Aiden woke up, kicking and screaming with a searing pain in his arm.

The pain was livid, tearing through him like some rabid thing. It was like having arm being eaten alive from the inside by rabid parasites with lamprey teeth. Ripping and biting and chewing.

Aiden muffled his cries as he fought for some control over his own pain. He grabbed his blackened arm with his normal arm and squeezed.

It did nothing.

Biting back on his pain, he refused to cry out. It was a thing of defiance over logic. He knew for a fact that crying out would assuage the pain, dispel some of it into the world as sound. But he still did not cry out.

Writhing on the ground like some worm bathed in salt, he struggled and fought. He had to survive this, and he had to do it quickly so that he could join the fight and save his friends. Even the concept of a fragment of a world did not interest him enough to pull him from the pain.

His breath caught in his throat as he stopped himself a very brief moment before he cried out. It was stubbornness that drove him at this point. Nothing more and nothing less.

Enchantments, he thought, finding even the concept of thinking to be a tasking ordeal. There had to be an enchantment that dealt with pain.

Endurance? He considered. The enchantment had a habit of helping things last longer than they were supposed to. But endurance handled damage. It made your bones harder to break and your muscles harder to tear.

It made your very physical being harder to damage.

But what did it do for pain?

He didn't care. All he could think about was outlasting the pain. He needed to stop it before it got to his mind and unmade him.

[You have used Class skill Lone Weave]

…

[You have used Lone Weave of Endurance]

He felt himself grow stronger, more solid, yet not heavy. He breathed in the relief, the strength. He—

The pain endured. He felt it grow stronger, more solid. It sent panic flowing through him. His pain was being affected by the weaving.

Was it a part of him? Was it—

The words died in his head as the pain got to his brain and unmade him. For all his strength and endurance, for all his solitude and the Order's teachings on control, Aiden cried out in pain.

He wept like a man losing his arm without anything to dull the pain while centipedes burrowed into his brain. He cried like a child.

As for where the crystal was, he had no idea. It could've been right next to him or very far away and he wouldn't even begin to know.

Then something soft caressed his arm.

[Anomaly Detected]

This time he heard the notification in his head. It screamed at him in his own voice. It was loud, determined. He had no choice but to listen.

[Residual World Essence Detected]

…

[Dimensional Crack Detected]

For some reason, the notifications made the pain a little less. In truth, maybe it didn't even do such a thing. Maybe it just distracted him enough that the pain didn't hurt so much.

[Trait Dimensional Crack has failed to absorb residual World Essence]

[Trait Dimensional Crack is attempting to absorb World Essence]

[Would you like to absorb World Essence?]

[Y/N]

Anything to get rid of this pain, Aiden thought with a little too much force in his mind.

[Anomalous trait detected Dimensional Crack]

[Anomalous trait effect detected]

…

[Dimensional Crack (Lvl 50)]

An anomalous disruption in reality. You have gone through space and have been corrupted by its touch. You have ventured where none should and survived.

[Effect: Spatial affinity]

[Effect: Skill pending…]

…

[Pending effect unlocked]

[Effect Skill Pending is now Spatial Touch]

…

[Spatial Touch]

A spatial crack has the ability to touch the fabric of reality. Should you be able to, the secrets of the universe can be unraveled at a touch.

…

[Trait Dimensional Crack is attempting to absorb residual World Essence]

[Absorption in Progress]

A cold chill ran up Aiden's arm all of a sudden. Everywhere it touched, the pain subsided. It was an eerie thing, but Aiden didn't care. All he knew was that he was thankful for the absence of pain.

Finally, he peeled his eyes open, not knowing when he had closed them. He was welcome to the sight of all the mist that had risen when he'd taken up the crystal being sucked into his arm.

The mist had to be the residual world essence. He couldn't see any other explanation. With the pain in his arm finally gone, he had enough presence of mind to gain awareness of everything that was happening around him. What he discovered was that the entire area was quiet.

Not a sound was made.

Apart from breathing. He could hear a lot of very quiet breathing.

Alright, he thought to himself. They haven't started.

He pushed himself up to his feet, sluggish. Vertigo hit him out of nowhere and he staggered once, almost stumbling. He caught himself before he felt, realigning himself.

Alright, let's get this over with.

When he was finally standing straightt, he found a multitude of [Doppelganger]s waiting for him, all armed in different ways. There was one that stood out to him, though. It was the only creature that was not armed.

He took note of the others. Everyone was waiting. The problem now was that everyone was facing him.

And he could not tell friend from foe.

Doesn't matter, he thought.

"Friend or foe," he said to the group, "let's get all of this over with."

He paused. Something was off about his voice. It was as if there were three of them. Maybe even four.

Discarding it as nothing to be worried about right now, he chose his target and—

His hand snapped up on its own and caught a blow in his hand.

Looking at his attacker, Aiden found the unarmed [Doppelganger] in front of him. He cocked a brow at it. He'd been the only one unarmed at the time when he'd picked up the crystal. Was this one a copy of him?

The monster withdrew its fist and doubled with another attack. Aiden dodged the blow this time. He avoided a sweeping kick, then a combination of attacks. They were quick, but not fast enough to catch him off guard.

He took his time, paying attention to the combination as he evaded and blocked.

It was like fighting against one of his Order students. It was almost interesting. But he didn't have time to be marveled. They needed to be done with this entire thing as quickly aas possible.

So, he attacked.

For each blow he dodged, he threw a counter of his own. Every defense was followed by an offense. The [Doppelganger] proved skilled enough, evading and avoiding in the same way that Aiden was.

It was impressive, at least until Aiden landed a blow that sent it flying back. The blow cracked its face and sent red blood rolling down its featureless face.

The creature wiped the blood from its face in a very human-like act, that annoyed Aiden a little. Then it took a combat stance.

[Absorption complete]

[Congratulations Prisoner #234502385739!]

[You have earned a Dimensional Skill!]

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

[You have earned Dimensional Skill Fragmented Tongue]

…

[Fragmented Tongue]

You have gained the natural ability to speak through the nature of reality. Your voice reaches farther than most would. Your tongue reaches beyond mortal ears.

…

[Congratulations Prisoner #234502385739!]

[Trait Spatial Crack has leveled up!]

[Level 50 -> 75]

[Dimensional Crack is now Level 75]

…

[You have achieved one of the criteria to unlock Class skill Locked]

Aiden was visibly confused.

He'd even forgotten that he had a class skill that was still locked away. Without knowing the criteria required to unlock it, he had all but forgotten about it.

[You have gained Level 75 of a Trait]

[Remaining criteria: 1]

Aiden's jaw dropped. I thought the remaining criteria was always unknown.

Now the interface was telling him how many requirements were left?

Why?

Not important, he thought, looking around. He had bigger problems to worry about. It seemed that, for some reason, all the [Doppelganger]s as well as his teammates had designated him to be public enemy number one.

They all had their attentions trained on him.

He sighed.

"You better be sure it's not me," he told everyone, addressing his teammates and hoping they could hear him.

[Dimensional skill Fragmented Tongue is in effect]

Surprisingly enough, while he could not see or notice the effect, he saw a few of the [Doppelganger]s step back. Another few seemed to strain under the weight of something he could not see.

Maybe the skill had a mental effect.

One of the [Doppelgangers] blurred into motion suddenly. It flickered through the air, appearing in front of Aiden very quickly.

He knew Jang Su's [Scattering Step] when he saw it. It was a movement skill that was supposed to make him immune to most physical attacks. If you struck him when he was in that form, your attack was likely to go through him without effect.

When the monster came to a stop in front of him, it was with swords swinging. Aiden leaned away from the sword slash, predicting the sweeping kick from how easily the creature telegraphed it.

He raised his foot up and the creature missed the kick.

What next? Aiden thought, knowing that the creature was not going to commit to a follow up attack immediately.

You can't just—

Shock usurped everything as the creatures sword blazed a bright black. Black flames engulfed it, blazing high until it was three times the length of the sword.

Aiden watched the creature's face grow black where it was supposed to have eyes. It annoyed him, angered him. For a moment he forgot that there was a possibility that the creature in front of him was Jang Su. Instead, he faced annoyance at having the creature activate Jang Su's manifesting skill so easily, as if it did not matter.

The skill granted Jang Su extra speed and strength. [Sword of the Oni] gave Jang Su some level of unreasonable strength speed in comparison to what he was normally capable of.

Aiden's one hand moved, weaving a sign as he spoke.

[You have used Class skill Lone Weave]

…

[You have used Lone Weave of Lightning]

It wasn't hubris to say that he was stronger than Jang Su. So, in case this was, in fact, Jang Su, he didn't want to use [Enchanted Weave] for fear of accidentally causing too much damage.

Jang Su took a familiar fighting stance. Aiden knew the stance but couldn't remember where exactly he knew it from.

Then Jang Su swung his sword. Black flame roared through the air, aiming straight for Aiden.

"You better not be Jang Su," Aiden muttered, as he felt lightning crackle through his veins, "because this is going to hurt."

[Dimensional skill Fragmented Tongue is in effect]

To his surprise, the flame slammed into nothing and dissipated out of nowhere. Aiden paused for only a moment before he moved.

[Dash] carried him over to the creature, the world blurring around him. When he stood before the monster, its black orbs of eyes widened in shock. It was a very human-like expression.

Aiden took a very brief moment to appreciate the detail before he slapped the [Doppelganger].

All hell broke loose then. It was as if dispatching the creature sounded the battle horns. Every living thing in the room came charging at him.

Aiden turned his attention to where the creatures were most. Testing a theory, he spoke.

"Halt!" the words spilled from his lips. This time he paid attention to it, to how it felt.

It came out like a rumble from his soul. He felt it shake him now that he was listening. It was like a tidal wave, a living thing.

[Dimensional skill Fragmented Tongue is in effect]

This time, unlike last time, it made him stagger.

The [Doppelganger]s on the side he had faced, pulled to a halt. There were summoned creatures among them. Those ones went down almost immediately. They hit the ground like crashing planes, tumbling forward.

They did not get back up.

As for the humanoid creatures, they stopped, slamming their hands over their ears. Aiden was more focused on why speaking now had affected him so much when it had done no such thing before.

With the thought still in mind, he turned to the rest of his assailants and prepared for combat.

The first opponent was a fired arrow. Aiden leaned to the side, evaded it as he stepped forward. The arrow exploded behind him but didn't carry enough weight to push him forward. Still, Aiden found himself falling into combat with a feminine [Doppelganger] with a long sword of the Trackback design. It had a serrated edge on one side and a smooth edge on the other.

Aiden ducked its first swing and struck the creature in the stomach. Stepping back immediately, he avoided a swinging spear. A frown touched his lips as he wondered which member of the group used a spear.

The spear wielder proceeded to assault him with a barrage of thrusts and sweeps. Aiden moved in accordance. Defending sweeps where he could and avoiding all thrusts. He would've liked to engage them with the full force of his unarmed combat, skills taught to him by the Order, but they were weaker than him.

Unlike most unarmed combat, the true version of the Order combat was designed in a way that every blow aimed to kill.

Aiden dodged a thrust that almost took his eye and rolled along the ground just in time to avoid a diving gorilla. When he came up, he clapped his hands above his head, pinning a descending sword between them.

Leaning to one side, he turned the weapon aside. The wielder struggled against him but was not strong enough. It was either they relinquish the sword or move with it. They chose the latter, tumbling away.

Without much thought on the matter, Aiden leapt forward. He landed in front of another opponent, then darted to the side. [Dash] carried him through the distance, straight into another opponent who hadn't expected him.

His body slammed into theirs and sent the both of them tumbling. Aiden came up first.

[You have stunned ????]

He turned his head, knowing very well that the notification was not from the person he had just run into.

[You have used Class skill Lone Weave]

…

[You have used Lone Weave of Force]

Just as the weave of lightning had manifested itself outside him, Aiden knew this one would. There was nothing that gave him certainty, nothing tangible at least. It was just knowledge gained in the same way you just understood how to use a skill when you got it.

His fingers finished making the signs in one hand and he pointed it outward.

[Trait skill Spatial Touch is in effect]

So that's why, Aiden muttered as the weaving took effect.

The same gorilla had leapt out at him, and his hand was currently pointed in its direction. He felt it the moment the weaving took effect.

Something weighed down on him, as if he wielded a shield and had just tried to withstand the force of a falling boulder. He leaned into it, doing his best to withstand it. Then something popped, and all the weight was gone.

A blast of mana, blue-black yet translucent, shot from his hand and sent the gorilla flying in the direction it had come from.

The next opponent saw it and pulled up short before they could attack Aiden. Aiden chose that opponent.

[Dash] carried him to them. Before the person could regain their composure, Aiden had disarmed them in two moves. Their hands came up in surrender, but Aiden didn't care. He stepped past them, slamming the pommel of the sword into the side of their head.

The creature went down, crumpled to the ground like a dropped rag.

[Quest Objective: Defeat Doppelganger 1/???.]

That was good. He didn't have to kill anyone to fulfill the objective.

A sword of the Trackback design in hand, he turned to face the others. It was interesting being targeted by all of them. He had to admit that. It was as if he was a raid boss and they had all come for him.

[World Essence absorption is complete]

…

[System repairs detected]

[System repairs is at 25.04%]

System repairs?

Knowledge flooded him from his memories as he remembered what it was. It had been so long ago, when he and Sam and the others had snuck out of the palace with Ded's help to hunt goblins. His interface had said nothing about system repairs ever since then.

[Skill evolution is in progress]

Aiden parried a flying arrow, sent it going askew as he wondered what skill was evolving. He spun the sword, snapping another arrow from the air as he held his free hand out to the side. He accessed his storage space, and it reacted a little faster than normal.

It almost threw his timing off but he adjusted quickly as he stepped to the side, avoiding another arrow. Aiden turned, raised the bow he had just summoned from his storage space and notched the sword with a grin.

Second time's a charm.

He aimed the sword at the archer in the distance and pulled it back. The sword went flying before the archer could react.

Aiden missed.

But he was already on the move. Distracted by what had happened, his opponents didn't react fast enough to him. [Dash] carried him soaring past them.

When he appeared in front of the [Archer], his first blow was parried by a falchion that almost took his hand off. His second blow, however, took the creature in the nose as he struck it with his bow. Then he went for a sweeping kick that connected.

The archer tried to orient itself as it fell but Aiden was already moving. Spinning from the momentum of the sweeping kick, the same leg shot upwards like a kick from a capoeira fighting style. His heel struck the archer in the jaw reorienting him before he hit the ground.

[Quest Objective: Defeat Doppelganger 2/???.]

…

[Skill evolution complete]

[Trait skill Spatial Touch is now Dimensional Touch]

Aiden paused, doing the math.

Demonic was actually Dimensional. So, if [Spatial Touch] was now [Dimensional Touch], that meant that his new skill was…

You have got to be kidding me, he thought as he rolled away from an opponent that fell from the sky like a fired missile.

It raised a cloud of dust as the ground cracked beneath it.

Aiden's attention was still focused on his new skill. [Dimensional Touch] to anyone else would look like a different thing entirely.

Moving quickly, he evaded another blow from someone he did not have the time to check on. His hand flashed out, slapping someone aside. He wasn't even sure if he had struck them on the face or somewhere else. All he knew was that he had sent them away from him and golden sparks had erupted in the air.

[You meet the criteria to affect the world]

Sorry, what?

Two swords flashed out of nowhere and Aiden was forced to give them his complete attention. He weaved left, then right, then ducked and rolled. Where he had been standing was consumed in black flames.

Jang Su or the Jang Su [Doppelganger] was back.

Without hesitation, it raised one of its flaming sword high in the air. Aiden knew that stance. A slight touch of panic filled him, only to diminish when he realized that he was the only one currently in the way of what was about to happen.

We aren't dying here, he thought as Jang Su stabbed his burning sword into the ground. A wall of black fire erupted from where the ground had been stabbed. It roared forth like a tidal wave.

Aiden would've spoken, used [Fragmented Tongue], but the last thing he needed was to experience the disorientation that came with using it intentionally as had happened the last time.

Instead, he did something that he knew would work. He held his hand out, blackened as it was, and affected the world.

His index finger trailed lines and curves in the air. Awe filled Aiden as he watched lines of golden sparks trail behind it. He drew the symbol for the enchantment of shield. Some lines flickered like broken lightbulbs, but he knew what the ones that remained were.

[You have used Trait skill Dimensional Touch]

[You have used Rune of Protection]

[You have touched the world.]

[Rune of Protection takes effect]

Aiden watched as the ambient mana coalesced, taking form in front of him. It took physical form, a sheet of translucent blue, chaotic at the edges like ripped paper, with a hue of black.

The black flames struck it, and Aiden heard the roar of fire. But he did not feel it. It roared past him on both sides, but in front of him, the Rune of Protection had stopped it.

Aiden looked down at his blackened arm. It was red not black. Awe and fear filled him as the flames passed and finally guttered out.

In front of him, no longer being bombarded by the flames, the Rune of Protection faded into nonexistence.

Before him, Aiden's opponents just stood there. They just stared with eyes that did not exist.

Whether they were afraid of him or in awe was not his concern at this point. Rather, Aiden was more concerned by his own fear.

He had regressed, come back in time. By doing so, he had done some things that had changed the course of history.

Now, here he was, with a new skill, a powerful skill.

[Dimensional Touch].

But he knew better. He knew exactly what skill his arm had just gotten. It was known by only one name on Nastild.

[Demonic Touch].

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