[... Just us three? What about the others?]

Kaelen glanced at the two who sat beside him and wondered, and as though peering into his thoughts...

"The reason just you three have been summoned here is because you share one insurmountable achievement in common..."

...The gentlemanly Roach began explaining.

He continued:

"...You three, and only you three, have managed to defeat an Orc."

[!!]

Kaelen was shocked to say the least, recalling how difficult it was —No, how impossible it was for him to kill a single Orc. He literally almost died whilst not even being able to scratch the pig’s thick hide.

[How the hell were these two able to do it?]

Kaelen wondered. With what feeble strength they had, surely they should have died. He himself, was much stronger than these two when the Hunt started, so then, just how did they manage to achieve such a feat?

"I will first begin with Draven."

Not even allowing Kaelen to solve the puzzle, the Roach reached into his pocket dimension and shuffled.

"You seem to have awakened your racial trait during the battle with the Orc, allowing you to defeat it. Quite the remarkable feat, considering you are merely a child not even fully developed."

"However..."

"... "

The Roach paused, as though memories of what he saw at that scene left him deeply disturbed.

"...None of your Decadon’s members have survived. They all died aiding you in victory."

"Our Master, Lord Charymos is quite upset that he has lost so many of his assets."

The Roach waved an object he retrieved from his pocket space and gently placed it down on the glass table that was without even a single smudge, dirt or even a print.

Charymos had come to believe that the children of the 20th generation were somewhat all special. He had considered that perhaps the weaker ones had yet to fully awaken their potential —Which is ironic, considering he treats all of his creations like disposable goods, particularly the weak ones.

"And yet, rejoice, Draven. Our Master is full of grace and magnanimity."

"He still saw it fit to reward you."

The Roach extended the object in his hand, which was a skill book, toward Draven.

"I am most grateful."

Draven bowed to one knee and extended both of his arms.

[That’s...]

■■ Creator’s Eye: Insight.■■

Kaelen mouthed those words and his iris spiraled and formed intricate branches closely resembling a fibbonaci spiral.

Usually, they should have been able to sense the sudden shift in magicules in the air as Kaelen cast that spell, however, thanks to his high-level Mana Sensitivity skill, Kaelen is able to subconsciously suppress the magicules in the surroundings to conceal the fact that he had cast a spell.

In fact, Kaelen had done this a multitude of times before when he wanted to hide the fact that he had just cast a spell.

Of course, this is not without limitations, for more powerful spells, it would require a great deal of Mana and mental strength to conceal them.

<□ Skill Book: Shadow Bind.

Rank: C- □>

[Oh! Shadow Bind, that’s a pretty neat skill.]

Kaelen’s eyes glittered even more and he barely resisted the urge to snatch it away from Draven’s hands.

"To learn it, you must imagine yourself absorbing that book, and not only that, it must dissolve into your very essence."

The Roach directed, and although Draven seemed to struggle for a while, he was able to learn the skill.

The skill book became consumed by an azure-blue light which then turned to dust, said dust then invaded Draven’s nostrils until not even a speck remained.

"You have done well."

The Roach snapped his mandibles and reached into his pocket dimension once more.

"Each of you have also been granted a new weapon to match your current strength. These were forged from one of the Twelve Tridents of the Deep."

"Yes, Lord Charymos is indeed generous."

The Roach seemed to smile as he —

[Huh?! The Twelve Tridents?! No way! Those are Charymos’s personal weapons, why would he just give them to us just because we killed some Orcs?]

Kaelen almost shot up from the coach in disbelief. Knowing Charymos, and how selfish he is, why in the world would he give something so precious to mere Homonculi?

[Yeah, there’s no way... Let me just...]

Kaelen waited patiently for the Roach to retrieve the weapon, which closely resembled a machete, and it had a blue metallic luster —Much like the Twelve Tridents.

Kaelen gulped and activated his skill once more.

<□ Name: -

Grade: Unique.

True Grade: Legendary (sealed)* □>

[He... He really did it... What in the world?? Did he get promised a Divine Grade weapon or something?]

...

Weapon Grades in the world of Bloodbound Ascension are as follows: Common, Rare, Unique, Legendary, Mythic and Divine.

"The true power of these weapons are a tad too much for you to handle at the moment, so Lord Charymos had them sealed. However, as you grow stronger, so shall the weapon reveal its true might. So be sure to do your utmost best to be worthy of our Master’s generosity."

There was a hint of jealousy in the Roach’s voice as he rambled on.

Draven accepted his rewards and sat back down. Next, the Roach turned his attention to Thyra.

"Your fight was, well... Rather gruesome."

"You strategically allowed the Orc to swallow you alive and then you... Well, you know the details, don’t you, Thyra."

"It is a miracle that you are alive..."

The Roach offered Thyra a skill book of his own, and Kaelen immediately saw the skill’s name as Arc Step, which is a very powerful movement skill which uses lightning. Much like Draven’s, it too was a C- Rank skill.

Thyra also received a Sword of the same Grade.

"Kaelen... Your fight was..."

"You sacrificed yourself for your Decadon. Admirable, but extremely foolish. Lord Charymos forbids you from ever doing that again. Understood?"

Thyra and Draven looked at Kaelen with slightly dumbfounded expressions, just why in the world would he do that?

That was a question that would gnaw at them for their entire lives.

"Yes..."

[Whatever, just gimme my rewards!]

Kaelen pretended to regret his actions.

The Roach wasted no time and gave Kaelen his rewards, a bluish, Unique Grade spear reforged from one of the Twelve Tridents, as well as...

<□ Spectral Hand.

Rank: C+ Rank. □>

... A skillbook.

[!!]

[Oh, nice! I was wondering what I’d get, but this is really a good one!]

Kaelen immediately began absorbing the skillbook.

[Well, I was kinda hoping for Vector Break , or Hell Flame...]

[...But this honestly isn’t too bad either.]

The azure dust entered his nostrils as he continued his musings.

[Ah, that’s right. With enough practice, this skill should evolve into —]

Ding!

──────────────────────────

Status Window.

Ding!

-Congratulations, you have learned the C+ Rank skill, Spectral Hand.

Ding!

-Due to the user’s immense knowledge of the skill, the skill has evolved!

Ding!

>The skill has evolved!

-Spectral Hand [C+] -> Null Reach [A+]

Ding!

>The skill has evolved!

- Null Reach [A+] -> Phantom Grasp [S+]

Ding!

-The skill has reached its final evolution, congratulations, you have learned the skill Phantom Grasp!

──────────────────────────

[...Eh?]

Kaelen was utterly speechless as he read through his status window notifications with a blank expression.

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Phantom Grasp.

Skill Type: Spatial Manipulation / Extraction | Passive / Active.

Rank: S+.

>Description:

A technique that manifests an invisible reach beyond the user’s body, allowing interaction with objects or internal structures without physical contact. Phantom Grasp bypasses conventional barriers such as armor, flesh, or terrain, enabling the user to seize, manipulate, or extract targets directly from a chosen point in space.

>Active Effect:

[Null Extraction]: Seize and pull an object or internal component from a target without physical contact.

[Void Touch]: Apply intense pressure to a grasped object or structure, allowing the user to rupture, crush, or destroy it.

[Remote Seizure]: Instantly pull a weapon or carried object from an opponent toward the user.

>Passive Effect:

-Grants [Intangible Reach], allowing interaction with targets within a 25-meter radius without physical contact.

-Provides [Selective Targeting], enabling the user to isolate specific organs, bones, or embedded objects inside a creature.

-Allows retrieval or manipulation of items hidden in containers, pockets, or behind non-magical barriers.

-Grants faint spatial awareness of major organs when focusing on a living target.

-Enables precise remote manipulation of small objects such as weapons, tools, or artifacts.

>Special Trait:

[Spectral Precision] : Allows Phantom Grasp to isolate a specific object or organ within a target without disturbing surrounding matter.

>Limitations:

-Maximum effective range is 25 meters.

Targets whose rank exceeds the user’s by two or more tiers may resist internal targeting.

-Objects exceeding the user’s lifting capacity cannot be fully extracted.

-24 hour cooldown.

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