He found himself in a white void. Zeke glanced at his surroundings, reminded of what this place was.

He got sent here two times before; when he found himself deep within Valorie's channels after Alex's skill tried to corrupt her with Undeath.

Another time was when he and Mikella first met Zoan, an angel that possessed Clara's body as a vessel. Mikella went through this process herself when she fused her own skills, revealing that this special place is actually some sort of internal world within himself, or perhaps it was a universal plane where those who delve deep into their psyche can visit.

Unlike the last two times, he was all alone; just himself and several glowing items surrounding him.

He recalled the experience Mikella told him from when she fused her skills, and this exact same scenario came into being.

However, he could actually feel his resources draining the more time he spent here. His head was aching, and he knew his body was becoming weaker as time went by in this special void. He wasn't sure how much time was being spent here, nor did he know if time even moved at all. He really hoped it was the latter, but unfortunately his own body's weakness piling up became the timer for this occasion.

Right now, he wanted to make a barrier to protect everyone from the eventual collapse of the tower. Now the question is–which skill should he fuse to make it work?

His eyes felt like daggers were stabbing at their back, and his cranium felt like exploding at any moment.

But he also felt something else. Something flowing into him, keeping him stable in his own little world. He knew it was the others supporting him, proving that he wasn't alone.

It was no wonder why people needed an entire skill chamber to keep things safe. This raw experience would be too much for anyone, even for someone with a decent amount of Steadfast Mind levels like him.

All of a sudden, a glowing item pulled up in front of him, surprising him. It was a rather bright blue-colored item, looking like a cartoonish-looking brain with small sparks coiling around it, acting as neuron activations. This is when he realized that he instinctively called up his skill Steadfast Mind when he thought about it.

Putting the skill aside, he pulled in the rest of his skills he had available. Title Skills, Class Skills, and his Race Skill was out; only his General and Acquired Skills showed up.

But somehow, some of the skills didn't show up. He paused at this strange feeling, feeling as though he hit a wall–Several walls, actually. Snapping his fingers, which was a strange feeling in his non-physical form, he recalled the reason why and brought up his notifications, which still showed the same as usual even in this special place.

Mythril Skin Level Up! It is now Level 10 (Maxed).

You have gained +1 SPI from your skill. You have gained +1 VIT from your skill. You have gained +1 END from your skill.

Mythril Skin has been maxed. Bonuses are now applied:

-Increased defensive properties -Increased malleability -Advancement Available -Evolution Available

During the fight against the Journeymen, protecting the otherworlders from the Mini-boss, as well as fighting against that knight helped push his Mythril Skin to max out in level. He felt a bit miffed that no other skills leveled up yet, but he supposed there wasn't much he could do about that.

Especially since he got no time to gripe as his resources kept dwindling.

He had no more time to hesitate. He suddenly dashed over to one of the skills with a simple thought, a skill that was given to him by Cronus in exchange for Barrier Craft–Ethereal Manifest.

Looking at this skill, he felt a sense of wrongness. Unlike his other skills which felt as natural to him as having his limbs, this skill felt like a strange growth appeared on his body. No matter how anyone says that this is beneficial, perhaps the greatest treasure a Master Mage can give him–there was no way he would feel comfortable having some growth on his body.

It glowed extremely bright, a highly tinted purple color proving its Epic Rarity. He could also feel that this skill was reaching its capacity, unable to grow any further until he advanced it, which he hadn't done so yet due to not having enough time to process it.

Though he knew well enough that it didn't matter at this point. A maxed skill is treated the same way as a level 1 higher rarity skill when skill fusion is involved. If anything, it provided a unique bonus of sorts, at least that's what Mikella's new friend Yola said at the time.

He looked over to the other side, and rather than just rushing for it, he willed his other skill to come along. As expected, a bright bluish colored skill came about, and strangely enough it resembled an arm with a balled fist, turning slightly whitish up to the wrist.

Mithril Skin. The skill he was obsessed with for a while after being reminded of its defensive properties.

Ethereal Manifest is a magical construct-creating skill, allowing Zeke to conjure simple constructs that he could control and change at will. All the while, Mithril Skin became his only defensive skill, covering his skin in the toughest alloy he had ever seen in this world and improving his resistances against every attack, physical and magical alike.

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It only made sense that by fusing these skills together, he could re-create a barrier he can call his own. However, he felt there was still something missing.

He wasn't sure what it was, if he was honest. Somehow, in this special inner world, he felt more closer to his own thoughts rather than being riddled with outside circumstances.

All he knew was that he needed something else; something more. His mind whirled for possibilities, forcing him to use Iron Parallel Thought for quicker access. He also knew his Meditation was also working in overdrive, but its poor Uncommon rarity wasn't up to par with this process.

Then, he remembered his own words from earlier. With enough mana, anything is possible. But it wasn't mana that the skill needed.

It was his attunement, The World.

In the end, he still wasn't sure what The World meant to him. Janet was able to give her own personification of her attunement, The Justice, and it provided exactly what she sought which helped her defeat the Master of the entire tower all on her own.

In other words, their attunements from the high-realm isn't just a massive well of pure condensed mana. There was meaning within his attunement.

He didn't know what it meant in the end. All he knew was that he asked The World to give Mythril Skin the power it needed to become a suitable link to his Ethereal Manifest. Without any hesitation, his attunement took over.

The white void that represented his inner world lit up with ephemeral power. Blue and green sparks danced across his peripheral vision, disrupting the skills around him but also remained idle.

The energy whirled around them, around Zeke, before it eventually reached Mithril Skin. The sparks acted like tendrils that tried to reach into the skill. But something went wrong.

The tendrils were stopped before even touching the skill in front of him. Something was blocking him access. But it felt natural, as though it was a wall placed there for some reason. It was the system, protecting any form of attack to his own skills.

After seeing what Cronus did, he knew for sure that he could do the same. He felt those tendrils. They were riddled with power far beyond his meager understanding.

But as of right now, he was its owner. Gritting his teeth, he forged a path through the surface for the energy to connect. He brushed aside the protective wall the system put up, giving the Mythril Skin skill the necessary power to become stronger; to change.

Small circular holes opened at a snail's pace, so Zeke widened them further faster. He had no time to do this delicately, and he was certain he was already going far beyond what was considered safe. The tendrils finally latched through the openings, connecting to the skill's inner structure.

At first, nothing really happened. But soon the skill shifted, its form gradually losing shape as it began to morph into some strange blob of pure energy. He could still feel the properties of the skill still existing within it, but its form became more malleable.

However, the tendrils were beginning to grow. The sparks were getting more chaotic, pushing the white void to its limit even by dissolving its once white glow into that of turquoise. He was pretty sure that's not a good sign.

It meant that his attunement was growing out of control. He could hardly feel it, but then again, he was inside of his core. His physical body was probably getting it the worst. If he doesn't control this power soon, it won't just end with losing Mithril Skin.

Suddenly, his inner world returned to its peaceful state. Inside, he felt something tugging at his attunement, keeping it steady as though a vice gripped hard onto it. He sensed the link connecting to it, and to his surprise, it was Mikella who kept his attunement under control. He could also tell that she wasn't alone. Janet was the big contributor, but he also sensed Lyle and Kote adding in their own mana to keep his attunement under wraps.

He thanked them in silence before continuing on. The tendrils finished their work as he hoped. The Mithril Skin grew to become exactly what he needed to connect well with Ethereal Manifest. It didn't mean that his skill upgraded and grew stronger. It only provided the skill with enough of a base to make the fusion possible.

With the two skills in hand, each one floating right next to each other in front of him, he commenced the procedure.

He grabbed the two skills and pushed them both together. It felt so simple, yet his body, mind, and soul were screaming. They were all demanding for him to stop. Any more and the entire thing could combust with him at the epicenter.

His lagging resources were also proof enough that the claim was true, but he didn't care.

He only thought about one thing–his goal. It wasn't to save the otherworlders from the dungeon ready to fall on top of their heads.

It was to create a skill that he can use to protect everything. The otherworlders, his family and friends, his ideals that kept him human–he wanted to protect them all.

This skill represented everything he wanted. He wanted to support others as best he could, to be useful. But he knew that just trying to be useful would only push him to be used by those with bad intentions.

So instead, he wished for the skill to grow along with him. To not only support others, but to give them an edge against anyone that would do them wrong.

Regardless of who they are and what they represent, he will push them aside and grant a path forward.

As though the skills responded to his will and his deep wishes, the two merged into one another. The turquoise light overwhelmed everything around him for a short burst of bright light.

In that moment of clarity, as though time stopped for him, he put up an image of that magical wall he made for the very first time, back at the first tower. The security it provided for him and his family never left his mind. He felt empty when he lost this skill, this security and peace he wanted so badly.

He poured his wishes, hopes, and future into the skill. If he was only allowed one skill for the rest of his life, it would be this skill. He would make up for his lack of versatility with his everlasting bulwark.

With his Mithril Bastion.

Skill Fusion has commenced.

You have chosen the skills Ethereal Manifest (E), and Mythril Skin (R) to fuse together.

The aforementioned skills have been lost into the skill fusion. You will still retain the stat bonuses you have acquired throughout the progress of the lost skills.

Acquired Skill learned: Mythril Bastion

…..

Mythril Bastion (Legendary), Level 1 Your resolution to protect everything you love has forged the aspect of mythril, an ancient material lost to time, and the aspect of magic together to create the ultimate defensive construct. This skill allows you to create, use, and transform any magical construct directly from mana. Its malleability, durability, magical efficiency, and defensive properties increases according to The World's current Tier.

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