Asher stared at the notification like it might explain itself if he waited long enough.
It didn't.
[Skill Fragment Detected]
Status: Unstable
Compatibility: Partial
"…That sounds bad," Asher said.
The system, as usual, refused to clarify.
He sat on the floor of his apartment, back against the couch, still wearing yesterday's hoodie. His body felt used—but not wrecked. Sore in the way that suggested improvement, not regret.
That alone felt like progress.
Another screen flickered.
[Skill Fragment – Details Available]
Asher squinted.
"…Available how?"
The screen expanded.
Skill Fragment: Kinetic Step (Fragment)
Type: Movement
Status: Incomplete
Description:
Allows short-range displacement using redirected momentum.
Limitations:
• High inefficiency
• Increased strain on joints
• Unpredictable activation timing
Asher stared.
Then frowned.
"…So it's Burst Step's weird cousin."
[Clarification]
It is a primitive variant.
"Primitive like 'bad,' or primitive like 'dangerous'?"
[Yes.]
Asher sighed.
"Of course."
He tapped the fragment.
Nothing happened.
He tapped it again.
Still nothing.
"…Do I think it harder, or—"
Pain spiked in his knee.
Asher yelped and flailed sideways, sliding across the carpet and slamming shoulder-first into the couch.
"…Ow."
He lay there, blinking.
"…Did I just activate it?"
[Kinetic Step – Partial Activation Detected]
Efficiency: Low
Control: Minimal
Asher groaned and rolled onto his back.
"So the instructions are… 'don't.'"
The system did not disagree.
He sat up slowly, testing his knee. It hurt, but not badly. No sharp pain. No lingering damage.
"…Okay," he said. "That's good. Still not doing that again."
[Notice]
Repeated exposure will improve control.
"Yeah," Asher replied. "Repeated exposure to a stove improves tolerance too. Doesn't mean I touch it."
He pushed himself to his feet and paced the room, thinking.
Burst Step was reliable now.
Kinetic Step was not.
But it did something Burst Step didn't—it used momentum instead of replacing it.
"…Mid-fight adjustments," he murmured. "Corner saves. Direction changes."
Dangerous.
Useful.
Eventually.
"For now," Asher said, pointing at the floating window, "you stay off."
[Acknowledged.]
He checked his coin count.
Angelic Coins: 92
Asher nodded.
"No impulse buys," he reminded himself. "We learned this lesson."
The system did not remind him how expensive pain dampening had been.
Which somehow felt judgmental.
Asher glanced toward the faint pull of the dungeon.
It was there.
Waiting.
But it didn't press.
"…Not today," he said. "You got your run."
The pull receded slightly.
Approval? Maybe.
Or calculation.
Either way, Asher sat back down and grabbed his phone.
A message blinked on-screen.
MAYA:
You walking like a normal human today or should I prep the first-aid kit?
Asher smiled and typed back.
ASHER:
Normal-ish. Progress.
MAYA:
That's the most alarming version of normal you could've sent.
He laughed quietly.
"…Fair."
Asher leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
He wasn't strong.
Not really.
But he was learning how not to die.
And in a system that rewarded risk and punished stupidity—
That felt like the better starting point.
Somewhere deep inside Heaven's Heart, something settled.
Not a surge.
Not a thrill.
Just a quiet note added to the calculation.