Now both of them were back at the makeshift training ground, sitting cross-legged on the packed earth. Their eyes closed simultaneously as their consciousness entered the dimensional realm once again, the familiar transition carrying them from physical reality to the timeless space within.

The moment they materialized on the mountain peak, both separated quickly, heading to their respective training areas. Excitement thrummed through both of them—Seraphine eager to test her newly evolved power, and Leon determined to approach the level 100 barrier from an entirely different angle.

Yet in the corner of both their minds, the thought of the dungeon remained like a persistent shadow. It was the thing keeping them anchored here, preventing them from moving forward. Hundreds of Leon's people were trapped inside, and worst of all, the largest concentration of his followers was in this particular dungeon. The second dungeon, Leon thought grimly as he walked toward his usual training spot. With 140 capacity, it holds the most people. I can't leave until I know what happened to them.

Seraphine found her own section of the mountain and immediately began experimenting. Her rank 6 lightning affinity responded to her will with unprecedented eagerness, the element practically singing through her channels. And the rank 5 light affinity—still new, still strange—offered possibilities she'd never imagined before. Time to see what I can really do now.

Meanwhile, Leon stood in his corner of the rocky mountain, surrounded by evidence of his previous six months of training. Craters pockmarked the landscape, scorch marks blackened the stone, and chunks of rock lay scattered where they'd been blasted apart by repeated magical bombardment. He barely noticed the destruction anymore—it had become so commonplace that it registered as background noise, nothing out of the ordinary.

His mana surged as he raised his hand toward a large boulder, easily twice his height. "Lightning Bolt."

The skill activated instantly. Not one bolt, but five—the maximum number he'd discovered through countless hours of practice—streaked from his outstretched palm. Thick, concentrated lightning hammered into the rock with devastating precision, each bolt as thick as his arm and crackling with destructive energy.

CRACK-BOOM!

The boulder exploded, fragments flying in all directions as the lightning obliterated it completely. The smell of ozone hung heavy in the air, and residual electricity danced across the ground where the rock had stood.

Five simultaneous bolts, Leon thought, studying the destruction with a critical eye. That's the limit. No matter how creative I get, no matter what methods I try, it won't cross the barrier. It won't become powerful enough to go beyond level 100.

But his mentality was different now. Previously, he'd been too focused on forcing the skill itself to evolve, to somehow break through its ceiling through sheer determination and innovation. He'd been creative, yes, but not looking at the full picture.

What if, Leon thought, his mind racing with new possibilities, the skill was never meant to cross level 100 on its own?

That didn't mean he had to give up on his goal. On the contrary, what if the skill needed something else to go beyond? What if it alone was never enough, no matter how much he refined it? Like combining it with a different skill. Maybe that's the answer.

Leon raised both hands this time, his mana flowing through different channels. He clapped them together with explosive force.

BOOM!

Thunder erupted from the contact point, his hands now wreathed in crackling electricity. A wake of thunderous shockwaves spread outward in concentric rings, the raw sound itself becoming a weapon. This was Thunder Clap—another level 100 common rank skill, designed to neutralize weak opponents through overwhelming sensory assault and kinetic force.

Two level 100 skills, Leon mused, watching the shockwaves dissipate. Both lightning-based. Both at their apparent ceiling. But what if I could combine them?

The question was how. He tried to visualize it in his mind—the two skills merging, their properties blending into something greater than the sum of their parts. But nothing happened. The mental exercise alone wasn't sufficient.

If I want to combine skills, I should at least be able to perform both simultaneously.

The logic seemed sound, but when he tried to execute it, he immediately hit a wall. Leon attempted to cast Lightning Bolt and Thunder Clap at the same time, channeling mana through the different pathways simultaneously.

But he couldn't do it.

He could cast them incredibly fast—the difference between activating one and then the other was less than a millisecond, his reactions and control having been honed to superhuman levels. To an outside observer, they might as well be simultaneous.

But Leon felt it. It's not at the same time. There's a sequence, however brief. First one, then the other. That's not a combination—that's just rapid succession.

Days passed. Then weeks. Leon threw himself at the problem with single-minded determination, attempting thousands of variations. He tried different mana channeling patterns, altered his mental focus, and experimented with overlapping the activation sequences.

A month passed in the dimensional space.

Finally, standing on the same scarred mountainside, Leon felt something click into place. The two skills' mana patterns had become so familiar through constant repetition that he could navigate them instinctively, without conscious thought. And in that moment of perfect familiarity, he found the synchronization he'd been seeking.

Leon raised his hands. His mana split into two streams, flowing through both skill patterns simultaneously—not rapidly in sequence, but truly at the same instant. He clapped his hands together while simultaneously projecting the lightning bolt formation.

The world seemed to hold its breath.

Then both skills were activated in perfect unison. Thunder erupted from his clap while five lightning bolts manifested and launched forward, the two effects occurring in the exact same moment, occupying the same space-time.

And something fundamental shifted.

A transparent golden window materialized in front of Leon, hovering in the air with text that made his heart race with excitement. The familiar interface of the system, but with a message he'd never seen before.

[Skill Synchronization Detected]

Lightning Bolt (Common – Level 100) + Thunder Clap (Common – Level 100)

Combination Conditions Met

Would you like to combine these skills into a new unified skill?

Warning: Original skills will be consumed in the fusion process. This action cannot be undone.

[Yes] / [No]

A smile spread across Leon's face, stretching from ear to ear until he must have looked half-mad with triumph. His heart pounded with excitement, adrenaline surging through his system.

Finally! The thought rang through his mind like a bell. I succeeded! This is it—this is how you break past level 100!

The answer had been there all along, hidden in plain sight. Skills didn't evolve past their ceiling individually—they combined, merged, and transcended their original forms through fusion with complementary abilities. The barrier wasn't meant to be broken through brute force or incremental improvement. It was meant to be overcome through synthesis, through understanding that greater power came not from perfecting a single skill but from unifying multiple skills into something entirely new.

Leon's hand moved toward the [Yes] option, trembling slightly with anticipation. After six months of frustration, after countless failed attempts and the growing despair of hitting an immovable wall, he'd finally found the path forward.

This changes everything, he thought, his mind already racing ahead to the implications. If I can combine skills, then the level 100 ceiling isn't a limit—it's just the first stage. How many combinations are possible? How powerful could the resulting skills become?

His finger hovered over the confirmation, ready to take the first step into unexplored territory.

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