Affinity Testing(1)

Lindarion inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the crisp scent of the meadow.

His arms were stretched out, waiting—no, hoping—for something, anything to happen.

A vein twitched dangerously on his forehead. Ready to explode at any moment.

Thalorin had left him. In the middle of nowhere. Alone.

The bastard didn't even give proper directions. Just dumped him here with some vague instructions about a well and a cave.

Lindarion exhaled sharply, forcing his mind to focus.

"First things first, let's test these affinities. Then I'll go punch that cave or whatever."

The wind whispered through the clearing as he took his stance, readying himself foor the test.

Closing his eyes, he pulled mana from his core, guiding it outward through his body.

'Let's start with Void.'

Void wasn't like fire or water or even thunder. It wasn't raw destruction. It wasn't anything.

It was absence.

He extended his hand, focusing. The world around him was constantly moving, always shifting. But Void?

Void ignored the world. It was basically nothingness.

He envisioned a space where reality simply ceased. And—

—The world went still.

Birdsong vanished. The wind stopped.

The air trembled violently.

A swirling black dot appeared in front of him, absorbing light, sound… everything. A tiny hole, in reality, a place where existence refused to continue.

Lindarion stared, transfixed.

'Holy shit. Reminds me of some Anime power..'

Then he let go.

The black dot collapsed instantly without doing anything, snapping the world back into motion. The birds resumed chirping. The wind picked up again.

And Lindarion?

He was dying.

Sweat poured down his face. His legs trembled like wet noodles.

And then—he collapsed like a sack of bricks.

'That… that was a Tier 1 technique? I didn't even do anything flashy, and my whole body just gave up?'

His fingers dug into the grass as he struggled to push himself up. He felt like he had just been hit by a celestial beast—several times.

'If this is the lowest level of Void techniques, then the higher tiers are going to be absolutely busted.'

A weak chuckle escaped him.

'I should've tested this one last…'

His hands were still shaking. No, his entire body was still shaking.

And he had nine more affinities to go.

A slightly manic grin tugged at his lips.

'Hell yeah, this is going to be fun as fuck.'

But first, he needed to recover. Immediately.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself forward, crawling toward the regeneration well Thalorin had graciously neglected to specify the exact effects of.

His master's words echoed in his mind like an annoying chorus.

"The well accelerates recovery."

Yeah, that was all he got. Fantastic.

Eventually, after an embarrassingly long search, he found it. Basically hidden behind the overly large cave.

Piece by piece, he stripped off his clothes, and then slid into the water.

Instantly, pain.

A sharp, burning sensation tore through him, like a thousand tiny needles stabbing every part of his body at once.

'Oh, so this is how I die. Cool.'

Then, as fast as it came, the pain vanished.

A deep, overwhelming calm settled into his bones. His muscles loosened. His mana core felt like it was being refilled.

'Okay… still stings, but not bad. I might survive after all.'

The exhaustion faded. Not completely, but enough for him to move again.

Lindarion stepped out of the well, shaking off the water.

'Next up—Blood Affinity.'

He turned his palm upward, drawing mana from his core once more. Unlike Void, this affinity wasn't about nothingness.

It was life itself.

A rhythmic pulse filled his ears, syncing perfectly with his heartbeat. His blood carried his mana, weaving together as one.

'Okay, this feels… way too good.'

Lindarion clenched his fist.

With a single thought, he commanded his blood to move.

A thin cut opened on his palm, but there was no pain. Instead of spilling, his blood hovered, swirling in the air.

His eyes widened.

'That's insanely overpowered what the fuck.'

A flick of his fingers—his blood hardened, forming a thin, crimson blade.

Then, with another thought, it collapsed back into liquid and slipped seamlessly into his skin.

He exhaled.

'So I can turn my blood into weapons. This is either the coolest thing ever or the fastest way to die of anemia.'

He wasn't going to question it. Moving on.

"Let's go continue with the Astral Affinity."

According to the system, Astral wasn't tangible. It wasn't something that could be touched or seen, yet it existed everywhere.

It was space itself.

He focused. Immediately, his body felt lighter. Like gravity had loosened its grip on him.

For a fleeting moment, he felt himself slip into something else.

'This feels like being weightless in space…'

His eyes snapped open.

Thin, glowing threads pulsed around him. They shifted, waiting. He reached out—

—The world shuddered.

He stepped forward and then suddenly reappeared three meters away.

Lindarion froze.

'Did I just… teleport?'

"System. What the hell just happened?"

[Host did not fully leave this world. Instead, you utilized the Astral Plane to bridge the distance. For a brief moment, you existed in two places at once—then chose one.]

He processed that for a second.

'That's the coolest thing I've ever heard in my life.'

He tested it again, aiming for a shorter distance. The moment he willed it—

—He moved, effortlessly slipping through space.

But his mana?

Already running on fumes.

Wiping sweat from his brow, he checked his reserves. Two uses—and he was almost empty.

'Yeah, I can't spam this. Would be nice if I could, though.'

Sighing, he dove back into the well. The instant healing kicked in again, restoring his drained core.

By the time he climbed out, he was more than ready for the next affinity.

"Most people take years to master the fundamentals, right?"

[Exactly, Host.]

Lindarion smirked. "Sucks for them. But I'm not most people."

He cracked his knuckles.

'Time for Lightning.'

Mana surged. Immediately, his entire body hummed, as if a thousand tiny sparks crackled beneath his skin.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears.

'Oh… I really like this one.'

Unlike Void's eerie stillness or Astral's weightlessness, Lightning was wild. Unpredictable. It demanded control. Which Lindarion did not have yet..

The air thickened with electricity as he raised his palm.

For a moment—nothing.

Then—

BOOM.

A blinding arc of blue-white lightning exploded from his fingertips, shattering the air with a deafening crack.

The ground trembled beneath him.

And then—

He was launched backward like a ragdoll.

His body tumbled violently, rolling across the dirt before crashing into a bush.

His ears rang. His vision spun.

'That… was a bit too much.'

But he wasn't done. Not yet.

Lightning wasn't just power. It was speed.

Mana flooded his legs. He tensed—

—and vanished.

The world blurred. He became a streak of energy, reappearing four meters away.

'I'm amazing—'

Then—

His vision blacked out.

His body crumpled, completely drained.

'Mana exhaustion… again.'

The ground met him like an old friend.

Lindarion lay there, unmoving.

He had reached his limit.

For now.