Skill Combiner
Luke stared at the glowing interface floating before him, the soft hum of the system screen illuminating his dorm room with a pale blue hue. His eyes fixed on the number: 500,002 Clicks. A grin tugged at the corners of his lips.
"Finally!" Luke said, the excitement bubbling in his voice.
With a sharp swipe of his hand through the air, the screen shifted panels at his command."Search, 'Skill Combiner'," Luke said aloud, triggering the system's intelligent filter to sort through the digital sea of weapons, techniques, rare artifacts, and tools.
Blades with glowing names, armor forged from void-stone, ancient techniques from sealed clans—all passed in a blur. But none of it caught Luke's attention. His eyes only gleamed when the system highlighted a singular golden icon pulsing at the center of the screen:
[ Skill Combiner ]
"If this 'Skill Combiner' works how it's supposed to," Luke muttered with anticipation, "then it'd help out a lot in creating stronger techniques." A pause followed, and then under his breath, "It'll also make my status panel look more presentable."
Without hesitation, Luke tapped the glowing [ Purchase ] button.
The 500,000 Clicks that had taken him weeks of grinding, training, and risking his life vanished from the interface in a blink.
"All that hard work better be worth it," Luke said through clenched teeth, his knuckles whitening as he bit his bottom lip.
[ Purchased Ability: 'Skill Combiner' ]
[ Deducted 500,000 Clicks from the host ]
Another screen appeared, elegant and direct:
[ Choose to Ingrain Ability? ][ Y / N ]
"Of course," Luke replied, shifting his mental command to confirm the option.
A faint pulse echoed through his body, like a ripple through calm water. Yet there was no pain. No jolt. Just… stillness.
"Open Status Panel," he said, and the familiar interface expanded before him.
[ STATUS ]
NAME: Luke
PHYSIQUE: 281
MANA: 229
CLICKS: 500,002
SKILLS:
Flowthread – Great Accomplishment
Serene Flow – Great Accomplishment
Azure Steps – Great Accomplishment
Shifting Edge – Great Accomplishment
Physical Enhancement – Great Accomplishment
Striking Tide – Great Accomplishment
Bellowing Steps – Great Accomplishment
Arcane Steps – Basic
Dragon's Descent – Basic
PASSIVE SKILLS:
Calm Mind
6th Sense
ABILITIES [ NEW! ] :
Skill Combiner
"Show description"Luke ordered the System,
SKILL COMBINER -
Creates a new skill from fusion of multiple skills, cannot combine skills of varying proficiency.
Luke blinked twice, eyes narrowing slightly. "Does that mean I can't combine a skill at great accomplishment with something that's still at basic proficiency?" he wondered aloud.
Shrugging, he gave it a shot anyway.
"Combine… Bellowing Steps and Arcane Steps," Luke said.
Nothing happened.
No pulse. No glow. No feedback.
Just silence.
"That just proves it," he said with a smirk, scoffing lightly as he leaned back in his chair.
"Alright then… Combine Azure Steps and Bellowing Steps," he uttered, voice sharp and direct.
A sudden burst of golden light flashed through the room. Luke's body glowed from the inside out, he looked down at his right arm shimmering like polished crystal in the dim evening light.
The brilliance slowly faded, and he looked at his hands in astonishment. He could still feel the lingering heat of that moment. Without wasting time, he commanded:
"Status."
[ STATUS ]
NAME: Luke
PHYSIQUE: 281
MANA: 229
CLICKS: 500,002
SKILLS:
Flowthread – Great Accomplishment
Serene Flow – Great Accomplishment
Shifting Edge – Great Accomplishment
Physical Enhancement – Great Accomplishment
Striking Tide – Great Accomplishment
Arcane Steps – Basic
Dragon's Descent – Basic
Aurolith Shift - Basic [ NEW! ]
PASSIVE SKILLS:
Calm Mind
6th Sense
ABILITIES [ NEW! ] :
Skill Combiner
-----------------------------
Aurolith Shift
Description : Is it real, Are you Real, Am I.. Real_?
"Aurolith Shift?" Luke read aloud, confused at first.
He paused.Maybe the skill I get from combining depends on the types I used. Since I used two movement-type skills… he thought.
"Let's try it out, then."
He stood from his chair and walked into the center of the room, taking a deep breath.
"Before, when I used Azure Steps, it was as if I was shattering metal plates—every movement had a sharp, slicing edge. Bellowing Steps, however… it wasn't refined. It felt heavier—every step was like a shockwave pressing down on the ground."
He exhaled slowly, centering his breathing. Then, Luke took a single step forward.
To an untrained eye, it seemed like a normal movement.
But in truth—time skipped.
In the space where Luke had once been, there remained a fading afterimage. A perfect mirage of his body frozen in mid-motion, flickering like light caught in a prism.
Several feet ahead, Luke blinked into reality again and turned around.
"What… was that?" he whispered.
He stared at the image behind him.
"An afterimage!" he exclaimed in disbelief.
"How strong would someone have to be in this world to see their own afterimage?" Luke muttered, both fascinated and thrilled.
Luke decided to look at his 'clicks' he had remaining left
He scrolled through the marketplace.
"I could just save and buy two Advanced Boxes," he muttered, scrolling faster.
"But…" he paused, tapping his chin. "Wouldn't it be smarter to save up for the next tier after that?"
His finger hovered over the glowing icon labeled [ Great Box – 10,000 Clicks ].
"I think I would have something to look forward to"Luke said as he clicked the system button Infront of him once then a notification popped up Infront of him.
"I think I've found something to look forward to," Luke said with a confident nod.
Luke directed his attention to the Clicker button, Luke clicked the button once-
[ Button Upgrade ]
[ Issuing Rewards... ]
"Huuuuhh?!" Luke exclaimed, eyes wide with anticipation.