Dual Additional Traits

The first rays of morning sunlight spilled through the window, casting a warm golden glow across the wooden floor of the workshop.

Robb stood at the center of the training room, taking a deep breath as he felt the steadily increasing flow of power within his body.

He closed his eyes, and his thoughts drifted to the origin of his bloodline.

House Reyne, an ancient house that had existed since the founding of the Farwynd Kingdom.

According to the family's old records, their bloodline could be traced back to the mighty Hydra Serpent of the divine era.

But in truth, every noble knight family with a bloodline inheritance could trace their ancestry to some immensely powerful supernatural creature.

It wasn't particularly rare, everyone's ancestors were "glorious" once. Nowadays, the Reyne family could, at best, awaken the ordinary Swamp Hydra bloodline.

The family crest even bore the image of a multi-headed serpent, symbolizing the family's roots and strength.

Back in the kingdom, Robb had often wondered why humans would have the bloodlines of venomous serpents or dragons.

He'd even indulged in a few forbidden theories. But now… it all seemed to be the result of wizard experiments.

"But now…"

Robb muttered softly, fingers brushing over his arm, where golden meridian-like markings faintly glowed beneath the skin, proof of the Solar Blessing trait granted by the Solar Breath.

Ever since he broke through using the improved Sunfire Essence, he could feel a strange heat coursing through his body. It felt both alien and oddly familiar, as if a long-dormant force was slowly awakening.

"The Reyne family's Hydra bloodline and the Lightlord Dragon's subspecies bloodline awakened by the Solar Breath… two fundamentally different extraordinary bloodlines coexist within me."

Robb fell into deep thought:

"And with the Primal Tracing trait I just gained, maybe I can push them both further, back to their purest, most ancient forms."

The idea of stacking multiple bloodlines made his heart race.

Of course, he remained cautious.

Bloodline activation was a double-edged sword. If its direction went off-course or the intensity surged too high, it could lead to mutation.

But with the Primal Tracing trait and his precisely formulated activation potion, he might minimize those risks to the greatest extent.

"No matter what, I'll get my answer in a few days," Robb murmured as he slowly opened his eyes.

He reached for the ironwood training sword beside him and moved through a series of basic sword techniques.

Each movement was fluid and natural. His swordplay flowed like water, with no wasted motion or strength.

Every muscle in his body moved in perfect sync, and each strike carried an almost terrifying precision and sharpness.

In the morning light, the sword arcs shimmered gracefully, slicing through the air with a faint whistle.

[Current Progress: Basic Swordcraft (Mastery – MAX)]

"It's definitely capped…" Robb muttered, sheathing the sword. "Practicing further won't gain any more experience."

Basic Swordcraft had reached its limit. His skill panel confirmed there was no more room for improvement.

At this point, more drills would be a waste of time. With the skill solidified on his panel, his level wouldn't regress even without practice.

"If I want to go further in swordsmanship, I'll probably need to advance to a Spellblade first."

"Until then, I should focus on magic."

Today marked his second full week in the workshop. To save time, Erik and Lia had scheduled the weekly test together, passing it would qualify him for the second-phase curriculum.

"I've got that test this afternoon. Might as well practice my spells for now."

Robb smiled faintly and turned toward his casting focus, a finely crafted silver bracelet.

He had bought it not long ago, designed to better channel mana and improve spell efficiency. It had cost about a dozen magic stone fragments.

Though only a basic alchemical artifact, it was perfectly adequate for his current stage.

Standing in the open space of the workshop, Robb took a deep breath and calmed both his breathing and mental state. He raised his hands and closed his eyes, feeling the flow of magic within him.

First, he tuned in to the room's ambient energy, then slowly focused his attention on a special training creature: a white lab mouse placed under a transparent glass dome.

This mouse, specially bred for training, was highly sensitive to fluctuations in mental energy, ideal for practicing mind interference spells.

"Mental Disruption…"

Robb began concentrating his mental power, forming it into subtle, nearly invisible ripples.

Though fragile-looking, these ripples were built from a carefully designed mental disruption model, capable of interfering with a target's nervous system to induce brief confusion or dizziness.

He repeatedly adjusted the wave's frequency and intensity, trying to find the optimal balance.

Too weak, and there'd be no effect.

Too strong, and he risked permanently damaging the mouse, rendering it useless.

His first few attempts were far from ideal.

On the first try, the mouse didn't react.

The second time, it only twitched its ears.

The third time, it froze for a moment but quickly recovered.

"Still not precise enough…" Robb frowned.

He shut his eyes and fully immersed himself in the mental architecture, attempting a more complex waveform.

This time, he built a looped mental ripple structure, which in theory would target specific brain regions more accurately.

"Attempt number four…"

As he released the psychic wave, an invisible ripple shot precisely toward the glass dome.

This time, the effect was immediate, the mouse froze in place, completely motionless, its eyes turning vacant and dazed.

It wasn't merely still, it was in a state of targeted neural interference. Robb could sense that the mouse's brain activity had been temporarily halted.

After several dozen seconds, the mouse gradually returned to normal, though clearly fatigued and confused, a textbook case of post-disruption symptoms.

[Mental Disruption EXP +1]

[Breakthrough! Mental Disruption (Novice 50/50) → Mental Disruption (Adept 1/100)]

[New Trait Acquired: Delay Zone (In certain areas, disruption effects are slightly enhanced)]

"Success!" Robb whispered excitedly, sensing subtle changes in how his mental energy now flowed.

After a brief rest, he moved on to practicing Spell Construction, the foundation of all magic, determining the caster's control over mana and the stability of spell models.

He picked up a special crystal orb designed for training this skill.

The orb could reflect the caster's mana control in real time. Any instability or fluctuation would show up clearly inside.

"This time I'll try a triple-layered construct…"

Robb muttered. It was a more advanced technique he'd seen in the book Essentials of Wizardry Modeling, usually reserved for seasoned casters.

He channeled a stream of mental energy into the orb, beginning to build the spell structure.

Starting with a simple ring-shaped base, he then increased the complexity by adding a second and third layer, each one resonating with the last in a precise harmonic pattern.

Inside the orb, intricate light patterns began to appear. Initially blurry, they grew sharper and more stable as Robb fine-tuned them.

The process was mentally exhausting. Sweat beaded on Robb's forehead, and his breathing quickened.

But he pushed through, adjusting every detail until the three layers inside the orb reached perfect equilibrium.

"This is it…"

The moment he eliminated the last bit of instability, the light patterns within the orb suddenly flared with clarity, the three ring-shaped constructs overlapping perfectly in a harmonious whole.

[Spell Construction EXP +1]

[Breakthrough! Spell Construction (Novice 50/50) → Spell Construction (Adept 1/100)]

[New Trait Acquired: Stabilized Mode (Slightly increases model stability and reduces mana cost)]

"All that buildup over the past few days finally paid off just in time."

Robb spoke softly, satisfied with his double breakthrough.

These two newly improved skills would definitely come in handy during today's weekly test.

After spell practice, Robb sat cross-legged and began his daily meditation.

As his awareness shifted inward, he entered the familiar galaxy, the unique mental space of the Whispers of the Star-Eater.

As always, the vast universe stretched out before him, filled with countless living stars that shimmered with eerie light, as if whispering secrets.

But today, something was different.

The stars seemed more active than usual. Their glow more intense. Their whispers louder, clearer.

And then, he thought he understood snatches of actual words:

"…come… back…"

Robb's heart skipped a beat. This was the first time he had heard such clear "voices" during his meditation.