Cultivating.
The word echoed in Voren Kaleid's, syncing with his breathing, his pulse, the slow circulation of mana through veins that were still too narrow to fully contain it. Night had already swallowed the town, moonlight slipping through the tall window of his room in pale silver bands. The candles were unlit. He did not need them. His senses were turned inward, focused on the quiet storm unfolding within his body.
Mana flowed.
Not chaotically. Not greedily.
Correctly.
That alone made all the difference.
In his previous life, Voren had chased power the way a starving man chased food. He forced absorption. He widened channels too quickly. He ignored imbalance because results came fast, and fast results were praised.
And in the end, that instability led him no where.
Now, seated cross-legged on his bed, spine straight, hands resting loosely on his knees, Voren cultivated with the patience of someone who already knew how the story ended. He guided mana through his core in slow cycles, allowing Umbral Ether to settle without suffocating Radiant Pulse, letting Arcane Flux bind them instead of tearing them apart.
The second step of the Apprentice Rank had already been breached earlier that evening.
Cleanly.
No backlash. No tearing pain. No violent surge that left him gasping and hollow.
Just a quiet click, like a lock opening.
Ten steps made an Apprentice. In his past life, before regressing, he never reached the second step of the apprentice rank. The difference now was not talent. It was experience. He knew where he had gone wrong before. He knew which sensations signaled danger and which were harmless discomforts. He knew when to push and when to stop.
Most cultivators learned those lessons by bleeding.
Voren learned them by dying.
Mana thickened around his core, then dispersed evenly, reinforcing muscle fibers, sharpening neural pathways, polishing the edges of his perception. His cultivation speed had increased noticeably after the breakthrough, absorption efficiency rising as his core stabilized. It was almost laughable how much smoother everything felt once mistakes were removed.
After another full cycle, Voren slowly exhaled and opened his eyes.
The room felt different now.
Sharper. Deeper. As if the world had gained another layer of detail he could now perceive. He flexed his fingers, watching faint threads of mana dance across his skin before sinking back beneath the surface.
Second step.
A small milestone.
But solid.
He reached inward and summoned his interface
The system responded instantly.
—
[Awakened System]
Name: Voren Kaleid
Age: 16
Class: Tri-Elemental Warlock (A)
Level: 1 (0/100)
Title: None
Bloodline: Branch Hartwright Bloodline
Affinity:
• Umbral Ether (Darkness)
• Radiant Pulse (Light)
• Arcane Flux (Pure Mana)
Cultivation: Apprentice Rank (Second Step)
Race: Human
Attributes:
STR: 7
AGI: 9
END: 8
INT: 14
WIS: 12
LCK: 6
HP: 120 / 120
MP: 160 / 160
Skills:
• Steal By Death (Unranked): Obtain the awakened skill of the entity currently ending your life.
• Skill Weaver (SSS): Create any skill by describing it.
• Temporal Regression (SSS): Allows the user to rewind personal time to an earlier point in life. Activation triggered immediately after death when no other survival path remains or by user command. Manual activation consumes significant mana.
Mana Techniques:
• Shadow Flame Arrow (Uncommon - Level 4)
• Shadow Mana Body Enhancement (Rare - Level 2)
Concept:
• None
Story Progression: 1%
—
Voren stared at the panel longer than necessary.
The numbers were still low. Pathetically low. And yet, seeing them now filled him with a quiet satisfaction. These were not borrowed stats. Not rushed gains. They were built on a foundation he now trusted.
His gaze lingered on one thing in particular.
Bloodline: Branch Hartwright Bloodline.
A slow smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Aiden Hartwright.
The golden heir. The SSS Ranked Awakener. The prodigy with the penta-elemental bloodline. The one everyone said was destined to stand at the pinnacle of the academy, if not the kingdom itself.
In Voren's previous life, Aiden had awakened flawlessly. Five elements. Five affinities. Power that bent rules and broke expectations. He had looked down on others without even realizing he was doing it, cruelty delivered with the casual indifference of someone who had never been challenged.
And when Voren had stood in his way…
The memory surfaced without invitation.
Steel flashing under arena lights. The crowd shocked. Fate already decided in everyone's minds. Aiden's face, calm, bored even. No hatred. No anger.
Just dismissal.
The sword had entered Voren's chest without hesitation. No pause. No mercy. As if Voren were less than an obstacle. Less than a rival.
Less than a person.
Voren's hand tightened unconsciously.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," he said, voice steady.
The door opened, and his father stepped inside.
Aldric Kaleid did not announce himself. He never needed to. His presence carried weight born of discipline and long years of command. He closed the door quietly behind him and regarded his son for a moment, sharp eyes taking in the faint aura still clinging to Voren's body.
"You broke through again," Aldric said, not a question.
"Yes," Voren replied. "Second step."
Aldric nodded once. Approval, understated but genuine. He moved closer and sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping slightly under his weight. For a few seconds, he said nothing, as if choosing his words with care.
"There's something I learned today," Aldric began. "Something I thought you should hear from me."
Voren's attention sharpened. "About the academy?"
Aldric's brow furrowed faintly. "About someone who was supposed to be there."
He paused, then continued. "I always thought you'd meet Aiden Hartwright at the academy entrance exam. The paths were too aligned. Your growth. His reputation. Fate tends to enjoy symmetry like that."
Voren remained silent.
"It seems," Aldric said slowly, "that won't be happening."
That got a reaction.
Voren's eyes narrowed just a fraction. "Why?"
"It took time to confirm," Aldric said. "The Hartwright family is… secretive. Especially when the truth is unflattering. But the conclusion is solid."
He met Voren's gaze directly.
"Aiden Hartwright failed to awaken a mage class."
The words landed quietly.
He won't be able to attend the academy.
For a heartbeat, Voren felt nothing.
Then realization hit him like cold water.
Not weakened.
Not delayed.
Unable.
The pieces aligned in his mind with frightening clarity. The system. The skill. The moment of death in his previous life. Steal By Death.
He knew the skill allowed him to take Aiden's awakened skill.
But he had not considered that it might have taken everything.
Mana.
Affinity.
Potential.
All of it.
Gone.
Aiden Hartwright, the future prodigy, had been severed from mana itself. Not crippled temporarily. Not blocked indefinitely.
Erased.
Voren inhaled slowly.
So that was the true extent of it.
He wasn't only able to attain Aiden's skill, but also shut Aiden out of Mana, completely crippling the bastard.
A life for a future.
A shiver ran down his spine, not of fear, but of awe.
"That bastard…" Voren murmured under his breath.
Aldric watched him closely. "You sound unsurprised."
Voren hesitated, then shook his head. "Just… thinking about how fragile fate can be."
Aldric accepted that answer, though his eyes remained sharp. "Whatever the reason, someone like Aiden without power is… dangerous in a different way. Or harmless. Time will tell."
He stood and adjusted his coat. "Rest. You'll need a clear mind tomorrow."
As he reached the door, Aldric paused.
"There's one more thing," he said. "I don't know what happened to that boy. But bloodlines don't fail without reason. Even branches. Especially not ones like his."
He glanced back once. "Be careful, Voren."
Then he left.
The door closed softly behind him.
Silence returned.
Voren sat there, staring at nothing, his thoughts a tangled knot of satisfaction and unease.
He was pleased.
Someone as cruel as Aiden no longer had the power to hurt others. No influence. No sword backed by mana. No academy prestige. No path to dominance.
That was justice.
And yet…
It wasn't enough.
The memory of that blade sliding into his chest replayed again. The lack of emotion on Aiden's face. The way his life had ended without meaning, without acknowledgment.
Aiden deserved to die.
Voren believed that with unsettling certainty.
But had he gone too far?
He leaned back against the headboard, staring up at the ceiling. Steal By Death had not been a choice. It had triggered automatically, bound by rules he hadn't known then. Still, intent mattered less than outcome.
Aiden was alive.
But he was broken.
Condemned to live as everything he despised.
Powerless.
Anonymous.
Forgotten.
Voren's lips curved slightly.
When you are eager to take the life of someone, be prepared for yours to be taken.
The statement rang through Voren's mind.
Aiden's death would be justice.
Justice to Voren.
Then, a knock sounded at the door.
Before Voren could respond, it opened, and Iris slipped inside.
She didn't say a word.
She crossed the room in three quick steps and threw her arms around him, pressing herself against his chest with familiar ease. Her hair brushed his chin, warm and faintly scented, her body fitting against his as if it had always belonged there.
"You disappeared all day," she murmured, voice low, teasing, concerned all at once.
Voren blinked, tension draining from his shoulders as he wrapped an arm around her instinctively. "Training with Father," he said. "Lost track of time."
She tilted her head up, eyes catching the moonlight, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "You always say that."
He chuckled softly, resting his forehead against hers.
For now, the past could wait.
The future was already changing.
And Voren intended to shape it, no matter the cost.
--------
A/N : Explanation time! In the awakening process, someone awakens a mage class, mage skill, mage affinity. If one is gone, then the person never awakened, so Voren didn't only steal Aiden's skill, but also severed he's awakening.