Fin stirred on Mount Veyra's blackened peak, dawn's light tracing melted frost across scorched stone. Pain was a ghost, faint in his bones, replaced by a power that felt alive, eager. He was Tier Two, alive, himself yet remade. An Anomaly according to Kailos, forged by Tribulation's fire. His pack lay twisted, straps frayed, the Prime was gone. Fin exhaled, letting reality sink in. He'd defied a cosmic test meant to shatter him.

The plateau around him bore witness to the cosmic transformation, a perfect circle of obsidian extended 3 meters in every direction, stone fused by heat beyond natural measure. Beyond that radius, scorch marks radiated outward like a starburst, lightning's fingers etched permanently into Veyra's ancient face. Each mark told a story of survival, of mana too vast to contain, of a body and soul remade.

He pushed to his feet, joints cracking, and stretched, arms arcing wide. His cloak felt tight, oddly so. Glancing down, Fin froze. His body wasn't his own, not quite. He'd grown, three inches, maybe four, his frame longer, shoulders broader. His tunic strained, seams taut over muscles sharper, denser than before. He flexed his arm, marveling, lean but strong, like tempered steel. His shoulder, torn by the golem's blow, was smooth, no scar, no blood. Every ache, every scrape from throughout his life, gone, healed from his evolution. He laughed, soft, disbelieving, the sound swallowed by Veyra's quiet.

Marian and his mother had lectured extensively on the physical changes accompanying tier advancement, increases in height, muscle density, sensory acuity, but experiencing it firsthand was something else entirely. Fin ran hands along his forearms, feeling the new contours, the subtle ways his body had reconfigured itself to channel greater mana. Even his fingertips seemed different, the nerves more sensitive.

The morning air against his skin carried more information now, temperature variations, humidity levels, the faint static charge lingering from last night's storm. His senses hadn't just sharpened; they'd expanded, gaining dimensions he'd never imagined. Was this what all Tier Two mages experienced, or was it unique to his lightning affinity and Taranis Imprint? Questions for later, when he returned to the Academy libraries.

Curious, Fin tested himself. He dropped into a crouch, then sprang, launching five meters across the plateau. His boots hit stone, steady, no stumble. Again, faster now, a sprint to the peak's edge and back, wind whistling. His legs blurred, speed doubling, maybe tripling his old pace. He spun, throwing a mock punch, his fist cracked air. Faster. Stronger. His core pulsed, as if nodding approval, mana eager to burst through.

Each movement revealed new capabilities, new thresholds.

"Tier Two," he whispered, the words carrying weight, finality. Most mages reached this milestone in their late teens after years of dedicated practice. Fin had compressed that journey into months, defying the System's expectations, triggering a Tribulation meant for those far more advanced. What did that mean for his future?

He paused, breath steady despite the burst, and summoned his System sheet, its glow sharp in his mind:

Name: Fin Aodh Age: 13 Core Status: Tier Two [Taranis Imprint]

Active Skills:

Thunderfang (Unique) Level 25 [Evolution Available]

Plasma Compression Burst (Unique) Level 25 [Evolution Available]

Passive Skills:

Convergent Equilibrium (Unique) Level 10

Electromagnetic Perception (Unique) Level 25 [Evolution Available]

Scientific Warfare (Unique) Level 25 [Evolution Available]

The skills called louder, their Evolution Available tags pulsing like heartbeats. His active skills first, Thunderfang and Plasma Compression Burst. They were key in active combat. They deserved a leap in power.

Evolution was a choice. Often based on your own actions and ideas, this much he'd learned. Some people deliberated for weeks before evolving key skills, consulting mentors, researching outcomes. While other rushed.

He focused on Thunderfang. The first active skill he had ever created, raw and imprecise at first, refined through countless practice sessions until it became an extension of himself. Evolve, he willed, mana stirring. The System responded, three paths unfolding:

Thunderfang Evolution Options:

Thunderfang Overdrive [Unique]: Enhances power and control by intensifying lightning mana concentration and improving manipulation capabilities.

Lightning Strike [Rare]: Transforms the close-range attack into a projectile technique that can target enemies from afar.

Lightning Armament [Unique]: Allows the user to manifest various lightning based weapons and armor, greatly expanding combat options.

The options shimmered in his mind, each path a doorway to possible futures. Fin read, Convergent Equilibrium, steadying his excitement. Overdrive was raw strength, tempting, but narrow. Enhancing what he already had was a safe choice, the predictable route. Many chose such paths, perfecting existing skills rather than expanding their repertoire. Power had its appeal, especially after facing beasts that had nearly ended his journey.

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Lightning Strike offered range, but he'd leaned on close fights, blade to claw. Distance attacks had their place, certainly. And he had a different skill dedicated for distance.

Lightning Armament… that sparked something. Weapons, armor, shaped by his will, versatility to match his affinity. His mind spun with possibilities. Shields for protection, spears for reach, hammers for impact. Adaptation to any situation, limited only by imagination and mana reserves. What nerd didn't want to be cloaked in lightning? Lightning Armament, he chose.

The choice made, Fin felt energy rush through him, his core resonating with purpose. Evolution wasn't just growth; it was direction, commitment to a path that would shape all future development. The system responded immediately, mana patterns reconfiguring, skill frameworks dissolving and reforming along new architectures.

His core flared, Thunderfang dissolved and reformed. Lightning Armament settled in its place, a new weight in his mind. Fin raised a hand, testing. Lightning coiled, blue-white, shaping, a longsword, crackling, solid yet weightless. He swung, arcs trailing, stone sizzling where it grazed. Another thought, a gauntlet, sparking over his fist, then a spear, its tip buzzing. Fin grinned, dispelling it.

The manifestations were perfect, not mere light constructs but solid energy, tangible yet ethereal, capable of interacting with the physical world while retaining lightning's essential nature. This opened combat dimensions he had only dreamed about.

Mount Veyra's peak became a temporary training ground as Fin experimented, calling forth different forms. A buckler shield that crackled when struck, a whip that extended twenty feet with a thought, twin daggers. Each manifestation came more easily than the last.

The skill's new nature aligned perfectly with his approach to problem-solving, adaptable, analytical, seeking the right tool for each situation rather than forcing one solution across all challenges. Fin would now have an entire arsenal at his command, shifting between forms as circumstances demanded.

Next, Plasma Compression Burst. Evolve, he commanded. Three options glowed:

Plasma Nova [Unique]: Maximizes explosive potential and area coverage of the original skill.

Plasma Seeking Missile [Unique]: Transforms the single projectile into multiple guided plasma fragments.

Plasma Compression Core [Unique]: This skill lets you form a controllable, super-dense plasma core that visually resembles a miniature sun. You dictate when and how powerfully it releases energy, can embed it into objects and use it as a power source, trap, or explosive, even absorbing energy to strengthen it.

Each option represented a different philosophy of combat. Plasma Nova embodied overwhelming force, the capacity to clear entire battlefields with a single technique. How many situations had Fin faced where such power might have turned the tide immediately?

Plasma Seeking Missile promised precision and tactical flexibility. Multiple targets struck simultaneously, guided by will. Fin envisioned plasma fragments curving around obstacles, pursuing fleeing opponents, creating patterns of destruction too complex to evade.

But Plasma Compression Core, it was control, creation, a scientist's dream. Where Nova and Missiles were weapons, Core was a tool, adaptable to countless situations both martial and mundane. The description alone set his mind racing with applications. Traps for ambushes, powering tools, embedding in stone to blast or enhance.

It wasn't just power; it was power harnessed, directed, shaped by knowledge rather than impulse. Plasma Compression Core, he chose.

The evolution process felt different this time, more complex, more intricate, as if the skill's architecture required finer adjustments. Burst rewove itself, patterns shifting, expanding, gaining dimensions of control that the original technique had only hinted at. His core pulsed, stabilizing, and Plasma Compression Core locked in place.

Fin knelt, palm open. A sphere formed, small, bright, plasma rings orbiting. Unlike Burst's volatile nature, constantly threatening to detonate, Core projected stability, containment, potential energy waiting to be directed. He held it, no strain, marveling at the perfect fusion of scientific principles from Earth and mana manipulation from Aetherys.

The sphere's light cast his shadow long across the scorched plateau, its miniature rings mirroring cosmic systems he'd studied in Earth's textbooks.

A thought, it sank into the stone, pulsing, waiting. The implantation was seamless, the sphere disappearing from sight but not from Fin's awareness. He could still sense it, a bright point in his perception, its energy signature distinct. Fin stepped back, willing release. The rock exploded, sending shards flying, and leaving a crater smoking. He laughed, loud this time.

The detonation echoed across Veyra's peak, startling birds from distant crags. Fin watched stone fragments rain down, calculating explosive force, comparing it to Burst's original capabilities. Core appeared to offer comparable raw power but with precision Burst had never achieved, the explosion had been perfectly circular, its radius exactly as he'd intended, no energy wasted.

He stood, brushing dust from his cloak, still marveling at his taller frame. He would test more later. His passive skills, Electromagnetic Perception, Scientific Warfare, glowed, unevolved, their tags tempting.

The sun had risen fully now, its light bathing Mount Veyra's scarred peak in golden warmth. From this height, Fin could see for miles, forests stretching green and endless to the south.

Fin's smile widened, eyes glinting in the sunlight. He was ready to begin his descent but before that, he needed to evolve his two passive skills that were ready for evolution.

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