen's own palm briefly turned pitch black, and a faint hunger growled within him.
2. Berserker-Type Fusion:
[Night Berserker (E)] + [Alpha Instinct (D)] + [Phantom Claw (E)]
This fusion ignited like wildfire. Blood-red flames spiraled upward as the tomes collided, fusing with feral roars. A ghostly beast's outline thrashed inside the vortex before the light dimmed.
The resulting skill book emerged with claw marks burned into its leather.
Skill Acquired: Crimson Apex Frenzy (D)
Type: Berserker / Transformation
Effect: Enter a berserker state, drastically increasing strength, speed, and regeneration by 70%. While active, critical hits restore HP. However, sanity gradually erodes.
Veins bulged briefly across Ryuzen's arms before calming. His breathing grew heavier, more bestial.
3. Illusion-Type Fusion:
[Cicada Veil Mirage (E)] + [Water Resistance (F)] + [Windleap Dash (E)]
The fusion here was silent. No vortex, no noise. Just a ripple—like reality itself had glitched. For a moment, Ryuzen saw a hundred versions of himself flicker around him.
The new book shimmered with translucent ink, always seeming slightly out of phase.
Skill Acquired: Mist Phantom Steps (D)
Type: Illusion / Movement
Effect: Creates up to 3 afterimages that mimic Ryuzen's movements. One of them is real, others deal partial illusion damage. Movement speed increased while active. Confuses enemies.
His body briefly flickered with a ghostly double before vanishing.
4. Attack-Type Fusion:
[ Permafrost Spiral Lance (E) + Frostfang Blitz (E) + Blinding Claw (E) ]
This fusion cracked the air with a cry of ice and flame. The books fused in a clash of cold and heat, their essences tearing apart before fusing violently.
The resulting tome was half-frozen, half-scorched.
Skill Acquired: Solar Cryo Lance (D)
Type: Elemental Pierce / Attack
Effect: Forms a lance made of condensed sunfire and frost. On impact, it erupts with dual-element burst. Effective against armor and elemental defenses.
Ryuzen's arm trembled as an ethereal lance briefly flickered into existence.
5. Defense Type
[ [Frost Armor (E)] + [Glacial Fortress (E)]
When these three fused, the Codex's eye pulsed violently, as if resonating. Ancient draconic runes formed in the air. A golden-blue eye opened within the Void and stared back at Ryuzen.
The skill book that formed was shaped like a Ice scaled armour.
Skill Acquired: Ice Guardian Armour (D)
Type: Defense
Effect: Upon activating, it formes a indestructible Ice armour that increases magia defense by 50%
The shining Ice Guardian Armour appeared briefly before disappearing.
And finally the last one.
6. Mass Destruction Type:
[ Twin Eclipse Ascent (E) + Sunflare Glacier Roar (E) ]
The Fusion was anything but calm. Even the space itself buzzed. Those two destructive skills were finally combining into one.
[ Fusion Complete! ]
[ Skill Acquired: .... ]