I woke with the sun creeping through my blinds, feeling oddly refreshed after a night of too little sleep. My body hummed with energy, muscles ready and alert despite yesterday's... strenuous activities with Natalia.

This had to be the [MYSTICISM] trait at work. The golden ability that Apollo had graciously bestowed upon me after relieving me of half my Schema Points. At least it was proving its worth. My body recovered five times faster during sleep, my stamina was tripled, and my ability cooldowns reduced by 60%. All of that would be crucial for the upcoming exams.

I rolled out of bed, stepping over the scattered heap of clothes Natalia and I had carelessly discarded. The digital clock read 6:15 AM. Perfect. Natalia wouldn't be up for another hour, and Kimiko and Luka wouldn't return until late afternoon. Time to experiment with my new toys.

The home gym was a luxury Satori had scoffed at when we first moved in. It seemed like such a waste of space - who needs specialized equipment when you can barely touch your toes? Now, I stood in the mirror-lined room... and finally understood its value. Luka's insistence on having a "proper space for a Hunter's conditioning" was about to serve me well in ways he never intended.

I closed my eyes and summoned the System interface, its ethereal blue glow familiar behind my eyelids.

[ACTIVE ABILITIES (2/2):

Ember, Freezing Breath]

Both decent, but basic. Elemental attacks with limited range and power. The slot limitation was frustrating - only two active combat arts at once. Whoever designed this system clearly wanted to force specialization. Another way to make this "game" more challenging, no doubt.

I selected [SEVER] from my inventory and focused on bringing it online, feeling the slight mental tug that accompanied system manipulation.

[Would you like to swap an active ability? Current abilities: Ember, Freezing Breath.]

"Let's drop [Freezing Breath]," I muttered to the empty room.

[Ability swap initiated. [SEVER] is now active. [Freezing Breath] has been stored. Note: Ability swap cooldown is 24 hours.]

I tried to swap back to [Freezing Breath] out of curiosity. A red notification flashed in my vision. [Swap Failed. Cooldown in effect: 23:59:58]. A full day. So, no changing my loadout mid-fight. I had to choose my weapons before the battle started. Another leash from my divine zookeepers, forcing me to think ahead.

As [FREEZING BREATH] deactivated, I felt a phantom sensation of cold leaving my lungs, replaced by a tingling sharpness that spread through my fingers. The change was subtle but unmistakable - like having a tool removed from your belt and another clipped in its place.

I faced the training dummy, a reinforced mannequin designed to withstand B-Rank Hunter training. It had the vague shape of a humanoid, with a torso, head, and limbs covered in a material that mimicked the resistance of monster hide. Perfect for what I needed to test.

"Let's see what this can do."

I stepped into a wide stance and performed a classic karate chop motion with my right hand, focusing my will into the movement.

"Sever."

SHING!

A sharp tug in my core, a flicker of will channeled through my hand. There was no sound, no flash of light, just a faint shimmer in the air like heat haze on a summer road. A deep, clean line carved itself into the dummy's chest.

"Holy shit," I whispered, staring at my hand in astonishment.

This wasn't some showy fireball or ice blast. This was an assassin's weapon - invisible, silent, and deadly. The cut was so clean that if the dummy had been a person, they might not even realize they'd been hit until they saw their own blood pouring out. My kind of ability.

I tried a different approach, extending just my index and middle fingers like a gun and aiming at the dummy's arm.

"Sever."

Zing!

A smaller, more focused cut appeared on the target's bicep. The accuracy was impressive. I could already imagine the applications - tendon severing, artery opening, throat slitting from across a room.

For my final test, I stood completely still and tried to manifest the slash with thought alone. No hand movements, no spoken word. Just pure mental intention.

Vrrrmm...

A faint, wavering distortion appeared, barely visible even in the morning light streaming through the windows. It struck the dummy with much less force, leaving only a shallow scratch on its surface.

Interesting. So the hand motions weren't just for show. They served as focusing tools - somatic components that channeled and strengthened the ability. Without them, the power was present but weak. Given my pathetic F-110 Magic stat, this made sense. I didn't have the raw magical power to overcome the need for physical focus. Yet another weakness to overcome.

I ran my fingers along the deep slash in the dummy's chest. The cut was clean enough to perform surgery with. The perfect tool for a man who'd spent years working as an enforcer for the Yamaguchi-gumi.

In my old life, I'd broken kneecaps with baseball bats and fingers with pliers. I'd watched men beg and sob as I methodically worked through their extremities. It had been messy, brutal work that left stains on carpets and clothes. With [SEVER], I could disable an opponent cleanly. Slice a hamstring from across the room. Cut a throat without getting blood on my suit... if they were weak eno—

"Already up and training, son? That's the spirit!"

I turned to see Luka entering the gym, wearing track pants and a sleeveless shirt that displayed arms thick enough to crush bowling balls. His face beamed with that infuriating fatherly pride that still made me want to grimace. The interruption couldn't have come at a worse time.

"Morning," I replied, casually angling my body to block his view of the sliced dummy. "Just getting started."

Luka clapped a hand on my shoulder, squeezing with enough force to make a normal person wince. His affectionate gestures were borderline assault. "Mind if I join you? Been a while since we trained together."

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